Hope Becomes The New Addiction

Hope, noun:
The feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best: to give up hope.

Hope, verb:
To believe, desire, or trust: I hope that my work will be satisfactory.

Hope, bible translation:
By its very nature, hope stresses two things: (a) futurity, and (b) invisibility. It deals with things we can’t see or haven’t received or both:

1 Peter 1:3 - He has given us new birth into a living HOPE through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead

According to the worldly definition of this word, hope almost seems wishy washy, with doubt in the air. When you take the word from the bible, at this original Greek root word, it literally means "a strong and confident expectation".

In the Bible, hope is never a static or passive thing. It is dynamic, active, directive and life sustaining. This is everywhere obvious as we read the Word. Take a concordance, look up the word “hope” and you will find reference after reference pointing out the active results of hope in the lives of those who truly have a biblical hope and live accordingly.

In other words, a biblical hope is not an escape from reality or from problems. It doesn’t leave us idle, drifting or just rocking on the front porch. If our hope is biblical and based on God's promises, it will put us in gear.

Personally, my future is in God's hands. I have hope that I live every day in His grace and mercy, my promises come to pass in the right time, and I don't miss a single moment to be an idiot, in the eyes of the world, for God. Like Craig Groeschel said, "My answer's yes, now what's the question?" What he meant by this is, "God, what do you want me to do, and when do you want it done." To the world, I'm an idiot!

The Calling of Chris Joy

As September begins to slowly make it's way to the present I realize that I'm feeling a lot like the rich young man in the scriptures of Matthew 19:16-22:

Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments." "Which ones?" the man inquired. Jesus replied, " 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,' and 'love your neighbor as yourself.'" "All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?" Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

Ok, I know I'm not 'wealthy', but I do own a beautiful new Scion tC, a lot of electronics, a house, many friends, and a 'stable' job. When I first realized the calling in my life was to start with giving up everything I was overzealous, and I was 100% gun ho. But recently, with less than 6 months to go, I've realized I'm SCARED out of my mind! I'm not proud of these feels, but I know my spirit. It's oh so willing, but my human side is weak.

I long to be like the infamous tax collector, Matthew. Jesus simply said to Matthew, "follow me," and without hesitation, Matthew stood up and followed Him. Matthew didn't know this man named Jesus. Even when he was with Jesus for His 3 years of ministry he still didn't realize who Jesus was until the Spirit of God came down to the world. Matthew had no idea Jesus was God, but he still faithfully walked His path without a second thought.

I pray I become more like Matthew. To give up everything, without the thoughts this world tells me what makes my life stable. Without Christ Jesus I'd be nothing. I'm giving up everything, and one day I'll give up this worldly life completely and show the nations the true love of God!

Love: Weakness Or Blessing?

I always thought I'd be married before I turned 30, be in love for the rest of my life, and die with my wife in my arms. However, ever since I decided to finally stop running from God, and follow my calling as a church bringer, I've realized that God is such a jealous Father. He needs to be first; in my finances, time, life, love, etc. Once I realized this, all my expectations on marriage got shot out the window. To be honest, in 2 years I don't know what I'll be doing. My goal is to rekindle my love, but it's truly in God's hands.

Love is such an emotional burden when it's not time, but can be such a blessing when you have a promise, and you know the love God has planned for you. Looking to God for all your answers is hard, but that's faith. Like the lyrics from August Burns Red's song, Black Sheep:

You’ve fallen captive to what you thought would save you, what you thought would clean your slate.
You’re in the thick of it now and you have swallowed the hook.
What’s done is done.
We’ll continue on with or without you.
Pain must exist in order for healing to survive.
Neither one will ever serve their purpose alone.
You’ve fallen in love with a dream you’ve never had.
You’ve fallen in love with a surreal way of living.
To late to wake, farewell and good luck to you.
See you at the end.
Too late to wake, to lay too waste.
I’m throwing in the towel.
This is my goodbye.
Don’t worry.
We saw through your trickery, and were coming out alive.
See you at the end.
What was once your life is now lifeless.
What was once your life is now your jail cell.

I want to concentrate on the italicized/bold part of the lyrics. God always brings us through trials to show, teach, or disciple us on things we need to grow stronger in. My current trial is exactly a trial of healing. I was first feeling nothing but pain, but while God worked on my heart, He showed me some things that were hindering my walk. If it wasn't for going through this seemingly unbearable pain, I would of never noticed the locked doors in my heart. I know the promise God has planned for me about my wife. I now wait patiently for the day she's back in my life!

Live The Life

I truly want to live the life God designed for me. To run the path with perseverance, complete my destiny. To take old of that for which my Lord took hold of me, and see His power in my life and live completely free. With no shame or condemnation, but clothed in purity. To take the weapon in my hand and fight the enemy. To be light so strong and bright, and see my family live a life of righteousness. Their freedom I shall see. To be part of the greatest move of God in history, and flourish in His house and in His presence. To live daily, bound by nothing but His love, giving all of me. Yes, today I choose to live the life He planned for me! Never again will pride, idolatry, fear, and heartache separate me from my KING!

In this world, being a follower of Christ is foolish in the eyes of the unsaved. Truly, we are idiots. Who would in their right mind sell everything and follow someone they've never met? Why would God choose 'ordinary men', ordinary meaning idiotes, meaning AN IDIOT, to be leaders of the greatest movement in human history? Simply put, God calls the weak to lead the strong. He gives sinner freedom, and 'holy' people damnation.

Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.
Acts 5:38-39

Jesus Style

Every day in the life of a follower of Christ is a testimony in itself. Whether it's a testimony of faith, or sin, it's written in each of our books. My life is a testimony of faith, burden, betrayal, murderer of the flesh, provider of sin, and on and on. I'm not perfect, and never will I be, but I strive for excellence day in and day out. My knowledge of the bible is still that of a child. My prayer life is sometimes never present. But my servanthood will never disappear, nor shrink. We're ALL called to be servants. Jesus never once got waited on, because He was always the one on the ground washing other's feet. My life will never be that of a king, and I'm greatful.

Time

It's funny, yet really painful, how long it takes for us as humans to understand what God is doing in our lives. Heck, it took me 3 months to realize I was holding back my pure intimacy with Christ will dating my recent girlfriend. I never once realized I was placing God and her on the same pedestal.

To keep this short, mostly because I just got home from working a 13 hour shift, God works on His time. And to be frank, He has no time. I'm learning many things through this season in my life of being seperated from the woman I love the most.

1. God Is A Very Jealous God And Will Never Be Tied For First.
2. Pure Intimacy With God Will Lead To Dreams & Visions Come True.
3. There Are Many Splendors In Life.
4. The Road Is Long, Hard, and Full of Trials And Temptations.
5. Jesus Is The Way, The Truth, And The Life!
6. Mathew 6:33-34

Peace, Love, Happiness

Sounds like what some hippy or new waver would say, but they're things I've only been able to truly experience when I give everything to God. I was in the valley for way too long, and I noticed I wasn't getting anywhere because I wasn't giving God my attention. The second I realized God was in charge was the second I felt peace, love, and happiness. Pastor Dino spoke about Love and several other topics this weekend. He said that human love will always let us down, and oh how it's so true.

To be honest, when I was in my most recent relationship I was letting her fill some of the hole in the heart that can only be filled by the Spirit of God. This was the true downfall of our relationship. I wasn't giving God everything I had, therefore He took things away to get my undivided attention. It took time, me running, and almost denouncing Him, for me to give Him everything. My prayers have been answered, my life is perfectly complete, and all it took was seeking God's face with everything I have. When you think about it, it's not very hard, but like Matthew wrote in Matthew 26:41, "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."

It is always true of the disciple that the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak, and he must therefore "watch and pray." The spirit knows the right way, and desires to follow it, but the flesh lacks courage and finds it too hard, too hazardous and wearisome, and it stifles the voice of the spirit. I wasn't watching for the enemy and he used the one person I love the most to get to me, and he won that fight. But, because I am renewed by the blood and sacrifice of my Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus, that win for him was also my victory. I've come to love God more than I ever have before. I long for His love, and He's blessed and shown me the way.

I now have a plan in life, a purpose to fulfill with every breath I take. I'm a disciple, a missionary, an apostle, a warrior, a worshiper, a friend, and most importantly, a child of the Living God, Emmanuel. I will show the world what it means to truly give it all the God. If this takes giving up my plans, which it has on many occasions, my life, my worldly job, my car, my finances, and my love, I will rest assured I did the right thing, AND I WILL HAVE PEACE!