Why I need you to pray for me

I may not see things clearly because I am in the storm

I maybe too sick to pray for myself

I maybe too weak to have faith

I need accountability

I need a community

I need believers and lovers of Christ to talk and intercede to God for me

I need encouragement

I need wisdom

I need courage and boldness

I need to realize more and more of who I am in Christ

I need to grow in my relationship with God

I need to fear not, and realize God is with me

I need to let my light shine

I need to walk in all the promises and blessings of God

I need to make disciples and advance God’s Kingdom

I need to rely and trust in the Holy Spirit everyday

I need to grow from glory to glory

I need to persevere

I need to love like Christ has and continues to love

I need your prayers

Why you want me praying for you

Because I am a true worshipper that worships the Father in the Spirit of son-ship and in the truth of my identity in Christ.

Because I can boldly and humbly approach the throne of grace

Because I can approach the mercy-seat with confidence

Because I am seated with Christ in heavenly places

Because the Kingdom of God is within me

Because the Spirit of God is in me and upon me

Because I have the mind of Christ

Because I am a royal priest

Because I am an ambassador for Christ

Because I am a messenger of reconciliation

Because I am righteous

Because the Prayers of the righteous are powerful and effective

Because there is no sin that separates me from God because of Christ

Because I have been anointed to preached the gospel, to set captives free, to heal the sick, to destroy the works of the devil, to declare the favor of the Lord

Because I have been commissioned to make disciples of all nations

Because where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom, and He is in me

Because Greater is He that is within me, than he that is within the world

Because I am consumed by God’s love for me and I am compelled to pour it into you

Walking on Egg Shells

Letting it all out; Letting people know who I am, how I feel, what I think. Of course my intentions are not to hurt people’s feelings, but to express myself. What is the point if I am afraid to speak, afraid to act, afraid to do? Then what am I living for? Can I really say that I am living if I am afraid to show who I am to others?

I want the freedom to say no, freedom to say I don’t like this or that. Freedom to tell someone: I don’t like the way you talk to me, I don’t like the way you look at me, I don’t like the way you treat me. I am worth more than those words, deeds, and looks of negativity that you give me. I don’t have to tolerate it, I don’t have to accept it, I really don’t need it. I want that freedom to let you know what is on my mind. I am tired of being quiet, I am tired of holding my tongue and biting all that is within me.

But I do have the freedom to speak life, love and encouragement into someone. I do have freedom to tell someone I love them, adore them, cherish them and appreciate them. I am free to tell someone what I like about them. I can tell someone how their positive words, deeds, and looks impact me with love and encouragement. I am free to love unconditionally. I am free to show mercy, to extend God’s loving grace and everlasting love. I am an agent of love, an ambassador of mercy and grace. I am a product of love, mercy and grace. I can’t help but to let it pour out from my life into yours.

Because of this love, mercy and grace that has been poured into my life, I can tolerate the words, deeds, and looks of negativity. I can accept it, because I take it all and go before my heavenly father and lay it all at his feet. I give him my hurt, embarrassment, frustration, pain and tears and in return he gives me his love, peace and joy. He downloads his love for me which compels me to love. I can now turn to you to demonstrate His awesome love for you.

I will not close myself off; only a heart exposed ready to love. I will endure and bear it all for the sake of Christ. I will turn the other cheek so you can see the Christ in me. Turning the other cheek and extending love and mercy to you, you will see firsthand the gospel of Jesus Christ- the gospel of grace displayed before you. Then you will turn to Jesus and be captivated by His love gaze. You will embrace his grace and enter the love that has set you free.

No holding back

What good is it to shrink back my enthusiasm?

What good is it to hold back my passion and zeal?

What good is it to withhold from others my thoughts and ideas?

What good is it to refrain from sharing my experiences?

What is the point of doing anything if I am going to withhold my full potential?

What is the purpose of doing anything if I am going to put less than my all?

What reason is there to restrain myself from doing everything with 100%?

Why try if I have decided not to give my all?

Why attempt if I have decided I can’t succeed?

Why start if I have decided I cannot finish?

Not trying to offend people, is that really a good reason in shrinking back?

Not wanting to make others feel inferior, so you decided to holdback your natural ability to excel in an area- is that really a good reason to hold back?

Wanting to be humble and restrain from pride, so you let people win, you don’t finish off strong and you sabotage yourself for the sake of the other person- are those really good reasons to restrain yourself and put in less than 100%?

Who are you fooling? That is not humility that is stupidity. Instead of sabotaging yourself, how about you excel and be great, and then help others to excel and be great. There is no shame in excelling more than others or being great. Rejoice and embrace the God given ability to excel and be great. Help others to excel and be great. You are doing more harm to yourself and to the people around you when you are shrinking back, holdback and restraining yourself and gifting. You are not living to the fullness God has for you and people are not benefiting from the beauty and greatness of your life, which hinders them from excelling and being great themselves. These actions of shrinking back, holding back, and restraining are selfish. You are only worried about yourself, “what others might think when they see you are excelling”, “can everyone see that I am humble? Look there is no pride in me, I shrink myself low so others and rise”. Nonsense. You be great and bring others with you.

Excellence and greatness are sometimes seen as a lonely road. It doesn’t have to be. Take someone along with you on the road to excellence and greatness. It is not about you, it is about what’s in you coming out to live and impacting the world for the glory of the One who made you.

Live and let your light shine

Love compels me into excellence

There comes a point when you will have to be intentional to improve your knowledge and skills on something you enjoy. Something you enjoy can’t settle for mediocre. It needs to grow into something bigger than just enjoyment that occupies time. I am learning this more as I look at all the things I enjoy doing. For example, I love racquetball, at times I would day dream that I am on the court working on different techniques for my shots. It is a good workout and a fun activity to do with friends. But something has happened in the last three months of playing racquetball; just playing for fun wasn’t enough anymore. I hadn’t won games in a while, my skills or abilities have gone backwards. This has been very frustrating, which has been removing some of the fun out of the game. I remember thinking; I need to quit racquetball and find something else to do. But that thought didn’t last long, I kept playing.

My enjoyment and love for racquetball wouldn’t let me quit. I needed to make a decision. I had three options; quit racquetball, keep playing bad and getting frustrated, or improve my ability and skills. Since the first two options provided no joy or peace, I have only one option to improve my knowledge and skill of the game.

My love for racquetball has forced me to better myself. This love has compelled me into excellence. I can’t settle for mediocre, I need to increase; I need to learn more about the game. Now there is a desire in me that is going to lead to greatness. These same ingredients of love and desire have been seen time again throughout history, of historical people in all areas of professions. What makes a young boy who loves basketball into one of the great basketball players of all time? The answer is in the question; his love for the basketball. The thing about love is that it doesn’t settle. Love is nothing less than excellence and greatness. Love expresses its self in a way that transforms the life of the people it is working in. No one excels or becomes great in something because they have to or because things just happen to work out that way. Excellence is a response from a burning passion inside a person’s heart that refuses to produce anything less than greatness.

God’s love for me has put a burning passion in my heart that compels me to want to love God with my all. I have a desire to live a life of excellence and greatness that God has blessed me with. I refuse to settle and miss out on any of the blessing and things God has made available to me. Mediocre is not a kingdom principle, but excellence and greatness are. Through Christ I can do all things with excellence and greatness.

Imperfect but righteous; makes mistakes but is holy

I am not perfect but righteous; I make mistakes but I am holy. This is the awesomeness and reality of the good news of Jesus Christ. I am not perfect and I make mistakes, I am human just like everyone else. It amazes me how so many people expect perfection from everyone, especially those who are Christians. The reason why Christians can make so many mistakes and be imperfect and still be righteous, holy, blessed and prosperous is because of God’s loving grace. It is His righteousness not mine, I am not made right with God because of how “perfect” I am or how many achievements I have accomplished. It is God’s righteousness; He has given me the righteousness of His Son Jesus. In other words, God has made me right with Himself by what Jesus accomplished on the cross. God does not look at my mistakes and sin, Jesus took care of these things so I can have a relationship with God the Father. He remembers my sins no more and doesn’t count them against me.

I am now in good standing with God, as His son and a citizen of heaven. I can now approach God with confidence and excitement because I know I am loved and accepted. I don’t have to earn God’s favor or blessings or love or acceptance. I already have all of God’s favor, blessings, love and acceptance. Again this is all possible because of what Jesus did. I get all of what Jesus earned for me. I am in Him and He is in me.  

Yes we as Christians have a standard of living that we are trying to live by, but it is because we see the benefits of living the way God wants us to; we are compelled by our love for God. We don’t do things because we have to, but because we want to. Our hearts are flooded with God’s love and we can’t help but respond to God’s love for us by loving Him with our whole life. So yes the church is filled with imperfect people who are righteous; People who make mistakes but are holy; People who are constantly being transformed and changed by God’s love.

A Letter to Engineering

I want to say thank you for what you have done for me, you have given me something far precious than anything you could imagine. You were used for a special purpose. You brought me to a place of peace and eternal joy. You were used to push me to rely on something bigger than you and myself. I had no choice but to trust and rely on God.

In high school, I pride myself in my academics and achievements. When I graduated and went to college, I was confident and full of enthusiasm, but it didn’t take long for that confidence and enthusiasm to die.  How could this happen, this couldn’t happen to me, C’s and D’s, what in the world is going on? My career, my future rested on these classes and grades. My world was crumbling before me; my self esteem had been crushed to an all time low. The pride I had in myself and achievement were no more. I was sweetly broken. Kneeling before my God, I cried out for help, crying out in frustration and fear of my future. There was no more certainty and excitement; there was darkness and fear.

It is interesting how the first beatitude in Matthew 5, mentions those being poor in spirit will inherit the Kingdom of God. Sophomore year this verse described me. I had realized my need for God. I knew I wanted God, but the realization of my need for him had become real and obvious. I was poor in spirit, I needed His Spirit. I needed His life, I needed His Word. I needed a love that would revive me and give me hope.

Engineering, you were a tool to bring me to my knees, a tool that made me realize I was poor in spirit and needed God. You were a tool that humbled me and allowed me to go before God. You were a tool that broke my pride and brought me grace. I say thank you engineering for allowing yourself to be used as a tool. I am grateful for the journey we went on together. I have grown so much from the sweat and tears, from the praying and worshiping. Now I am alive, filled with Joy, full of grace and embraced in love and perfect peace.