Jesus Loves Me and My Tattoos

Those of you who know me know I have a couple tattoos. For those of you who don't, well...I have a lot of tattoos. Anyways I just wanted to share with everyone that my tattoo artist that I've been friends with for going on about 5 years now has recently had a stroke. Before he had his stroke however he met a woman (who he is now engaged to) and started going to church with her. I've been praying for this guy for a long time.

I am happy to report that after painfully sitting in his chair for 3 hours last night, I found out that he is now a believer. This is nothing short of a miracle. After his stroke he lost complete use of his right hand. He is in the process of learning how to tattoo all over again. (Don't worry, he's still the best and my tattoos still turned out perfectly). I'm sure he'd tell you though that the real miracle is the changes Christ's love has made in his life. His complete outlook on life has changed totally. It's no longer "screw the world". He's quit smoking, drinking, and he's now a vegetarian. This guy used to be MASSIVE by the way, and not in a fat way, but an "I can rip your throat out" type of way. He's witnessing to his co-workers every day, and we actually got in to an evolution vs. creation discussion with the guy who works next to him.

Many people encounter God when they have a near death experience. It's only then that they realize their own mortality. What excites me much about this is that I believe he was saved before his near death encounter. He has a genuine heart for the Lord, and is active in his church.

The ranks of the believers are rising friends, and sometimes in places you'd least expect it.

Support Life

I do not want this to become a political arena too much, but this is not a matter of politics, it's a matter of morality.

Please click on this link.

It describes in better words and facts what I could never say. If you happen to be a pro-choicer, I urge you to read the Bible and pray about it. Come to your own conclusion with God. For those of us who know which side we stand on, it is our responsibility to make our voices heard, however small that may be. We complain that government doesn't work, but we often do nothing to support it. The link at the bottom of the article has (I believe) been hacked, so I'm including the links "The Mighty Chuck Norris" intended below.

Fight the Freedom of Choice Act

Email your Senators/Congressman - You may have to click around a bit to input your Zip Code and find the Bill you are looking for.

Thanks!

Listening vs. Hearing

Oh stupid stupid me!!! All week I've been praying that God would open my eyes to the work that he's doing around me, and the results have been absolutely phenomenal. You can read a bit more about that in my previous blog "God's Work is Everywhere". Truly if you ask with an earnest heart for God to open your eyes, he will. In my studies today however I realized I've been missing something just as important. In addition to asking him to open my eyes, I should be asking him to open my ears as well!!!

How can we claim to want to do God's will if we are not listening? More importantly how can we claim to want to do God's will if we can not hear? The bible says in John 8:47 "He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God." The Holy Spirit is our intercessor, and without him God speaks a language that is impossible to understand. This is why so often non-believers do not understand the scriptures. It was not written directly to them. Of course they don't get it!

Once we have the Holy Spirit in our lives, we must actively listen for God's word. God speaks to us in a variety of ways: scripture, circumstances, prayer, other believers, and the church just to name a few. He can however choose to speak to us in any way that suits his purpose. While God does not speak to us in the form of burning bushes anymore, as believers we can not discount that he is actually speaking to us. It is so easy to discount miracles in today's day in age, but the Holy Spirit is nothing short of a miracle! If our lives are in sync with the relationship God has designed for us through Jesus Christ, there will be no doubt in our minds as to when God is communicating with us. The words will echo through our brains as clear as a bell. Not only that, but if it is God speaking to you, you will find confirmation of those words in seemingly everything.

Once God speaks to us we have reached an incredibly pivotal point. We can either choose to obey or disobey. The consequences for disobedience can and often are disastrous. Perhaps even for the long term. God punishes justly those who disobey him. You would not expect a parent to not punish a 2 year old for blatantly and defiantly disobeying them. The same applies to our relationship with God. When God tells us "do this", you darn well better do it. If not, you might as well be pulling down your pants and mooning the heavens. God will absolutely not tolerate it. I would say that it's almost better to not hear the Lords voice at all, but that would imply lack of salvation, and nothing is worse than that. God promises in Hebrews 12:6 "For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he punishes every son he accepts." If God promises something, you can take it to the bank. The last thing I want is to be on God's bad side.

For those of us fortunate to have the Holy Spirit in our lives, we have the privilege of hearing God speak. Listening however goes far beyond hearing, and requires action. Just as I have prayed for God to reveal his works around me this week, I am praying that God will open my ears and I will hear him. Not to just hear, but to listen. I am confident that he will, and I look forward to sharing with you what he is telling me in the days, weeks, months, and years to come.

Fellowship

I'm absolutely stoked that Caleb got this thing rollin'. I think this can be a good tool to bring believers together in growth through one anothers thoughts, ideas, and experiences. I understand fellowship via internet may not provide the best "delivery" but it certainly can be utilized in praying for one another and like Caleb said, sharing God's work in our lives.

One thing I have realized in the last 6 years is that fellowship is an essential tool and a vital ingredient to Christianity. My term with the military and even prior to that I had deprived myself of any type of fellowship and by doing so I hindered spiritual growth and maturing in my faith. Not having fellowship for that amount of time would prove to be a detriment in my life.
I believe being in a men's/women's group is a great way to fellowship. Fellowship is not just a social gathering where everyone reads different parts of the bible and then proceeds to talk about how everyone thought about the playoffs last week. Fellowship is a more in depth way of exercising our role as believers in edifying fellow Christians. Studying the Word as a group and dissecting and receiving it together is so important to your walk with Christ.

Also your prayer life will skyrocket. Sharing your needs and desires and possibly struggles will open the door for multiple men to pray over you. James 5 mentions that the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. There is nothing more that motivates me in my walk than when I have several Godly people praying for me and you for them. I'm convinced that no believer can live this life on their own and that any spiritual growth demands a group study, intercession, and accountability. A bible study is valued, but few recognize the importance of accountability.

Accountability is another key ingredient to a healthy relationship with Christ, so I have found. Having a Godly individual who I know very well keeping me in check on a personal level, outside of a bible study or men's group, has certainly changed me for the better. My dad who I know is a firm and mature believer mentioned to me the other day, " I will never not be in a men's group, you NEED fellowship," and he is absolutely right. Paul states in his letter to the Romans "I want to impart to you some spiritual gift that you and I may be mutually encouraged by eachother's faith." I couldn't have said it better myself.

I have been in a bible study for almost a year now and am finding believers like myself in need of edification. Seeing God work in my life and in anyone's requires fellowship and without it would plateau our growth in the Lord, and I'm ecstatic about God working in my life and my friends.

God's Work is Everywhere

Let's review the events of this past week shall we? Governor Blagojevich was officially impeached (yay!) but vows to waste millions of taxpayers dollars in "fighting to the bitter end" (boo!), Hamas is still launching rockets in to Gaza(boo!), Somali pirates make off with 3 million dollars of ransom money(boo!) , while 5 got their just desserts(yay!), the Panthers probably just performed one of the biggest choke jobs in the history of the NFL (seriously, I think the Lions could've beat them last night), the Gators racked up another championship (I want to vomit), and my girl Anne is flaming with the rest of Hollywood now too(boo!). It seems the boo's would outweigh the yay's this week, but despite all this it has been an amazing week. You see this week I learned that God is at work all around us, and I can prove it.

See this week I've been praying that God would open my eyes to what he is doing around me, and the results have been incredible. I've seen people come to Christ this week. I've seen countless opportunities to witness to friends and co-workers. I've seen the most beautiful 65 degree days in the middle of January. I've been watching the most amazing things on Discovery Channel's "Planet Earth" (seriously you should watch it if you get the opportunity. I don't know how anybody could deny God's existence after watching that.) I've just seen God everywhere I go and in everything I do.

The point is that God is always at work around us, whether we see it or not. God did not create the world and then leave everything else to chance. God is working hard to draw the population to himself, and he chooses to do it through us, his chosen, plain, ordinary people! His will is going to be accomplished whether we choose to obey him or not, but the consequences for not following him are dire, just as the rewards for following in his footsteps are eternal. Can you even begin to fathom that? When you look at it that way, I don't know how anybody could choose to disobey God. Following God is not just about keeping his commandments. It's about obeying his Spirit. The very same Spirit that lives in every believer and steers us in the right direction.

As God is accomplishing his will, he invites us to join him. It is imperative that we join him in his works, and not the other way around. Inviting God to join us in doing what we think is "for the kingdom" is fruitless. He will accomplish more in a day, than we can in years. It is imperative that we listen to the Spirit and learn how to do so effectively. We must never rule out the possibility that he may ask us to do things that are uncomfortable, and in fact, we should probably expect it. This is how God forces us to rely on him, and makes us stronger. With the Spirit in us, we have all the resources that Christ had on this Earth. So if it doesn't feel comfortable, than there may be a good chance that is God speaking to you. Don't ignore it!

I highly encourage everyone to pray that God will open your eyes to the work that he is doing around you. You will be stunned at what you were missing. The other way I know God is at work this week, is that just 2 weeks ago I wasn't praying regularly, studying my Bible, or living in accordance with his word. There has been a dramatic change in my life in the past week. God has become my number one priority in every facet of my life, not just at my convenience. If God can change a sinner like me, you know he is at work in people's lives.

Welcome to The Well

Welcome to The Well. In ancient times the well was a meeting place for people to gather and receive refreshment. This also where we get the phrase "around the water cooler". People could escape the desert heat and get a drink of fresh cool water. Jesus himself was resting by the well of Jacob in John 4 when a woman of Samaria approached him. Jesus asked her for a drink of water and when she questioned him (as a Jews had no dealings with Samaritan women) he claimed in verse 13 "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life".

The purpose of this blog is to allow believers (and non-believers alike) to see and share the works that God is doing in their and others lives. It is a place to share what God has laid on our hearts, and refresh each other. I am inviting anyone who feels called to share with other believers daily, weekly, or just occasionally to post the works and lessons God is teaching them. Hopefully in time this can become a mega database of posts and articles, a wealth of encouragement for all believers to learn from and fellowship with each other.

We are all brothers and sisters in Christ. Let's not keep the wealth of God's blessings to ourselves. With the millions of sites dedicated to pornography, entertainment, politics, news, sports and other things, why can't we use technology to create a beacon of hope in a world that needs it so much today. Who knows how your story can reach or affect others?

If you are interested, please contact me. Together we can create a "well" for today's day and age.

Your brother in Christ,
Caleb