Seeds

Seeds

Jesus used parables as a powerful teaching tool. The gospels are filled with parables ranging in meanings.  I think one of my favorites is the parable of the farmer scattering seed. Read this very closely:

  "listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed. As he scattered it across the field, some of the seed fell through a footpath, and the birds came and ate it. Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn't have deep roots, it died. Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants so they produced no grain. Still, other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted and grew and produced a crop that was 30, 60, and even 100 times as much as had been planted!" mark 4:3-8(NLT) 

I just love this parable. Jesus goes on to explain and says that each seed represents those who hear the message of Jesus. Read it again and think about it. 

I think the third example about seed falling among thorns is very interesting. Jesus describes this kind of person as someone who hears Gods word but gets caught up in the troubles of this world and the "lures of wealth." 

What kind of seed is your faith? Is it producing beyond what was planted or is it just keeping stuck in shallow soil? Take an honest look at your faith and decide this for yourself! It's so easy to get off track. Our faith must be deeply rooted! 

How is everyone? I'm doing excellent thanks for asking!

We serve an awesome God. He sent His son to show us how to live and to take the sins of the world. The things of the Lord are very contrary to the way the world does things. I promise if you take some time to read the book of Matthew, you will read things that you wouldn't believe were in the bible because when youre only told of things that happened in the bible, things are left out. You will begin to see that our lives don't really line up with the Bible as much as we thought they did. You'll understand that the point of picking a church isn't choosing whichever one lets out first so you can get a jumpstart on lunch.

The 'created' come together to worship and somehow the focal point is towards other 'creations' when the CREATOR is waiting so desperately for us to truly worship Him.

I think this happens a lot. We alter the purpose of church. Church should be a small supplement to our weekly intake of building a relationship with the Lord. There's a lot of anemic Christians. They aren't getting there weekly dosage of God(not that there's a certain amount).

Praise God for the grace He shows us each day! We need a generation of Christians to come alive for Christ! Theres a lot of dead people walking into church. Let's be the people that has light beaming from us because of the joy we have in the Lord!

Encouragement

I'm a weird person. I'm sorry if you thought I was the coolest person in the world and now your heart is broken. I haven't written a post in a while and the reason for that is because I didn't think anyone read it. I had been somewhat discouraged and so I just stuck to sending out text messages to get out what was on my mind. Well someone extremely important to me informed me that the blog had helped them in more ways than I knew. I honestly did not expect to hear that from him.

So now I have been re-energized with passion to get my mind out there. I feel like even if just a few people read it, they might gain something from what I have to say. And so even if just this one person reads it every week and becomes inspired to do something for the Kingdom then it's worth it.

So expect more posts to come in the very near future. And thank you to the person that gave me an unexpected emotional lift today. I love every single one of you and if there is anything at all I can do for anyone, then let me know.

I'm here to serve you!

Being a Christian is cool?

I was just facebook creeping and I went to a few pages and noticed that some people who I am somewhat friends with, were Christians! I mean, these are not my best friends but if I saw them in the mall or at mcdonalds, I would for sure say hi. But this was just a shock to me because I had no idea! I feel somewhat bad for having no idea they were believers but I'm not sure if it is all my fault. I am sorry if I'm treading in dangerous waters but I feel like Christians should stand out from others. The norms of this world should not be the norms of our lives. I kept looking a little and I realized that it was extremely hard to find a profile on facebook that didn't say Christian on it.  Go ahead and try it out! You might be able to count 8-10. I can't even blame these non-believers though. We Christians haven't shown them anything appealing that would give them the desire to become a Christ follower. We have done a poor job at being a steward for Jesus.

I've heard people say that religion is just in place because people are scared of death and it's just a made up organization to make people feel better. Maybe this thought is popular because we Christians have not given them any reason to think differently. If our lives don't look any different than a non-believer's life, that why would a non-believer want to do what we do? As Christians, we must be different in order to stand out for others to see. We're not intentionally trying to be different but that's just what happens when we follow the teachings of Jesus. I am not scared of death. I love the life that God has given me but I know that this life is nothing more than a season and soon we will be reunited with Jesus.

May we all live our lives in anticipation of Christ returning and may we structure our lives according to the teachings of Jesus. If you consider yourself a Christian, open up the Bible and study it, I promise it will be the most challenging and encouraging thing you have ever done. You will find things in there that you never thought was there and you will see how different the Bible is compared to how it's perceived by the world.

Ministry

When someone says they have been called into the ministry there are lot of things that come to mind. Maybe a pastor or a missionary is the first thing you think of. These are great professions and definitely part of spreading the Gospel but I believe I am being called to take a different route. In James, Paul tells us to take our everyday lives and give it as a sacrifice to God. What does this mean? I believe it means that no matter what we do, it should be to give God glory. If this is not the number 1 goal, then we are wasting our time and energy on things that do not matter.

Being called into the ministry does not necessarily mean that we need to move to mexico or apply at seminary. You do not have to have a "christian job" to be in the ministry. We can bring the ministry into our everyday lives. No matter what you do, do it for the Lord. If you are an insurance agent, be the best insurance agent possible and spread the Gospel to your coworkers and clients. If you play or coach basketball, share Christ's story of redeeming love with your players and coaches. Make it very clear what you stand for and what is the most important thing in your life! You can do amazing things for the Kingdom of God each and every day! It doesn't matter what your profession or occupation is, there are opportunities every day to do something for the Lord.

I believe that as Christians, we are all called into the ministry. Whether we choose to support and embrace this fact is a different story.

what defines you

What defines you as a person?

This is an interesting question because sometimes the person you want to be is not always the person that other people see you as. This is often times the thing you put the most time into or care about the most.

Sports is sometimes held as too high of a standard in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, sports is great. Through basketball, so many great things have happened and so many awesome relationships have been built that will always been there. But should sports define who we are as people? I'm sorry but at my funeral, I don't want people to say, "welp, Tyler was a decent guy but he was a great basketball player. That was what he lived for." I don't know about you but I think there is so much more to life than being great at a sport. But again, its not bad too be great at sports and to spend time doing it, I just don't think it's the most important thing. One day, sports will not be there and then that will be the day that you have to learn to define yourself because for so long that was how you were defined. Some people never get past this. I've seen numerous documentaries and people in real life who still cling to old trophies and old memories of "the good days."

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, this is not how we are called to live. He calls us to put His Kingdom first and then everything else follows. It's easy to put other things first and then fit God in when it is convenient, or when things aren't going great.

But in the end, the most important thing in our lives, should be our relationship with God and how we treat others. Whatever you are good and passionate at, work as hard as you can in that field and use it as a channel to give God glory and further His Kingdom. Be the best of whatever you do and do it in His name.


What defines you? Is it your job or the sport you play or the person you are married to? Do you believe that this will is something that is worth living for in the whole scheme of things? Do you believe that you are giving God glory in everything you do? Do you make the absolute most of the cards that you have been dealt in life?

I hope on judgement day, God says, "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!"

Are you having a good day?

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week. There are so many factors that go into having a "good" day.

It might be the weather, how much sleep you got, or maybe it's how many things you have to do for that particular day. These are all very common factors on how people determine how good of a day they are going to have.

These are all very uncertain factors though wouldn't you say?

I have been in an unusually good mood lately and that is because of a few reasons. I choose to look at the good things in my life that stay constant. For instance, I have a God who know matter what happens, will love me and always be there for me. I have a family who is there for me and will always love me. I also have friends who are always looking out for the best for me. These things tend to stay constant in my life.

The one thing that always stays constant no matter what is my relationship with the LORD. I know that no matter what happens on this earth, His undying love for me will be there to pick me up in the "bad" times, and during the "good" times he will also be there for me.

I think far too often we only look to God when something bad is happening. We ask him why this is happening and we pray that these problems will go away. Maybe these problems are there for a reason. A lot of times, things that seem to be problems, are really disguised as opportunities for good. I  tend to look at things negatively  and although I am training myself otherwise I still slip up sometimes.

Look to Him for all your strength because He will never let you down. Train yourself to see problems in your life positively and look for ways to turn those negative situations into positive situations.

Read this scripture very carefully and think about it.. "The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me victory." Psalm 118:14 

Isn't that verse awesome!? It makes me feel so good to know that I don't have to do it all on my own. He is there to help me through all situations. He is my strength!

Psalm 118:29 "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! He faithful love endures forever."

My prayer is that we all choose to look at the positives in our lives that stay constant and that this will create joy in our lives that spills over for others to see.

I am so thankful for every one of you. I believe that you are reading this for a reason and I want you to know that Jesus loves you and He wants you to enter into a life of devotion to Him. Thank you so much for even taking time to read this. God bless every single one of you!

God is so good

GOD puts people in your life for specific reasons. I absolutely believe this to be true. There are so many great people in my life that have shaped me to be the man of GOD that I am today.

For example, I am struggling with a certain area of my life. The Devil is telling me that is okay to do this and what's crazy is that I actually believed him! This lie has been told to me multiple times in the past week. Well I just got on facebook and a man that I have never met before (but talk to often on fb chat) started a chat with me. We talked for a few minutes and out of the blue he told me to not believe this exact lie that the Devil was telling me!

Are you kidding me?! What are the odds that he says something about the one thing that I have been struggling with?

God is so good.

I really hope no one gets annoyed of the multiple text messages and blog posts and statuses I make regarding God. I am so passionate about this and I believe that anyone who enters into a life of living for the Lord and fulfilling his purpose for your life will be overflowed with everlasting joy.

Joy is something that is so special to you, that you have to share it with others because you want them to experience the same thing as you. Joy is content with circumstances around you. Being happy only comes from earthly things. Happiness is temporary.

Joy is not letting outside circumstances effect your mood but looking inward to the one who promises everlasting life. The most important decision you make every day is your attitude.

Let us all enter into a life of joy together and cease from looking towards earthly things to bring us happiness. The Lord has promised that He will give us everything we need if we just look to Him!

valentines day

Valentines day is a great day. It gives guys all across the world a chance to show how much we care for that special someone. We buy gifts, write letters and sometimes if we're brave, we cook for our ladies. We take this chance to show them how much they mean to us.

But this is definitely not the only day we do this. If this was the only day that we spent time with our girlfriends and the only day that we showed them how much they meant to us, would we really love them?

Valentines day is a day that we should show how much they mean to us but it does not at all end there. You have to constantly be building the relationship with them throughout the year, not only on this day.

It's the same with our relationship with the LORD, right? You cannot just go to church once a week and expect the relationship to build itself. What if we took this approach with our significant others? If we just saw them once a week and had no contact with them other than that one hour time-frame. There's no way that it would work and it's the same with our daily walks with the LORD!

Where are your priorities? Where is building a relationship with the LORD on your list of priorities? We as Christians need to take a long and hard look at how we are living our lives.

I hope that everyone seeks after GOD above all else and sees the great opportunities that HE puts in front of you.

Take some time today and read the bible, or pray, or listen to some Christian music, or all three! Do something and see what the LORD has to share with you today. I promise that you will never regret the life of righteousness.

i can't sleep

I am unable to sleep in my sub 60 degree bedroom so I'm going to write (not sure how this is going to warm me up but let's take a stab at it).

You are reading this for a reason. You might believe in coincidences but I don't. Everything happens for a reason so read this and think seriously about how your relationship with the LORD is.

 I think there is a generation of Christians who are Christians simply for the reason of going to Heaven. I'm sorry but this is not the only thing there is to Christianity. You are short changing yourselves if you fall into this category because there is so much more joy to be found through a life of devotion to Christ!

I've been there so I know exactly what it's like. I thought that as long as I'm not as bad as the next person and I go to church every once in a while, I felt like my ticket to Heaven was mine. Looking back, this was a really bad mindset and my faith was simply stagnant!

God wants everything in your life. He doesn't just want your Sunday mornings, (and Wednesday nights if you come to my bible study haha) but He wants ALL of you! In Romans 12, Paul talks about giving every single aspect of our lives to HIM.

And what's crazy here is he doesn't give another option. I think a lot of people would rather it say something like this, "Give everything you have to GOD ... except for those who don't think they should, and they can just split it 50/50." Obviously it doesn't say that and it may sound silly but I'm trying to make a point. It's not enough to just believe in GOD.

Did you know that even the Devil and all of his Workers believe in GOD? They tremble when they hear his name but even they believe in HIM.

If you open your Bible, you may not like what you read because the model that some "Christians" portray is not what is on the pages of the holy book.

I'm not at all trying to call people out. I just know that I used to be a "Half-christian" and I know that the life i am living now is so much more fulfilling because I am not seeking after things of this world anymore. Those things only left my stomach hungry for more and my soul continuing to search for something else.

Listen, GOD wants us to do more than just list that we're Christian on facebook. He wants everything we have to offer.

What parts of your life have you not given to GOD?

GOD can see in your heart, what sin are you holding tight and not letting go of? This is keeping you from getting closer to HIM.

How is your relationship with the LORD, and what are you going to do to get it where it needs to be?!

                              

The devil is a liar

I am so grateful for the people that GOD has put in my life. People who challenge me to be a better Christian and also people who encourage me to continue to grow. I have been so encouraged by how people in my bible study have grown. We have grown together. Lives are being transformed and I thank GOD everyday for the work that He is doing in our lives. 

We have to stick together through everything because being a Christian is really hard. I'm really sorry if I've made it sound easy. The devil will take every opportunity to try and get you off track. Believe me, he's tried it all on me! He's going to tell you that this life of devotion is not worth your time and that people are gonna think you're crazy (which they might think you're crazy anyways). He will put the craziest lies in your head! He will tell you that you are not worth anything and that you need to turn to things of this world in order to be happy. I am here to tell you that GOD has given you all you need! In 1 Corinthians 1:7 it says that all of GOD's gifts are right in front of us. All we have to do is accept those gifts! 

In Romans 6, Paul talks about us being free from sin. Sin can no longer tell us how to live when we call on the LORD! I don't know about you, but reading this just excites me! Read this again, the devil can not have any say on what we do. He can make us think that he does but it says in the WORD that he is a liar and he has no control over our lives. Man, this just fills me with joy! 

What is the devil telling you today?

Is he saying that this Christian thing will be too hard and that you can't do it?

Or that the sexual impurity in your life is just "normal" for men and that it's not that big of a deal?

Maybe you're like me and he tells you that you should just give up on basketball cause sometimes the coach is too hard on you.

1 Corinthian 10:13(MSG) No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it.

James 1:2-4(MSG) Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. 

Whatever it is that the devil is telling you, I am telling you right now that it is a lie. Pray that GOD will take these thoughts out of your head and that you will realize a lie from the TRUTH. My prayer is that you will talk to other believers about these lies. They might be having the same lies being told to them!

What do you seek after?

Thank you LORD for everything. We have all been given so much, sometimes too much in my opinion.

Those things often times get in the way of our focus on the LORD when it should be doing the exact opposite.

We have so many 'things'. We spend so much time, money and effort accumulating stuff that we lose sight of the bigger picture. We lose sight of the fact that GOD has blessed us so that we can give back and bring glory to HIM.

What drives you to wake up and go to your job or to school or whatever it is you do? Is your drive so that you can have more stuff? What is most important to you? Is there some sort of imaginary point that you have in your head that if you get there, you tell yourself(and GOD) that you'll be content? Or if you're like me, you think things like, if I just have that one thing, then I will be happy and I won't want anything else. Have you ever gotten that thing you wanted? I bet it didn't satisfy you.

In Ecclesiastes 5:10 it says, "The one who loves money is never satisfied with money."

At one point last year, I really wanted an iPad. I love reading so I got it in my head that I had to have it so I could read on basketball trips in the dark. I told myself I would be content if I just got this one thing.

In Corinthians 1:7(MSG) it says, "You don't need a thing, you've got it all! All GOD's gifts are right in front of you." So I challenge you to write down what your priorities were today. What were you seeking after today?

2 Corinthians 4:18(MSG) "There's far more than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today and gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see will last forever." Seek after GOD because through HIM there is joy and what you get through a relationship with HIM will last forever.

Oh and by the way, I did not get an iPad. I purchased a 4 dollar light that attaches to my book.

Let me explain myself

I think there could be confusion when i say that i just became a christian last year. I don't want my family and friends thinking I didn't believe in God growing up. So let me explain a little better.

I grew up in the church. I loved going to church events and I loved hanging out with people from the church but I never quite figured it out what it meant to be a christian. I thought that as long as I didn't sin as much as the next person, that my spot would be saved in Heaven. In  Galations 2:21(MSG) it says that "If a living relationship with God could come by rule-keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily." So obviously this is not the way that we are called to live.

I started reading the day that I decided that I was going to start a bible study. I knew I was nowhere near where I needed to be to help my peers out. And there seemed to be a recurring theme in a lot of the books i read. A relationship with the Lord is way more important than trying to do things "right." In "the Christian Atheist" by Craig Groeschel, he labels "rule-keepers" as half-christians. People who know what is right but just have not entered into a relationship with the Lord yet. 

I found that when I established a relationship with the Lord, my life changed. Not because I was worried about doing all the right things, but because I no longer desired to live the way I had before. I "died" to the way that I used to live. 

I never stopped believing in God. I just wandered away for about 2 years. My High School basketball coach told me that the first thing I had to do was find a church when I went to college. I honestly thought that I would be okay and that I could handle myself. I was wrong and he was right. I don't think I have told him this before but I need to call him and tell him sorry for not listening. (Once again, God even works with stubborn people like myself)

The most important thing in Christianity is having other people in your life that will encourage you and challenge you in your faith. Your faith is either growing or getting smaller. 

I'm not at all saying that I have everything figured out. Far from it actually. But it's the people in my life who help me stay focused on the Lord when things aren't going as planned. God has put a countless amount of people in my life just this past year that challenge me every day to continue to grow. I feel like God has opened my eyes to these things for a reason. I know that their are a lot of people that can relate to my story and I hope that this will help some people out. If there is anything I can do to help with your walk with the Lord, let me know. I hope that through this, people will see their calling to something more than just rule-keeping. 

Galations 2:19-21(MSG)What actually took place is this: I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn't work. So I quit being a "law man" so that I could be God's man. Christ's life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not "mine," but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that.

  

Why in the world am i writing a blog?

Why in the world am i writing a blog? That's an excellent question. 

It all started a year ago when my mentor asked me to go on a missions trip with him. I said yeah that would be cool but I had about 50 reasons why I didn't want to go, so my answer was no. He said, "hey, you need to come on this missions trip, get your passport." Honestly, i thought he kinda being too pushy so I was getting extremely annoyed. I kept telling him no and then finally he called and basically told me that I NEEDED to go get a passport because I needed to go. Despite all my doubts I finally got a passport and ended up going. (Thank you Jesus that HE even works in the hearts of stubborn people like myself)

We had many conversations about Christ and what was going on in our lives. He asked me questions like, "How's your relationship with the Lord?" These types of questions made me extremely uncomfortable and that's how i knew that something was wrong with my faith. He asked me what church i went to and i told him i really didn't go to one. He told me that he thought that i should start a bible study. My instant response was, "No, i just can't do that." He asked why and i didn't want to say it out loud but it was because i was ashamed of what i would look like if i really put my faith out there and did work for the Lord. So that was about the end of that conversation when i shot him down like that. (Once again, I'm so glad GOD works in stubborn and lost people like myself!)

Fast forward 3 months and I'm headed to Alva for my 3rd year of school. Before that time i would not call myself a christian. I was not at all living a life that was pleasing to HIM. The conversations that Roscoe and I had shot all through my head and i felt a strong conviction to text my basketball teammates and tell them that i was going to start a bible study. To my surprise they were very accepting of this idea and that made me feel absolutely alive and excited. Right there in my car on the way back to Alva Oklahoma, somewhere between Medford and Cherokee, I gave myself to the LORD. I said, "Do in me what you want. I am yours and from now on I am going to live for YOU." That day on August 12th I became a christian. There are many more parts to the story but I don't want to bore you with the details. 

so that's how i got to where i am today. In this blog I will share more details on the adventures of leading a bible studying while having little to no public speaking abilities. GOD has really been working in my life and I feel like it would be a shame to not share my story because I know so many can relate to what I'm going through. 

My prayer is that this is used as an open discussion and things that i say will have an impact on someones life so that they will enter into a relationship with the LORD.  I hope that we can grow in our walks with the LORD together and that we can see and act upon the opportunities that GOD puts in our lives. There is a life full of joy and fulfillment and all we have to do is say yes when he calls. 

Philippians 3:7-11 (NIV) But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.