Thank You God (Humor but all true)

Here is a list of things I am thankful for, it's a little different they are all things that could have made my day, week, or even my life horrible. Instead trying to find the Good in it.

1. God thank you that I lose everything and leave things all over the place. For whatever reason I simply don't freak out over it because it is normal to me. Some call it A.D.D. but you call it a blessing.
2. God thank you for whatever reason when I touch something it tends to stop working. Some call this destructive, you call this a blessing.
3. God thank you for copy machines, I seem to have issues with them lately. At work and I found out tonight also at the church. I will be honest with you God, I didn't have a clue on either one. Some would call this Stupid or annoying, but you guess it you call it a blessing.
4. God thank you for that kid who puked his guts up all in front of my office today. I really did try to clean it, but I started feeling sick. Some call this weakness and gross, but you call it a blessing.
5. God thank you for allowing me to go to the Church today and spending two hour trying to put a projector up. Did I succeed? Nope! Some call this a waste of time...but I call it a blessing.
6. God thank you for allowing me to spend a week hunting down a kids number that I thought was not in my phone. You let me find it on Sunday morning to find that it was disconnected...I prayed for a week straight to allow me to have contact with that young man so I could apologize and explain. Today while most thought I was wasting my time, he was up at the church. Now Andrew has my number and he is going to Dallas this weekend. Some would call this rude and sorry that I would lose a number, but you call it a blessing.
7. God thank you for the two kids who came into my office after being hit in the face with a ball. Some would call this annoying, you call it a blessing.
8. God thank you for the 7 year old boy who keep hitting the kids in the face, some would call him rough...you call it a blessing.
9. God thank you for the head cold I have been fighting for a week now. Some would call this sickness, but you call it a blessing.
10. God thank you for all the trials I will face tomorrow...some call this not being faithful, you call it a blessing.

 

2 Corinthians 13:9 We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is for your perfection.

 

Blessed are the poor

The last few weeks I have been thinking allot bout this and asking God what to do with it.

Matthew 51-12 Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

What is the struggle? This seems to be a love letter from Jesus himself, simply encouraging us to keep going. The struggle I have with it is that at times myself and I believe others simply do not believe what we just read. Working with teens I see heart breaks daily. I could post facebook status' that say the following: Need a girl, single, bored looking for something to do, text it, and on and on. You might ask what this has to do with what Jesus is talking about, it's simple we as adults are the ones who teach this to our kids. Really what it comes down to is that have a difficult time believing and we are not honest about it.

I have a young man that has been in my group for a couple of years. He was saved at camp and I have blogged about him a few times and I have also been praying for him. Long story short with out going into details the last couple of months have been not so good for him. Today he was at my office and we were talking about things. As he was talking I had to stop him and tell him that he was blessed. As he goes through these trials in his life it brings an opportunity for him to grow closer to God.

I started feeling convicted because I am amazed at how much I struggle to and that I complain about things that really do not matter. When you sit and think about the that the Blood of Jesus has bought my ticket to heaven and this bad day or trial will not be able to take that ticket and now allow access into the kingdom. WOW! When our life becomes a lifestyle of worship and not just a life of consuming we start to see something change.

I started thinking about the stupid things we say in life... things like, big time christian artist or big time speaker?? Really having a huge following is what makes you big time?? Where in the world do you read that at? I am searching for it and I can find it. Could it be that we simply take what is God and start to twist it around to make it more popular and attractive? When I see the poor and spirit, I must be honest I take pity on them. Am I wrong?? I don't know but from what I can read they are blessed.

I believe there is nothing wrong with success or dreams. At the same time I believe we need to be realistic that success doesn't always look pretty and dreams do not always come true. This is because we live in a broken world and we are in need of a Savior. I NEED a God that says Yes, Not now, and No. I need a God that allows all things to be ripped away from me so I can see that I am in need of him. I need God to show me pictures of Children who are starving, who struggle in the area of education, who have family problems, and etc. Why do I need that? Because God knows that is how he gets my attention. I am in need of a God who loves but allows me to experience this world and the pain that comes with it.

God continue to work in my life and continue to show me who you really are.            

New Youth Ministry Blog

Check out our new youth ministry blog. It is still a work in progress. Go to www.paradoxstudentministry.com

Humanitarian Jesus

Humanitarian Jesus is by far one of the best books to read. I believe it is one that challenges you to really think about the efforts that a person puts in to make this world a better place. It really hits on what our callin is as Christians. What I love the most is how it is not a program based book but a gook that encourages a person to think before they act. Also at the same time it drives home the point that you can pray all you want but if you are not taking action then things will not change. It really breaks down the fact that Jesus didn't come to solve issues, but he came to save souls. But we go in and love people where they are at and help with the issues like lack of food, social issues, education, and etc.

If you have anytime to read I really suggest this book!   

What if NY didn't have clean water??

Brad Ruggles has a blog that I read and he had this post up a couple of days ago. I thought it was worth sharing!

Blog From Brad Ruggles
I shared a few weeks ago about an endeavor I’m participating in along with 30 other bloggers to raise $30k for clean water in the Central African Republic. That challenge is still going strong and the need is still very much there.
With all the “important” stories dominating the news like which rehab clinic Lindsay Lohan is in this week, we sometimes forget that there are 42,000 people dying every week (90% of whom are children) from unclean water and lack of sanitation, But of course those numbers are just too much to comprehend. They just don’t hit home for many of us because we are so far removed from the problem. So let’s bring it a little closer to home. Imagine if New York City’s taps went dry…what would we do? In this great video from Charity:Water, Jennifer Connelly walks to Central Park to get dirty water for her family as millions of mothers in Africa do every day.

Jennifer Connelly in charity: water Public Service Announcement from charity: water on Vimeo.


Please take a minute today to donate something…anything…to help bring clean water to people who need it. 100% of the money you give goes towards water projects – none of it goes to advertising or organization expenses (private donors take care of all overhead)! A $20 donation provides 1 person clean water for 20 years – just stop and think about what that means! When was the last time you spent $20 and got that kind of return on your investment? Like you, I often think of the many needs I have or the bills I have to pay that would prevent me from giving. And yet, if it were my family that was without clean water, is there anything I wouldn’t do to remedy the situation?

When??

Many times in life we are simply not real and we have a difficult time looking past our own needs and desires. Several years back I went on a mission trip to Mexico. While we were there we came in contact with this little boy. He was around 12 and we found out that he lived in a park by himself. It was awesome to watch this little boy while we worked at this church. Our youth group built a relationship with him and it was awesome to see. However with some adults he was simply in the way and would complain about him. I was amazed that teenagers were so accepting of this kid, but shocked that adults would simply rather him be gone. It wasn't every adult but a small group who continued to complain. I watched a group of teenagers get upset because of how this little boy was being treated.

Our last day we went to this park to have some fun. I remember the kids asked if they could bring this little boy and they were told no. When we were gone he went in and took all of our food and cash that we had left there in what we though was a safe place. When the adults found out they threw a fit and kicked this little boy out and shut the gates. I was upset, but yet I didn't say anything. At that point I saw a group of teenage boys cry and become angry because of how this kid was treated. In all reality we are not sure if he did it or not. But at the same time we were there to minister and that group of teens understood that. When the gate was shut you heard the little boys say "you are like all other American's. The group of teens went to that boy and one understood just enough Spanish to communicate with the boy. They spoke about God's love and grace.

So I believe there comes a point to where we need to take one for the team. Do I believe stealing is right? Well no! But at the same time this is all this boy knew. But what scares me the most is wondering if he knew who Jesus was.

Galatians 6^:12-18 Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. ¹³Not even those who are circumcised obey the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your flesh. ¹⁴May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. ¹⁵Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation. ¹⁶Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule, even to the Israel of God.
 ¹⁷Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.
 ¹⁸The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen

What I saw that day was a group of people taking a stand for what is right. So when do we lay it all out on the table? When someone who is not in the family is being hurt by our actions. In all reality he wasn't stealing from us at all...it was from God. Do I believe we should confront people with this behavior? Yes! But with love. We are so worried about what world sees and not what God sees. It seems like we have a cure or an answer for behavior that people have but yet we simply choose not to love. I never have seen Christ upset with those who were the outsiders. But I read multiple times where he is upset at those who simply no better and then continue to hurt the kingdom.

So I am saying this, we must be careful at how we handle things. Youth ministry has been able to teach me allot on this. When I have a kid who comes to church high, I want to communicate to him this....you are more then welcome to come here anytime, but I want to sit and tell you about someone who is better then that drug you are on. I had a student who could not figure out why his teach didn't send him to the office when he was in the classroom high. You see one of my students turned that kid in, this is before he even came to church. He was busted, but that teacher wanted to pray for him because he knew Christ was he was missing. That young man has been clean for seven months and started coming to church. The kid who turned him in told him at church one day. After being told the young man looked at him and said "thank you for loving me."  His mother does a drug test every two weeks. I am not sure if he knows who the lord is, but he is closer and closer.

The question is When?? It is simple when you know for sure God tells you when! My prayer is that we would seek God first before trying to fix things! That young man I couldn't fix, but at the same time when someone is being hurt by the church we must take a stand for what is right. Both should always be done out of pure love for Christ and his children.    

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The Cross of Hope

I fell asleep at 10:00PM while watching a movie and woke up at 1:00 and I have not been able to go to sleep. So I started working on some stuff I needed to get done. I then started reading some scripture and for whatever reason this once stuck out to me.

Acts 22:23 This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.

This is a picture Leslie took while we were in New York over spring break. This is the cross that was at the World Trade Center after September 11, 2001. This is one of my favorite pictures because I believe is so awesome that the cross is what give us all hope. I remember walking through the streets near the twin tours just thinking how those people felt that day. Then you think back a couple thousand years ago and think about the cross. We all know the story, but at times forget how ugly and nasty it was. The cross was for those what had done wrong and on that cross hung a man who was sinless. He did that to bring salvation and hope to people like you and I. On September 11 was a dark day but it is awesome how God through his all knowing left a cross made of steal to bring hope. May we always remember who we serve and who brought hope to a world that was in need of a Savior 

Dear God

Dear God,

I lay here asking you am I the real deal? I mean I can read your scripture and I have the ability to share my faith, love, and compassion. My question for you is this just a cover up and am I truly your disciple? Do I do this for approval of people or out of worship for you. I read in your scripture that I am told to bear my cross and follow you. You tell me to hate my mother, father, sister, brother, future wife, and even my own life. Those are all good things, but you go on to say that you are better. My fear God is that I simply play this game with you and it kills me to think that I would do this when you sent your son to the cross to pay for my sins.

God please help me not to just make this a routine in my life. I am amazed at what you have taught me already, but at times I feel that I know what you want me to do but yet not act upon your word. The hardest part is that I have done this in silence not saying a word to people. How foolish and arrogant can I be, to think I could fool you, a God that knows all. To think my pride is more important then your will and that I can simply tell you what needs to happen and believe that it is okay. When I read your scripture I read that I honestly do not measure up to what you have called to be a true disciple of you. As I wrestle wit you on this I have to simply ask....would I truly bear my cross for the love that I have for your son. It is because of that cross I can write and say that I have been forgiving. It is because of that forgiveness and love that I have from you that I should become overwhelmed with your glory.

God please help me to make you a priority and not just the good things in my life. God I love my youth, church, job and most of all relationships. I read your scripture where you tell me to love you and people. I use to say you can't love people with out loving you first. What a lie, because many times I love people over you. I love other people and their culture and I will spend time trying to understand how they live. But then with the same tongue I speak love with, I speak words against the rich man. Your scripture tells me that the the poor man is blessed and the rich man has a difficult time really getting to know you. So God please help me really see you for who you are!

God also please rescue me from people. I like to put on an act that I really don't care what people think. The truth is I care more about what people think then I care about what you think. In all reality I will never have to answer to people at the end of my life. There will be a day when I meet you and my prayer is that you say "well done good and faithful servant." You will not have a check list of all the good things I did or a list of people's lives I touched. I know that is important to you, but what I should fear more is that am I truly following your will.

Thank you for your forgiveness and love for my soul. Help me love you the way you love me.

Nick

Broken but Beautiful

 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

It's weird but I have started finding a joy at driving around and taking pictures of just random things. In-fact this weekend Leslie and I have plans to take one of our youth girls and her boyfriend driving around taking pictures. My favorite place to go is on grape street by the wrecking yard. I find it to be beautiful out there. It is old, but it give you such an awesome view on who God his. he takes us who are broken and and he find beauty in it. He allows that to shine to not only him but the world that is filled with brokenness. As I write this I am listening to Hillsong "The Desert Song" and there is a lyric that says "And this is my prayer in the fire In weakness or trial or pain There is a faith proved Of more worth than gold o refine me Lord through the flames" 
My prayer is that God continues to give me that gift of seeing the beauty in what looks beaten up and hopeless.  

People have been asking why I have been talking about it so much here lately. I believe it is because I knew but didn't live it. God taking me through a time again to where everything went wrong was away for him to show me what I need to do. I can remember losing my licenses before boarding a plane going to New York. I wasn't able to get on the plane for two days! I was stuck in Dallas and my aunt coming to get me was a time to where I felt stupid and to be honest with you almost everyone made me feel that way. The jokes were not funny and people making it sound like I was the most irresponsible person didn't help. It was my aunt taking this moment and making it awesome. 

Not one single time did she make a comment or a joke about it, she simply helped. I remember my uncle making a comment and her getting upset at him. It seemed hopeless for about three or four hours as I camped out at her house. My bags on the plane no clothes except what was on my back. She simply took the moment and made it into a time I will never forget. We just had some fun and enjoyed. Now part of that is because my aunt is as bad as I am...infact a cousin left this on my facebook when I made a post about losing my keys for about 45 minutes.....Hahaha! It didn't work for Aunt DeeDee. She loses her keys, phone, camera, etc. on a daily basis. :) 

I believe we need to spend more time showing the world the screwed up side of you and that God's grace and mercy is what allows to function. Because when we are weak he is strong, why do we struggle to show that to a world that is in the same boat?? I am not saying that I don't need to work on my losing things, because I do. To be honest with you though in some ways that is what makes me who I am. I laughed so hard when a kid at the Boys and Girl's club said..."Mr. Nick we know that God exist because you lose everything and never worry about it and find it." It's true and I have to admit and rely on other people to help me. On the cruise I my passport long enough to get on the boat and it went right back to someone else. I loved going to Nashville with my aunt and uncle. My uncle has everything together and never loses things. My aunt couldn't find her license for a bit. Found it and then later on lost her boarding pass and then found it. I was there laughing because that was so me! My uncle's comments were funny and at the same time loving. He loved her even though she had a weakness that drives him crazy!

Spend some time finding the beauty in the struggle! He is stronger and we are simply his children that he loves!

NO!

So this week we were told to blog on saying NO! It's amazing because I believe there are so many things to say yes to. I live in in a city that has a Bible Study daily. So there are times I find is difficult to say no, so I must admit this is a bit difficult for me. I first think it really comes down to your heart and passion. I believe it is also what you are about and what you believe. This might be wrong but I say no to allot of Bible Studies. I receive most of my food through doing what I am doing now. I simply read a little, listen to some worship music, and spend some time pondering. Our staff meeting I am with a group of people, and to be honest my favorite is Iron (even though my attendance has be low) I love that group of people. After that I am kind of done with it. Man that sounds bad, but I guess you have to understand I listen to 15 podcast in a week from all different places. Some well known others not. But I am just not into sitting and talking about something, I want to take action. That drive can be bad at times because I can start saying yes to all these projects. So there is what I do.

A. I spend a week or so praying and asking God what it is I need to do.
B. Noting can conflict with my church youth group. Wednesdays and Sundays I know I am with them, period. Just today we were having some scheduling conflicts on Wednesday's and I had to say I can not work past 6:00PM. My boss was awesome when he said "I understand that is your calling and we knew that going in. You have to understand I started this job with the understanding that I would need time off to do stuff I thought we were called to do.
C. I Follow my convictions...I have written about it before but when I said no to programs and the norms in youth, it changed everything. Another point is that I have been asked to work with a support group for students who have experienced a loss. It's a great program and I see God doing awesome things in it, but my conviction was to work with IRC.  
D. I TAKE TIME OFF! I never use to take anytime off. This past summer was awesome because I took allot of time off. It was awesome because I didn't feel bad for it and loved it. My Saturday's for the most part are free. I will do some stuff because I enjoy it. I will schedule a service project on a Saturday, because those are fun to me. I might do a guys night out with our youth kids, because they're like family. But I take that time to really enjoy life.
E. I block off time and my get away has to be where I can put my phone away. I went on a cruise and my favorite part. Not a single text answered for six days, email not checked, no blogging, no facebook. It was awesome, in fact I loved it so much I can already tell you when I am going to be gone because a group of us booked another cruise for May 23-31. It's awesome because it's a year in advance, which means it is cheaper. Right before the summer program at work (which is the hardest JOB) and three weeks before camp. I am off that week from work anyways! I love doing those things with people who are close to me. That time is blocked off for me because I like to go and see new things.
F. Enjoy life! I believe if you spend all of your time trying to get ahead in this life and become something your not called to do, then you are going to hate life. But when you simply live your life and spend it trying to find God in everything you see how beautiful life is here. I believe I got that from my aunt, she bought a sleep-master bed. She changes the setting everynight because she doesn't want to be an old woman that can't sleep in other beds. In-fact she told my uncle she would drive a beat up car before she said no to traveling the world. They take mission trips and vacations all the time.

So here is what I got, you can take it or leave it. Stop taking yourself so seriously and simply do life together and enjoy your time here. We all have those things we hate to do, but we have to do so. This is kind of funny, I hate waking up early on Sunday mornings. But I am blessed when I get there, it's just a struggle to role out of bed. I like to stay up late, so going to be early on a Saturday night is not fun to me. So dont say no to everything  that is a drag or struggle. But understand what is important in life and where you are at.

Confession Time

I must make a confession I believe for the last ten months I have been saying No to God on something I know for a fact he want's me to do and see for myself. I have had this deep conviction that I am to go overseas for a mission trip to do something. I must say this scares me because I am terrified to do so. Not because I am afraid of dying, but because God is going to show me something that is going to radically change me. My fear is that this in Luke is going to come alive....

A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. ³¹A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. ³²So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. ³⁴He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵The next day he took out two silver coins^[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'
 ³⁶"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"
 ³⁷The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
      Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."

I feel so dumb for even have this feeling inside of me that is Fear. God taking my heart and changing it shouldn't be scary, but it is. The place I believe is the Philippines. I recently started sponsoring a young man from there with Compassion International. I must admit it is the first time. For whatever reason God had kept directing my heart back to the Philippines to sponsor an older child that is in his teens. I couldn't help the conviction that came across me. This is not the first time that I have had this, in fact it is once a week to where God just breaks me and is telling me to take this step. I am not sure if this even makes any sense to anyone, but I feel I need to do something. Through this whole post I have hit the backspace button because I can't find the words to explain how I feel! But I know I need to act....Lord Help me! 

His Blood and The Cross

The last year I have been come to the point in believing that we make the Gospel of Jesus Christ more complicated then it really has to be. I also think that because we have such a difficult time of understanding it, we make it confusing for others. I would love to say I am not that person, but I would be a liar. To believe that Christ paid it all on the cross is hard to believe and that all of our good works is simply out of the love with have for Christ. I fear that at times that we simply do good things out of obligation and not true love for the father. For the past couple of weeks I have been wrestling with that and looking for some answers. We are called to serve, YES! My heart and spiritual gift is evangelism, which is why I am so thankful that Jeff's is discipleship. You place me in a church all day or with teaching Christian's I will become frustrated and grow bitter for whatever reason. I love to be with Christians who are with people who have not yet found the love of Jesus. That is what makes the Mission a good fit for me. But if I am only doing this because it is the "right thing" then what good is it?

I am walking through the book of John with a group of youth at my church. I was reading this in John 3:19 Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. ²¹But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God...

Some might say that my faith is not big enough, but I believe we will never see an end to world hunger. Does that mean I sit and do nothing, NO! We will always have murders, does that mean our laws are pointless...NO! You see we live in a broken world that was made perfect in the beginning. Because of that fall we will always have darkness in this world. When we really start to show people the truth and do our good deeds out of the love we have for Christ, that is when the light shines in a dark world. When we allow our light to shine in just one persons life, we start to see God do awesome things in he/she. To believe we can salve the worlds problems is arrogant and simply not our jobs. But to help pull individuals out of darkness and into the light of Jesus Christ, now that is 100% possible.

So my prayer is that I fall deeply in love with him and I make that light known to those around me. Because of the love I have for Christ it makes my heart break for those who are broken. When you look to the cross you see the blood of Christ and his body that was broken for my soul and men and women all around the world. That is why I 100% support missions and believe we could do a better job at supporting those who stand in the gap for Christ. When I read stories about lives being Changed, it does something to me. This was a post of Lecrae's website....

Sudan has been obliterated by war for so long, resulting in over two million casualties. They have only known roughly 15 years of peace since 1956, and they are currently operating under a peace agreement that will be up for renewal next year.  At the time of voting, the Sudanese will decide whether they want to remain one country or be split in two.  I believe it is of critical importance for people to see that the Gospel impacts every area of culture.  I want to give them hope in Christ.  So, I won't see the iTunes charts on release day.  I won't know what Billboard, fans and critics have to say about it. I'll be consumed with the Master and His work.
If you plan on buying my project, thank you. But I want to ask you to go a step further.
With thousands of casualties in Sudan and the everyday reality that over a billion people live off less than a dollar a day, I ask you: can you live off a dollar less for a day?

To simply reach out to people because you understand and have a deep love for God and the Gospel is what will change the world one soul at a time. That is the power of Jesus Christ. We live in a dark world but he came to bring light to those who believe in his name and power! 
   

To Serve

There have been many times in my life I have seen a need and I didn't do anything to fulfill it. Then there have been other times in my life to where I have found away to fulfill it and I was able to see God work in away like never before. Before I go on, I must admit the hardest part of me being a pastor is doing something for someone in my group because I fill called and feeling bad because I can do it for anyone. I am better with that struggle but it is something that bothers me. It is only September and I am already attending meetings for our summer camp. Each year I pray about who is the one I am to sponsor. I remember this past year I kept praying and never had a clear answer. I was worried because right around the summer time I am battling payments from students, fund-raising, and parents. It's the favorite part of my job but most people do not understand the time that goes into this project. So my fear was that I was just frustrated and that wasn't allowing God to direct me. The weeks continued and I still didn't have anything.

Wednesday before camp a student showed up...this was a Wednesday that I wasn't even going to have youth group. But, students kept bugging me about bowling so I gave in and we all went to primetime. This student didn't have a clue he just showed up. At that point I heard God say "he is the one." For whatever reason my heart started breaking for him..I have know this young man for three years. So I pulled him aside and said "I believe God want's me to take you to camp." At that point he looked at me and a tear came out of his eye. I will never forget it he looked at me and went on to tell me this mess that he was in and that he was put on probation. Long story we got on the phone with his mother and then the next day I was on the phone with his probation officer that was one of my friends. I remember the probation officer saying "Nick, only you would do something like this, he has to be in your room and I am writing his pass right now"

While at camp he started to have this attitude with me, which surprised me because he is always good for me. I was becoming frustrated and I was about to say something and it was God's voice saying "Shut-up and serve him." I knew he was a kid who hugged all the time and loved a pat on the back. By day two I felt he was out of control and I had people coming to me...I was to the point of calling his mother to have him picked up. Then is worship Tim Palmer said God told him not to preach that was going to be in the way and God wanted to work. It was nothing but worship for an hour and as we left I was doing my youth pastor duty of getting my group to where they needed to be. He came up and placed his arm on me, I thought nothing of it because he does that all the time. He had sun glasses on, but I was thinking he just thought he was cool. Then the next thing I know his face is in my arms, saying "Nick I need God.'

That night he asked Christ to come in his heart as I write this I tear up a little. Because it was a couple of years of serving this young man. I started thinking to myself what would have happened if I was to become frustrated and get on to him. I don't know, but I what I do know is that I was able to witness something awesome. I would love to say he has always been in church, the Truth is he hasn't. To this day I still make it a point to call him and to encourage him. I pray daily for him and I believe that God has called me to not only to be a pastor to him, but a servant. Not to brag about what I have done, but the Glory of God!

The World

The picture to the left is one I took while in the Bahama's. The picture is a lady catching putting fish she catches with her hands in a bag. It's amazing to me how many of us see The Bahama's as paradise. I understand the beauty in it and I was amazed with how friendly people were there. In-fact we took a cab from the boat to a beach and a little resort on the other side of the island. Five dollars there and five dollars back. The lady who took us waited for us and when she noticed we were a little late she came looking for all of the people she brought. I remember thinking the whole time I could live this way. I believe in dreams and I believe God has called us to live in different places and different life styles. I started thinking about how awesome it would be if we all would take a piece of this lifestyle back and applied it to our communities.

On the flip-slide I noticed the heartache that is also with in that island. These people do not have to worry about where there next meal will come from, because they fish for it. While I was there I ran into a group of kids. They were fishing with a spear and I was amazed with their skill and ability. They asked if I was a "vistor" and I said yes..they started talking to me as the others kept throwing them fish. The one I was speaking to was named "Alberto.." and one his back was "God's Child." He started telling me how us is moving to the states to get an education. He was going on and on how God the us is. I was agreeing with him, but told him that there is no way we all could survive like him.  I started seeing that this young man had the same dreams as the students I had back in the states. Later in my conversation I learned that he was a kid taking care of his brothers. He was 17 and took "The School Boat" to a different island to go to school.

This world is so much more then what we can see or imagine. But as much as I loved the Bahamas and my home country, this is not my home. I am only here for a short time and then my home is in heaven. Heaven a place to where nothing matters because I worship a Holy God. I also see there is still work to be done here on earth. Taking what is broken and showing the world it's beauty. 




     

Hebrew 1

Read Hebrews 1

By his Son, God created the world in the beginning, and it will all belong to the Son at the end. This Son perfectly mirrors God, and is stamped with God's nature. He holds everything together by what he says—powerful words!(The MSG)

On Sunday I was asked a question for one of our students...it's the famous question and by far the most difficult one to explain..."who made God?" I read this passage in Hebrews 1 it just amazes me how we serve a God that had to beginning and will have no ending. This is a God that is eternity and because of his son on the cross we are able to be a part of his glory through the salvation we find in Jesus Christ. To believe that it is Christ on the cross that hold everything together is something that makes me speechless. You can't explain it, you simply must have faith in it.

^3-6After he finished the sacrifice for sins, the Son took his honored place high in the heavens right alongside God, far higher than any angel in rank and rule. Did God ever say to an angel, "You're my Son; today I celebrate you" or "I'm his Father, he's my Son"? When he presents his honored Son to the world, he says, "All angels must worship him." (The MSG)

Worship has always been a funny thing to me in Churches in Texas. I believe many times we forget what worship is and how God has called us to be worshipers and not simply act off of just emotions. I never really understood when people walked out and said "Man, God really showed up today." think about it, how stupid is that? If we truly believe in a living God, then we must understand he is always present. Some how we place God in this box and we feel we must invite him in when in all reality we just need to step out of the picture. I also believe that worship is more then just music and actions, it's simply giving the glory to God and acknowledging that he is Holy.

⁷Regarding angels he says,

   The messengers are winds,
      the servants are tongues of fire.
^8-9But he says to the Son,
   You're God, and on the throne for good;
      your rule makes everything right.
   You love it when things are right;
      you hate it when things are wrong.
   That is why God, your God,
      poured fragrant oil on your head,
   Marking you out as king,
      far above your dear companions.
^10-12And again to the Son,
   You, Master, started it all, laid earth's foundations,
      then crafted the stars in the sky.
   Earth and sky will wear out, but not you;
      they become threadbare like an old coat;
   You'll fold them up like a worn-out cloak,
      and lay them away on the shelf.
   But you'll stay the same, year after year;
      you'll never fade, you'll never wear out.
¹³And did he ever say anything like this to an angel?
   Sit alongside me here on my throne
   Until I make your enemies a stool for your feet.
 ¹⁴Isn't it obvious that all angels are sent to help out with those lined up to receive salvation?(The Msg)

I was shocked when I asked my youth group on Sunday "how many of you believe you have to be good to get to heaven?" Oh, my! Every hand went up in that room. I was thinking to myself "what have I been teaching?" So for the next several weeks we are simply going to focus on the cross and true salvation. That Christ came so that we might have life after our earthly death. Their is nothing we can do to earn that, all the good in the world makes no difference and that we serve a God who sent his son that take care of all of our mistakes. So the good we do is simply out of the love of the father that we have!

My prayer is that we truly open our eyes to his Salvation!

Life after Nick

It's hard to believe I am four years from out living my earthly father. I remember at the age of 15 just before my 16 Birthday hearing the news that my father would pass. Many people have heard me talk about it being the first time I had ever said a "real prayer" and it was "God if it is his time, then I can take it and I am ready." Twelve hours later he was dead and I was more confused then ever before. I became bitter, angry, and at one point believed that there was never a God and were were just here and we died. I really didn't have anyone to sit down and explain God's grace and Mercy. I was always told the moral side of God, but never did I hear about the cross other then he died for our sins. I was confused and in a really bad spot, so bad I was ready to end it all. I had left Texas to stay a few months in Tenn. while I was there I was introduced to all different things to include drugs. Four months living in a house with it I never took a drug and then out of know where I heard a voice telling me that it was time to get it together.

This is why I have such a great faith in that God called me before I called on him. God knew what I was going to face and I believe with all of my heart that their was not a soul in the world that could have convinced me differently. My mother remarried and was involved in a bad relationship, someone who could preach law to me but never did he show me the cross. A youth pastor, an aunt, and a uncle that took me and pointed me towards the cross. I believe part of it was prayer and the other part was unconditional love. Through High School I was able to see God's love for me as a person and by my 20th Birthday I accepted him and what he wanted for my life.

The beautiful part of this story is that I believe mad dad is in heaven because one day my aunt at dinner told me of a time they had a talk. My whole family is now in church and God has just been faithful and awesome. I believe with 100% of my heart this is because of the death of my father and him using that to show all of us his grace and mercy. So the question is what lives after me??

Matthew 28:16-20

¹⁸Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in^[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

 I have a strong desire to be mission minded. It is how I am wired and how I believe I am designed from the grace of God. At the Boys and Girls Club I have elementary kids ask we all the time why I have to leave early on Wednesday and I explain Church. Most of my kids are not in a church so I start sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ one on one in my office. I have an open door policy to where I will be willing to pray or talk to any of them. It's easy for me and I love it.

I believe the main way I I am creating something to live after me is with in our youth ministry. In December will be seven years I have been serving at The Mission. I have done many stupid things and a few smart things. I have had many ideas and most didn't work. I spend more time trying to be the best and not seeking God and his will. Last year is when I said we are finished and it's time to truly seek God and see what he wants. My pastor came up with the name Paradox for our student ministry name, I fell in love with it. I believed God was calling us to do something different outside the norm for Abilene, Texas.

The vision of Paradox Student Ministries is to reach out to students, to teach them the importance of a personal relationship with God, to disciple and provide community for student to become mature believers, and to train and equip them to reach their generation for Christ.

The reason I believe this will last past and beyond me is for a couple of reasons  I believe with all of my heart is that we all need a billion chances and we can not write someone off because it is not done our way. On my team we have several different personalities, ages, and educational levels. If anyone believes that a teenager is going to connect with one person, they are crazy. I am really Good with seekers who are not yet believers but have an interest. I put them in groups with people who I know will connect well with them. I tell God to not give us to many students we can not handle, so my prayer is that we stay as small as need be to make sure each students has the shot. Then what takes place is that when a student has had the chance to see who Christ is they start talking to friends. This might be wrong to people, but I tell our students all the time...do not bring someone to church so you can look cool. But pray and start asking God to give you the chance to speak with them. It seems weird but our students do that. We are training and bringing them up to be people that will seek God's heart and have a heart that breaks for those who do not know Christ. The best part is when it is their family. This summer three of our students introduced their families to Christ because we simply said pray and love on them.

I believe with everything in me I am called with this group of students and it is in the form of youth ministry. I have tried to run and God has a way of saying NO! But If I was to die tonight My prayer is that my students would be taken care of because they would come together. Many people said "It's the team that holds the group together" which means the adults. Hear me I am very thankful for my adult leaders, but I believe it is God working in the students that holds this whole thing together. I believe that if their life is being transformed by the Gospel of Christ and we are people who will allow that to take place, we will see generation after generation impacted by that. I use students to reach other students for the purpose of them seeing that God does work. I believe we people called to be right in the middle of the mess that we have. Our youth ministry is a wreck when you sit down and look at it. We have a young man that is an atheist right now, but believes he might be wrong. But he keeps on coming and we keep saying the same thing.

My family and life was a mess, but God loved me enough to show me that he loved me through that mess. I believe the impact that people had on my life will live on and will change others. I just had a student get mad at his football coach and leave in the middle of the game on a Thursday. The reason is because he didn't get to play. I loved looking at him after he dropped a few cuss words an saying to him "You know what I believe that God has bigger plans for you and this is small compared to all he has for your life and I love you" I knew he wasn't that upset because he didn't get to play, but it was because his mother and him have had some issues and he wanted to prove he could do it while she was sitting in the stands. It's a mess and I believe it's my calling.

I feel like I am rambling, because I am....but my last example of this is just a few days ago with another students. They have been posting this stupid "if you like my status I will tell you something I like about you. I hit the like button and he came back with this....

i like: how we have the same passion for helping the less fortunate
dislike: how we never go to wingstop anymore!
confession: i think your as organized as a fifth grade boy! lol

That was cool to me for three reasons. He knew my passion, he knew what I enjoy, and he knows my failure. When I read that I was touched, because I knew we had a relationship. he is a kid that goes with me to meetings about IRC and is joining with me. I did the same thing to another kid who I don't know that well and this is what he said...."i like how funny you are!" It was still cool, but my goal is to not just be the funny guy. He has only been in youth group a couple of times and I tend to be a bit sarcastic and truthful with kids. 

My prayer is that God would allow all of this that is taken place to live on past and beyond me. I pray that God will show his mercy and grace to all of us.