blakeaatd's Xanga

Saturday, February 02, 2008

Sat, 02 Feb 2008 01:26:32 GMT

I'm bringing Xanga back - drop a comment if you're with me!

this really spoke to me

Thu, 14 Jun 2007 01:22:14 GMT

So be content with who you are, and don't put on airs. God's strong hand is on you; he'll promote you at the right time. Live carefree before God; he is most careful with you.

He Gets the Last Word

Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You're not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It's the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith.

The suffering won't last forever. It won't be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ--eternal and glorious plans they are! - will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does.

1 Peter 5:6-11 The Message

scripture

Mon, 11 Jun 2007 00:45:02 GMT

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

1 Peter 5:6-11 NIV

EVERYONE PLEASE READ THIS!!!!!!!!!(another Jeff Deyo devotional)

Mon, 11 Jun 2007 00:43:50 GMT

As the Deer-Spiritual Hunger

Starving for God ~ Psalm 42:1-2

I’ll never forget the summer of 1993. Our family was on vacation on beautiful
Lake Powell in sun-beat Utah. We were just docking our houseboat on a sandy
beach below the canyon cliffs when we saw something I will never forget. Over
the rocks toward the beach staggered a scrawny, malnourished deer. With each
determined step, I could see the bones beneath his skin churn and strain to
maintain balance. He marched slowly, but steadily toward the water, seemingly
unswerving in his direction, possibly believing the water to be his only hope for
survival. As he reached the waters edge, his chest quivered as he quenched his
deep thirst. Then unexpectedly, we all grew silent as he glanced nervously at us
and in desperation dropped to his knees with complete abandon to refresh his
weary body.

The image of that deer on his knees will remain in my mind forever, as if it
happened in slow motion. Nothing would keep him from reaching the
refreshment he so desperately needed; not the rocks or rough terrain, not the
fear of those who looked on, and not even his own exhaustion. Suddenly I had a
brand new understanding of Psalm 42:1. “As the deer pants for streams of
water, so I long for You, oh God.”

I don’t know about you, but I have a deep desire to know God more, to get
beyond just memorizing Bible verses to where I actually experience the
nourishment of God and His Word in my life every day. At times, in reference to
physical hunger, we may jokingly say that we are “starving,” but most of us have
never been so hungry or thirsty that we were actually on the verge of death. Our
basic needs have always been met. The only things we worry about are things
we want or think we need. At the same time, most of us are very much spiritually
malnourished. We walk around looking good on the outside and maybe even
feeling carefree on the inside, but when all is said and done our spirit man is
nothing more than skin and bones.

Our need for God is really a lot like our need for food. We wouldn’t think of going
more than a few hours without having a meal or a snack, yet we’ll go days,
months or even years without spending real, intimate time alone with God.
Somehow we fool ourselves into believing that we can survive on what remains
of last year’s winter retreat or that couples’ seminar or even the passion we had
for God when we were little. A lot of us seem content to live from Sunday to
Sunday, as if one meal a week is enough.

God’s plan has always been for us to be completely and utterly satisfied in
knowing Him and loving His people. Then and only then can we begin to really
enjoy the other gifts He’s given us. Maybe you’ve heard evangelists or
preachers tell stories of how they’ve shared Jesus with people on airplanes or in
public places and wished you could do that. Or maybe you’ve wondered if Jesus
was really speaking to us along with the disciples in Matthew 10 when he tells
them to go out healing the sick, raising the dead and giving themselves freely to
everyone. There is only one place to find the answers. Seek Him, and you will
find Him if you seek him with all your heart.

Some of us might not recognize our state of spiritual starvation because we are
so used to satisfying our flesh with temporary things that we don’t even notice to
depravity of our spirits. We go from one thing to another, and as long as we can
find or participate in the latest or newest thing, we’re good to go. As long as
we’re up on the latest trends or have the newest cell phone or iPod we feel
generally good . . . until late at night just before falling asleep when everything is
quiet . . .but then again so many of us never experience quiet. I’m told that it’s
too difficult to fall asleep without music playing or headphones in place. The
quiet is haunting. It helps us see things the way they really are . . . and
sometimes that is too difficult to face. So we keep the stimuli going and we fill
satisfy our appetite temporarily.

Proverbs 27:7 tells us that honey is tasteless to those who are full. John Bevere
says it’s like eating two huge meals on Thanksgiving. We go to our uncle’s
house for a huge lunch and then move on to our grandma’s house for a dinner
feast. The only thing is that since we’ve already gorged ourselves at lunch the
dinner meal seems much less appetizing . . . even the home made pumpkin pie
isn’t as appealing! This is like us in that we fill ourselves so much with the things
of the world that when it comes to the sweet things of God, we’re not hungry for
them. We’re not as drawn to them. They don’t seem as flavorful.

What we need to do is make some room for God. If we constantly overwhelm
our senses with the things of this world (even some things that are not blatant
sin), then there is no place for God in our lives. We must stop doing some of the
things we do and listening to or watching some of what we hear and see in order
to create some space and stir up a genuine hunger for God. And we must begin
consuming his word if we want to establish a taste for it. We only crave what we
consume, so if you want to develop a hunger for God just start down the path
and your hunger will increase in proportion to how much you seek him . . . more
and more.

There is no doubt that Jesus is coming soon, so if you seem to have lost your
appetite for God, ask Him to renew your hunger and passion for Him and His
Word, and then begin doing whatever it takes – including getting on your knees,
getting in his word and getting into his presence!!

EVERYONE PLEASE READ THIS!!!!!!!!!

Mon, 11 Jun 2007 00:42:28 GMT

Bigger Than We Think
“The Bigness of God”
Jeff Deyo

I started thinking recently about how amazing God must really be. I mean, really. How big do we
imagine he is? How big is big? Is he mighty? Is he majestic? Is he gargantuan? Even so, what do
these words me to us? Seriously, when you think of God, how big do you picture him? I guess, I’m
just the kind of person who wants to know, because, as a worship leader, I understand part of my
responsibility is to help point people to our amazing . . . uh . . . gigantic . . . uh . . . colossal God!!!
And I sit around thinking about ways to do just that. I search the Bible for examples that help me
grasp how real and huge God is, because my flesh constantly tries to fit him into a little box that I can
understand. I find there are many scriptures that help shatter the little box and keep me in touch with
the true bigness of God. They are the ones I like to highlight!
Like Psalm 50. This entire passage really helps me personally understand God better. Here God
dedicates himself to showing us part of himself that he truly desires for us to understand. Through
Asaph, he reveals that he has absolutely no personal NEED of our sacrifices of worship . . . which is
a huge statement. He’s wants us to understand we’ve completely misunderstood the purpose behind
them. He does desire for us to honor him by giving our first and best in worship—but for our sake,
not his! He also communicates that he is not after the physical act of worship as much as the heart
behind it!

So, how big is God? Let’s look. Psalm 50, Verse 12 says, “If I were hungry, I would not mention it to
you, for all the world is mine and everything in it. I don’t need the bulls you sacrifice; I don’t need the
blood of goats. What I want instead is your TRUE thanks to God; I want you to fulfill your vows to the
Most High. Trust me in your times of trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory.”
(emphasis added)

To me there is endless bigness in these words. And this helps me have a clearer picture of who God
is . . . and what his character is like. Here is what I know. God has no need for food. And if by some
chance he did have a need, he wouldn’t find it necessary to tell me. I also know that if he ever did
have a problem, he wouldn’t require my help to solve it, because he knows there is nothing I could do
as a created being to help him, a non-created being, to overcome the difficult situation. I also learn
that the entire world is HIS . . . as well as everything in it. EVERYTHING! He owns it all! And no one
shares this ownership with him. He holds the title to the stars. He owns each individual wave in the
oceans. He claims each leaf on every tree on every continent on the earth. He breathed life into the
first animal and into every single one since. He even owns the earth . . . the sky, the water and even
the land—amazingly, we think we own the property our houses are on, but we don’t—he’s just
lending it to us for a time.

Have you ever uttered these words: “That’s mine!” Well, technically, you can’t say that, because you
and I don’t really own ANYTHING!! Not one thing. My skin isn’t mine. My thumbnail isn’t mine. My
phone isn’t mine. My car isn’t mine . . . even though it’s paid off! Psalm 95:4-5 says, “He OWNS the
depths of the earth, and even the mightiest mountains are his. The sea BELONGS to him, for he
made it. His hands formed the dry land, too.” (emphasis added) WHAT! While you and I squabble
over little things, God is talking about owning mountains and oceans.

I used to live in Colorado, and I visit there often because my parents still live there. My family loves to
go to the Rocky Mountains. There’s nothing like climbing to the top of a 14,000-footer, looking out at
the endless sea of snow-capped, pointy peaks, and breathing in the clear, crisp air (God’s air, that is).
I’ve never tried to count the peaks, but from where I’ve stood, I’m sure I wouldn’t even be counting
1% of all the mountains in the world. But if God were there beside me, he would point to the tall one
over there behind HIS lake and say, “Yeah, I own that one. And the one behind it . . . its mine, too.
And the one beside it . . .” You get the point.

Is it possible that we may have underestimated God?

Psalm 97:3 declares, “Fire goes forth before him and burns up all his foes. His lightning flashes out
across the world. The earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax before him.” Jeremiah
10:14 asserts, “Compared to him, all people are foolish, and have no knowledge at all.” Psalm 33:7
says, “He gave the sea its boundaries and locked the oceans in vast reservoirs.” Isaiah 40 verse 22
tells us that is it God who sits above the circle of the earth, and that all the people below must seem
like grasshoppers to him! In verse 25 God asks, “To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?”
Isaiah continues saying, “Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out
one after another, calling each by its name. And he counts them to see that none are lost or have
strayed away.”

Have you seen the stars recently? No, seriously. Have you gone outside and just stared at them?
There are billions of them within each galaxy and billions of galaxies within the universe! And the
Bible goes on to say that God measures the universe with his fingers. Stretch out your hand. Can
you even measure the diameter of a basketball? I mean, thinking of God in these terms, imagine if
he approached the earth in all his fullness. By the time he got billions of miles away, all we would see
are the pores in his skin!

Maybe we have grossly underestimated God! I know I have. In fact, I think there are times when I
imagine in my ignorance that God is only a little bit bigger than me. A little bit taller. A little bit
smarter – I mean, I know most things, right? Man, we are just grasshoppers. Our lives are just dust.
Every breath is a gift. Every beat of our hearts is allowed only by the BIG mercy of God! Man, in
Psalm 50:22, it even says that God will tear us apart if we ignore him . . . yikes, pretty intense!

No wonder the Bible said the Israelites trembled and quaked when God was coming down from the
mountain to speak to them. Exodus 19:16 records it: “On the morning of the third day, there was a
powerful thunder and lightning storm, and a dense cloud came down upon the mountain. There was
a long, loud blast from the ram’s horn, and all the people trembled. Moses led them out from the
camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. All Mount Sinai was covered with
smoke because the Lord had descended on it in the form of fire. The smoke billowed into the sky like
smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain shook with a violent earthquake.” Can you imagine?
Sounds mind blowing, doesn’t it? Or maybe we’ve seen too many movie special effects to truly be
astounded by something that is REAL and shocking.

So, what now. Well, for starters, we need to greatly increase our reverence, honor and admiration
toward God. We need to repent to him over how much we’ve underestimated him. Yes, repent! He
is greatly pleased when we respond in this way—by humbling ourselves. It might even be good to
tremble a little at his greatness and magnificence!! Its easy to let words like marvelous, wonderful,
splendor, majesty and holiness lose their power, because we’ve used them without really knowing
what we’re saying. Trust me. Its not that our words have lost their meaning, and it’s definitely not
that God’s glory has in any way diminished. It’s either that we have failed to seek him for who he
really is or that we have allowed ourselves to become numb and desensitized to his unequaled
greatness . . . and who we are in comparison!

We should also ask him to help us see him for who he really is . . . as he really is. When Jesus
healed the blind man in Mark 8:22-25 he touched him twice, because the first time he touched him
the man could only see in part . . . “men walking as trees.” After the second touch, the man’s sight
was completely restored. We understand from this that there are different levels of seeing and
understanding, and that asking God for another “touch” is an important thing if our spiritual “knowers”
are to be in full swing!

Spending time with God is, of course, one of the most effective ways for us to increase our capacity
to see him as he truly is. Reading the Word, worshiping him in private and communicating to him in
prayer all contribute greatly to removing different levels of the scales that cover our spiritual eyes.
And while this is true, the opposite is as well—the more time we spend “viewing” ungodly and worldly
things, the greater our disability to see becomes, the more clouded our perspective.

The good news is that in addition to being bigger and more powerful than we think, God is also more
kindhearted than we think. He is more merciful than we thought. His patience extends further than
we ever imagined. His tenderness reaches deeper than we know. His generosity is immeasurable.
His faithfulness is unbounded. He is overflowing with gentleness and exploding with gracefulness.
His friendship is without compromise and his amazing love is truly and absolutely unfailing and neverending!!!
Oh yeah, he’s a big God, and it is impossible to ever, ever overestimate his bigness! Even
if you try, you will absolutely fail! And that’s a good thing! So go for it. Try to overstate his enormity.
Try to over-exaggerate how faithful he is. Try to tell a “fish story” about how wonderful God is. Try to
make him sound bigger than he really is – I bet you can’t!

listen to this song

Sat, 02 Jun 2007 13:34:59 GMT

go to my my space page and listen to "Wondertour" by Cool Hand Luke the link is

www.myspace.com/ministryforlife

Feelings................

Sat, 02 Jun 2007 03:02:36 GMT

Man, I just cannot shake this feeling. Its like not knowing, fear, saddness, and so many other feelings that I can't explain. " God I know that I've royally screwed things up, and sinned. As a matter of fact I've always sinned, its the only thing I can do on my own. Dear Lord Jesus please help in this time of decisions, feelings, things about this situation/ situations that are going unamed on this Xanga post? God please purge me from my sins, I own up to them and lay myself at your feet. God please just help me want you and you alone, no one else God. And Jesus help me make the right decision/ decisons here, the ones that are in tune w/ your very own heart. God thank you for dying for me and paying my sin debt on calvary, thank you for loving me Jesus, for I am the most undeserving of your love. Thank you God!

in Christ name amen!"

this is a tad uncharacteristic of me but......

Tue, 29 May 2007 00:43:16 GMT

Ok if you guys have'nt REALLY listen "The Voice Of Truth" by Casting Crowns you should and listen to their singers testimony about it. I know I'm not a Casting Crowns fan but I heard Mark's testimony last night and challenged me and helped me as I battle alot of the same things as some of you guys know very well.

you might can find his testomony on www.youtube.com

here's some AWESOME scriptures.........

bible verses

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

Matthew 1:21 NIV

__________________

Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.

Acts 13:38,39 KJV

__________________

And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.

Hebrews 9:27,28 NASB

__________________

Love Your Enemies

"You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.'

"But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

"For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

"If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

"Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Matthew 5:43-48 NASB

Monday, May 14, 2007

Mon, 14 May 2007 00:55:15 GMT

Seek the Lord!

God did this so that men would seek him
and perhaps reach out for him and find him,
though he is not far from each one of us.

'For in him we live and move and have our being.'

Acts 17:27,28 NIV

__________________

But without faith it is impossible to please him:
for he that cometh to God must believe that he is,
and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Hebrews 11:6 KJV

__________________

For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel,

"Seek Me, that you may live."

Amos 5:4 NASB

__________________

Thanks be unto God for His wonderful gift:
Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God
is the object of our faith; the only faith
that saves is faith in Him.

in correlation to the last entry

Sun, 29 Apr 2007 22:31:14 GMT

Jeff Deyo

"You Are Good"

Some would say that You cannot be found
And some would say that You are far away
But I know You're the God who lives in me
And I know You will always have my heart.

'Cause you are good
And Your love endures forever
You are good
And Your love endures forever
You are good
And Your love endures forever
You are good, you are good.

Some would say that You cannot be found
And some would say that You are far away
But I know You're the God who lives in me
And I know You will always have my heart.

'Cause you are good
And Your love endures forever
You are good
And Your love endures forever
You are good
And Your love endures forever
You are good, you are good.

You are the only One
You are the One that I desire
You are the only One, my King.

'Cause you are good
And Your love endures forever
You are good
And Your love endures forever
You are good
And Your love endures forever
You are good, you are good.

'Cause you are good
And Your love endures forever
You are good
And Your love endures forever
You are good
And Your love endures forever
You are good, you are good.

You are the only One
You are the One that I desire
You are the only One, my King.

You are the only One
You are the One that I desire
You are the only One, my King.