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| so its been a while longer than i thought. life is full of activity, and i seem to have forgotten to write for a while. its spring break now though so i actually have a freedom of mind and a desire to enjoy the world that God created. i'm not feeling anything really deep coming to mind or heart right now. life has been turning upside down as God is changing my view of the world and others that live within it, but i cannot begin to write about all that is going on in my mind.
God has been showing me that we focus on certain things about serving Him that He never intended to be the main focus. in this book that i'm reading, it says that the Bible references justice to the poor and the oppressed over a thousand times while referencing sexual sin ninety times. obviously if something is mention ninety times in Scripture it is an important issue, but if we focus on it more than what is mentioned over a thousand times there's a problem.
i'm not saying that i'm the poster child for dealing with people who are oppressed by the world or stuck in patterns that leave them poor. i can't say that i'm doing great things to feed the hungry or cloth the naked. i can say that my heart is loosing interest in stockpiling crap for myself while that is going on though. i was given a 30 dollar gift card to the mall last week. when i went to spend it, it took me several hours to get myself to spend it. as soon as i did, i could feel the old selfish person coming back. more and more i saw the pants and witty shirts as something i needed. who cares if i don't have a green shirt in my wardrobe!? is it wrong to want one? i don't know.
all i know is that its growing harder for me to turn my head from the twisted corrupt mindset that we all have here in America and in the 'developed' nations. we find it smart business practices to use cheap labor from foreign countries where people are mistreated and underpaid to make the clothes that we over price and market to people who could use their money to bring clothes to the naked, food to the hungry, or medicine to the sick.
if we are to be the image of God to people around us, we need to think and act like God does. sure God hates sexual sin. it breaks His heart to see us caught up in the bondage of any addiction and self destructive behavior. He hates the way that it hinders our relationship with Him. but we need to see a greater issue. we have a plank in our eye and we need to find a way to get it out so that we can get the speck out of our brothers eye. we are doing him no service by trying to get it out while we can't really see as God sees when we have this board in our eye.
may we seek to find how we can be more like Jesus everyday.
in pursuit of Christ,
Brett
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| i'm not late...everyone else was just early!
life's been busy, but i must admit it has been very good recently. i've been keeping up for the most part with all of my reading for school. by doing that helps me have time to actually enjoy it and apply it rather than just read it for the grade on a test.
this has somewhat become my soap box so i guess i'll keep it going. has anyone else gotten tired of trying to find something new and fun to do? i feel like king solomon when he said that there is nothing new under the sun. i've obviously not experienced all that there is in the world, but i've experienced enough to know that it won't make me feel more complete or happy.
i thought for a long time that finding the right girl would make my life feel right. praise God i let that go over christmas break. i once thought that achieving some athletic feat would make me feel more complete or happy. i once thought that reaching a dream in the music industry would make me feel like i was accomplishing something. what i've come to realize is that all of that is a load of an unmentionable substance.
our world tells us to fight, live, work, strive, etc. to make our lives complete. this or that product will do it. being with this or that person will do it. living in this or that place will do it, etc. i've gotten to where i despise that thinking. i don't think that it's wrong to pursue those things or want to just go out and have fun bowling or something; but i've come to realize that none of that will ever satisfy me.
i realized that nothing this side of heaven can truly make us complete. we are created with this intense longing to be with God where everything is right. we want to be where no one's mom is dying of cancer, where no race of people is oppressing another, where people aren't sacrificing their families to achieve prestige, etc. all i can do is set my mind to look forward to that day and do all that i can today help people through this world.
this is not a desperate message from a depressed and dispondent man. it is a man passionate about our God. i've spent the last several years doing the "right thing" just because i knew it was the right thing to do. praise God it didn't take me falling into the deepest depths of the world before realizing that it was worthless and hollow before realizing that this life is not meant for personal satisfaction.
those of you who know me know that i havn't been talking this way for a long while. you know that i'm not just quoting the latest message that i heard. God is changing me, and i believe that He is answering my prayer to kill the desires that i have and give me His own. its been my theme for a while, but i say it again with all of my heart. LOVE GOD AND (for God's sake) LOVE PEOPLE! | | |
| well, i know not many people are reading or responding here. xanga is probably a fading fad, or my many months of "updatedlessness" has turned everyone away, but i will press on for those who happen to fall across this still.
first off, much love to everyone! Classes look like they're gonna be aight this semester. as long as i read a little everyday, nothing will really weigh me down like i usually experience every semester.
i'm getting more involed at the youth group here in waxahachie at the church that i've been attending. the youth pastor, a fellow student, actually asked me to speak next wednesday! God has laid a message on my heart to share with them and with Men of Integrity, and with everyone else that i can come into contact with. the message is that when we hear the phrase, "God knows who you really are!" we as Christians should rejoice, not shutter in shame and disgrace! When receive Christ and He receives us, He places His heart in us and creates a whole new being in us. God sees through all of the sin and crap that we get caught up in and sees who we really are. our lives of devotion and prayer is the process of stripping off the sin and feeding the God-heart inside of us. we aren't seeking to gain God's pleasure or grace through our actions; we are simply seeking to allow God the ability to show through our filth the heart and creation He knows that we are.
I'll save the rest for the pulpit i guess. i don't want to run out of passion or spit before i speak (hehe). besides, my screen is getting filthy with this preaching and hallelujah shoutin' message!
mainly ladies and gentlemen, God loves us and sees the true us. don't be afraid to know that God sees that heart. seek God and ask Him to help strip this crap out of our lives so that we can be who we are.
praise GOD! peace out! God bless!
Brett | | |
| so i'm a few days late! just ask all those folks who resolved to lose 10 lbs after new years how they're doing! hehe. well, i'm back at school planning yet another semester. classes start next week, but student congress and men of integrity officers are already getting everything laid/layed (who cares which one's right!) out. the drive was pleasant on the way here. its good to have those alone times to just stare into nothing and then swerve away from oncoming traffic!
i was able to talk to my first college roommate ever today. we've kept in touch over the last few years (he was a senior when i was a freshman). i realized how blessed i am to have relationships like that. being in college its hard to keep in touch with everyone i've come into contact with on a daily basis, but its a blessing to catch up with a friend whenever a chance is allowed.
i don't have a deeply spiritual lesson that God has dropped on me recently to share, but this little tid-bit on friendship is what's on my mind. God gives us friends to help us in our times of need and rejoice with us in our times of triumph. i heard doug fields say, "go to God and go to other people". he was refering to dealing with temptation. this is so true, but its not only in those times that we should go to friends. we should pray, cry, sing, dance, smile, celebrate, grieve, work, play, etc. together in the sight of God. we can never get to a point that is "good enough" to be "presentable" to other people. i encourage you to try to be who you are with friends so that they can share in your developement and you in theirs. if we all put up like we're doing fine than we're all a bunch of zombies. i think we know what zombies are good for...that's nothing!
well that's about all i've got time to share. i encourage you all to love God and work on loving people. i know its hard, some people are harder to love than others, but that's why God said, "love your enemies;" that way, when you can do that, you're able to love everybody. pick someone you love to hate and start to truly pray and love them. peace out, God bless, good luck!
brett | | |
| ok so i stink at this stuff. i got a facebook account and it has taken all of my precious few internet minutes away. for those who don't know, facebook for all i can tell is a website type internet mumbo-jumbo site that college campuses join where students create a profile of their hobbies, histories, pictures, etc. to share with others. the great thing is that you can click on any of your hobbies, school names, etc. and it hyperlinks you to everyone else at your school or on facebook who is the same. i've connected with so many friends from high school that way. in just 3 years i've lost contanct with almost everyone, but by clicking on my high school name (madison central) and graduating year (03) and it shows me everyone in that group that is on facebook. amazing!
as exciting as all of that is though, its sad to see that few (very few) of my old friends have a shadow of a christian life going right now in college. i know it shouldn't be a huge surprise, but my goodness at the pictures with beer in hand. when i see those pictures they look like they're having so much fun. i almost find myself feeling like i'm missing out. this is only because i've never been in that situation before. all it takes is one phonecall to one of those friends after the beer runs dry and the heads are in the toilets to make me see how hopeless and empty that lifestyle is.
for many in the world there is no one to reach out to when times are hard or stressful or when times are good as far as that goes. in this world, many are surrounded by those who are only looking out for themselves. if someone gets to high they cut 'em down, and if someone gets too low they abandon them altogether. i just overheard my dad (a pastor) counseling a girl who has been cutting herself because she feels so hurt and alone this Christmas! the life she's been forced to live gives her every reason to hurt and angry. i thank God that this Christmas i'm surrounded by a family who actually cares about me even more than themselves. i have friends who call me or email me just to wish me a merry Christmas! most of all i thank God that He sent His son, the reason for Christmas. He is the ultimate example of selfless love that this world unknowingly cries out for.
i don't deserve the life that God has allowed me to live. i don't deserve to have friends (even if they are few) who actually care about me. i definately don't deserve Christ! by all means, i deserve the life that the girl i mentioned has or even more, we deserve death. this Christmas i thank God that we don't get we deserve, and we get what we don't deserve. i pray that God will bless every one of you! may you all pause and see how blessed we are in this life. because even if all we have is our naked abused bodies and the salvation and love from God, we are blessed.
in this coming year, set some goals to be a blessing to others lives. be the friend/son/daughter/etc. that you've always wanted others to be to you. much love to you all who still dare to glance at this site that is the same for so long. my new years resolution is to write once a week. how does that sound? we'll see!
Merry Christmas ( a little belated i know) and Happy New Year!
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