How Should the "Good News" Be Given?

This is what I sharred this pastt Friday at Group...I'll probably add a little more to since this is a huge topic and needs lots of discussion to make lasting convictions. As I said in the meeting your personal conviction of this area could change the entire world...

1 Peter 3:15-17
15.
but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence ;
16.
and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.
17.
For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.

Well...what is our motivation for giving the Gospel to others? Are we always sure that it is with the best intentions or do we have other motives for telling people a message of love? One thing is for sure though if we needed help form God to achieve salvation then we are most probably(I've been hangin around JJ a lot) are going to need his help in telling other people about it.
As men our hearts can be deceiving, Jeremiah 17:9-"The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick ; Who can understand it?" , we can not give the Gospel if our hearts are sick can we...we need God to work in our hearts to give the Gospel in the right way.
So as the verse in 1 Peter says we must sanctify Christ in our hearts. To sanctify means to set something apart and make it holy for sacred purposes. This is a process not a quick fix, this is a devotion to but Him first in your heart as soon as you get out of bed in the morning. True and meaningful grow takes time and effort, and it also might be painful for a time. This process is Jesus sanctifying our hearts so that in turn we can set him apart in our lives, without him cleansing you from the inside-out you cannot give the Gospel as he intended it.

On a side note, if you have not made a decision for Jesus Christ to be the Savior of your life then I beg you do so now. This will not really make sense if you don't and more importantly you need God's unmeasurable love in your life. If you pray to accept that Jesus paid for your sins and ask him to come into your heart then that will happen. This only takes less than a minute and the choice is yours....

Compare 1 peter with...Col 4:5-6
5.Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders , making the most of the opportunity.
you should6.Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how respond to each person.
...a big problem today in Christian culture is integrity. We say one thing and do another, which makes it hard for people to believe what we say is true. Before we go any further, remember that our God is one of grace and mercy...whatever you have done He forgives not matter what if you come to Him. Do not let the enemy confuse you, if you have believed in JC then you are His "adopted child" and have received His Spirit, he cannot reject Himself can he? (Eph1)
This is paraphrased from Ravi Zacharias-"If I were to take your clothes and rob a store would that be fair? When the police show up and see me in our clothes then go to your house and arrest you is that fair? We say someone wearing your clothes robbing the store and no one else they would say....we wear the cloak of Christ be careful how you live."
To my knowledge no one alive has physically seen Jesus so, when people want a tangible example of someone who is supposed to know him they look to Christians. We are the only example they have, if we don't have good integrity then we are lying to people about Jesus.
When giving the Gospel this issue comes up in being judgmental and angry towards people. On campus we have a group of people who use microphones to preach a message of hate to the campus. This is not the way Jesus wants his love to be told, and on the flip side "I don't need to tell people about God, I live my life as an example so they know I' a Christian," when you get down to it that is like the biggest cope out I've ever heard.
We are supposed to glorify God with our lives and our words. How does God feel when we don't and try to make ourselves look like something we're not?....
Numbers 20:7-13
7.
and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
The Water of Meribah
8.
"Take the rod ; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their beasts drink."
9.
So Moses took the rod from before the LORD, just as He had commanded him;
10.
and Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock. And he said to them, "Listen now, you rebels ; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock ?"
11.
abundantlyThen Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod ; and water came forth, and the congregation and their beasts drank.
12.
in the sightBut the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them."
13.
Those were the waters of Meribah, because the sons of Israel contended with the LORD, and He proved Himself holy among them.

0.

Because Moses tried to make it look like it was him who brought the water he was not allowed to go to the promised land. In what ways are you doing this in your life now?

I will post the rest later

I am the Workmanship of God

Ephesians 2:10 NAS

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

The definition of a workmanship according to Webster: 2: the art or skill of a workman ; also : the quality imparted to a thing in the process of making workmanship>

Like Mikey said, we are all made in the image of God and have value because of that. That cannot be redefined no matter what we do. If God has adopted us as children is there more for us ? There certainly is since we have to Holy Spirit to teach us and now God has direct access to our hearts(if we listen to him and are humble that is). So what is the deal about the verse saying that these works were prepared for us beforehand? Does that mean no matter what I do, I will always be within God's will?

No...of course not, that won't be until we're in Heaven with him. Secondly, what does that tid bit imply for your life? If there are people or circumstances that God has for you, what does that change for how you live your life now? Are you seeking to be the man God needs you to be/wants you to be? As I see it if you have a free will to do as you please whether it is God's best or not, and God has opportunities for you life to take hold of him and experience his best. The question being asked now is if I'm looking out for those opportunities today to find God's best.

You might ask," Well isn't God in control of everything in life and no matter what I do Heaven is still my ultimate destination right?" Yes...that is true but, why do I get the feeling that a justification is coming up for a habit that God would not approve of. I have never heard a statement like this come from person who is not falling in an area of character. A big issue with that question also is man's free will, does it matter what I do in light of God's sovereignty? Well ...I am not a very smart man but, it seems to me that I should changes the things I can and leave the stuff I am ignorant to or helpless to change up to Christ. If God controls all our actions then we are robots...if that were true then we would all be like Jesus in character, since that is not so, I'm willing to bet that we are not like robots. Generally speaking, this argument is brought up when someone is unwilling to let go of some secular habits. What sense does it make to say that prepared works means I can do whatever I want and still fulfill them? It doesn't, so we should realize that it is up to us to be humble and alert of opportunities to be more like Christ.

Guys please comment on this.

May God's Peace Rest in Your Hearts,

Kyle

An Old Man and His Smokes, The New Man and His Heart

Man...I have not blogged in a while...here is the latest on what God has been teaching me. And this past week I bought New Evidence That Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell, and I am very excited to post in the future on what I will learn.

At one of our last meetings it was Pablo, Josiah, and me at a Starbucks in Canton right after our activity at a nursing home. It was just the three of us for the meeting and a couple new people came for the first time too.

First, watch the video here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLY7yI1xV-M

We read the entire Chapter of Romans 8, and talked about the Holy Spirit.

First, the Holy Spirit that raised Christ from the dead is the same one that lives inside us. We have the power to overcome the world at our fingertips everyday. The problem however is that these tents we live in are in the way of God's will and his love. Our sinful nature or default modes as Mandy says are hostile towards God. Paul said that the mindset of the flesh is death because nothing it produces can please God and lead to spiritual death. However we are in the Spirit...which means our minds are supposed to be on peace and life, this is what it means to bring every thought captive to the throne...that we humble ourselves and check our attitude to see if it falls in line with Jesus.

The Bible says that our flesh could be compared to an old man who is depraved and has sin written in his heart. Imagine a ragged old beggar who keeps bothering you just so you can buy him some smokes or a drink. This man can look as far as his next high, drink, etc. That is who we were before we came to Christ and accepted his love, however, that does not get rid of the old man inside or his addictions. When we are reborn then a new man is created to the glory of God and he is what will be raised up on the last day. I am not going to even attempt to describe the image of this man because it would be an injustice to the workmanship of God. This is the heart of peace and life that the Father has given us, its desire is to bring a sword to evil in the world and to bring light to the rest of the lost. This man is in a war with the old man from the moment of his birth and will be until he is raised on that day. So how does this man grow from being a baby to a warrior for God? Walking in the Spirit....

How can we know for sure if you are in the spirit or not?....Well, for starters have you accepted that Christ came down and paid for your sins with his very life, and then ascended to Heaven to be with you forever? If you have not made a sincere decision for Christ then you don't have The Helper AKA The Holy Spirit, so make that choice to accept that God chose to love you and everyone else despite who we "really" are on the inside. If you are having trouble understanding this then email me, you can also ask God to give you understanding then read THE GOSPEL OF JOHN ....If you have already made that choice then this next paragraph is for you.

If you have accept Christ...TERRIFIC...NOW WHAT? Well, if you have not looked at that video then do so now. Notice in the beginning that they energetic and are just going through the motions, much like religion asks us to do...to go through the motions. When they start singing it's a bunch of mumbles and weighted hearts. So what do they do, they go back to basics and just do exercises...isn't that a waste of time and even embarrassing? Well when the start singing again it was not embarrassing but amazing at all but beautiful.

The concept is really quite simple...you have to feed the new man inside you to over power the old man. Which ever one is stronger in the moment is going to be the one who wins. So we have to feed and workout that new so the old man does not have any opportunities to grow. Because how can something grow if it does not have the means to do so? It can't...so create those moments for the new man to grow and read God's word so that you have knowledge of the truth. Finally, it won't happen unless you decide for it to happen.

God Bless'
Kyle Howington

One Spirit for a Whole Lot of People

What is unity? (please tell me your opinions on this)

Hey guys, how's the week going this blog is about what God is currently doing in my life. Are we supposed to be filled with fuzzy feeling when we run into a person who rubs us the wrong way in our ministry? I can't recall a time when I felt "fuzzy" after someone undercut my opinion on something. In fact I had to suppress the urge to cave someone's face in on more than one occasion. I have not achieved the level of Super Christian yet, so I can't put a fake smile on and pretend that I agree with everyone around me when I really don't. It is ungenuine to be two faced with the closest people in your life. So how do we overcome the me-syndrome enough to still edify others without burning bridges?
If you can't back up what your saying then rejoice....God is disciplining you that very moment.By our love for one another we are known to be his disciples...what does that imply? I think it means that we love each other by the example of our Savior, who while we were still sinners died for us. He knew our lives did not honor his father and yet he still went to the cross. To a lesser extreme we should overcome the urge to exalt our opinions as an ultimate authority, none of us are prophets but we are part of a body of saints. We must hold fast to God and the Spirit of Truth that speaks to us so that we do not become conceited and believe we are our own truth.

Ephesians 4 - Unity of the Spirit - 1) Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2) with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love,3being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4) There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5) one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6) one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. 7) But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift.

In Corinthians 3 Paul writes that we plant a seed ,and God waters it. It is God who brings every good thing into our lives and nurtures us to grow in his glory. That is why it is so important that we are unified under God's will and the pursuit of it, because if we are not pursuing him then we are working against him. If we trust in Him, by which all things were made, then we don't need to worry about who we are or where we are because it will be exactly where he needs us. If we are unified by faith and love then we are allowing his hand to move us and strengthen us in the body.

So...we need to need unity in truth (why are we unified in the first place) and love (the means which we can stay in unity) so that we can be where God wants us.

First things first, examine yourself...How are your prayers going these days....How often and with what attitude do you read the Bible....Do some soul searching. We serve in different units but still march under one banner....and that banner is at war with the darkness of this world. If we cannot love each other then how can we give his love to a world in pain?

God Bless-Kyle

Meeting Time Changed For This Week

Hey guys due to Laura C's birthday and that JJ will be hanging with his sister for the day, we will have the meeting @ 2pm on Sunday at It's a Grind. That's in Canton, take a left on 575 exit-14 and it will be on the left hand side by Publix. We will be discussing our quiet times with God and scripture from this week. God Bless

God is Awesome

This last month God showed me his faithfulness in a way I never expected. I was able to reconcile with my former stepsister Christie Shemwell, which seemed impossible to me beforehand. I mean we wanted to kill each other in high school and long before the divorce we were on bad terms, so when she asked me to add her on Facebook it came as a surprise. The first word to come from my mouth was "WOW", I mean this just doesn't happen with all the broken families in the country these days.
So...we began talking over Facebook and now we have both forgiven each other for the past and started anew. She told me that last year she accepted Christ as her savior and will be going to Colorado State in the Fall.
I'm proud to say that I have readopted her as my sister regardless of what happened in the past. God has healed this part of my life and I'm grateful that he showed his faithfulness to me.

This last month I have been reading UNChristian, a book solely based on research done by the Barna Group. They took three years to discover what our generation (16-29 year olds) thinks about Christianity, and what they found is a little startling. This book addresses how we try to reach out to outsiders yet, they are receiving an unchristian message from us. The top objections are the subject of five or so chapters, where they examine the problem and offer solution biblically speaking. From being formerly agnostic I could say it hits hard what kept me from coming to Christ sooner.
However, the lesson there is not letting people hinder your relationship with God or be afraid to go to him alone.
This book is surprising and at the same time not. It is surprising to look at the stats when compared to the Bible and what should be, and it is not surprising to see them because we know the fallen world we live in. The largest problem so far is image management and the attitude of pride it causes. The greatest commandment was not act as righteous in your own eyes as possible. Of surveyed churchgoers, 37% said leading a good life or avoiding sin was the most important thing to pursue as a christian, while 1% said family faith. And out of that sample in our generation of churchgoers out of the 65% who said their faith was an important part of their lives, only 1% claimed to have a biblical worldview!
I think everyone should read this to get perspective.

The lesson of this weeks meeting was that love is more important than knowledge.
1 Corinthians 8:1
"Knowledge ^(C)makes arrogant, but love ^(D)edifies."
John 13:34-35
34"A ^(AX)new commandment I give to you, ^(AY)that you love one another, ^(AZ)even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

35"^(BA)By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

Our loves is what speaks to people not our spiritual knowledge. Without love we gain nothing.
Romans 12:21
21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

We wil overcome the hate in this world only by letting go of ourselves in order for God to fill us with the power of his love.
God Bless you all.

Ramblings of a hopeless ADD man

Hey guys I have not blogged in a while. I have felt empowered by God over the last week. Even though I lost my job, I still feel like his is working in my life with a purpose. This morning I might have been refreshed by a "truthful" dvd that happened to be left out on someone's desk. So, other than giving me a whole new perspective or I should say a cleared one on truth in the Bible, it gave me an epiphany on this scene in the Bible.

Think back to when Jesus met Pilate, the king of all the universe is before a man who is supposed to be a ruler over his people. And don't forget that he was before Herod after this. These were the examples of leaders the world had to offer for Jesus to examine first hand. The first, Pilate, was worried over his position and being a people pleaser. He was worried about a rebellion by the Jews if he did not handle Jesus the way they wanted they would threaten his position. When questioning Jesus he asked if He was a king. Jesus responded,"Is this from you, or did others talk to you about me?" In other words "Do you really want to know or do you just want to appease the people?" Jesus saw through to his heart and questioned him instead. Even more, when Jesus said that he came to "testify the truth", Pilate answered, "What is truth?" So he really did not care whether or not Jesus was who he claimed to be but, only wanted to know what he had to in order to shut up the Jews outside. Just imagine what Jesus is thinking at this point, I used to think that when this played out in movies that he was being conceited but now, I see he is disappointed. So, at first he sent him away to be someone else's problem. When Jesus was in front of Herod and was asked to perform signs for him. He did not even respond to him. This ruler wanted to be entertained by Jesus with no faith involved but he only cared in his own pleasure. Then he was handed over back to Pilate and he just gave him to the people to avoid responsibility. He washed his hands of the problem, because that's what leaders are supposed to do right.
By stepping back we can see that Pilate's problem was failure to stand and lead. Even though his opinion may not be popular it is the right thing to do. And his lack of strength and direction is one of the biggest problems men have these days. We just fade and let the world walk on us. Then the next example is Herod, the idiot who just wants to feel good. He does not care about his people, only how they can provide for him. He has pride and exalts his own pleasure above the needs of the people.
I think we could talk about this all day. Comparing them to leaders today in the world and comparing them to Jesus, who set the needs of the entire world above his own life.
This is an open forum to comment on, let's see how we can lead with the example of Christ in mind.

On my next blog I will sum up my last two blogs and their lingering thoughts.

May God pour grace and understanding into all our lives abundantly. It might also help for all of us to sincerely ask Him to do so daily. Later guys.

Accepting His Grace

Hey guys, the faithful few who read this at the moment. How is everyone? Forgiven and Free glad to hear it. It's good to hear that God is working in all our lives even if we won't accept it's direction.

Warning: some of you may or may not get what I'm trying to say.

Today I started my day with Community Service at a homeless shelter in Marietta. Yes, I am a very bad driver but i am doing my time for it. Anyway, I spent this morning cleaning and making pack lunches. After that I picked trash up off the side of the road. Least to say that it was not the best morning, especially since the pollen is making me sick. If this blog sounds loopy I'm blaming it on that.
Later on today i got a coffee to clear my head and calm me down. As I handed the cashier my two dollars, she handed one of them back to me. She said "your good honey, " and told me to have a good day. My first action was to hand that dollar straight back to her, and she like wise handed it back. I finally said thank you and got my coffee with a hesitant attitude.

This occurred to me immediately afterward, I had resisted to accept an act of grace towards me. I was caught up in what i was supposed to do in that situation normally, instead of seeing the blessing that was there.

I want all of us to think about this. Where in my life am i refusing the Lord's grace?

Can You See the Sun Behind the Clouds?

This morning after working out with Armando, I went and got breakfast, and then I sat to read my bible. I've only read a little bit and will finish later but, this epiphany came to me and I could not pass writing on it.

So...today is very windy and cloudy here in Kennesaw, and it looks like a bleak, pointless day. I was staring out into the sky when it occurred to me that the sun was still shining behind the clouds. Just because I can't see the sun right now doesn't mean it is not there. So do I lose hope and stop believing in the sun?(I hope none of you think that way) No, of course not, the sun is still providing warmth and light to the whole planet but it is blurred by clouds at the moment.

I think this is very important to reflect on during Easter. When we were without a relationship with God this whole life appears shrouded in gray. Society tells us that because everything is gray that the most important thing is the moment. Embrace the moment for all the pleasure it's worth. And they say that there is no sun to warm our hearts to begin with.
And for those of us who have felt the warmth of the sun this is ridiculous, there is no use debating whether or not the sun is there. We have felt it and know it is there. And we can attest to that warmth in our lives. For it may appear that the sun is not shining for you at the time but it is still there and always will be. And that sun is a promise of something more.

So...can you see the sun behind the clouds?

CCA Picture

CCA @ The Serene Bean

Question to Ponder I

If you are loved by God who is infinite, what more importance do you need? Really.

I'm reading the book by John Ortberg, The Life You've Always Wanted, that explores the characteristic of humility in chapter 7. It talks about how pride or self love is poisonous to our lives and others. The decision to put ourselves above others and God is only an effect from a root problem in our soul. That problem is your self worth. When you are unsure of your worth in this world it is confusing and lonely. As Christens we feel tend to become timid, depressed, and so on because we compare ourselves to others instead of going to God. We see others who are spiritually mature and desire that in our lives too. But desire turns into jealousy when we don't keep our relationship with God in order, and it goes downhill from there. A bad attitude and outlook on life replace the joyful peace of god in your heart, and that heart then becomes filled with doubt.

If you are in that place now pray sincerely and believe, then everything will be okay. Hope, Faith, and Love are what is most important.

The point of this is once you've lost your center, then everything else is thrown off balance. As a Christen, God is our hope and strength. The holy spirit is what moves us and makes us grow. So stop worrying and let go. LET GO AND LET GOD. When god fills you then you won't have to worry about yourself as much, then you can focus on loving others with an overflowing cup of sincere love, not needy love.

So, let's try from now on to draw strength and power from God, as He meant us to, everyday. And this will be challenged and tempered as you do this so, be prepared to face them this week. It is my hope that we could all learn to love this way.

So, if an all loving God loves you enough to die for you, how important do you have to be?

Humility....Or Being My Own Worst Enemy

We are reading a book called THE LIFE YOU'VE ALWAYS WANTED at church now and it has given me huge insight on the burdens I place on myself that hinder me from growing with God. The subjects range from your motives for growth to your self-esteem. I will summarize what I've learned in each chapter soon, but for now I'll just settle with talking about humility.

When I used to read about the trait of humility, it seemed like the person was always depressed and in a somber mood. Like the were not passionate about anything. Or in my case to keep myself from getting a big head I reminded myself of all the bad things I've done and how far I still had to go in my walk with Jesus. It seemed like the purpose of humility was to put your pride down by balancing it with, in reality, self pity.
God did not intend for us to be put down and in the dumps all the time. The shortest verse in the whole Bible is "Rejoice in the Lord always, Again I say rejoice!" And this message was spoken by Paul while he was in jail. This man called himself the worst sinner of all and he is telling us to rejoice in Him always.
This is what I see from this. Paul knew the truth of his sin after his talk with Christ on the Damascus road, the weight of it caused him grief. And then he was put through a very rough ministry after his conversion. Yet, he was one of the Bible. How is it possible to be low in spirit and high in it at the same time?

HE FOUND HIS WORTH IN CHRIST!!!

Even though he is a sinner, he was forgiven of all of them. Christ took away the debt of sin that Paul had(as well as everyone else's). He surrendered to a love that knows no bounds, except the one to actually choose to take it. He was loved by an eternal God and that is where he got his self-worth from. I mean the prison guards sure didn't pat him on the back during the day.
After this epiphany, Paul realized this: What more importance do I need if God will always love me? Paul began to serve others with a pure heart because he did not need them to feel important. But he did not puff his image up even when he was justified to do so.

Christ showed us the perfect example of being humble. Being a part of the Trinity he was God, but did not even think that was to be grasped by him.

Simply put humility is not trying to puff yourself up but at the same time don't beat yourself up.
When your worth comes from God, what more do you really need? With his strength behind you it is possible to love others without them being your source of love to draw on.

God Bless-Kyle

What I learned at Faithwalkers

Faithwalkers for those of you who have not been, is a life changing experience that can not be expressed as anything but God's hand being but on your heart for three days.

I loved everyday of that conference because I was convicted to my core. God sharpened me to a great extent during those three days.
During praise and worship God gave me this scripture:
Ephesians 3:1-19

And then the second day he gave me the Entire chapter of Daniel 5. The King of the time had taken the cup out of the Lord's temple and used it in his dining hall for all his wives and guests. They dishonored the Lord by doing this. Using the cup for their own selfish desires instead of His glory. During dinner in the palace a "hand" appeared and wrote this on the wall: Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin. Which was a prediction of the end of his reign. No one could translate this for him until they summoned Daniel. They offered to give him a purple cloak, a gold necklace, and then make him third highest in the kingdom. This is what he replied:
17Then Daniel answered and said before the king, "Keep your (AA)gifts for yourself or give your rewards to someone else; however, I will read the inscription to the king and make the interpretation known to him.
He did not care whether or not his efforts were recognized or not but that he would be faithful and true in his motives. He served the king because that was what he was called to do. Not praise himself. He translated the words for the king and told him straight up that he was in the wrong with God and was going to pay for it. Then he still was rewarded even though that is not what he valued. That night the king died and a new king took his place.
I felt God convicted me of this attitude of pride and what was my motivation for giving the Gospel. The cup in Daniel represents the cup of salvation God has given me. What is the purpose of that cup? That I may have everlasting life with the Godhead of course but is that all. No, let it never be for us alone. Correct me if I'm wrong but our cups are supposed to run over are they not? The cup of life that God gives to all is to be for his glory not ours. When love is given it is not love if you are looking to hear "thank you" from the other person. It is to see that you have loved and if they are willing, that the person given the cup drinks it.
Recently after going to that conference I realized that I had an unintentional attitude of wanting to receive praise for my efforts in apologetics and there was a underlying sense of pride for the knowledge I've gained. God showed me that my cup was meant to serve Him with and not on myself. and that my strength should come from his love and the Holy Spirit, not my will to succeed.My knowledge is useless without love and a purpose of edifying others with it. For this reason we bow our kness to the Father, that we may do His will for us on Earth. He gave us a gift, a cup of living water that is his love, his power, and his glory. And for those of you who read and do not know Him, ask him for this cup for it is given freely. It is meant for "you" to have and how can you use it if you don't accept it?
It is my prayer that all who have this cup that your's would overflow.

God Bless you all, Kyle.

How I found the Lord

The Lord has been pressing this issue in my prayers for a while. At first I didn't want to because i guess it would make me appear to be weak or someone to be pitied. Well, JJ finally convinced me to put this out and be a little more broken in my walk with Jesus. So, after I write this do not pity me but understand the power and hope that is in Jesus Christ.



I started my life out in less than desirable circumstances. My parents divorced when I was one years old and along with my brother, I lived with my mother until I was fourteen years old. I do not know the official reasons for them splitting up, honestly it would not matter now. The past is the past, I can learn from it but not change it. Since my dad remarried when I was about three to Robbie, and my mom remarried when I was six to Darrell Poole. I have known that man since I was four. I didn't know that I had a broken family until I was older.
God has blessed me with a wonderful family that is always very loving. Both sides get along very well even after the divorce and i think that is a gift of God. But, I'm not saying that only being able to see your dad every other weekend and on the holidays was cool. Or having to constantly explain to other kids why I had two dads and moms was just the icing of my days. I won't go on and on about this, but if you have lived through this yourself then you would understand how it effects you. And if you have not then there is no way you can understand what goes on inside someone who has.

One thing i will go into about the effects living in a broken family is doubt, fear, and the feeling of acceptance. When you live in this situation you wonder why did this happen to you? I had a hard time being able to relate to anyone in my school. I also have a skin disorder called eczema, so I had rashes all over my body. It goes to say that i didn't have many friends. I had a huge problem with being accepted by others and felt like a loser because I was not a popular kid with a normal family. And to memory, I don't think I have ever heard the words " I hate you" come out of the mouth more authentically than those people. I made sure to hang out in any groups that were totally against that type of culture. That only lead to an attitude of hatred of others and myself growing up. When i went home the air was so thick it was hard to breathe if you know what I mean. But if it were not for Mom and Darrell raising me with Christian values ( even if I did not want them or understand them at the time) I would have done horrible things and ruined my life. I don't want this to look like I don't love my family because I do with all my heart.

I used to think that I had to be perfect for God to love me. Because all the kids in church seemed to have it together and their families never had any problems. Or at least that's what they put on. They were the biggest hypocrites I ever knew. I did not want anything to do with a church if that's what was accepted as a Christian. I knew God was there, but what he wanted from me was a mystery. Going to church with my parents I heard all the stories from the Bible but didn't believe because of a hard heart and the people I saw every week but never knew their name. Christianity was not personal it was only something you had to do to be socially accepted. Besides I thought that if I didn't live a certain way God would never love me. Sadly I let people dictate what my self-worth was and what kind of person I was.

When I was around nine years old my stepmother Robbie divorced my father. She had moved out six months earlier into a condo to "figure things out and her direction in life". I saw her maybe three times during that period. After that my dad told me she had left for good. To this day I have never heard from that woman and do not understand how it is possible for someone to do that. I cannot describe how much that hurt and the insecurity it caused in my soul. It is because of this that I had so many problems with getting approval from others as my sense of worth as I grew older. And I have difficultly trusting others as a result of what she did to my family and my father.

After this event in my life ,along with my lack of friends, and nothing I felt that was any worth in my life, I thought of killing myself for the first time. If so much crap could happen to me for no reason what so ever then, there was no point in me living through any more of it. This is the way I felt at the time and I can't logically explain why I felt that way when I had a good family to go to. I really thought if I were to share how I felt that others would try and fix me to be a person that was fake. I don't think you can explain the pain a soul feels in these situations anyway, logic doesn't hold sway to a spiritual hurt. I see now that God held me in his hand those years to hold on and not give up. I did not have the courage to take my life only because of the fear of the unknown. I knew God was and that there had to be a purpose for all this, otherwise it would not matter how much I hurt inside. So I held on to a slim hope that things would turn out differently one day and all the while I still hated myself and everyone around me. This is was an anger that radiated from my bones to people from behind a fake smile.

My father remarried again and that lasted around four years. This woman was crazy and I do not exaggerate on that. She was an alcoholic and is the only person I had the urge to strangle for real in my life. Me and my brother moved in with my dad after they got married and that was the worst experience of my life. During this time I started to hurt myself to get out the pain that could not be put into words. I have stopped that since I've come to Christ. I will honestly say that I had to force myself to get out of bed by telling myself lies to accept life as it was.

When I went to college i discovered even more that people are selfish and society can offer you no answers to eternity. I found that others just fall into cultures to belong to or hide in. I had a chance to become my own man and set my own standards for living. That was exciting but I still couldn't find real loving friends or self-worth in any system of belief. People who were all into enlightenment and such still were selfish and hypocritical in their lives. I did not think God cared about me anyway so it didn't matter.

Then Kelsey started to go to this small church by KSU. At the time I was going to CTC and worked in Marietta so I didn't have alot of time to see what it was all about. He spent so much time around them I thought it was a cult. Besides in my experience Christians were shallow people who judged everything you did. So until his baptism, I had not met any of these people.
After that I started hanging out with them out of pure loneliness. It was good too meet new people who would invite me into their homes no questions asked and on a regular basis.

It has been two years (three weeks ago) since I met everyone in the college group. I met my best friends in the world JJ, Danny G., Danny S., and Micky for the first time. Over the passing months i went over to that little apartment so many times i can't remember.
During this time I had made a decision that if God didn't show himself to me by February, I was going to kill myself by any means available. That was as serious I had ever come to doing it and it scares me how definite i was on going through with it.
As time went on I started attending service, which was addicting at the time because Mandy's words had a power to them like nothing I had ever heard before. Every time I went to the apartment, it was like a door was being opened in my heart. For the first time in my life I had five hour conversations with people and they actually let me sleep at their house. They barely knew me and I was so annoying at the time. I just didn't get why people would be so kind without wanting anything from me.I was talked into buying a copy The Purpose Driven Life and started to read it as soon as I got home. On the seventh Chapter it talked about accepting Christ as your savior and letting him into your heart. So I said a prayer that was not really serious but awakening. I felt like a little voice was finally talking to me but I didn't understand what it was I was asking for. I finally got worn down from caring a burden in my heart. After one sermon where Mandy talked about God never abandoning you, how he could take away all the sin in your life, and how he will always be with you got me pretty hard. We went to Sandra's house and did some praise and worship with the lights off. I do not remember a single word that was sung that night because I could only hear myself screaming out to God on the inside.
I told God that I finally give up. If your real come to me and take my heart, it is yours. I surrendered all that I was to the will of God at that moment. And I cannot describe what happened inside of me in that moment to its full beauty. I could hear a faint but massive choir singing and it felt as though a flood of light had entered my body. Then I felt my soul come to life. After singing I went to talk to a brother and confessed what had happened to me. I cried my eyes out and thanked him for loving me.

Four months later I moved in with Danny and JJ into our townhouse.

For those of you who read this remember, I ask that you don't pity me. Look at what God has done through me and PRAISE HIM FOR HIS GLORY. I use my life as a reminder of where I come from and that the only reason I am able to write this is because the Lord wills it. I know that God saved me from myself and has a purpose for me. I thank all you who help me on my journey to the cross and thank God for your love in my life. There might be some of you that out of my immaturity I have hurt or angered since you have known me or you believe that I feel mutually the same towards you. I asked that you all would forgive me of whatever it is I have done. I want you to know that I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU ALL NO MATTER WHAT. AGAIN I SAY I WILL ALWAYS LOVE ALL OF YOU. And through the strength of God I want that love to show more everyday. And the end of this I hope you can ask for yourself how great is our God! Fro those of you who have had similar experiences in life, I will tell you this, you have to step into the unknown person of God on his terms not your own. He is real and loves you tremendously. He is waiting for you to come to him and accept his love for you. While my heart was prepared by my life's circumstances to come to the cross, it only took a moment to make that decision. It is my hope that you can read this and understand that it only takes a moment for you to do the same.

God bless all of you who read this.

What standard should we go by?

1 Corinthians 4 - Click Here To Read Chapter

Paul starts this passage stating that we are stewards of God and we must be found trustworthy, this means that we are not above being questioned on our character. In fact we more than anyone else on Earth should be questioned. We are ambassadors for God and should reflect his love in our lives. We must be examining ourselves constantly to make sure we still in line, we are accountable to one another.

But that does not mean we are each others' judges but only that I must trust you to tell me if I am not acting according to the teachings of the Word.

My standard, to apply my entire being to for evaluating, is that of Jesus Christ. We must go to the Lord himself for us to get an accurate judgment of ourselves. We can not evaluate ourselves because that is being self-righteous and we are not able to see all our flaws. Since God is the absolute Judge of all and knows all truth then, we only need to go to him for our frame of reference of what is true. This what Paul is saying in verses 3-4. We have to go to God so he can guide us and not use human judgement except with his standard.

There are some smaller gray areas that should not be argued about but leave them up to God. Do not argue over useless things because it benefits no one.

It's really funny that we as men can become so forgetful and proud. We get into a routine of not seeking God , still acting holy to others , and think we are our own source of holiness. This why we must seek God everyday so that we won't become proud or judgmental.

We should be humble and thankful to the Lord. The only thing we should boast about is the power of God and not our own words.

Uncovering the Lie part two

I'm sorry, I wasn't able to post all we talked about on Saturday. We talked about the practical implications for Post Modernism beliefs in a person's life. I was not able to finish my thought on the last post because I needed to get off the computer immediately. The problem that stares me in the face in this belief is it justifies every belief that is out there as being valid. That means if someone, who is doing awful things in the name of their beliefs, thinks they are right to do so then it is okay. That bye the way justifies the Holocaust as a noble cause to the Nazi beliefs.

If you are one of those who thinks all paths lead to God, then I have a legitimate question for you. This comes from Ravi Zacharias who is a wonderfully intelligent man. If I were to take a small child and upon the belief that could gain enlightenment, cut them up and ate them, would I have done something morally wrong?
I think the state of your soul would depend upon the answer to this question.

With this in mind people have tried to redefine morals. Morality is up to the individual and their interpretation on what is given to them. In essence I will say what is right and wrong to me because my salvation lies within myself. We have removed God and made ourselves Gods. And everyone has this divine freedom as long as we don't hinder someone else in doing so. Or hurt them, to our best definition of hurt. That means I need to keep up to date on what the media and society itself says is the standard for morality. Something has to give me direction so it might as well be everyone else. And more importantly by saying your values and beliefs come from within makes you self-righteous. Which is something all people should avoid.

This is a lie. One of our members put it like this at the meeting. When we have a headache why do we take a pain pill. If we are hungry, thirsty, or tired why do we resort to something that will not solve the problem. We cover up the problem so we don't have to think about it, or numb it enough so it is not so intense on ourselves. We change or distort a truth so it conforms to our choices in life. A person can live his life according to his beliefs or change their beliefs to justify how they want to live.
God is real. I'm not going to debate that now. His standards are reality in the means of morality and everything else. You can say that I'm out on the corner having a smoke but that won't change the fact that I'm sitting here typing. You cannot alter reality to fit your desires. For there to be anything called truth then there must be concrete meaning to words, actions, and values.

If this has touched you or opened you eyes then I'm happy for you. I tell you there is a man who can take away those stains in your life and then offer you love that is eternal. You only need to be humble and accept his love for you. And if you want to know if he is real then ask him to show himself to you, he will answer. It only takes a prayer for less than a minute and heart that is ready to accept. I pray that you could hear this a really search for the truth in your soul. And may God speak to all who read this and bless them.

CCA meeting on the 17th, Uncovering the Lie

We were thankful to have Mikey Inza join us this Saturday. We started the meeting off with a quick prayer and then straight in to apologetics. Our main discussion was over Post-Modernism in everyday thinking. The main points of this movement in beliefs is that truth is not a definite set of values but what an individual determines them to be. The huge problem with this is that it is illogical to think that every way ( which includes the evil ones).

-- To Be Continued...

Be the Acorn.

I just finished reading Passion and Purity by Elizabeth Elliot. She is a wonderful writer and a powerful example of a Christian woman. This book is a summery of her love life with Jim Elliot before they got married. It mainly deals with the struggle as a Christian to be pure in our love life and wait on the timing and wisdom of God. We cannot let our flesh overcome us with the impulses of the moment and lead us into situations that we'll regret. And even when we are seeking to live a righteous life we put our wills in front of the Lord's.
In this book she uses a symbol of an acorn. The acorn was made according to its design to become an oak tree. As an acorn though, it cannot imagine what it is meant to be, only what it is at the time. That is the same way we see our lives, only moment to moment. God wants us to trust him and hope in him for tomorrow. We were created with a purpose that God knew when the Earth was created(Psalms 139). Why must we as humans struggle to trust the one that created us? I think it is because we cannot always see how he is working in our lives. But, the point is that we cannot comprehend the plans he has for us and out of submission we should just seek his will everyday. I'm learning to stop the How? When? and Why? questions to my prayers and just be the acorn.
I hope this will improve your walk with the Lord, or give you something to think about if you don't know him yet.
-Kyle

A heart for others.

This morning we had a great time at the Serene Bean and talk about the week and where the Lord has touched us in the area of apologetics. We talked over the value that Christ gives to our lives and how we try and look at other things in the world to define us. Objects do not define a person soul or their existence in eternity but only the forgiveness of God and the adoption that follows is what can do that.

When you reach out to others with the purpose of telling them the Gospel, you have to focus on the heart of the person. In Apologetics, drilling through the arguments and lies the person has is the easy part getting to what really is keeping them from accepting God is the problem. There is always an emotional scar in someone who cannot believe in the love of God. We are all sinners, the difference between a Christian and a nonbeliever is that we are helpless men whom the Lord has helped with his mercy. I am still only a man, but I have received the Holy Spirit now and am spiritually awakened. Our focus should be to show the love with, which we are shown and filled with everyday, others as a flood coming from the heart.

-- A cool article I found this week is about a moon of Jupiter called Io. This moon is the most volcanically active body in the solar system. It has the hottest known lavas that cover the entire planet. This is a defence against the billion of years old universe assumption. At its current rate of expulsion this planet would have put out its own mass 40 times.

May God expand your hearts and your minds.

Whose choice was it really?

I am new to the art of blogging, so don't kill me if this doesn't look right. JJ and I have been getting up every Saturday for the last month and meeting at the Serene Bean for coffee and the word. We already talk about the subjects of God and the lifestyle of following him. But, we agreed it would benefit us to change the scenery.

This blog will serve as an outlet for us to vent our discoveries and our zeal for all that encompasses the knowledge of God. We want to get to the heart of problems the modern followers of Christ deal with and come up with simple, applicable answers. This blog is not about going over scripture but actually living out the scripture we read. And on using the broad field of Apologetics to help the average joe defend his faith in Christ.

This weekend I pondered this question. When I make the choice to give my life to Christ, do I in turn deserve to get glory and praise for doing so. In the sense that out of my free will I chose to accept that He forgave me, that He died for me, and that He loves me, yes and no. Choosing to be accept that God chose to forgive you is not in anyway something to brag about. Without God being in the equation there would be no forgiveness in the first place. That's like bragging about the car your parents gave when you did nothing to get.
The question we must ask ourselves is what can we do apart from God the has any real value to it? Nothing. With God we are still the same sinner that was bought only he has polished us up. In the end we are only men with or without God just the same, but as Christians we are men that God has helped. We can make the choice to live according to his word and the promises it includes, or we could just do our thing. Even when we decide to live accordingly we still could not do it without Him.

Thinking about this has helped me realize how humble I should be to the Lord and to others. We should not abuse the fact of our salvation by lording it over unbelievers, but get them to realize that we are the helpless that the Lord helped.

I am a man and am nothing except what the Lord makes me.