Who Do You Know?

I know there are times when you just want to give in to the flesh and give up. Let me encourage you with a little bit of Romans,

“By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that's not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God's grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise. There's more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!” v 1-5

Furthermore:

“Now that we are set right with God by means of this sacrificial death, the consummate blood sacrifice, there is no longer a question of being at odds with God in any way. If, when we were at our worst, we were put on friendly terms with God by the sacrificial death of his Son, now that we're at our best, just think of how our lives will expand and deepen by means of his resurrection life! Now that we have actually received this amazing friendship with God, we are no longer content to simply say it in plodding prose. We sing and shout our praises to God through Jesus, the Messiah!” v 9-10

Obviously, our worst refers to our former, sinful lives outside of Christ, but since we are now IN Christ we are new creations, not obligated to the desires of the old, but redesigned within our hearts to crave the things of the Spirit. Not that we do not continue to battle, because we do, but now we have strength and power that only comes from Jesus to continue to redeem us from that life that so easily entangled us; it limited us. In the days ahead, let us be encouraged by the power that Christ offers us. As Paul states, “that I may know Him and be found in Him”. Let the lyrics of this song resonate within your heart today as you strive, as I strive to know Him more and make Him known:

All I once held dear, built my life upon
All this world reveres, and wars to own
All I once thought gain I have counted loss
Spent and worthless now, compared to this

Knowing you, Jesus. Knowing you.
There is no greater thing!
You're my all, you're the best!
You're my joy, my righteousness!
And I love you, Lord.

Now my heart's desire is to know you more
To be found in you and known as yours
To possess by faith what I could not earn
All-surpassing gift of righteousness

Oh, to know the power of your risen life
And to know You in Your sufferings
To become like you in your death, my Lord
So with you to live and never die.

I Make My Own Decisions

Post NFL-Owners meeting, issues were addressed regarding the leagues rules and policies; some of which were trivial, while others were created to enforce player safety. I cannot say that I really care about some of the rules to be included in the 2008-2009 season, however, while I was reading the update on www.espn.com I was reminded that as humans we too attempt to meet with God to discuss our lives and the rules set out. Some of which we think are fair and just, while others we struggle to compute relevance within our own realm of influence. Many people assume that there is a certain level of moral uprightness that we must consistently aspire to live by, while others stick their moral finger in the wind and follow the guidance of their good feelings. The moral compass guided by the character and righteousness of the Almighty is the standard by which we should live or find our eternal security. Abraham's faith was accounted to him righteousness, and that righteous came from only one source: Yahweh. The same righteousness is available to us through an unblemished sacrifice that was made many years ago. This sacrifice is what merits you favor in the eyes of a moral, just, and loving Creator, who without such has every right and is obligated in the truth of His character to uphold a righteous standard.Instead of deliberating your "inalienable rights", submit to the Giver of such rights, whose blood paid the penalty of death we all owe. Find within yourself the faith to believe in the One who able to save you from sin and death. Trust in Him who is unshakable!

Formatting Issues

I like this background (esp. since M@ has it). What do you think?

TGIF

After much web surfing while in my office today, I realized that there was a job that I needed to complete back in February that I completely overlooked. Not sure how or why, but I guess better late than never.

Yet Another Friday

This morning began with breakfast at Old West Cafe with a mentor friend of mine. We discussed religion, politics, and the woes of life over some eggs over easy and a bowl of grits. Most of what I glean from this man during our times of fellowship is male bonding, if you will. I believe that we must all surround ourselves with people of great influence, to teach us to serve, act, and love better. Just as any artist who wishes to master his skill, they must study and learn from the best to achieve such greatness. I do not strive to be great, by any means. However, I do strive to be excellent in my speech, thought, and deed so that others might see a change in me. I do not wish to push my beliefs on others, but rather, that people would see my life and be glad that my presence brings integrity.

Integrity is something that I always ponder; it is who you are. I heard once "you are only as good as your name" and unfortunately, that is always the case. We spend most of our lives, attempting to live up to a standard set within our culture, e.g. living the "American Dream". Yet, far too often we take short cuts to insure that dream is transformed int reality. Why, bigger is better, right? After Erin and I flipped our first house, our hefty profit enabled us to move up the real estate ladder and into a house almost triple in size. Both houses we have purchased have been major remodels (both were foreclosures). The reason why we moved was primarily due to the small size of the first house. You could stand in the middle of the living room and be able to reach out and touch the kitchen! But our thoughts were to get something bigger and better. Looking back, I love the house that we are still flipping, but I regret making the move just to get something bigger. This bigger house has more problems and it costs more to up keep. But let me say this: I love the neighborhood and would not trade it for the world.

Back to the "American Dream". We take short cuts and sometimes are willing to compromise our faith, name, fortune to achieve such "happiness". Which there lies the truth of the matter: the grass is greener on the other side. I find myself comparing myself with others and their possessions. I do not believe that it is an inherent desire to have the biggest and the best. Or is it? As the great A.W. Tozer once said, "The reason we have to search for so many things to cheer us up is the fact that we are not really joyful and contentedly happy within."

Where does such joy and contentedly happy lives exist? How does one obtain it? As the author of Hebrews states, "Let us fix our eyes on the Cross", the reference point in which mankind finds eternal purpose, meaning, joy, content. The answer is Jesus. Find your joy in Him today.

Not My First Time...

Since I spend most of my waking moments at work, bored to tears, I decided to make the most of my time by blogging. I am not sure what on earth I will blog about, but thus far I have two things I would like to talk about of which one I will mention now. What better time than to start by introducing myself. Seeing as though the world wide web is accessed by billions of people each day, I might become a little more known so that I can make a much larger impact on this Earth. I mean, that is why we are here, right?

Well, I went to close my safety deposit box at the bank this afternoon and to my surprise, I had something located inside: my birth certificate; the one document that proves your existence, that you really weren't adopted as once believed. I discovered that my recorded delivery time was 7:16 PM at Northeast Baptist Hospital in San Antonio, TX. Both my parents were working in the financial industry (huge surprise since my mother has NEVER been good with money) and much to my surprise her signature has not changed at all. Mine has evolved at least 10 times now, granted I am only in my mid-twenties I was shocked none the less.

I am the eldest of three children in my immediate family, although my father married when he was still attending the university and thus produced a child whom I have no strong relational bonds with other than the occasional "guilt trip" conjured anytime my name is brought up within ear shot due to my lack of frequent visits. She has two children of her own, who much like their mother, know little about me. It is not that I planned it that way, we were never really close with what a nine year age difference coupled with several hundred miles to distance and further discourage any real lasting bonds between us.

This May will mark my two year wedding anniversary with my lovely wife who I met while attending Dallas Baptist University. She was interested in my roommate who did not reciprocate the feelings. I on the other hand, showed interest, and over two years later we married and now are working on our second, and hopefully the last , house-flip. We both are in a transition period in our lives. She is a little bit closer to obtaining her career goals than I am, yet I am proud of her none the less.

I supposed that I should type more, however, that is all I have to say right now.