This last semester, God has been impressing upon me the need to take the initiative when it comes to my spiritual life and my relational life. In other words, I need to be proactive about how I relate to God and other people. Often, I like to just let things happen. It is easier that way. I don't take the blame when things go wrong, and I don't take the responsibility when things catch hold. Life is tame, I am safe. But on the other hand, life is insignificant and small. You can do no great thing when you just let life happen. 2 Corinthians 8:17 tells us of a young man who began his ascent to spiritual greatness, when he took the initiative to serve the Corinthian church. Timothy was eager to bring the Gospel to Corinth and help the church there. He didn't wait for then to ask, he just went. And Paul was proud of him for doing so. But more importantly, God was proud of him. God smiled as his son eagerly found a way to serve him and did it with his whole heart.

Don't just let life happen to you.

   Do you look for, or invent, ways to serve God and the people around you? Or do you just let life happen? Your relationships will flourish when you take some time to think about where they are headed and take the initiative to lead them closer to God. Your relationship with God will flourish when you step up and create ways to be with God. Don't just think that it's going to happen. It won't, if you think that way. As with all relationships, it is work to stay close to God. (Please son't get me wrong here, God is always near, and you can never lose your position before God once you are saved. However, the less time and effort you spend in your relationship with God, the less you will draw near to him.) So I encourage you, look at your life, and find a way that you could take the initiative to serve others, to lead others, and to actively love God. If you dare to do this, your life will never be the same.

   So much lately, God has been teaching me about the importance of "the now." By this, I mean the present circumstances. It is great to optimistically be looking to the future or back on the past (as I have written about in my previous two blog posts), but you can never overlook what is right before you. Hebrews 3:13 says, "But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be "hardened by sin's deceitfulness."

   If you think that this is just a theological abstraction from someone in distant memory, think again. I am a witness to the truthfulness of this warning. I have learned Scripture's lesson the hard way. I am very much a dreamer. This is a really good thing, and a blessing from the Creator. But often it gets in the way of my vision of "the now." I dream of what could be or what should be, or I mope about what isn't here. And so often, I lose focus of what God is doing right now in my life, in the people around me, and in my relationships with them. And when I begin to long for things that are not, or that will never be, I begin to take my eyes off Jesus and put them on the things desired. In so doing, I become "hardened by sin's deceitfulness," and I lose my desire for Jesus.

   Are you seeing what God is doing in your life right now? Or are you, like I was, longing for what could be and mourning what is not? I encourage you to long for Jesus, and put everything else behind him. Live in 'the now." That's where Jesus is.

   The word for the day is optimism. I believe that God desires his children to be optimistic. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, "In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." It takes an optimist to give thanks. A pessimist will look at everything and see what he doesn't have. An optimist will look at everything and see what he does have. A pessimist, then, can only wish for more. But an optimist will be thankful for what he does have. So that is what I am going to try to do today.
   This semester has been long and hard. I have gone through many emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual trials. But looking back at this semester, I am so so so grateful for what God has blessed me with. I have learned so much about life. I have gained more wisdom than I ever thought possible as I was going through the semester. I have been given valuable riches that cannot be taken away from me.
   During the soccer season, I was pushed to my limits physically. I played goalkeeper for my soccer team - a position which no one on my team envies me for. I went from starting to not playing at all. But despite how I was feeling at the time, I would not trade it for anything. We won the National Championship. And I would rather ride the bench on a National Championship team than start for a team that didn't make it all the way. I am so thankful for that blessing.
   Next, I was promoted to manager of Joe's, my campus coffee shop. I have only been working here for 3 months, and already God has blessed me abundantly. This was right after I realized that my financial storehouse was nearing the end of its provision. I was starting to get nervous, but God provided for me. I am so thankful. Another reason I am thankful is that God has blessed me with the opportunity to learn more leadership. This is such a valuable asset to me. Finally, I am thankful for this position because the people that I work with are so amazing. I count it such a privilege to serve them in this way. God has been so good to me.
   Also, as you can imagine, long-distance dating is beginning to make me yearn to be home more. My mind has been doing the craziest mental gymnastics just to keep me from going insane. But as a result of having to wait on the Lord, we have grown stronger in our relationship. We have learned how to communicate much better, we have learned the value of commitment, and we have learned to process our emotions better before reacting, just to name a few things. As a result, I love her far more today than I ever have (and I know we're just getting started, but this has helped us set a good foundation for our relationship). It really has been a blessing in disguise for us. I am so grateful to our God who loves us and teaches us to love each other.

God is good all the time...
even when I have no idea what he is doing.

  And there have been so many more things that God has blessed me with this semester, but I am running out of time. I just wanted to say that I am so so so thankful to God for this semester. God is good all the time. All the time God is good... even when I have no idea what he is doing.
   What about you? With what lenses do you see your life? How do you view the trials in your life? Do you spurn them in pessimism, or do you embrace them with optimism? I believe that God desires for you to be optimistic about everything he puts in your life because he is doing something in you that will produce valuable riches in you - if you will only let him.

   It is Advent season. It is the time of year where we wait expectantly for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. And to be honest, I have not really observed Advent much before, but nevertheless I still think it is a pretty cool way to commemorate the birth of Jesus. And as we look forward to Christmas, I am reminded of many other things that I look forward to. I look forward to being done with classes. I look forward to being home. I look forward to seeing my beautiful girlfriend and embracing her tenderly. I look forward to huge meals prepared by my amazing mom. I look forward to deep father-son talks with my dad. I look forward to ski season again. I look forward to my internship with my church next summer. I look forward to serving God in ministry for the rest of my life. I look forward to graduating college. I look forward to marriage and setting up a new life. But of all the things that I look forward to, nothing compares with the eager expectancy with which I await the Second Coming of Jesus to earth.
   I can't sleep some nights because I am so excited to get to heaven. I am so excited about seeing Jesus, and touching him, and looking into his everlasting eyes. I want so badly to just go on a walk with Jesus. I want him to tell me that he is proud of me. I want to feel his heartbeat as I embrace him. I want to see how infinitely creative he can be when not limited by the confines of earth. I can't wait to spend an eternity in heaven. I can't wait to be in the presence of God on his throne. I can't wait to be blown away by his absolute splendor.

Fall more in love now with the One you are going
to be with then.

   Today in chapel, Dr. Nyquist, the president of Moody Bible Institute, preached about eternity and heaven. He said that we need to get more homesick for heaven because heaven will be far more beautiful and glorious than we ever imagined. And I certainly agree. We need to long for heaven more. And what will help us to long for an eternity with God even more is love. Yes, love. We must fall more in love now with the One we are going to be with then. Because when we do, we will yearn to be with him there. This is an easy concept for me to grasp. I am in love with the most amazing girl ever, but we are living miles apart. So I eagerly anticipate the day I can see her again. But I am so much more in love with the Creator of everything, and it is only when I get to heaven that I will get to see him. And I want that day to get here so bad, I can hardly wait.
   Do you yearn to be with God? Or is this earth just fine for you? Do think that you could get used to this place, so you settle in with all the comforts that this world provides? Or do you strip away everything that would hinder you from falling more in love with God? I challenge you: Do everything you can to fall more in love now with the One you are going to be with then. Get a little homesick.

   This is my first post of my first blog. So I wanted to share with you what my intentions are with this, and to let you know what to expect. I was listening to a sermon from a young pastor recently and was inspired by his confidence and leadership, and how it displayed his love for God. And I thought to myself, "I should stop thinking that just because I am young, I cannot have influence." So I began to muse on the possibilities of sharing my heart with those who care to listen. So every Tuesday, I will be posting a new set of thoughts that I have been housing in my heart. It is my prayer that anyone who reads this will be inspired to love Jesus more and to seek his presence.

   I was recently reading in Judges 6. This chapter and the following ones tell the story of a guy named Gideon. He was a no-name in his area. He was the youngest person, in the smallest family, in the smallest tribe, in Israel, which was in a little corner in the Middle East a long time ago. By all accounts, no one should know who he ever was, except for the fact that God chose him to deliver His people from their oppressors - that's how it is so often, isn't it? God chooses the little people to do big things. 

   Anyway, so there Gideon was, hiding from the bad guys, when the angel of the Lord shows up. Not realizing that this was a manifestation of God's presence, Gideon greets him. The angel of the Lord responds by telling him that he is a mighty man and favored by God. Gideon almost laughs. His melancholy response was, "Then why are we still slaves. If God is good, then where is he when we need him?" But the angel didn't bite on Gideon's bait. Instead, he commands Gideon to deliver the people of Israel from their oppressors, to which Gideon half-heartedly submits. To show that he welcomed this stranger and had submitted to his command, he prepared an offering for him. This was an animal that he slaughtered for him. But the angel told him to put it on a rock. Then the angel touched the rock and it burst into flames. After this he vanished. 

   It was at this point that Gideon realized who he was talking to. His perspective immediately changed because he realized that he had just been in the presence of God. Also, his priorities changed. Instead of valuing his safety so much that he was trying to hide, he valued the spiritual vitality of his people. He valued the presence of God that had been severely lacking in his land. So he promptly went to his father's house - albeit at night, due to his fear (courage = doing what is right in the face of fear) - and destroyed all his idols and the images set of Baal, their god. When the people saw what Gideon had done they wanted to kill him immediately. But his father, the owner of the idols, stood up and said that Baal should be able to defend himself. If he really was who they believed he was, he wouldn't need humans to defend him. Thus, Baal was put on trial, so to speak. And God was glorified in Gideon's first steps of obedience - in later chapters God uses him to defeat the whole army of bad guys.

When God's presence is cherished, 

our perspective is changed, 

and our priorities are chosen.

   When I was thinking about this story, something struck me. When Gideon began to recognize and cherish God's presence, his whole perspective changed, and so did his priorities. This is also true for us as Christians. When God's presence is cherished, our perspective is changed, and our priorities are chosen. We must learn to cherish the presence of God every day. It will radically change our perspective and our priorities. And God will be glorified. Make it a priority today to set time aside to seek the presence of God. Get away. Get above the noise. Set yourself apart for Him. You won't regret it.