Peace beyond Understanding

Hey guys, It's me Philly and I was just winding down after a long day and I was thinking about my life from these past couple months. I've realized something and that is my life is great. I have peace. I've had sleeping problems in the past like trying to sleep and staying asleep. Sometimes I'd get paranoid and think something was in my room. I started to form a relationship with Jesus and I asked for peace and he gave it to me. Let me tell ya, it's brilliant. I'm not scared anymore. His grace makes me feel safe and I never want to leave his light. It's his light that shines my path so that I don't stumble anymore. I thought of this song " I will rise " by Chris Tomlin. Only this song could describe how I feel. Enjoy!

Faith

Faith is really important to have in one’s Christian life. Scriptures says that when you believe or have faith you can move the mountains into the sea. The way I see it God is so powerful he can do anything he wants, but he’ll only do it when we believe he can do it. Look in the Gospels. The majority of everyone who was healed believes and because of that Jesus healed him or her. One instinctive example was the woman who bled for 10-12 years and doctors couldn’t do anything. She heard Jesus was in town and went to go see him. She desperately wanted to be healed and when she saw Jesus she knew he could. The amount of faith she had was incredible. She thought to herself if I could just touch a small piece of his cloak then I will be healed. When she had done this, Jesus felt the power leave him and he got up wondering who had touched him. The disciples were looking at him like he was crazy because half the town was trying to touch him. He knew though. The woman came back and Jesus said to her it’s neither my power nor my father’s power but it was your faith that has healed you. This is the faith that we need in our lives. The moment you doubt in your spiritual life that’s an open window for the devil and his demons to come in and take over. Don’t give him that window. Matthew 21:21-22 says

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to the mountains, go, throw yourself into the sea, and it will be done. (22) If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.

There Is Something We Have Missed...

Sorry for the long post of all the lyrics, but I felt that it was necessary to have you guys check out the words to this song, especially since most of us just listen to the music and become emotionally moved; however, there is POWER in the lyrics, there is POWER in the Word of God, and well, you just know when God writes a song... b/c there is POWER in those lyrics/words as well.

Guys (and gals) there IS something we have missed... it's sad to say, but it's true... and that something is the LOVE of God.  

You know that saying, or that song:  "...and they'll know we are Christians by our Love by our Love, yes they'll know we are Christians by our looooovvveee" - HA, good stuff.. but are we living it out??  

Isn't it sad to realize that most of this world knows us as Christians by our hypocrisies?? 

hy·poc·ri·sy  (h-pkr-s)

n. pl. hy·poc·ri·sies

1. The practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess; falseness.

2. An act or instance of such falseness.

It is TIME to stand up and say that WE will live for Christ, in all that we do.  Not just in worship.  Not just on Sunday mornings, but when we're at work.  When we're at school.  When we're at the grocery store... this world needs to see God's love shining through us.  We need to begin to reflect His love in our lives, somehow, someway... 

It's sad.  It really is, when "Christianity" is viewed as people who confess their beliefs with their mouths, but fail to live it out.  HONESTLY, i do it too.  We ALL do it.  But we need to say no more.  No more to this world, and yes to reflecting His love.  

When we're able to do that... it will TEAR DOWN THE WALLS that we OURSELVES have placed up in our lives.  You want your walls to come CRUMBLING DOWN??  THEN STOP HOLDING UP THE WALL.  Plain and simple.  

And watch LOVE tear it down, and restore all creation back to Christ.  

God Bless!

_______________________________________________

Tear Down The Walls 

-Hillsong United-

verse 1

Tear down the walls see the world

Is there something we have missed

Turn from ourselves

Look beyond

There is so much more than this

pre-chorus

And I don’t need to see it to believe it

I don’t need to see it to believe it

Cause I can’t shake this

Fire deep inside my heart

verse 2

Look to the skies hope arise

See His majesty revealed

More than this life there is love

There is hope and this is real

pre-chorus - (1x)

chorus

This life is Yours and hope is rising

As Your glory floods our hearts

Let love tear down these walls

That all creation would

Come back to You

It’s all for You

Your Name is glorious

Glorious

Your love is changing us

Calling us

To worship in spirit and in truth

As all creation returns to You

bridge

Oh for all the sons and daughters

Who are walking in the darkness

You are calling us to lead them back to You

We will see Your spirit rising

As the lost come out of hiding

Every heart will see this hope we have in You

_______________________________________________

i gotta song for ya!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MI76zIAe1g



Hey guys and gals, this past week has been a downer because I realized that my summer is coming to a close as I will be starting my first year in college next week. Even though it should be an exciting feeling to be off to college, I still can't help but think about what I have done throughout the short summer months..or should I say what I haven't done. This summer was a crucial one because it was to be a time of preparation for the difficult road ahead. What I didn't realize is that without God, all my preparations, plans, and goals are in vain...To put it simply: its a complete waste. And that's exactly what I did... I put my desires; everything I had planned before God...It was like I totally forgot about Him until Sunday or T.N.P. (Thursday Night Prayer) came around.. I knew something was missing. I continued to sin and do what God would not approve of...slowly I forgot about reading The Word, praying, worshipping...everything that made me a born-again Christian. That was until I went to bed Monday night and a song called "All Along" by Remedy Drive came to play on my sleeping playlist...(yes...thats right...I have a sleeping playlist.) I listened to the lyrics deeply and started to rethink all the decisions I had made throughout my summer vacation and how I was even able to lay in my bed alive...Grace of God was the answer I came up with. One of the phrases in the song says, " I finally found what I could never see before, You've always been the one that I was looking for" Immediately after I heard that phrase, I felt the sudden urge to look around my room..What did I see? Sure enough, I saw the Bible sitting right next to my Ipod. This song really triggered me to open my eyes and see what a fool I've been for being blind to God...I knew He was there...somewhere around me...and yet I still falter..I still disobey...Don't make that mistake..always know that He is there and He holds your heart..not your desires and materialistic possessions of the world that will very soon whither away leaving nothing but God. And if you can't realize then that God is the answer...then...something wrong witchu!


Thanks for reading/listening:)

Unexpected Source

I woke up yesterday on the wrong side of the bed. If you know me, I'm always smiling and I can always look on the bright side. Even if I'm in a bad mood, I'll find someway to make you laugh. I can bet every single person I've ever met has laughed at least once while their around me; whether i was funny or not :)

But for no particular reason, yesterday was a downer. Then I got a call from a close friend who had the random message of telling me to keep my head up because sometimes you go through a desert before you reach the water. Often times there are moments in life where we experience a low, and it can come from nowhere. And although we know the age old lesson of the "light at the end of the tunnel"; we forget it because the problems or circumstances around us dilute it.

That's where we as a community have to be that unexpected source. It could be a song, a random text message, or simply a playful prank on someone to help them get away from their current circumstance a little bit. (See some of our videos for prank lessons LOL!) But do something for your friends and community to encourage them.

After hearing some uplifting words from my friend, I threw on my ipod and this song came on. Nope, its not a Christian song and I actually have probably only one or 2 secular songs on it. But it's humanly impossible NOT to smile or automatically get in a good mood when you hear it. I realized that no matter what situation, mood, circumstance, or problem we are in, there is always room to smile because everything will be alright. While you're looking at your watch waiting for things to happen, God is looking at the calendar. Everything will happen in the right time. So if you haven't smiled today or uplifted anyone, let me try. Check out this song and I dare you not to smile :)



-Jobbin

Ruins

Hey guys – so I’ve recently come across this song I’ve had on my iPod for quite some time now, but I’ve either passed over it or intentionally did not want to listen to it, but one day God caught me off-guard with this song – hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.

You know that feeling of just being so unworthy? Or how God tends to bless you the most when you know you just don’t deserve it at ALL? Like… something good happens and you look up and ask… seriously? You did this for me? After I pretty much turned my back on you time and time again? Why?? (and I’m not even talking about turning your back on Him by disowning Him or something, I mean just by our daily thoughts, actions, desires, or our heart’s intentions)

And then you feel peaceful because God replies, “Because I love you, and because I can.”

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” – Matthew 6:26 (NIV)


Amazing.


Ruins – by Bebo Norman

Laying flat upon my back,
All the world in motion
Everything goes by so fast
I feel like I’m frozen

After all is said and done
Did I fail to mention
Everything I haven’t done
All my good intentions

This is my holy hour, this is my world on fire
This is my desperate play, this is where I am saved

I’ve no fear of height or depth
I’ve no fear of crashing
The single thing I fear the most
Simply feeling nothing

This is my holy hour, this is my world on fire
This is my desperate play, this is where I am made
This is my kingdom come, this is my freedom song
This is my helpless state, this is where I am saved

Let my ruins become the ground you build upon
Let my ruins become the start
Let my ruins become the ground you build it on
From what’s left of my broken heart

This is my holy hour, this is my world on fire
This is my desperate play, this is where I am made
This is my kingdom come, this is my freedom song
This is my helpless state, this is where I am saved

God Bless!

By my side

So last Thursday I sprained my ankle playing basketball and thought the rest of my summer would be spent hobbling around on crutches. But being the stubborn person that I am, I went to work the next day without seeing the doctor; making my foot feel a lot worse. Saturday morning comes around and my doctor confirms why I hate visits to the hospital in the first place. I always get some sort of bad news, and this was bad. It turns out I not only sprained my ankle, I fractured my foot in the process.

The doctor was surprised that I have been walking on it the whole time and said I need to be on crutches, and might possibly need to be in a cast for the next 4 weeks. Even though I had plenty of family/friends calling, texting, coming over, and supporting me, I was discouraged because I wanted to be involved in so many things this summer, but now I am forced to sit on the side lines.

Getting ready for church Sunday morning was a hassle, and I never knew putting pants on would be so difficult. I strolled into church on my crutches and automatically got the sympathy card from everyone. For the record, I am the type of person who hates pity, and wants to do things on my own (I know its a bad habit). Later in the service, the visiting pastor prayed for me and said Jesus had healed me. I didn't feel all tingly inside, or have a bolt of electricity shoot down on me, but I believe that nothing is impossible for my God. I started to press hard on my foot and couldn't feel any pain. After the service ended, half the church crowded around me to see me walking around without my crutches.

The biggest touch from God was not the healing that happened, but what occurred directly afterwards. My friends helped me walk around and then laid their hands on me to pray. More than the healing, that action and development in faith from my friends was an answer to prayer. I've had plenty of great friends over the years who genuinely care about me and still do. But our personal prayer and mission with this ministry is to develop a "community for Christ". I've longed to see that in Chicago and have heard plenty of complaints why that hasn't happened. But my testimony is that it is happening and God is using the youth in Chicago like never before. You pray for revival; I'm seeing it. I know God is always "by my side", but think about if we were by each others side in the same way God is there for us? Check out the song "By your side" by 10th Avenue North and you'll understand what I mean.



quick update: I went to the orthopedic doctor the Monday after I got prayed for. The doctor said amazingly all the swelling went away, and I wouldn't need a cast at all. She even said I don't need crutches and I'll be perfectly fine in a few weeks :)

-Jobbin