Primal

Just finished reading Primal by Mark Batterson tonight, GREAT book!!! If you plan on reading a book on top of your Bible reading to start the New Year, I highly suggest you read Primal! I have said it so many times, all that really matters is that we love God with our everything and Pastor Mark Batterson brings out this very point so very well. It all comes back to us loving God with ALL of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. When we do that we become a reflection of Him, and that is what he has called us to be, Christians, which by definition means "Christ like."


My favorite line from the book was, Mark's pre-marital advice to all unmarried young men, "taking out the trash is romantic." That is something that is so easy to forget and something that more married men, including myself need to remember. You treated your wife like a queen before you were married, so why have you stopped now? There is my rant for the day!!

God Bless,
Nathan

God IS Faithful!!

I LOVE the Word of God, it is full of great truths, it will convict you, it will encourage you, challenge you, inspire you, birth new passions inside of you, it can do almost limitless things inside of you. The reason for that is because it is God-breathed, John 1:1 says it best, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The reason the Word of God is so powerful, is because it is God...that is why you can read the same passage a million times and get something different out of it each time because God can speak to you through it in whatever situation you are in!!!


That said, one thing that I have found to be true is that it is one thing to read and believe the Word of God, but it is an entirely different thing to LIVE IT!! Here for the past few weeks my family has been living this Scripture, Proverbs 3:5 & 6 - Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. It is so easy to say that you are trusting in the Lord, but quite another to be living that truth, we have been and have found that when you don't try and figure things out on your own, but trust in the wisdom and sovereignty of God, show that in everything that you do you must have God, He WILL make your paths straight!!

Don't just read and believe Scripture, LIVE IT!!

God Bless,
Nathan

Primal Blog Tour - Day1

In the middle of reading Mark Batterson's book, Primal - A quest for the lost soul of Christianity, and I have to say that I can understand why they think this ought to be the first book for Christians to read in 2010! Mark does a great job at igniting within you a desire to get back to the basics, which is, Mark 12:30 - And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

One quick thing that has stuck out to me the most so far, in the first part of the book he is speaking of the many needs around us and that God has placed inside of each of us a passion for something, and when we begin to get closer to God these passions get stronger, because God placed them there, he has placed inside of us part of his heart!!! And before that he talked about how when a person has a heart transplant, that with that new heart comes new desires, cravings, and passions. And so it is when we give our heart to Christ, he places His heart inside of us, so naturally we have a new set of desires, a new set of passions and the things that break God's heart, break ours as well.

So, if the things that break God's heart don't break yours, have you given all of your heart to Christ and accepted His, or are there some things you need to get rid of and some others you need to allow into your heart?? Let God give you a new heart!!

God Bless,
Nathan

Passing The Mantle

With the passing of B.H. Clendennen and Oral Roberts in the past few days, the thought has been on my mind, Who is going to pick up the mantle in these last days?

Are there any young preachers, pastors, etc. that are willing to do what it takes to possess the anointing of the Holy Spirit? Who is going to pick up the mantle? Let's do as the Word tells us to do in Luke 10:2 - Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.

God Bless,
Nathan

Primal Blog Tour

I have been reading the book, Primal, by Mark Batterson and while the official blog tour does not start until tomorrow, I just wanted to say how excited I am about the book and what I have gotten out of it so far. I definitely recommend this book to anyone that enjoys reading, and even to those that do not, it will grab your attention from the very beginning.

I was reading in the introduction in tears, as I could quite literally hear the Holy Spirit speaking into my life through the avenue of this book!! I love the way the Holy Spirit can speak to us through so many different ways. He can speak to us through a song, through a book, another person, through a phrase that you hear throughout your day, someones post on facebook, but my favorite is through God's Word!!

If you don't spend time in the Word of God daily I strongly advise you to do so, it will strengthen your faith in Christ!!

God Bless,
Nathan

What is MOST important to you?

This question keeps rolling around in my mind over the past few days, as I have spent time in the Word of God and in prayer...I hunger for a revival in my life!! Not something that is done for show, not something that will receive praise from others, but a revival that causes me to live a life of honor. When you live an honorable life it doesn't matter the circumstance or who is around, you are always trying to do the right thing! That is what I mean by I want a revival inside of me, a purifying of my heart, a resetting of my priorities, a complete shift in my lifestyle, one that reflects Christ in every way...

As I have been seeking for this, the question keeps coming back to me, What is MOST important to you? I believe that the Holy Spirit has been asking me this question to make me realize what I need to lay down, what I need to set aside in my pursuit of God. Think about it like this, when Christ was born Angels came to the Shepherds and told them of Christ being born in Bethlehem and that they should stop what they were doing and go and see the Christ-child.

The same thing with the Wise Men they started following the star that eventually led them to Christ, and didn't even get there until the child was 2 years old!! As I read this story I began to realize that just as the Shepherds and the Wise Men that came and found Jesus the Son of God, that the Holy Spirit was wanting me to put down that which was most important to me and just seek after God!!

So, I ask you, what is MOST important to you? Do like the Shepherds when they left their livelihood on the side of the hill and sought after Christ, do like the Wise Men and leave all of the wealth and comfort of your home and risk your life to find a child that you are being led to by a star...what do you need to leave to find Christ? What is keeping you from seeking Christ in the fullness and faithfulness that He longs for from you??

God Bless,
Nathan

Finding God in a Pagan World

It seems to me God would be more evident when darkness creeps in yet for some finding God in a pagan world is depressing and somewhat impossible.

Many expected Jesus to be born in a palace, to royalty or to riches but Jesus was born in a stable, to a carpenter, and among the poor. With great excitement angels declared His birth, shepherds followed Him and wise men worshipped Him. Amazing that wise, wealthy men would travel 400 miles on the back of a camel to give expensive gifts to a two year old.

Search but you will not find our God in a pagan world for He doesn't acclaim to stardom, He is not a Hollywood figure, He is not driving a Studebaker. No, you will find Him in your mother's heart, in a small wooden church, in a child's prayer, in a manger.

Maybe the reason we can't find Him is we are looking in the wrong places, we keep looking at steeples when He is at the altar. We try to find Him in our prosperity but we find Him in our need. I was in a dry place and I bumped into Emmanuel, "God is with us."

Primal

I felt like a kid at Christmas today, I got Mark Battersons book "Primal" in the mail today, I am very excited to start reading it and will be a part of the "blog tour" that will be Dec. 15th - 22nd.

I haven't even started reading it yet and already I love the thrust of the book, which is, from what I understand getting back to the basics of Christianity, which is the Great Commandment.
Matthew 22:37 - Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’

That is what it is all about, Loving God with our all!!

God Bless,
Nathan

GIGO

This is one of my favorite acronyms, GIGO - Garbage in, Garbage out. It amazes me, the junk and filth that "christian" people will watch, listen to, and read. Pastors and Worship Leaders many times become frustrated that people don't "get in" at church, it's nor wonder that less churches are experiencing a true move of God, everyone in the congregation goes the whole week filling the minds, hearts, and lives with junk and wonder why they can't seem to shake the sin that keeps coming back into their lives.

Simply put GIGO - Garbage in, Garbage out. So, I challenge you to do as the scripture says, Philippians 4:8 - Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

Make yourself answer the questions in the above scripture about anything you allow into your mind, heart, and life and just see how much closer to God you will get!!!

God Bless,
Nathan

Primal

Just received some awesome news, here a few weeks back I submitted my blog for a chance to receive a copy of Mark Batterson's new book Primal. Just got the email tonight that my blog was picked to be one of the blogs that will be receiving a free copy of the book and I will be blogging on my thoughts about the book the week of Dec 15-22!!! I am super pumped, first because I love reading and there is nothing better than a free book, and second, because I will get the chance to be part of a select few that was chosen!! I feel like I am on the baseball field again and I am one of the first guys to get picked to play on the good team!!

I will keep you updated and be sure and tune in Dec 15-22 and I'll let you know what I got out of the book!!

God Bless,
Nathan

Help Wanted

Help Wanted: There are people all around you that just want to know that someone cares about them and what they are going through, I mean really cares!! Just met a young man last week and he just began to share with me some of the things that were going on in his life, things that were not minor difficulties, but serious life changing situations!! All he wanted was to know that someone cared for him!!!

So I let him know that I would be praying for him, gave him my card, and have already been bringing him before the Lord!! Do someone a favor today, take a couple of minutes out of your day sit down and listen to what is going on in their life and really show that you care about what's going in their lives!!! It won't always be "easy" but, as the Word of God says, the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few...(Matthew 9:37)

God Bless,
Nathan

Veterans Day

If you didn't know, today is Veterans Day and we wanted to send our thanks and appreciation our to all who have served our country, to all who have sacrificed their lives so we can enjoy the freedoms that we have in this country! Thank you!

Let us not make their sacrifice in vain, keep this nation the great nation that it has been for so long!! The only way we can do that is to fall on our faces and call on God.

2 Chronicles 7:14 - If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Let us do as the Scripture calls for us to do and let us call on God, we enjoy so many freedoms in this country, but if we are not careful we will not have them for very long. Let us call on God, spend some time in prayer today and pray for our troops, our veterans, and our country!!

God Bless,
Nathan

Apostle Paul's Job Description

Apostle Paul’s Job Description

Must show excellent communicational skills, and be willing to travel a lot (without pay). You must support yourself financially by working on the side in your spare time. One of your priorities will be to reach a demographic group that is shunned by most of the people around you and be prepared to face sharp criticism for doing so, even by your fellow laborers. Must be ready to work at all hours of the day and night, there is no set schedule.

Must be willing to endure extreme personal, physical, and emotional suffering such as but not limited to:
- Being stoned
- Being beaten to the extent of the law
- Spending an extensive amount of time in prison
- Tactfully handling situations with demon possessed people and also suicidal people
- Endure contention and possible rejection by good friends and fellow laborers
- Must be able to swim in stormy and cold conditions
- Be prepared for snakebites
- Be able to write extensively in very dimly lit and unsanitary conditions
- Be able to speak convincingly to world leaders about controversial topics
- And ultimately be put to a very painful tortuous death.

Who is ready to sign up for this? Sad to say but most are not willing to pay the price of sacrifice and commitment it takes to turn the world upside down. But the reach and influence of the Apostle Paul is still felt today because of his dedication to obeying the call of God on his life.

YOU are called for a purpose! And no one who has experienced Salvation is exempt from the ministry of telling the good news of the gospel of Christ!
In 1 Corinthians 4 Paul says “We have this ministry…” Everyone who has been reconciled by the shed blood of Christ has “a ministry.”

May you never forget that unless you obey the voice of God and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in your life, you will never be completely fulfilled in our life! Your sphere of influence could be the only one who reaches certain people with the Gospel.

Don’t discount the ministry God is speaking into your life! And strive to be close enough to Him to hear His voice!

When John leaned on the breast of Jesus (John 13:23) because of his position he could not only hear the heartbeat of Christ, but he could also see from the Saviors perspective as well. Get close to Him! Listen for His voice! And OBEY!

Ben

Steven and Kara Jaeger

Our good friends Steven and Kara Jaeger are in Vanuatu serving as medical missionaries and have been blogging about the work they are doing there. Check out their blog, without a doubt it will touch your heart and stir your burden for foriegn and domestic missions!!

http://web.mac.com/experiencingmissions/Experiencingmissions/The_Jaegers.html

God Bless,
Nathan

Change is Good!!!

I think there is a quality that alot of young preachers are missing and that is the ability to be quiet and listen...there are times when I am around a few elder Pastors or Preachers and I will purposefully stay as much out of the conversation as possible, not because I don't believe that I don't have anything to add to the conversation, but because these are Men that have been where I am, alot of wisdom can come from them and I don't want to miss it by giving my opinion.

With that said, last night I was talking with two great Men of God and we were talking about the fact that the Church has a hard time changing, adapting, being effective in this culture and still remaining counter culture. One of these Men said that a business man had told him that in the business world if a business doesn't change every 6-8 months, within a couple of years their doors will be closed. So, why is it so hard for the Church to change? There are things that we haven't changed in decades, and we expect to be effective in this time?

It made me think of the story of Jesus and His disciples as they were teaching by the sea one day and it said in Mark 4 that Jesus was teaching the people but there were so many people that he couldn't teach them from the land. No doubt Jesus realized that what He was teaching was the very Word of God and he could have easily taken the approach that many of us have taken and said well we are preaching the Word of God, if they can't hear it it's not my fault. He could have easily said, this is the way we have always done it, no one has ever taught from a boat, what is everyone going to think of me doing it that way? No he realized that yes the Word was the same, that it didn't matter what others thought and he was going to change the way He was doing things in order to effectively communicate the Word of His Father.

Why then should it be hard for us, the Church to change the way we do things to more effectively communicate the Word of our Father? Change is GOOD, Change is GOD! The Message never changes, but the Method MUST!!

God Bless,
Nathan

I will NOT be defeated!!!

I have grown up in church my entire life and I can't imagine any other kind of life, trying to think about life from another perspective is very hard to do, but I have begun to try and look at the church from an outside perspective and see what does the World see? I have noticed something about the church as a whole here lately, this may offend some but I want you to really think about this because I believe it is the reason the Church and Christians in general are in the position we are today.

We have a DEFEATED mentality, what do I mean by that? Let me tell you, have you ever been in a service where the crowd was very low and someone got up and started talking about the fact that people were out and the crowd was low, but the Bible says where two or three are gathered in my name, I am in the midst of them? Don't get me wrong, God is with us no matter the numbers, understand where I am going here. Or have you been in a conversation where someone said, well were just doing what we can to survive, just trying to keep the people we have?

Why are we this way, does not the Word of God say in Romans 8:37-39 - Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Such a powerful portion of scripture but what I want you to notice is that it said that we are more than conquerors through Christ!! It's as if we haven't even read the back of the book that we live our lives by!! Why don't we start living a victorious life, because that is why Jesus came and gave his life on Calvary...John 10:10 - The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

Christ came not so we could live a defeated life, not so that we could act like we are handicapped in some way, but so we can live victoriously, so start doing just that break away from the defeated mind set and live a victorious life through Christ!!

God Bless,
Nathan

The Perfect Plan

I was talking to a couple of friends last night about some of the most controversial and confrontational issues that seem to be brought up anywhere you go, that seem to be the focus on TV shows, radio, newspaper, and the Internet. We talked about may different things, but one thing i noticed about everything that we talked about whether it was, homosexuality, abortion, health care, government, and so on...God gives a perfect plan for each and every one of these things.

Every question you could have about every one of these issue and many, many more, the questions are answered in the Word of God...God gives us the answer to each of these questions. He states clearly in His Word, that sex is to be saved for marriage (between one man and one woman), that thou shall not kill, (the scripture says that he begins to form us, while we are in the womb) he said that by His stripes we were healed, (He also gives men the wisdom to treat and prevent many diseases).

The more we talked about all of these things and looked at the facts, God's plan is PERFECT!! The only time things don't work is when we don't execute our part of God's plan, but God knew that would happen, in fact he said in His word, that there is no one righteous except Him, and he told us that our righteousness is as filthy rags, we can't obtain righteousness in our power. The Bible says in Romans, that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God!! Here is where we see the perfection of God's plan, he sent his only son Jesus to die on a cross to save us from our sins!! Jesus' blood wipes away all of our sins, all we have to according to the Word of God is call upon the name of Jesus and we shall be saved!!

God's plan is perfect, take care of your part of the plan and call upon the name of Jesus and he WILL save you!!

God Bless,
Nathan

Salt Pillars

Heard a great message last night on Hebrews 12 and the great cloud of witnesses that are in heaven cheering us on and Bro. Taylor also talked about Job's wife and how when the angel of the Lord came to deliver them from Sodom and Gomorrah he told them leave the city and don't look back for nothing. Which was God's way of telling us that we need to leave our sins and never look back!!

There are many great Godly men and women in heaven that are rooting for us and if they could tell us anything they would tell us, run on!!! Don't look back, there is nothing on earth that is worth missing heaven for!! It reminded me of the loved ones that I have lost that are there now and I can hear them telling me now, run on, run on, run on!!!! Hebrews 12 talks about running the race with patience, very important that we remember to do this, because this race is not a sprint, it is a marathon...so run on!

The only thing is that I am seeing a lot more salt pillars than I want to see, there are people turning back on God and they are turning back for things that will leave them thirsty for more and unsatisfied...so if you're reading this now and feel as though your faith is faltering or you feel weary..RUN ON!!! Don't look back, don't be a salt pillar...RUN ON!!!

God Bless,
Nathan

Prayer

Prayer is such a vital part to our relationship with God, I mean think about it...what if you only talked to your friends once, maybe twice a week? The relationship would suffer, you wouldn't know anything about your friend, you wouldn't know the things they like, the things they don't like, their goals, their dreams, their passions, none of that. You would know who they were, but you wouldn't know them! Same thing with a marriage or even a dating relationship, do you think the relationship would last long or have any kind of strength if the only time you talked to your spouse occasionally throughout the week and the only time you really took time to talk to them was when you wanted something from them...just a hint that relationship won't last long!

So, why do we act like it's so different with God? We will never see the revival that we say we want, we will never see the lost come to know Christ, we will never see the drunk freed from his addiction, we will never see the homosexual delivered from the bondage of their sin, UNTIL we learn what it means to pray. We MUST have a continual conversation with God, when we do we will know his will, we will know his passions, his heart, his desires!! The Bible says this, 2 Chronicles 7:14 - If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and PRAY, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways: then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. (emphasis added)

Notice the scripture says to "seek His face," which means that we are not asking God to do anything for us, but we are simply wanting to know Him. The writer in Philippians 3:10 simply said, "That I may know him..." I implore you to cry out to God, let Him know, all I want is to know you!!

Don't be satisfied with anything less than an extraordinary walk with God!
God Bless,
Nathan

Stuff

In 1 Samuel 25:13, there is a story of a time when David is angry with a man because he wouldn't give him any food, but that was not what the cool part of the story is...this is, the Bible says there in verse 13 that David left 200 hundred men with the "stuff" and took 400 to go and get himself some grub(paraphrased). Then if you go on to chapter 30, you will find that David and his men lost everything, their city had been burned to the ground, their families had been taken, everything that they had worked for and fought so hard for, was GONE!

Why??? Cause David and his men were too busy focused on "stuff," we do this all the time!! We focus on "stuff" that does not matter in the light of eternity, we watch and hour of TV instead of spending time in the Word of God and praying, we go to a ballgame instead of going to the house of God, we get so caught up in "stuff" that God becomes the last item on our priority list, next thing you know it, we fall right back into the sin that has held us captive for so long the sin that we thought we were past...we lose all of that spiritual ground that we had gained, all that we fought for is lost...

Thank God for his mercy!! We need to be more like the woman with the issue of blood in Mark 5, it said that she suffered many "things" of many physicians, there was a bunch of "stuff" the doctors had tried, there was a bunch of "stuff" that was in her life and rather than focus on the "stuff," she set her eyes on Jesus and determined in her heart that if she could just touch the hem of his garment she would be made whole and because of her faith, she was healed!! She focused on Jesus and not on the "stuff" around her!

So what is it for you "stuff" or Jesus?

God Bless,
Nathan

Inspiration

Wow, it is crazy how God created us where we can be filled with so many different emotions! Just earlier today, my wife and I, we said good-bye to one of my closest friends and his wife, that is going to Vanuatu for 2 years. It is unbelievable the vast mix of emotions that I am feeling right now and without a doubt, all of Steven's family and friends are feeling right now. I am so excited about what God is going to do through Steven and Kara, I am sad to see them go and not be able to hang out with them for another 2 years, and I am anxious to hear the great testimonies of God's power being made manifest in their lives!

Most of all I realized how tough it was to say good-bye, we hugged and said our goodbyes, and took pictures. And as we did this i realized why God commanded his disciples to GO! Because think about it, if Jesus had just suggested that it would be nice if we went, or mentioned how great it would be if we were His witnesses to the World, do you think there would have been such an urgency about preaching the Gospel?? I don't think so, we're too comfortable to take action from a suggestion, too at ease to have a passion for something that would be good, if it happened!!

Jesus commanded us to GO into all the World and preach the Gospel, to be His witnesses! Sure, he may not call you to somewhere across the seas, but what are you doing to obey that commandment in your own neighborhood?

BE His witnesses!!!
Nathan

Witnesses

Just preached yesterday on how we are called to be the witnesses of the gospel of Jesus Christ, The Bible says in Luke that Jesus said to his disciples that you are the witnesses of these things. This was during the time when Christ was giving the Great Commission, as Christians so many times we get so caught up with getting people converted that we forget that God did not call us to convert people, he called us to be His witnesses. We are called to simply present the gospel, and leave the results to God!!

Two quick examples of this;
1. Jarius came to Jesus and requested that he come and heal his daughter, and while they were yet on their way to his house there was a woman that had an issue of blood for 12 years that came and touched the hem of Jesus' garment and through her faith she was made whole. Yet when Jarius got back to his house with Jesus and Jesus told the people that the girl was not dead, but asleep, they laughed at him. There will be people that mock you, people that will laugh at you, people that reject you and disregard you when you present the gospel to them, but remember the results are not yours!

2. The woman at the well had a life-changing encounter with Christ at the well and then went into town and began to tell everyone come and see the man that told everything that I ever did! The bible says that the people came and heard Jesus and after a couple of days of being with him they told the woman, John 4:42 - And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.
Isn't that great, the change that was made in their lives was not because of what she said, but because of the work Jesus had done in their lives! So don't be intimidated, share your faith with someone today and leave the results up to God!!

God Bless,
Nathan

New Beginnings

I love the beginning of the month, it always reminds of the potential for greatness that resides in new beginnings. You can set new goals, rearrange your priorities, take a look back at the month before and see what you like and what you didn't like.

The beginning of a new month can be a great time to decide that you are going to strive to be closer to God, spend more time with your family, pursue that dream that God laid on your heart several months ago. You can determine in your heart to do anything, when you have a new beginning.

What would you do with a fresh start, a new beginning?

God Bless,
Nathan

Beyond Words...

That is God, He is truly beyond words, I mean seriously have you ever just sat down and tried to think about how awesome He is? It will blow your mind, you can't even think thoughts high enough, or holy enough, or majestic enough, or just enough, or righteous enough, or glorious enough to imagine how good God is!! That is why He said in the Bible, my thoughts are higher than yours, and my ways are higher than yours!! God is, simply put, beyond words!!

I saw this first hand last night, we were invited to preach @ the River of Life church in Ft. Smith by Pastor Phil Redding. It was a youth service and so the focus was on the young people, and if there is one thing I know about young people these days, it's that they are dealing with hurts, pains, and pressures that would make most adults go out of their minds! So we talked to them last night about the fact that they will have hurts to deal with in their lives. Things out of their control and mistakes they make, things in their control. We told them that they have to be humbled before God, so he can mold them into the vessel of honor he has intended for us to be. We told them sometimes it will seem like their lives are spinning out of control, but rest assured that God is in control!!! As we gave the altar call and the young people came to the altar and began to pray, it was amazing to see them seek the face of God!!

So, what does this have to do with God being beyond words? As I talked with the Assistant Pastor and he began to share some of the things some of the young people were going through, I knew that God had given us that message for those specific young people!! God is so amazing, he knows what each and everyone one of us need! He knew those young people needed to hear that the hurts were not their fault, that God is in control and he has a plan for their life!! And God knew that I needed to see that God knows what He is doing and that even when we feel unworthy he can use a willing vessel!

God Bless,
Nathan

Life Church

We are going to have a great weekend at our church, Life Church, and if you live anywhere near Bentonville, come be in service with us. Tonight @ 7 and Sunday @ 10 am. We will be dedicating our new building to God, that he would bless the location, fill it with His presence and anointing and that it would be used as a soul-saving station.

I love the idea of dedications, it shows that whether you are dedicating a building, a child, or your life to God, that you want it to have a purpose. So do that today "rededicate" your life to God today and when you do be specific about what you are committing your life to God for, what purpose you would like Him to carry out. Aim at nothing and you are guaranteed to hit it, aim at the stars and you are more than likely at least going to hit the clouds!

God Bless,
Nathan

The One Thing...

Heard a great message last Saturday night about the one thing, been thinking alot about that here lately. It seems to be something that God is wanting me to learn, because our church is going through John Bevere's heart ablaze and just today as I was looking through the books on my shelf I picked up God Chasers by Tommy Tenney. To be successful in anything we have got to realize the only thing that matters is that we go after God with all that is within us.

The scripture says, Psalm 42:1 - As the hart(deer) panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. (emphasis added) You notice how it says my soul panteth after? It means, that deer was seeking for the water, so we should be seeking for the living water, the way, the truth, and the life....Jesus Christ!!! Another scripture says this, Hebrews 11:6 - But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and the he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
(emphasis added) Notice again the key factor there that he rewards them that diligently seek him!!! You wanna know what that reward is???

The Bible tells us in James 4:8 - Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you...That is the reward, when you seek after God he rewards you by meeting you!! I pray that God places an insatiable hunger inside of you to truly know him and to be near him!!

God Bless,
Nathan

Where are all the Fathers?

This question has been rolling over in my head for the past few days and I know it is an issue that has been around for a long time and many people have written about and spoke about it, but I want to look at it from a different perspective.



Awhile back I was reading in 1 Samuel 7:1 - And the men of Kirjathjearim came, and fetched up the ark of the Lord, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the Lord.

I love this passage of scripture, because to me it shows the importance of the ark of the Lord, which symbolizes the presence of God, to 2 different generations. You see the presence of God would have not meant a thing to Eleazar had his Father not taught him the importance of sanctification as it relates to the presence of God. Understand that in the Old Testament times that God would not allow the ark to be placed in a "common" or normal place, the ark had to be placed somewhere that was set apart for the purpose of housing the presence of God, somewhere that was sanctified. The same is true today, God will not pour out his shekinah glory in just anyone, he wants someone that is sanctified, someone that has set themselves apart for the purpose of serving God!

If we expect a revival in our country we must become sanctified, set apart!! It has to start with the Fathers, the spiritual head of the house, we must first sanctify ourselves and teach the next generation the importance of sanctification...it is the only way we will experience God's presence!!

Where are all the Fathers??

God Bless,
Nathan

Is the hokey-pokey really what it's all about?

As silly as this question may sound, there are people that approach their lives as though all it's all about is the hokey-poky. They approach their lives as if the things that are eternally insignificant are important and the things that are eternally significant are not important. We get caught up in religious traditions and routines and forget the first commandment that Jesus gave us which is this, Mark 12:30 - And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all they heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

There was no part of us that was left out in that commandment, we are to love God with all that is within us!! When we do that we will realize that loving God is what it's really all about and NOT the hokey-poky!

Are you loving God with your everything?

God Bless,
Nathan

All that really matters...

Have you ever gotten so wrapped up in little things, that you forgot to take a step back and look at the big picture? I think we all have, we get so busy with "things" that really don't matter that we forget the one thing that is most important and that is our relationship with Jesus Christ!

It reminds me of the story in the Bible where Jesus goes to visit Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Martha gets so caught up working for Christ that she forgets to stop and tell Him how much she loves him, there is no doubt in my mind that Martha loved Christ. The very reason Martha was working so tirelessly was because of her love for Christ. So, don't stop working for Christ, but remember as Mary did, Luke 10:42 - But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

The Bible also says this, 1 Corinthians 13:3 - And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Basically what the Word is getting at here is that being in love with God is THE most important part of our lives.

How is your love relationship with God?

God Bless,
Nathan

The story of David...

I have been reading the story of David alot here lately, and it is amazing how you can hear and read a story in the Bible many times in your life and then God begins to lead you into a specific book or story in the Bible. It's amazing how much God has been revealing to me in this story, studying your Bible is so much better when you are led by the Spirit!!

One of the things that stood out to me last night, when David had the opportunity to take Saul's life and he cut his robe, the scripture said that pretty much immediately David's heart smote him...he knew as soon as he cut that section of Saul's robe, that he did not want to go down that path!! When Saul left the cave David followed him out, bowed to the ground on his knees, buried his face in the ground and let Saul know that he would not take his life....WOW!!

Can you imagine what would happen in the church if we could get some young leaders that would respect God's anointed, even when God's anointed is out to kill them? I think revival would break out in the church, we would begin to see some pastors, associate pastors, youth pastors, children's pastors, etc. begin to lay down their pride and sacrifice their selfish ambitions and be crucified with Christ....that is after all what we need. 2 Chronicles 7:14 - If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and heal their land.

God Bless,
Nathan

Where is God moving?

Too many times we find ourselves planning for an event, fundraising, and implementing new programs and then when the time comes to see the results of our labor and we don't see the results that we had hoped for or we fail completely we wonder, what happened?

Here is what we need to focus on, our relationship with God, when we fall in love with God and get closer and closer to him then we will get closer to Him and in turn he will reveal to us what He is doing, it is then up to us to move into what God is doing!!

God Bless,
Nathan

The most read blog...

Blog patrol gives us the ability to track how many people are looking at the blog everyday, as well as some other cool features like, it tells us how people found the blog, their exact words they typed in the search, what time they were there, and alot of other stuff...it's really awesome!

I have noticed that the most read blog is one I wrote last year about how everyone is looking for something to fill the void in their life, but what they don't realize, is it's a God-size void and there is nothing else that can fill the void but Christ...so since it seems to get the most hits and I am sure there are many of you that have not read it, I am posting a link to it in this blog...I hope that you enjoy and if you are searching, I hope that you find Christ!!

http://withoutdilution.blogspot.com/2008/04/filling-void-inside.html


God Bless,
Nathan

Leaving a Legacy

Heard a great message last night about training up our children in the way they should go and it got me to thinking about the fact that for so long we have been taught and have been teaching the next generation our traditions and methods and have forgotten that the most important thing to teach them is the "message" not our "methods." The last generations methods of winning people for Christ and even having church will not work for this generation and neither will the methods that reach this generation the one after it!!

Leave a legacy of faith and not one of tradition, leave them a love for God and not religious routines!!

God Bless,
Nathan

What is most difficult...

About going against the grain, breaking the mold, swimming upstream, standing up for what is right when everyone else around you is bowing down to what is wrong?

YOU tell me, what is the hardest thing about "breaking the mold"?

Break The Mold 5

I have had the great privilege and honor of sitting in on, today and tomorrow, training for a great non-profit organization operating here in NWA...It has been mission confirming, God has been using this training to affirm inside of me the vision and burden that God has laid upon our hearts!! I have been coming to a complete understanding of the message that God gave us to give to the young people that were there at the student conference this year...if you were unable to be there and would like to experience this life-changing event, send me an e-mail and let me know, we are going to be putting a DVD out of this years conference and I know that you will enjoy it and through it your life will be changed through the Power of God's Holy Spirit!!

It is so true that you teenagers/students/young people, whatever you want to be called, are being put into a mold, and here is the BIG news, you don't want to be and know it, but don't know how to break it...that's why God has placed this burden on our hearts!!!

Know that you CAN be what God has intended for you to be, you can BREAK THE MOLD!!!

God Bless,
Nathan

Break The Mold 4 (Being broken)

This week I want to talk about 2 different types of brokenness...one that so many people are and the other the type of brokenness God calls for us to be in order for him to mold us into the person he wants us to be!!

See being broken can be a good thing and it can be a bad thing, it all depends on whose perspective we looking through...and anytime we are looking through the worlds perspective it is always a bad thing, so what we want to do is begin to look at our lives and the things in our lives through God's eyes.

Before we can do that we have to become more like him...so, take this time and spend it in prayer and seek for more of God!! We will come back tomorrow and talk about brokenness and I hope that by then you will have set aside some time to get closer to God! We won't be able to see things from his perspective without first getting to know Him better!

God Bless,
Nathan

Blogging....

So yeah blogging can take alot out of you....sometimes you just don't have much to say so I'm blogging today to say nothing, cause I have nothing to say today!! May blog a little over the weekend...we'll see!!! Im trying to get in the habit of blogging everyday.

Taking my wife out tonight for our 3 year anniversary, excited about that...Have a good weekend!!

God Bless,
Nathan

Break The Mold 3 (Things we can control)

Yesterday we talked about the things that we cannot control that contribute to molding us into the person that we are right now, we went over some hurts and it was tough!!! Today we will be going over the things that we can control...this might hurt a little so put on your steel toed boots, cause I am going to step on some toes no doubt!!

Everyone makes mistakes no doubt, I make them all of the time! But when you begin to let the mistakes that you have made begin to define who you are that is when you succumb to failure and let the enemy succeed at what he aims to do, John 10:10 - The theif cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. In the end the choice is ours, the Bible says that Life and Death has been set before us, so choose life so that you and your children might live!! So even though the enemy has plans to utterly destroy you, it is ultimately your choice!

Choose your friends wisely, they are a direct reflection of who you are or who you want to be.
Choose your movies, music, magazines, and TV shows wisely because Junk in = Junk out, and if you want to be more like God than you are going to have to apply the scriptures to your life.
Philippians 4:8 - Finally, brethern, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of a good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

You can apply this to every part of your life, the way you dress, the way you talk, the things you listen to, the things you watch, the things you read, etc. Let's "Break The Mold" as young people go against the grain and make a stand for God!!!

God Bless,
Nathan

Break The Mold 2 (Things out of our control)

So when we talk about things that are out of our control we have to understand that there are so many things that are out of our control...think about it, loss of a loved one, abusive situations, parents that are not active in our lives or not present in our lives, where we are born, the economic status we are born into, and so on and so on!!! We can't control the way we look, the genetics that were passed on to us from our parents, we cannot control the sins that our parents were apart of and may still be apart of now!!

I want you to know this before I type anything else, God cares for you, he loves you and if you have been hurt or if you have mad a mistake he wants you to give that to Him, the Bible says, 1 Peter 5:7 - Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. So I want you to know that God cares for you and He wants to take your mistakes and your hurts and He wants to mold you and make you into a vessel of honor!!!

But I want to remove from you the excuses...see the Children of Israel had the same problem, they always used the excuse that the generations before them did it this way or were always dealing with these certain sins so we are just going to fall to them too...they were removing the blame from themselves and blaming their parents and grandparents. In Ezekiel 18 we see that God was fed up with their excuses and so he said this through His prophet, Ezekiel 18:2, 3 and 20, 21 - 2 "What do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying; 'The Fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children's teeth are set on edge'? 3 "As i live." says the Lord GOD, "you shall no longer use this proverb in Israel..." 20 the souls who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself. 21 "But if a wicked man turns from all of his shins which he has committed, keeps all of My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die... What the scripture is telling us is, yeah God knows there are some things out of our control, but it doesn't matter what has been done to you, you are responsible for your actions!!! Don't use the hurts of your past as a license to sin and live like you want to today!!!

In summary, you can't control other people's actions, but you can control your reactions!! So give God your hurts and your mistakes and let Him mold you and make you into a vessel of honor meet for the Master's use!!!

God Bless,
Nathan

Break The Mold

Going to start a new blog series this week and I am going to be basically blogging the message that I preached Friday night at the Conference. Typing it out it would be quite a lengthy blog so I am going to break it up into bits and pieces. Just so you know what is to come, I am going to give you the basic rundown and then I will go into detail with each point as we progress.

1. Know the internal and external forces that form me into who I am.
2. Here is the hardest part, being broken, we must be humbled before God.
3. Allow God to put us on the Potter's Wheel. (God is in control)
4. When we go through the fire of trials, know these are only solidifying us as the vessel of honor that God is making us to be!!

You ever seen the commercial where there are all of these people on these conveyor belts, women on one side and men on the other, at one point on the conveyor belt there is this machine that comes together around these people and when they come out on the other side they are all the same, the woman is blond hair, blue eyed? The guy is brown hair, green eyed, that is what the enemy does he uses those inside and outside forces in our lives and attempts to do the same thing to every person. The Bible says, John 10:10 - The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. So you can see that the enemy wants to put us all into that same mold, the destroyed mold!! But God wants you to break that mold, because he has life for you and it's an abundant life!!!

We will go into detail a little more tomorrow on the things that are out of our control that contribute to forming us into who we are today!

God Bless,
Nathan

What an amazing night!!

If you missed the Conference on Friday night it was completely your loss!!! There was an incredible amount of FREE stuff given away, there was GREAT music, there was a teaching session that was amazing, there were two people that shared the personal testimony of abuse and that was one of the most moving parts of the conference, real people talking about real things that matter to you!!! That is what Without Dilution is really all about...being relevant and being efficient in that relevance.

So, I want to hear back from you, what was your favorite part of the conference??? Leave us your feedback as a comment and share that with us!!

God Bless,
Nathan

2 Days...

We are 2 days away from Without Dilution Student Conference '09, wow that is really long we should really look into shortening that don't you think??

Anyways, very excited!! We are going to have a great time and hope to see you there...there will be a ton of free stuff, T-shirts, CD's, information, and all kinds of stuff!! We are going to have an incredible Praise and Worship band, great anointed speakers, and most importantly I believe that God will be in that place!! Be there, it starts at 7, but come early 6:30-6:45 to walk around and check out some of the tables that will be setup!!

God Bless and we'll see you there,
Nathan

2 Weeks!!!

We are officially 2 weeks away from the Student Conference, I hope you are excited as we are, and are ready to see God do some awesome things!!! It is overwhelming the response that we have received for this years Conference, there are people all over the area that when talking to them realize who we are and say, oh yeah our youth group is coming to that!!

We are also excited about the number of people that are partnering up with us to make this possible and to make it a great night! There will be a licensed and certified counseling service on site, in case there are young people that are seeking counseling services. There are a couple of other organizations that will be there or providing information for the young people, to help them navigate the seas of life, because they are people that are passionate about young people and know that the teenage years are hard!!!

If you haven't registered yet, you need to, you don't want to miss out on what God is going to do in the lives of young people that are ready to come and receive from God!!

God Bless,
Nathan

The pieces are falling into place...

For the Without Dilution Student Conference '09, we are very excited and can't wait to see what God is going to do in the lives of teenagers this year!!! There are different orginizations that are coming right along side of us and catching the vision to see God change some young people's lives and I cannot tell you how important it is that you get here for this Conference!!

It is August 21st @ 7 P.M. @ the White Auditorium on the campus of Northwest Arkansas Community College. Registration is 5$ and seating is limited so register quickly!! Call 479-936-4442 or 479-659-1760 to register!! Better come ready because God is going to "Break The Mold" that society has placed on some young people and begin to mold you and shape you into what he wants you to be!! The scripture says it like this, John 10:10 - The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

Psalm 139:14 says that we are fearfully and wonderfully made!!! God made you, with a purpose in mind and every talent that he has given you, every skill that you do or don't have, every inability he has given you, he gave you because he has something specifically for you to do!! That is so awesome to think about, the God that spun all of the universe into motion made me and not only that but all the while knowing that he has given me a purpose!! WOW!!!

If you can't tell, we are VERY excited, can't wait to see you there!!

God Bless,
Nathan

Commercial Spot

Hey guys, just wanted to give everyone an update...we got the video of the commercial spot for the conference back today and it looks awesome!!! We will be posting it to Facebook as soon as we can and encourage you to keep an eye out for it if you live in the NWA area, it is airing on the CW channel 34!!

We are very excited about what God is going to do at the conference this year and we can't wait to see you there! Get registered ASAP, registration is only 5$ and you will have a great time!!

God Bless,
Nathan

Time for an Examination

1 Corinthians 11:28 begins by saying, "But let a man examine himself "... This passage is referring to the examination that we are to do before we partake in communion, but I want to focus on that short phrase there, "let a man examine himself."

It is very important that we take the time and examine ourselves really take a look inside of ourselves, that we peel back the mask that we wear in front of others, get past all of the superficial stuff that is really not trully who we are, and examine ourselves...Doesn't look all that great does it? You and God are the only ones that can look inside of you and see the real you, to see all of your shortcomings, to see all of your past failures, to see all of your hopes and dreams, to see all of those thoughts that you wouldn't share with anyone, to see to the very intentions of your heart, to see all of the potential that is in you, to see all of the talents, abilities, and skills that are within you, only you and God can see the REAL you!!!

But, before you do that let me caution you because there are ditches on either side of the road that we all fall into at one time or another when we are performing a "soul examination," the first ditch is the ditch of denial, when confronted with who we reallt are we can simply deny the truth and say that is not who I am, I am not like that. These problems, thoughts, or shortcomings are not really there, they were simply one-time occurences. And we can go on and on with the excuses and the self-justification, but know this the Bible says in Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. Isn't that great to know?? ALL, that means everyone of us, saint and sinner, but the Bible also says this in Romans 5:20 - Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: Another passage states that God's grace is sufficient, and thank God it is, because all of us fall short of the glory of God, Christian and sinner!!

The second ditch that we can fall into is the ditch of condemnation, where when examining yourself you begin to condemn yourself for the fact that you have messed up or you beat yourself up, or punish yourself for sins that you have comitted, for wrongs that you have done that God has already forgiven you for. There is no need for this, the Bible says in Romans 8:1 - There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. If you have asked God's forgiveness, if you are walking after the Spirit, if you are striving to life your life for Christ, striving to become closer to him, forgive yourself for your past sins and leave the condemnation behind you and live the life that God has for you, He said in the Scripture, I have come that you might have life and that more abundantly...so live life in Christ and I gaurantee it will be an abundant life!!!

So when examining yourself, let God do it because not only can he show you the areas where you have fallen short, but he will also show you areas where you have grown in Him and this will give you hope for the areas where you still fall short!!

God Bless,
Nathan

Busy, busy, busy!!!

WOW....this summer has been so very busy with camps, youth rally's, and your normal summertime events!! On top of all of that we are in the middle of prepping for our 2nd annual Student Conference (which is going to be awesome!!!), my wife and I have just bought our first house and have been working non-stop on the house for the past 2 weeks, as soon as we get moved in we will then begin moving our church, Life Church, to our new location!!! So as you can tell we have been very busy...also, this past week we filmed the commercial for the student conference and it will begin airing on August 3rd on channel 34 the CW! We are very excited about the potential of the commercial and we are praying that God will use it to attract many young people to the conference!!!!

I apologize for the lack of blogging here lately and I intend to start blogging at least twice a week here in the near future( we'll see how that goes...lol). As for now I have to go, God Bless and we hope to see you at the Conference!!

Nathan

The Lie of Temptation

We are going through first Corinthians in our men's Bible study in our church on wednesday mornings and this past wednesday we read in 1 Corinthians the following scripture; Vs 13 - There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
This scripture caught my attention because when we face temptation when we are faced with the choice to sin, to do something that is wrong, we believe the lie that God somehow looks at us in a different light, or that we are somehow bad for being tempted! That is simply not true...it is a lie of the enemy and I am here to let you know that there is not a temptation that you face that someone else has not already faced, the Bible tells us that temptation is common to man!!

Good news though....God is faithful!!! He will not allow you to be tempted or tried beyond what you are able to bear, and it gets even better, with EVERY temptation he will provide a way of escape!!! Isn't that awesome? So stop believing the lie that the devil tells you that you are bad because you are being tempted, remember Jesus Christ was tempted and he was sinless.

Hebrews 4:14-16 - Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

I would say that when we are tempted that would qualify as a time of need and seeing how Jesus was tempted just as we were we can call upon him and he can provide us the grace and mercy that we need to persevere in our temptation!!!

So stop believing the lie of the enemy that would say that we are somehow less of a Christian because we were tempted, remind him that he tempted our High Priest and was defeated and that through the grace and mercy of God we will not be defeated!!!!

Nathan

Camp

We just got back from camp and the Presence of God was amazing!!! From the very first night the young people really got in and got what they needed from God, it was ordinary for young people to still be in the altars at midnight! I am so excited about what God is doing in this generation, I trully believe that god is raising up a generation that is going to turn the world upside down for Christ! In Acts 17:6 they spoke of some people that had "turned the world upside down," I was talking to a friend just the other day and we were both agreed that there is a hunger in this generation for more from God. I believe young people are tired of going to youth services and camps and being simply entertained, I believe there are young people that come to this page that are searching for more from God, or maybe even searching for God and don't realize it!!

If you do not know Christ as your personal Lord and Savior I want to give you this opportunity to accept him into your heart and life!!! First, Admit that you are a sinner, confess with your mouth that you have sinned and come short of the glory of God as the Word of God says that we all have. Second, Ask him to come into your heart and make you a new creature, to take all of your desires and wills and replace them with His desires and will!! Third, Believe that he has forgiven you of your sins, the Bible says that he has cast our sin as far as the east is from the west!!! One of the biggest traps of the enemy is to lie to people and tell them that God has not forgiven them or that he can't because of how bad the things are that they have done, Romans 5:20 says this, Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: Do you know what that means?!?!?!? That means that no matter how much or how bad you have sinned God's grace is sufficient to forgive you of that sin!! So don't delay begin your relationship with Christ today!!!


We are steadily working and planning for the 2nd annual Without Dilution Student Conference at the White Auditorium on the campus of Northwest Arkansas Community College, things are coming along very nicely and we are very excited about what God is doing and what he is goin to do!! You can register now by contacting me @ chesterntx@hotmail.com, there is a registration fee of 5$ and that will go to cover the expenses of the conference. Stay tuned for more updates!!!

God Bless,
Nathan

Identity Crisis???

The blog today is in the form of a question...

What is the best way for a Christian young person to stand out among their unsaved friends? How are Christian young people standing out in the culture today, or are we at all?

I wrote a blog here awhile back that there are statistics that state that only 4% of this generation are Christians, so really it shouldn't be that hard to stand out! I want to hear from you, leave a comment and tell me how you stand out for Christ, how are you a city on a hill?

I look forward to hearing the response...
God Bless,
Nathan

Identity Crisis 2

As we continue to talk about this identity crisis that the church, and christians for that matter are experiencing, I want to show you something from Proverbs 7. This portion of scripture speaks of a woman that has dressed herself up as a harlot in order to attract interest from a young man that, as the scripture says, was void of understanding. The modern church in America, and to an extent around the world are doing just this, dressing ourselves up in a way that would appeal to the flesh of those that are void of understanding. The church is augmenting with flesh to attract the world. We have come to a place where we are more concerned about pleasing men and filling our churches than preaching the truth of God's Word!!!

Just as the woman in Proverbs 7, the church has forgotten who we are, we have lost the power of the Holy Spirit and as a result we have deferred to trying to please the people than to do what the Word of God has commanded us to do, and here is what the Bible says, John 12:32 - And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. I always thought when reading this scripture that meant if I praised God that all men would be drawn unto Him, and I do believe when we praise Him that people will be drawn to Him. I also believe that the scripture is saying when you lift me up, Jesus. Jesus, the way, the truth, and the life then as a result of presenting that truth without dilution and without concern of pleasing men, then I will draw them unto me through the conviction of my Holy Spirit!!


We will go over the reason for churches/christians losing their identity and the power of the Holy Spirit in the next blog.

God Bless,
Nathan

Identity Crisis

Many parents, youth pastors, and pastors would all agree that "Christian" young people and "Christian people as a whole have lost their identity in this world...they no longer look different than their unsaved peers, they no longer act different, talk different, or even have different "worldviews" than their unsaved peers.

Ever wonder why that is? There is a very simple answer to this very complex question, the Word of God says very simply in Romans 8:15 - For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba Father."

Think about that scripture for a moment, it says very plainly that we are adopted into the family of God!!! What better family could there be? Is there anyone else that you would rather have as your Father than the one that hung the sun, the moon, and the stars in the sky?? Is there anyone else that you would rather have as your Father than the one that spoke and whole galaxies came into existence, who breathed the very breath of life into you? NO WAY, that is so AWESOME!! The God of all the universe picked me?? Yes, that is the very defintion of adoption, it means that out of all of the other kids that were better looking, more talented, or had better hair than you, God CHOSE you!! That is awesome, right?!?!?!!

So, what does it mean if all of the "Christians" are the same as the sinners? What this simply means is that instead of Christians receiving the Spirit of adoption that we are to receive at Salvation which begins the process of becoming totally different then our peers, we have received that spirit of bondage, that spirit of fear.

The scripture says in 2 Timothy 1:7 - For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. For the enemy to get a Christian into bondage he must first place a fear inside of them. The easiest fear for a person to yield to is the fear that they are not loved, therefore the enemy will lie to them in a spiritual desert and tell them that God does not love them and the people around them don't love them. This will eventually lead them into the bondage of trying to feel loved and trying to feel accepted. Therefore they forget who they are(A child of the King, whose salvation was paid for with the blood of Jesus Christ), and succumb to this identity crisis.

I have so much more that I want to say about this, but it is so much that it would be way too much for one blog...I will try to get another blog continuing on this topic posted next week...stay posted.

God Bless,
Nathan

Monkey see, Monkey do

You've heard the expression monkey see, monkey do?? As we are talking about how the culture affects young people and people in general, I wanted to share this quick thought with you tonight.

I was getting ready for Bible Study earlier tonight and was fixing my hair and my 16 month old son came up behind me and started watching the way I was fixing my hair. After a couple of minutes he figured that he needed to fix his hair as well so he started mimicking my actions.

This triggered a question in my mind, if a 16 month old copies the actions of someone he loves and looks up to, how much more do teenagers do this all the time?? Why do teenage guys think it is cool to have sex with as many girls as they possibly can, because that is what is portrayed as normal and is even praised in our culture. Why do teenage girls think that it is cool to get pregnant outside of marriage, because in the last few years this is something that has been glorified in our culture.

Teenager, instead of looking for someone here to model yourself after, why not look into the Bible and model yourself after Jesus Christ!! Men will always let us down, but Jesus will never fail!! He is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

Parents, Pastors, Youth Pastors, etc., know that there are teenagers that are going to be watching you, we need to develop a relationship with Jesus Christ and anytime a young person seems to trying to model themselves after you let them know that they need to be looking to Jesus Christ!!!

God Bless,
Nathan

The Influencing Culture

When you hear the word culture, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? The first thing I think of is the influence culture has on our lives, the decisions we make, where we shop, the clothes we wear, the places we eat, etc. People really have no idea how influential the culture that surrounds you can be.

I imagine that you could finish the following phrases from popular advertising campaigns, McDonald's - I'm ________.
Burger King - Have it ________.
Taco Bell - Think ____________.
This is a very simple example of how familar we are with our culture and how ingrained these things are in our mind.

So don't you think that all of the emphasis that is placed on young girls being skinny and looking like a model contributes to the many girls that are bulimic or anorexic. These girls that have it constantly before them that if they are going to amount to anything in life that they have to be a certain weight or do their hair a certain way or dress a certain way. Or, how about the young man that all he sees on TV is guys that are having sex with any and every girl that will let them and they are led to believe that this is what makes them a Man, or the young man that sees homosexuality always before him and is led to believe that he was born that way? Absolutely, our culture, our scoiety, has a great influence in this area.

More and more we are seeing these thing I just mentioned placed before our young people and we wonder why our society is in a downward spiral. We wonder why are young people are not turning out to be upstanding citizens, when all they see and hear is that there is no absolute, no right and wrong, and it all depends on the situation.

How do we combat this culture that so influences us and our young people??? We can only reverse the course we are right now with one action, to tell this generation the truth of the Word of God!!! The church and christians have got to stop hiding in a corner and stand up and proclaim the Word of God!!!

Romans 1:16 - For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

God Bless,
Nathan

Coming Soon....The ever influencing culture

In the next series of blogs I want to talk about how culture affects our everyday lives, our decisions, and our way of thinking. We will go into how the media greatly influences this part of our society and greatly dictates the direction of our culture. Don't get me wrong, I am not the kind of person that blames all of our societies problems on one group of people or one reason. I am going to cover many other factors that contribute to the "soup" of our culture, I am just using the media as an example.

We are living in a time where our culture is corroding, a time when morals are being thrown out the window in favor of selfish pleasure and personal gains, a time when the minority are ruling our schools, political arena, social arena, media, and even our churches. We are letting 2 or 3 so-called "experts" dictate the fact that there is no longer an absolute right and wrong in every situation, letting the same "experts" tell us what is and is not politically correct. The next time you hear the term "politically correct" I want you to realize it really means morally perverse!!

Well before I get too deep into the subject of culture, I willl let that be a "teaser" of what is to come...thank you for your time and we hope you come back soon and keep up to date on the blog.

Also, please sign up for the Newsletter that we are putting together, we are working on that now and would love or you to sign up and stay up to date with Without Dilution Ministries.

God Bless,
Nathan

Free Newsletter

Just wanted to give everyone an update, we are in the middle of creating a Without Dilution Newsletter that will keep everyone informed in regards to updates on the Student Conference, updates on our speaking schedule and keep you updated as to when the blog is being updated. We are in the designing stage and it should be out here soon, if you noticed there is a new feature here on the blog for you to sign up for the newsletter, go ahead and sign up for the newsletter and as soon as we send the first one out you will get it!!! There are so many exciting things happening that we want to keep everyone updated and give you an opportunity to see where we are in our fundraising for the Conference and keep you up to date as to where we will be speaking so you can come and be a part!!

God Bless,
Nathan

Sanctification in Dating

This is Melanie and this is the first time I’ve written a blog for ‘Without Dilution’ & I’m a little nervous. My husband lets God talk through him to you on this blog. I only hope I meet half the standards already set.

This blog that Nathan has asked me to write is on dating & unfortunately I probably have too much experience concerning this topic. I know exactly what you’re feeling, thinking, wanting, etc. & you’re also probably saying something like, “More Rules? Not again…I’ve heard all there is to hear anyway.” Well, you’re wrong this time…I’m actually going to help you find true romance!!

Nathan & I have known each other since we were 6 yrs of age & under. When we started dating a little over 3 yrs ago, we fell in love and got married just 9 months later. Even though we are in the center of his will being married, I still wish we would have gone through our journey a little different. Meaning…I wish we would have made Christ more the center of our relationship, paid more attention to our quality time instead of touching, and dated each other around our friends. Hindsight is always 20/20, but I know that I can make it to where your site is NOW 20/20 and you don’t have to look back w/regrets!

2 Corinthians 6:16&17nkjv says, “…For you are the temple of the living God…Therefore Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord…”. Wow…what a convicting Scripture! So if we can apply the Bible to our every day lives, as we have been taught, then how much should we obey this scripture? So, I’m going to paraphrase this verse, “So if you’ve given your body to the living God and he lives in you…you are his temple…ACT LIKE HIM, NOT THE WORLD!”
The worlds standards or thoughts about dating just keeping getting more twisted as we go along. They think that if you like someone than you should date them, hold hands, kiss, sleep w/them, and then leave them. Well, if we need to be separate than the world, then that means we should do things different than them even if it’s something as “simple” as dating. Let’s look at a few things we can do different.

Our heart seems to be pretty special to God. Look at this verse, Romans 10:9kjv “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine HEART that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” He’s saying that if you just believe then he will guard your heart. I’ve come to realize that if I wouldn’t have “liked” or “fell in love” w/so many different guys and got my emotions all wrapped up in them then I would have so much more of my heart, emotions, and being to be able to give to my husband. I had given pieces of my heart away to different ones I dated that once I decided to give my complete heart to Nathan that there wasn’t much to give.

I can give you a few practical things to do to find true romance. Number 1, don’t date just for fun ha. I had a person tell me, when I was younger just to date everyone I could for fun and have fun doing it. Well, now that I’m older and I see what damage it did to me that person has changed their mind about that one! I know that everyone else is dating everyone else and it’s “fun” to keep up w/the popular kids at school or even your close friends, but the end result is heart break.

Number 2, date in groups. Those were some of my absolute favorite times were when I went on dates when there was a ton of friends around. We never had to regret anything we did, we were definitely ourselves around our friends, and we got to know each other way better cuz there wasn’t any pressure!

Number 3, if you do go on alone dates…make that time to not touch. I know, I know…what a stupid thing, but emotions & hormones rise when touch happens. In fact, God knew a lil something about this…He even put a scripture verse in the Bible about it. 1 Cor 7:1b nkjv, “…It is good for man not to touch a woman.” God knew where things might lead if hearts were not guarded and that we were ending up doing the same things the world does.

At the end of the day God wants you to find the right man for you life. He just has different ways of getting there and it is ALWAYS the best way! If you give your heart to God, He will give your heart to the right man at the right time!! That’s the secret for finding true romance…just let God do it!

Being Sanctified in your Movies, Music, Magazines, etc.

Have you ever heard the phrase, "Garbage in, Garbage out?" Basically what that means is, if you ate a double cheeseburger with fries and a large soda every day,that eventually your arteries would begin to be affected by the cholesterol that you are putting into your body everyday. Your arteries would become clogged, your heart would not be supplied with the amount of blood that is needed to keep it going and eventually you would have a heart attack.

This is how it works with what we allow into our minds, if we allow things like sex scenes in movies, songs about getting high, and magazines that give the best sex tips eventually we will begin to desire these things. “You will inevitably adopt the morality of the programs, movies, books, magazines, music, Internet sites and conversations you participate in."

Remember this, "You crave what you feed on, and you feed on what you crave."

What people fail to realize is that if you constantly put "junk" in your mind then eventually that junk will come out in your actions, the scripture addresses this issue. Proverbs 23:7 “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…” What you watch, read, and listen to affects your way of thinking.

So if we are going to be "set apart" in what we watch, read, and listen to then how do we do that? How do you know if the movie that you are wanting to watch is not junk? How do you know if that new song is junk? Follow this simple rule and it is found in the scripture, Phillipians 4:8 "Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of a good report…think on these things.”

Also pray this Psalm as a prayer that God would let you know in your heart if that movie or song is not pleasing to Him, Psalms 119:37 Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, and revive me in your way.

A practical way to check a movie to see if it is "garbage" or "good," you can go to www.crosswalk.com and check it out there. They have a review on just about every movie that comes out.

Keep checking back, the next blog will be on being "sanctified in dating."

God Bless,
Nathan

Sexually Sanctified

First, let me begin by giving a definition of the word sanctified, it's not a word that is frequently used in our modern culture. It means to be set apart as sacred of to be purified and free from sin. The scripture says this about sanctification;

1 Corinthians 6:10, 11 - Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

When you have been saved by the grace of God, the scripture says that you have been washed clean of your sin, you have been set apart, because you are precious to God, and the last part of that scripture says that you are justified, another word we don't use often, but being justified means that since being saved because of the power in the grace of God, it is literally as if we have never sinned.

Is that not the most awesome thing you have ever heard? As a Christian, God has sanctified us, do you know what that means?!?!?? God values you, yes he does, or else he wouldn't set us apart from the world and free us from sin and desire purity in our lives!!!

I'll explain it like this, how many have ever heard of fine china?? Fine china is very nice dinnerware that is only brought out on special occasions. So this dinnerware is not used everyday you don't use the bowls every day for cereal, and the reason is not because you don't like the dinnerware and not because you think less of the dinnerware, no you treasure it and that is the reason that you don't allow it to be used for some of the other things that you use the rest of your dinnerware.

God is the same way with his people, God has not placed sexual boundaries on his people because he does not want us to enjoy ourselves, but because he wants to keep us from destroying ourselves!!

1 Corinthians 6:13 -
Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body…

So, what have we learned from this? We have learned that God has set us apart for a purpose and that means that we are valuable to God!!! That is AWESOME!!!

Stay tuned as we continue this series on being sexually sanctified, God Bless.

Nathan

How Time Flies

I can't believe how long it has been since we have been on here to blog, the Holiday season was very busy and our normal routine was interrupted so I have not been on here for quite a while....

Continue to be in prayer with us as we continue to seek the LORD for this years Without Dilution Student Conference, also stay tuned in the near future we may have our own website!!!

I pray that you are encouraged from this page and that the LORD will speak to your heart and change your life through the words that are "spoken" here!!

Check back often, we will be starting a new blog series on what it means to be "sanctified" sexually and in every facet of life in today's society. I encourage you to leave a question about being set apart or different from your friends in the way you handle sexual temptations, sex jokes, sex scenes in movies, etc. That way I can know better of what to address on the subject.

I know your reading, now interact, that is what the comment box is for!!!! If you do not want anyone else to see your question or comment, e-mail me at chesterntx@hotmail.com!!

God Bless,
Nathan