In the beginning... Pt. 1 - I Am

"And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM...

-Exodus 3:14

It won't seem to let me go but we as Christians often fail to see the I AM... God. While there are those who deny God's existence, there are denominations, non-denominations, organizations, independent churches, fellowships, and even non church goers who believe that even God, Jesus Christ Himself existed yesterday, just as He exists today, and as He will exist tomorrow (Heb 13:8). 

*This will be the first installment of an "I AM" series and I will probably build onto this series from time to time.

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While  many proclaim the very existence of God there are others who seem to publicly deny or question God's existence. For years, I wondered how anybody could not believe in God. "I mean He created the WHOLE Earth!" (In my Sunday School state of mind)

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."
Genesis 1:1

WE ALL at some point in our lives have heard/read this particular verse. 

Just imagine. You've gone through life without anyone telling you about God or that He even exists. Someone hands you a Bible and you turn to the first verse of Genesis and... wait for it. Mind blown.

God created the heavens and the Earth. With all these theories and assumptions of how this was all created and to see how beautiful and majestic that the Earth really is, from the mountains to oceans to the ice caps and to the deserts, leave it up to God to proclaim that all we see, the very planet we live and breath on, He created it.

Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, 
so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. 
-Hebrews 11:3

God didn't try to explain Himself to us of HOW He could have possibly done that. He pretty much just said. I created it. What's next. Oh! Its dark? Let me just create "light."

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. -Hebrews 11:6

Did you miss it? God isn't one to try to prove Himself to us. Either we believe the hardest thing to believe with faith or reject it. When we first have faith, God will begin to ADD to our faith as we grow in knowledge and "diligently" study His word.

I want to encourage someone to dig deeper in the Word of God. Let Him open your understanding. Grow your faith. Spread the Gospel.

It's Still A Can of Beans.

Take a can of beans, rip the label off, and place it on a shelf of canned tomatoes and suddenly you've got an extra can of tomatoes, right? Nope. Clearly that's just not possible. Just because you remove the label and place it on another shelf doesn't automatically change what's on the inside. Its still a can of beans.

This happens to be a common crisis with Christians, even yet Apostolics in this current generation. Being created in the likeness of God (Gen 1:26) with a God-given purpose (Jer 1:5) and working power to overcome anything that comes our way (Luke 10:19), we often are faced with the dilemma of thinking that we're a "can of tomatoes" just because we are on the same shelf as they are. We forget that on the inside we are still a can of beans despite the label we've got or the situation we are in.

Now I know beans is probably not the best analogy for a born again believing follower of Christ but beans we are and beans we are called to be!

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: 

because thou hast rejected knowledge, 

...seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God..." Hosea 4:6 

I have cone to realize three things:

1. We can lose our identity simply by not knowing enough or not knowing anything at all.
2. Forgetting the boundaries and commandments God has so graciously set for our safety can easily lead us to the shelf of "canned tomatoes."
3. Knowledge is the key to the preservation of our God-given life.

I believe that God is calling a generation to rise up and study the Word for themselves. A Pastor or Student Pastor only has but a few hours each week to speak God's word into our lives. Yet, we continue to fill the rest of our week with "stuff" that causes us to forget WHO we are in the times of our identity crisis.

We are a child of God. We are Apostolic. We are and will remain a can of beans.

More than Words...

Probably 9 out of 10 of you may be thinking I'm about to chime in on one of Eric Clapton's classics. Unfortunately that will have to be for another time.

I had just finished my first class on the "Major Prophets" at Purpose Institute. Leaving with an overloaded brain from Dr. Segraves lecture, I had turned in my final and headed out the door. I was simply amazed how someone could "juliennely" (not a real word) slice scripture just like that.

As Bro Segraves began to take scripture by scripture and begin to break it down, he stumbled upon a particular verse in Isaiah.

"When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shall not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee." -Isaiah 43:2

As his voice began to break and tears rolled down from his face, he was reminded of a point in his life where everything was not going how it was expected. He was attacked from every angle emotionally, spiritually, and mentally. But at that instance God had spoke through a man to give Bro. Segraves this particular verse. And in reading that verse alone God had given him that peace that simply passes all understanding.

We may find ourselves just reading God's Word out of a habit, or daily routine, or even trying to find a message to teach or preach on but don't be so quick to read your chapter and set it down. Let God's word speak to you. These are more than just words on a page or application on your tablet, these are the very words of Jesus Christ! Be blessed!

Chef Mike - Deep Fried Gator

Ok like I had mentioned before I was going to cover anything spiritual, travel, music or food. Well here's the first food blog! And rather the most awkward type of food to start with... Deep Fried Gators!

Not sayings they're my favorite by far but I had a good friend who had some to spare and I am going to attempt to cook them they best way I know how. Deep Fried!

Deep Fried Gators Recipe
-Package of Gator (Cut in big chunks)
-Flour
-Large Egg
-Buttermilk or Milk
-Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning
-Louisiana Hot Sauce
-Onion Powder
-Garlic Powder
-Chili Powder
-Cumino Powder
-Salt and Pepper to taste

Batter Mixture:
-Take 2 cups of Buttermilk (or Milk and 1 egg), couple dashes of Louisiana Hot Sauce, garlic and onion powder, and 1 tbsp of Tony's in a bowl and mix it all together.

Dredging Mixture:
-Take your cup of flour, garlic, onion, chili, and cumino powder, along with salt and pepper and mix that in another bowl or pan.

Before cooking I would marinate the gator with garlic, onion and cumino powder and let it set for a few minutes.

Begin by taking several chunks of gator and dropping them in your batter for a little bit and then roll them in the dredging mixture. You can repeat this several times but one or twice is enough. Then deep fry for a few minutes until golden brown and service it with Ranch Dressing.

I'll be posting pictures soon!

Happy Eating! =)

A Change of Pace

The other day a friend of mine and I met up for lunch and happened to get on the subject of just not having enough time to do all of the stuff we need to do in a day. Then it hit me when was the last time you had to "kill some time"? Not the in the sense of taking a sledge hammer to your alarm clock in morning but just actually having time to spare.

It's crazy to think that we can easily find enough "stuff" to fill our day and not have time to rest or even time to spend with God. We come home from work or school and we can think or point out something that needs to be done and if there maybe nothing that needs to be done we can find ourselves in front of a computer or ipod, ipad, yada yada... and before you know it you've let hours upon hours pass you by.

Even as I began formulating this blog I felt God was calling me out through my own words. Enough to set my phone down and read His word. We wake up every morning with our own agenda in mind and I want to encourage someone to just simplify your day... slow down... find time each day to talk to God and let Him speak to you.

"...let us lay aside every weight, and the sin that doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us"
-Hebrews 12:1

More than Religion Part 2

I posted a little while back on the Part 1 of this series and have had some time to continue meditate over this. I may come back to this subject later on but here the last of this series for now.

When I first got into church I was oblivious to the so called "Order of Service." You know Praise and Worship, Announcements and Offering, more songs, then preaching and finally the Altar Call. While others were familiar with this order, I was not. When I felt God beginning to deal with me I would find myself with my hands over my head, praying, and seeking God right in the middle of service.

As I reflected over the first couple of years I was in church, I began to notice of the humbleness and innocence I once had in the house of God. We ought to know by now the longer we're in church, the more we begin to become that "professional" Christian. We know when to lift our hands, find our cue for a clapping point throughout the message, etc. we become so formal and almost robotic in our praise and worship that we slowly lose that hunger for his Spirit to consume every part of us.

I want to encourage someone today that maybe heading down this road or even finding themselves at this point in their life. If you will just humble yourself as a child, trusting and submitting yourself to the will of God you will encounter more than just a religion but a true relationship with Jesus Christ.

More than Religion... Part I

A cousin of mine from New Jersey kinda inspired to write about this topic today and I'm hoping to keep up this blog more consistently and frequently. As the week of Arkansas District Camp meeting begins, Bro Bernards message comes to mind about "The Revival of the Eleventh Hour." Such a timely but challenging message. We read in Matthew of the parable of the workers in the vineyard and see how when the landlord decides to begin the harvest he goes out and hires laborers. But as it gets closer to sunset in the eleventh hour he finds that he underestimated the amount of the harvest so he goes out to find other laborers to work the field before the day is over.

With the way of world nowadays, the corruption and immorality of our media, the many natural disasters, weather extremes and so on, it's no denying that we are living in the Eleventh Hour and God is calling born again believers in Jesus Christ to be the laborers in this day. The way culture is today it is near impossible to reach out to this world on our own but like Bro Bernard said we need the help of the Holy Ghost to do just that. We've got to be the center of the world for love. Too many churches push away public sinners when they are sinners themselves. It doesn't matter the lifestyle nor the sin God's love and His saving Blood trumps it all. People can just get stuck in the tradition and formality of living for God that we find people left and right giving up and turning away from simply because they never got in their hearts...

I'll continue on to the next blog! God Bless!