What Would You Do?

Let's say that you were in a situation where you could share the gospel or be quiet. Let's say that sharing it would lead to your death. It would also mean eternal life for someone else. Would you shut up or keep talking?

Thousands upon thousands of Christians worldwide are faced with this question regularly. I know what the right answer is, but am afraid that i would mess up. Would you give up your life to change someone else's outcome for eternity? If someone else gave their life for you to hear the gospel message, would you listen. Jesus did, and the apostles did too.

Matthew: died by sword or axe in Ethiopia.

Mark: died by being dragged by a horse through the streets of Alexandria, Egypt.

Luke: hanged in Greece.

Peter: crucified upside down, said he wasn't worthy to die like Jesus.

James the Just: Thrown off of the temple roof (100 ft up) and didn't die, then beat with a club. This is said to be the same temple in Matthew 4 that satan tempted Jesus on. James was also close to 94 years old when this happened.

James son of Zebedee: beheaded, it is said that the guard got saved and also beheaded after hearing him defend his faith in Christ.

Bartholomew (Nathan): flayed by a whip to death in what is now Turkey.

Andrew: crucified on x shaped cross. Reported to have said, "I have long desired and expected this happy hour."

Jude: shot with arrows

Matthias: stoned and beheaded

Barnabas: stoned in Salonica

Paul: tortured and beheaded in Italy

Phillip: crucified

Steven: stoned

John: boiled in oil in Greece (and lived, supposedly unharmed :), sent into slavery, then released and became bishop.

These were some of the more well known desciples. There were and are countless others from then and now. Think about them next time you feel uncomfortable sharing the gospel. Chances are, none of these things would ever happen to you. If you want to know what the gospel is about contact me on the blog. Or check out this site: http://www.lostseed.com/meet-jesus/get-saved.php

So not worthy,

tony

sources: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=death+of+the+apostles+of+jesus&aq=1&oq=death+of+the+apostles&aqi=g2

Mighty to Save

One of Lainey's favorite songs is Mighty to Save. I love hearing her sing it. There is something about a little 2 year old sounding voice saying, " foreva, autor of balbation... my God is mighty to save he is mighty to save." I wish you could hear it. This song truly moves me everytime i hear it because it is just so true. He is mighty to save...to save us from anything. So many times we think of just being "Saved" in the say the sinner's prayer sense, but he is really beyond that. He opens the doors to our lives in a nick of time and can save us from anything going on in our lives. He can move mountains. I think back to some kids in our youth group that were just not like "normal" kids. I found out that they weren't. God is mighty to save because when these kids gave their lives to him, they got a future of hope. Some of them may have ended up in jail, in depression, in dead end exploitive relationships, or just dead. God is Mighty to save and i am awed at how he can fill in hurts with an abundance of His grace, mercy, and love. Now these un "normal" kids are leaders in the group. They were once the misled, confused, obnoxious, disturbing students and God's grace has transformed lives once again. I can't wait to see what God is planning in their lives. I am proud of them as i am all my students.

Waiting-

tony

p.s. If you have never heard mighty to save check it out on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-08YZF87OBQ

God Was Here

I was in a bathroom and noticed some writing on the wall. People have a need to feel noticed. "John was here" That is what it said, and when you think of it, lots of places say "_______ was here." Do we really need to let people know where we were and come on, a bathroom, wow...no way John; you were really in a bathroom at a rest area? Why not save the graffiti for the really special places, like the top of Mt. Everest, or the Grand Canyon. Maybe even at the homeless shelter you might volunteer at or something like that. (just a disclaimer, i don't endorse actually doing this, i'm just speaking tongue in cheek) This week our students went to camp. I expected a couple of kids to make decisions to get closer to God, but i never expected 2o% of them to get saved. It was awesome! God truly was there and i wanted to write it in the bathrooms of the college campus that we were at, but didn't. It was great five got saved and several others made choices to make missions part of their lives. That was just as awesome to me as the decisions to surrender to Jesus. God was there, God was here and will continue to be. Don't doubt that He can't work on a person or situation. The greater the sinner, the greater his grace.
His forever,
tony

Father's Day

How many times do you feel like we overdo the little holidays. The card companies love the little holidays like: Father's Day, Mother's Day, Valentines Day, St. Patrick's Day, Arbor Day, ... well maybe not Arbor Day. Father's Day is awesome. I am a dad and that is what makes it all that much better. Sure i love my dad and calling him and sending him a card is great, but having my two kids spilling the beans and telling me what they got for me, a week before Father's Day is awesome. I mean they get so excited that they actually picked out my card, a Dora the Explorer one (there is a shout out to all my Latino followers) They loved giving me a gift and making me happy. This sounds cocky but don't take it that way... I love for them to think that they can make me happy. I think it is awesome that they get all happy and excited trying when they gave me something. They glowed when they knew i was opening my gift, and that is a feeling i hope i never forget.

Is that what God feels like when i go all out for him? Does it light him up the way my kids do for me? I know that the bible is a love story between a holy and righteous, powerful God and weak, incapable, wavering mankind, like a grown man loving his little children.

Even though my kids technically spent my money on my gift, it was better than anything i could have bought myself. Sort of like when i use all of the abilities God gave me to help His cause.

So i dare you, try to make God smile.

Mirrors

²²Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ²³Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror²⁴and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does. James 1:22-24

What is our deal with mirrors?

We are always looking at ourselves whenever we pass by. To check our hair, teeth, zippers... and why so we can look good and change our appearence if we need to. How stupid would we be if we saw a huge black thing in our teeth and we wanted it out, but instead, we just looked at it in the mirror then walked away. In James we are reminded to put God's word into action in our lives, otherwise we are just like the person that walks by the mirror, notices the teeth junk and doesn't get rid of it. To say the very least, we would have weak faith, if any at all.

Don't forget to floss,

tony

Mission Possible

Mission Projects: The term stirs up all kinds of images and thoughts, some good and some negative. We think of people living in straw huts half way around the world. Missions are to bring hope and help to those living with hurt and usually some sort of other obstacle or obstacles. We think of leper colonies in India, or a village that has been through all sorts of trouble in Africa or South America. A lot of times we don't get involved in "mission work" because it will cost us too much. We need to have time and money to be involved in a "mission."

Here's the deal, you live in a mission field. You don't need to have a plane ticket across the globe to do God's work. You can be the hands and feet of Jesus in your home town. You may say, 'but there aren't any tribes in my town that have leprosy...' I beg to differ. There are all sorts of people in your community that are experiencing hurts and have nobody to share them with.

A problem that Christians face is that we don't know where to find them and instead we just do charity work. Yes that is right, i just made charity work sound negative. Here's why. We need to be involved. Young followers of Christ need to be actively involved with those who are hurting. Charity needs to be the last resort of a true Christian. We need to never get too busy for a person in need of a friend or a helping hand. It is amazing the connections you can make when you meet the needs of a friend or a friend's friend. You don't need to find a particular mission field. Let your experiences and your current relationships be your mission field. "Love until it hurts, then love some more" -Mother Theresa.

I am trying this myself, unsuccessfully at times.

tony

Summer Time

It has been a few weeks since the last blog. School is out and summertime is in the air. It is funny how lives change during the summer, we leave the school year as one thing and then re enter it in a new grade. It is amazing for me as a teacher to see the changes in students' lives over the summer for some they grow physically, others mentally and some don't change much at all. My point is this: if we belong to Christ, we are constantly going to be under change. People around us should be like your teachers in the fall and think, "Wow, they really grew!"

Does it all happen at once? Of course not. But be faithful to God and His word and allow it to change you. If you do this you will grow. When people go on a diet, they don't all of the sudden drop 10 lbs. It takes more than a day or a week to grow spiritually. Going to church a certain number of times in a month, going to a conference or a camp isn't going to just "POOF" change you but it takes time. Fight the fight and finish the race, be patient and be faithful, even when times are tough.

t shirts

28 of us went to a concert last nite.  We saw Decyfer down, disciple and skillet.  Sure concerts are fun and it seems kind of like one of those places where it is ok to wear your christian t shirt.  As i got ready, i reached for my christian t shirt like about 400 or so others.  It is crazy that some of the only times we wear shirts that represent Jesus are to places that most everybody knows about him.  I mean why not wear them to wal mart where the shirt may actually "speak" to someone that doesn't know Him.  No instead we like to fit in.  It is a lot easier to get 'amens' from the choir, (or praise team) than the the employees on their smoke breaks.

Mark 8:38
If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."

A good day

Today is a good day. It will be hopefully the last test i take at ULM in order to get my Master's.(the other class will be online) It is also a great day because it is Joe's 1st ever T-ball game. They call it T-ball, but they get 3 pitches. That sucker can smoke that ball. I am such the modest dad. I will have to tell you about it later. It kind of makes me think about how God can brag on Jesus....Or Jesus on us

A proud dad,
tony

All the time

¹⁴Do everything without complaining or arguing, ¹⁵so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe Philippians 2

God is good all the time. Even in the face of: disaster, failing grades, death, uncertainty, moving homes, financial problems, depression, guilt, confusion, frustration and anything else...God is good all the time. Try not to let the circumstances dictate your faith, but let your faith in Jesus dictate the circumstances.

Shine on,
tony

when the well is dry...

Why is it so hard sometimes to come up with stuff in preparation for Sunday morning groups or Wednesday night devotions? This is a question I am asking myself more than i would like to. Then when i am tired of ripping off other's ideas and come back to my true sense of purpose that God gave me, WHAM-it hits me. The reason for a creative drought is lack of living water. When everything is rehearsed it seems dry. When the lesson is a rip off, sure it may be solid teaching, but it isn't allowing me to grow in preparation as much as it should. That's when just opening the Bible, not for a lesson but just for my own personal needs, becomes a storm in the drought.
The truth is this: we all want to give God the best, but we get lazy and settle for what is easy. Will i use another person's message again?- if i think it will change lives, you bet i will. I will also do whatever it takes to open the floodgates as well.

PS- Just as a disclaimer...i do acknowledge when it is not my own teaching.
So not worthy,
tony

One more in the door.

A girl that was new to our group on Wednesday got saved. The story of Lazarus' resurrection was the message, but it ended up being our new friend that experienced what Lazarus must have felt. I love knowing that someone is getting a spiritual overhaul, but I always feel such a sense of obligation to reach those who aren't undergoing that unbelievably awesome reconstruction.

Under Construction,
Tony

What is grounded?

Here it is.
Jeremiah 17:8
He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."

This is the vision that God put on me to model and shape the students around me to be. To always have a connection to the Living Water. To always put faith in Him. To always be ready to do for God. To always trust that He will get us through tough times. And to always further His Kingdom; no matter what. When we stay grounded as followers of Jesus, then Jeremiah 17:8 becomes a reality in our lives. We will never fail to bear fruit even in times of drought.

thanx for reading, be in prayer for our ministry,

Tony