I always love sitting down with people twice my age to ask questions and learn from there experiences in life. One day, a mentor of mine looked me in the eyes and said, “God sees you as a king.” He read Revelation 1:5-6 which says, “To him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” He went on to remind me of Revelation 19:16 which says, “On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” This man looked me in the eyes and said, “He is the King of kings…you and I are kings in his sight, and he desires us to rule and reign with love just like our Heavenly King Jesus did while he was on earth.” Jesus modeled for us how to love, how to serve, how a good king should rule and reign. Through Christ, we have been adopted into Gods family and have been made kings for his glory. So KINGS (or “QUEENS” for the ladies!!), be encouraged….He sees you as royalty and desires you to follow His model and be a powerful, loving king on the earth today.

-Ben

I have realized something very significant in the past few years. I can have as much or as little of God as I want. This is one of those “duh” things that I always agreed with when someone else said it, but everything changes when you really believe it.

There is a story in the Gospel of Luke about a man named Zacharias. An angel appears to Zacharias and tells him that his barren wife is going to have a baby, and this baby will be filled with the Holy Spirit while he is still in his mothers womb. Years later this baby, John the Baptist, would say in John 3:34 “…God gives the Spirit without limit.”  This was a man who knew what it was like to be consumed with God before he was even born! We have this invitation to be filled to overflow and beyond with God! It is in our Heavenly Fathers heart to pour out His Spirit on all people (Joel 2:28)! So what’s the catch? There isn’t one.

If you want more of God, you will get it! “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” (Luke 11:13)

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled(Matthew 5:6).

So the only question is…How much do you want?

When’s the last time you’ve heard from God?? When’s the last time something He spoke to you has moved you to faith?? One of the awesome priveleges of following the Lord and having an intimate relationship with Him is hearing his thoughts, and listening to His voice. Yes, it is incredible to SEE God do a miracle right in front of your eyes. Yes, it is amazing to WATCH the hand of God move on a regular basis. One thing I have been intrigued by is how the Israelites in the Old Testament SAW with their very own eyes miracle after miracle yet faith and intimacy with God did not remain consistent. Are the miracles of God and his works important?? Very much so! But if the hand of God and his acts do not lead us into deeper intimacy with Him, then we have missed the point. We are invited into intimacy with the creator of the world, and in this intimacy, we can daily HEAR his voice and know his inner thoughts. WHOA!!!! Romans 10 says “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Hearing from the Lord moves us into faith, and this faith will make our lives be filled to overflow with His love and His power. In the book of Jeremiah, God says to His people, “Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you” (Jeremiah 9:34). It is an AMAZING privelege to hear the Lord’s voice, and I encourage you to spend some time listening to Him today.

Ben

Can my personal relationship with God influence people all across this planet?? Can my obedience to God bring blessing to the entire earth??

I am challenged by a few particular passages of scripture where one single person decides to obey God’s word, and in turn, they bring blessing to everyone on the earth. Check out 1 Kings 18, verse 1 where God tells Elijah, “Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth.” In verse 41, we see the result of Elijah’s obedience, as there was “an abundance of rain” poured out, all because Elijah trusts God and obeys his word! Look at the life of Noah, as his obedience to God’s word to build an ark saves a small family to carry on mankind. Look at the life of Jesus, as his obedience to God’s call and the laying down of his own life would give all mankind for generations to come the opportunity to have intimate relationship with the Father!

Your life and your relationship with God are way more important than you may have initially thought. It might be so important that one single act of obedience could effect more than just your family, more than just your school, more than just your workplace, but every person across this planet. How crazy of a God do we serve that he is moved by one person’s faith??

You are more special to God than you think. He loves you and delights in the relationship that you have with Him. Fall more in love with him, and watch as God uses you in powerful ways in the days to come!! In the coming months, get ready for the personal testimonies of God moving in power!

I am currently writing this as I look out the window of an airplane. There is something about looking out over the world from this point of view that gives me a different perspective on life. From here, landscapes seem to go on forever. There are hundreds and thousands of little communities that are filled with people…millions of people. They are going about their life, completely unaware of me. There are people going to work, going to school, sleeping in, and running errands. There are families celebrating the birth of a baby and families that have just buried a loved one. There are schools filled with students: both popular and unpopular. There are people who love their life and there are people who are looking up to the sky, wondering why life isn’t fair.

I am a little overwhelmed. I can see how BIG world is and how little I am. Not only this, but how will I ever be able to reach ALL of these people?? How can I bring the Kingdom of Heaven to such a huge world with its billions of different people that all have a trillion more individual needs?

I have the answer.

I can’t.

I can’t possibly begin to meet all the needs of the poor, the rich, the sad, the rejoicing, the businessman, the homeless, the widow, the orphan, the loved, the overlooked, the achieving, the complacent, the lonely, and the desperate. My music will never be enough to give all of these people the answers they are looking for. My determined laboring will not be enough. The latest “strategic relevant ministry model” will never be enough to meet the needs of all these people. Music is good…hard work is good…ministry models are good…but they are not enough. They will never be enough.

Knowing this, I have two options:

1.) I can spend my whole life striving and working to do “good works” and take on the burdens of the world to the point of burning out…

—or—

2.) I can rest in the fact that His strength is made perfect in my weakness (II Corinthians 12:9). I can rest in knowing that the more I realize that I can’t do it…the more he is able to accomplish through me. I must decrease so that He can increase (John 3:30).

I have to believe that if I were never allowed another convenient ministry tool…presenting Jesus would be enough. If I had to lead people into worship and wasn’t allowed to sing a note or strum a guitar…presenting Jesus would be enough to cause them to worship. He is enough for the lonely. He is enough for the broken hearted. He is enough for the searching. He is enough for the joyful. He is enough to satisfy the desires of every individual person on the planet.

Most of all…he is enough for me. If I were never given another dime for music…he is enough for me. If everyone around me turned their backs on me…he is enough for me. In the midst of an impossible mission to bring his Glory into the entire world…he is enough to complete it. His strength is made perfect in my weakness.

God let me learn to love the places that bring me low so that you may be lifted high. Because your strength is made perfect in my weakness, I empty myself before you so that you may fill me. Let others see your Kingdom inside of me, and let them encounter you in a way that changes them forever. May my strength in life be found in knowing that you are ‘enough’ for me, and may my life be a testimony and an encouragement to others that you are ‘enough’ for them.

As Ben shared about ‘learning to remain’ I found myself really dwelling on John chapter 15. It is remarkable what Jesus promises to all of us who choose to truly ‘remain’ in a daily encounter with God. One of these promises is that we will “bear much fruit” (John 15:5). Growing up in the church, I have always heard the illustrations about fruit. You know…the whole “good fruit / bad fruit” lesson. For whatever reason, it never really sunk in what Jesus was truly saying until years after the felt-board Sunday school era of my life. I always thought of bearing good fruit as “doing good things for God” or “having perfect behavior.” Now don’t get me wrong, being well behaved is a good thing (have you ever seen the misbehaving kids at the mall? Their parents make them wear book bags that are attached to dog leashes! It’s hilarious! And humiliating all at the same time!!! So…make sure you behave or you will end up getting pulled around the mall by a disgruntled parent…kidding obviously.) In a way, the keys to living a life that bears good fruit is much easier than attempting to perform your way into ‘good fruit status.” Listen to how Jesus described it.

Jesus says, “I am the vine; you are the branches…”

Branches do not have to strive to grow out from the vine that they are connected to….It is a natural process for the vine. A vines’ purpose is to create branches that produce fruit. In fact, a vine without branches would seem useless. The point is this…Jesus was saying that if you learn to remain in me, then you will no longer spend your time striving to perform so that you can get an “A +” on your spiritual report card. Instead, you will live a life that naturally bears fruit because the natural result of a life of ‘remaining’ in God is, in fact, a life that bears good fruit!

So how do you know if you are producing ‘good’ fruit? Jesus said that you will “know a tree by its fruit”. This literally means that people around you will be able to see the fruit of your life and tell you whether you are a dead stick or a fruitful branch. In Galatians 5, Paul writes out a list of specific fruits: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, & self-control. Are these attributes ever-present in your life?

Here is a simple questionnaire:

How respectful are you to teachers at your school? Your parents at home? Your boss at work?

Are you known as someone who puts other people down just to boost your own self esteem? Or are you the type of person that lives to bring the best out in people?

Are you known as someone who is full of joy? Do others experience joy when you are around?

Are you someone who chooses to be kind to those who are cruel to you?

In the same way that Jesus says that people will know you by your fruit, he also says that the world “will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). Our distinguishing attribute is the fruit of “love” in our lives. People may be able to tell that you go to church because you where your youth group t-shirt, but they will know you are a follower of Jesus because you LOVE. How many people that I know would be able to say, “Oh, Pat is definitely a Christian…not just because he goes to church or is in a Christian band…but because he chooses to love people instead of judge them. He chooses to love people instead of gossip about them. He chooses to love people instead of reject others.”

The reason we live lives that bear much fruit is NOT so that people will see how “churchy” or “spiritual” we are. We bear fruit so that people will see our lives and glorify God! Our lives are to be a sign that point others to the greatness of God. Jesus says, “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. (John 15:8). The more we remain in Him, the more fruit we produce. The more fruit we produce, the more glory He receives! May my life bear much fruit that brings him great praise!

One of the most challenging aspects of my faith has not been to encounter God…It has been to remain in that encounter as a part of my daily life. When you read John 15, Jesus declares a profound statement, that if I will abide in Him, then He will abide in me, and I will bear much fruit…for without Him, I can do nothing [John 15:5]. In some translations, the word “abide” is replaced with the word “remain.” I believe to “remain” is to live in constant communion and awareness of God every single day.

In Psalms 16, it says that in “His presence is the fullness of joy, at his right hand are pleasures forevermore” [Psalms 16:11]. If his presence is this good, why don’t I desire to be in it more!?! These are the kind of questions that run through my mind all the time. If eternity is going to be filled with overwhelming joy completely due to God and His amazing presence, then why is my life consumed with so many other things than Him? How do I remain in God’s presence and stay connected with Him all the time?

In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul declares how the outward man is wasting away, but the inward man is being renewed day by day [2 Corinthians 4:16]. What an amazing statement! Paul is saying that our relationship with God is one of “day by day” development! I believe this is one of the KEYS to remaining with God and knowing Him more fully. Every day we must step in to God’s invitation to know Him more. Every day we must spend time reading His word. Every day we must spend time learning His heart and exploring His love!

What’s cool about God is that you don’t always have to be talking out loud to connect with Him. How annoying would it be to have a relationship with someone who ONLY talked and NEVER listened? We read in John 16 how the Holy Spirit literally takes the thoughts of God and declares them to us [John 16:14]. The point is…We can have constant communication with God any time we want! We have been given access to His heart and His thoughts through our intimate Helper and Counselor, the Holy Spirit. This invitation is far more romantic than a one-time encounter, but it is one we can remain in all the time!

My desire is that I would learn to live in intimacy with God, to step into a deeper friendship with Him than I already have, to honor Him with quality time, to be still and listen to His thoughts, to be attentive to the leadings of His Holy Spirit, to worship Him for who He is, and to serve Him as Lord of my life! Let us answer His invitation to live lives of constant communion and awareness of His presence in and around us! Let us learn to “remain.”