An Awesome God

I can’t believe how long its been since I’ve blogged! This post is going to be me kind of rambling, but here I go!

I recently read Job 38, (which is a really awesome passage that you should read if you haven’t yet!) and it hit me that the God who tells the ocean where to stop, the sun when to rise, and the rain when to fall, is the same God who’s a part of my life and cares about my day-to-day stuff that seems so silly compared to His greatness. In school, I’m taking an apologetics class, and we’re studying religions that view God as an impersonal, distant, and aloof being. I know that the opposite to be true, and I think it’s so awesome that I can know the God in Job 38, and He cares about me and is involved in my seemingly insignificant life. But then I think how dumb it is for me to constantly think that “I can take care of this myself” and “I know what I’m doing”, when God’s resume way over-qualifies Him to take care of me, which is what He really wants to do. Sometimes I want to just “fix” situations and take care of them, instead of talking to God about it.

And there are people in my life right now who are sick, going through divorce, are struggling at school and with friends, etc., and I wish I could do something about it. I like immediate solutions, instant gratification, stuff like that, and sometimes its hard for me to just stop and pray for others and myself, when sometimes that’s all I can do. But in knowing that God is such a personal God, and seeing in Job 38 how incredibly huge and capable He is, I’ve been realizing how ignorant I am and that I really can trust Him with everything. I’m really glad about that, because if it were all up to me, I’d probably end up breaking even more the things I try to fix. I’m finding that there’s incredible freedom in handing things over to God and letting Him take care of me and my life. God is continuing to help me trust and give things over to Him; I’m in super-capable hands!

“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.” Proverbs 3:5&6

Hayley

I finally blogged again…

So it as been awhile since I last blogged.. I will use this post as a catch up post. Lets see so much as changed since I last blogged. My life progressed super fast in the last month.

First, I got a Job, I am now working at Oudom’s Thai and Sushi in downtown Mt.Dora, Im a  hostess and it is crazy. I am so blessed to get such a good job, I love it. All my coworkers are great,My boss is great. I am the baby and the only one who works their who is under 18, But it is a really good overall job I work alot, about 18 hours a week.So I have been SO busy.

Next, I am going to be driving soon! Which I am super excited about, now that I work and make money I will hopefully be getting a car and driving.

And last I am also going to start dual enrolling at Lake Sumter, working towards my AA. Everything is happening so fast, and It’s crazy for me to think I will be 17 in a few months, and only have 1 more year of highschool left, it’s bittersweet.

But so many choices are ahead of me, and it is so overwelming. Please pray I make the right decisons. And can stay focused because as you can see I have alot on my plate!

Well, that’s my catch up post. I FINALLY blogged! woo hoo!

Ray

Worship

Does it ever blow you away that we have the ability and opportunity to worship the one true God?

Do you ever sit back and actually think about the object of your worship; really sit down and meditate on His greatness?

When you sing of His greatness and glory, do you remember how He used His own lowliness and humility to show it to us?

When I really think about the words I’m singing, and whom I’m singing to, I loose it.  Tears, brokenness, humility.  It’s awe inspiring to me; really mind-blowing.  Jesus Christ, the Word, the great I Am is my God, my Savior.  WOW, what a glorious thing it is to be loved by Love itself.  This is joy, this is the abundant life, this is love overflowing; Jesus Christ lived, died and rose again for me, Ben Smith, to be redeemed and made righteous in God’s eyes.

I want to be a better man.  I want to be a better husband.  I want to be a better lover, father, worker, leader, shopper, worshiper, you name it.  Why can’t I make it?  Why do I keep failing?  How long will you tolerate my shortcomings God?

I’m still me, and it’s okay for now, but I must see my error, recognize it, confess it, and repent/turn from it.  Then I’m back on track again. How marvelous are Your ways.  We’ve been studying the book of James.  Our Bible study started; we had 12 adults and 15 kids this week.  We’ve made it through 11 verses so far, and already, God’s speaking to my heart.  I worked and studied and prepared to be able to help people through the book and I am being impacted more than I can even imagine the others are.  Basically, I need to get with the program, not for the program’s sake, but for mine, for it’s my time that I forfeit, time that I could be accomplishing great things.  Time that I could be drawing closer to my Lord.  Read through James and see if you don’t feel the same way…  wow

Lord, bring revival to my heart; a revival to serve and honor You with all I do, say and witness to this fallen world You gave so much for.

Ben

Leadership Insights Learned

I was able to attend the Catalyst 2009 conference in Atlanta, GA this week.  Gigantic thanks to Cornerstone Community Church for the invite, to Marissa for supporting me in it, and the 12,000+ christian leaders and supporters that attended.

I got to see Mac Powell, Chuck Swindoll, Tony Dungee, Steve Fee and a newer artist named Zach Williams!!! (He was awesome!!!) There were many serious moments of worship, it’s been so long for me, it was great.

This was the 10th annual catalyst conference; a conference created to target the “younger than 40″ pastors/leaders as a time to motivate, strengthen and revive those that give out so much every day.  This year was all about leadership, leadership training, and leadership development.

Here’s some things I picked up, not necessarily from someone’s teaching/talking session, but an insight non-the-less.

1. This is God’s movement/job/mission/ministry/purpose/congregation/churches and doesn’t really have anything to do with us outside of the fact that God has blessed us with an opportunity to be used by Him for His purpose.
   1. We get so caught up in all of the drama that we forget who it is we’re actually doing all this work for.  Jesus should be our inspiration, motivation and destination; the beginning and end; of everything we do.
2. The things we want to get accomplished that are not, are in this state because we’re not working to get them done.
   1. We’re either so spread out that we can’t focus on any actual effort and because of that we’re ineffective.
   2. We’re failing to trust someone else to do the work.  This is either coming out of our pride/judgement/unforgiveness or ignorance but regardless we’ve set ourselves as a choke point in what God could be doing in our communities and churches.
3. Leaders often fall prey to the foolish idea that they’re the ones in charge.  Andy Stanley said at one point “We’re supposed to be leaders under authority.”  How profound is this?  I know this is true, this is true in church and at work.
   1. There should be a time when leaders seek to follow the same instruction they’re giving their followers.  Humility, confession, repentance.
   2. We should not read our own clippings and let overconfidence blind us from the direction that God is giving to us.

It was an awesome conference.  We had tons of fun, especially on the car ride home.

My big “take-away”:

I want revival to come.

Chuck Swindoll talked about how leadership is tough, rewarding but tough, and all leaders should leave room in their plans for “The Crushing” that God brings us.  The times when we are killed.  “Though He slay me, yet I trust Him.”  He quoted a man, I can’t remember who, who spoke about the fact that all of the significant, memory making, moments in his life came through the affliction he had endured.

I’ve experienced this crushing in my life.  While it was hard, and painful, it is one of the most significant life marking experiences I’ve had.  I’m still really sensitive to my brokenness.  My brokenness brought me to my knees in front of a Holy, Merciful, Gracious and Loving God.  Woe to me!!  Thank You so much!!!

Anyway, this crushing has brought me revival, and I want that for everyone, especially the leaders out there, the ones in the front, leading people.  The re-commitment and revitalization of their souls!!!

What and awesome feeling, to be alive again, like a newborn, ready and excited for what’s to come!!!

Life Group Jazz

The Life Group we’ll be hosting begins on October 14th.  Cornerstone Community Church, our home church, has agreed to support the group and pay for child care!!!  I’ve got the “Syllabus” prepared, house cleaned/painted and getting contact information for those planning to attend.  So cool to have the date coming close.

Marissa and I are both prayerfully entering the ministry again and this is one of the steps we’ve taken toward His service.  We will be hosting, in our home, a meeting on Wednesday nights to go verse by verse through the Word.  We’re going to start in James, because it’s such a no-brainer for the Christian that is looking for direction; for the “where to now?” that eventually comes in ones relationship with Christ.

After our move to Virginia we put our primary focus on being partners and parents again.  This was such an awesome and blessed time for me personally.  I went months without serving in a church.  I was able to talk with the kids again, and get closer with Marissa, and most of all, get re-focused on my own relationship with Jesus.  I was able to take the time to strip my life back to the basics, understand where my priorities needed to be, and basically start over on my daily life.  The job, the friends, chores, grocery stores and utilities all changed.

I realized how much I had neglected which should have been a priority.  Exp. We returned to faithfully tithing.  I don’t say this to boast, but to show that even this core principle had been neglected for a time.  We had justifications, just as everyone has justifications for what they do.  Bills, debt, getting out of debt, but this move, and this change in our lives, allowed us to re-focus/re-prioritize again.  WooHoo!!!

It’s so exciting now to be entering into the field again.  I feel like the harvest is waiting for me.  I remember studying for one of the first or second messages I taught the youth in Florida, how excited I was, how right, blessed, confirmed it all was and I’m happy to be there again!!!

We’re praying to keep our lives balanced, to keep our priorities where they need to be and to let everything we do be used for His service.  I want to remain a good employee for my company.  I want to be a good servant for Jesus here.  I want to remain a good husband to my wife and father to my children.

James is going to really open my eyes.  I’ve been studying it for a long time, preparing, getting ready, and I’m anxious to get it out there and hash it out with some brothers and sisters.  That’s a really good time, just talking one on one with others about the Word.  It’s like, a guarantee to get Jesus’ attention.  Especially this book; there will be more than one spanking in there for me.

Say a prayer for my family and I, and our success, not for the life group, but for us, for our strength, love and unity as we give our time back to God again.