Passion Burns Within » Life

The Nails

Passionburnswithin — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 14:43:34 +0000

We studied Isaiah 53:1-5 this week in Collide, our Wednesday youth service. It was a powerful time and God really spoke through me and I was wiped afterwards.

Week in and week out we see people come in to the church and leave completely unchanged. They profess Christianity but they wallow in their sins daily with no evidence of remorse. It is time that we start calling sin what it is…..SIN!!

We have got to start taking our sin seriously- It is not okay that everyone is doing it. It is not okay if you are getting away with it sin is sin period and it separates us from God and deters people from Christianity when we allow it into our life without repentance.

We have got to STOP trying to legitimize our sin- I don’t care that you are a country boy/girl that does not make it right to cuss, drink,smoke, chew, dip, party on Saturday and go to church on Sunday and call yourself a Christian. That isn’t the Christianity I read about in the Bible! I don’t care if you are in the backseat of the car and you haven’t crossed the line with your boyfriend/girlfriend yet, your mind is FULL of sin and you need to repent

We have got to remember the consequences of our sin- Not the consequences that might happen, but the consequences that already happened. Your little white lie killed someone. That someone was innocent and you killed Him. He took on your sin and mine as well as the entire world no matter how small or how big it is. We forget the cost.

When I was 16 I totaled my car. I had only had it a week. I remember sitting at the light and turning left the next thing I remember is being pulled out of the twisted smoking wreckage. I remember the taste of blood and the searing pain on bits of glass all over my body. I remember the look on my mother’s face when she got to the hospital and saw me for the first time, covered in blood. There was a song years ago called “Feel the Nails” It posed the question “Does He still feel the nails when I fail”. My tragedy has stayed with me and I still get nervous about left turns and it has been 12 yrs. I wonder if every sin that I commit makes Jesus cringe from the reminder of the punishment He endured. If so we have a lot of explaining to do don’t we?

“He was pierced for our transgressions, and crushed for our sin ……and by His wounds we are healed”

Our sins nailed Him to the cross and we are still driving them in everyday moment by moment….do we care?

I’m Not Who I Was

Passionburnswithin — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 02:23:14 +0000

This song title hits me. Over the course of my life I have had relationships with people whether good or bad that have left a taste in my mouth. I can’t describe it but I have this wish that people who knew me way back one way back when could see the difference in me now. I wish people who knew me now could know how really far I have come. It isn’t possible in this small a space to even describe the transforamtion I have percieved. But I know this I’m not who i was and that is a good thing

Cut ‘em Loose

Passionburnswithin — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 12:40:13 +0000

Something me and my wife had to learn the hard way early on in our ministry was when to cut people loose. That is, to cut them out of our social circle. We have found in the ministry that people will take advantage of your friendship and try to use it to their advantage. Some will take your shared secrets and spread them around some will use their infuence to gain control some will even try to upstage you and some will just flat out lie about you. I remember a time when a friend took ideas from us and passed them off as their own all while putting us in a bad light.

As painful and as cruel as it may seem there comes a time when you have to cut people off. Ministry is a delicate thing and we have to be careful to guard ourselves against our integrity being marred and if you have people in your inner circle who are not adhering to the standards of integrity then it is time to cut them loose. I would even venture to say that you should be proactive. We were in a situation that was heresay at best but it was not the first instance and though we never knew exactly what had happened or what had been said we knew that it was happening far to often. So we cut ‘em loose.

It hurt. It really did and it still does looking back now years later , but it was necesary.

A LooK Back and a Look Ahead….

Passionburnswithin — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 18:24:39 +0000

As the new year approaches I am waxing nostalgic. I want to look back at the major things that happened.

A NEW JOB….ALMOST
It was very hard when I was offered a job after a year of searching and then being led on only to be
told that I wasn’t going to be hired after all. I cried a lot but in the end it was probably for the best
A NEW JOB
After all the drama that went on I found a job closer to home and made the big move to Greenville SC.
I will admit I was never as excited about this job as I was for the one in Charleston but I am beginning
to see a grand future here at Reedy Fork. God is slowly putting pieces in place and I can’t wait to see
what it looks like when done.
A NEW TOWN
I have NEVER lived anywhere but Rock Hill and it has been interesting living away from family and
friends. Challenging at times yes but also very freeing.
NEW SUCCESSES
I relish in blessings. I have had so many doors opened since I got here in Greenville. From Christian
Release time to Band Camps to Mentoring groups God just keeps expanding my influence. I went from
seeing 5 teenagers on our Wednesday night services to 20. I had 20 teens at my first Lock in I had 44
at the last. I am developing a Evangelism strategy that is drawing interest.
RENEWED LOVE
I rediscovered my Love for reading this past year. i have probably bought and read parts of close to
60 books this year. That doesn’t even count the Bible studies I have done. I had gone years without
reading much and wonder why I waited so long. I have to thank Tony Smith and Lee Clamp for the
words they shared with me in interviews back in 2007 that pushed me back into the habit of reading.

While all these are Good there are things I am eagerly anticipating in the new year.

A NEW PASTOR
It has been hard operating in a church with no pastor. The leadership that I have come so dependent
on is not there. Communication is lacking. People are disconnected. Church leadership is scattered. I
look forward to God bringing in a man to take us to the next level. One who is evangelistic, a visionary,
a Developer of people, is forward thinking but also who is a care giver and recognizes the value of
everyone person to the kingdom of God.

MORE GROWTH
I eagerly await the pouring out of God’s blessings as we begin to reach out to our community. I hope
to see lives being changed because of our church.

MORE BOOKS
I am hooked again and I have a reading list a mile long. I would actually like to finish some of the
books I have bought.

MORE FRIENDS
I am a people person and I am lacking some close friendships here in Greenville. I am praying for God
to bring another young family into our lives to have a friendship with. It would be good for me as well
as my wife.

2009 is going to be an awesome year I can feel it and I am sooooo ready for the Blessings God will pour out