Nut Shell and a Half!

Josiah was born into a Christian loving home. He has parents who have spent hours on their knees praying for Josiah day in and day out. His father is a pastor at a Nazarene church and has been a major role model for him. His mother was a woman of God who cared and loved for him all she ever could. The reality was though that Josiah had not always been a man who always sought God. It was not until middle school that he was really able to comprehend what it meant to seek and yearn after God.

Josiah was always a cool guy in middle school. He wore a lot of the cool clothes and had a lot of the cool friends. He was involved in some pretty terrible things and was very consumed with how he appeared to others but soon he was to see that it was built on a sandy foundation. Josiah had a friend who invited him to bible study really early in the morning before school started on Wednesday. Now, Josiah was not really interested in going to grow in a relationship with God but merely to see a very pretty girl he knew. He walked into the bible study and saw a lot of kids his age who legitimately wanted to know God. Now Josiah had always considered himself a Christian. He grew up in a Godly home and had always had the right vocabulary to sound “real” and of course he was always made to go to church. But here was something different. He went up to the girl who he thought was cute and asked her “Hey do your parents make you come to this?” She merely replied by “no, we all really want to be here”. This was the beginning of a major change in his life as he began to realize the importance of seeking God in a relationship as well as supporting the community of Christians also known as the church. A few years later he would hear God call him to the ministry.

Josiah first heard his call into ministry when he was just a freshman in high school. God continued to tug at him all through his high school days and he would casually accept and decline when it suited him and never made much of a real commitment. He was always involved in the district impact team, preaching and playing his guitar for different churches on the Eastern Kentucky District as well as the West Virginia South District. He was a faithful member of the Youth Group and continually prayed for the youth as well as the youth pastor. As Josiah graduated from high school he felt God leading him to Lexington where he was to work and go to school part time. Josiah works currently at a bread bakery called Great Harvest and is serving as the marketing and catering manager

All along high school as well as college people would always ask Josiah if he was ever called into the ministry like his father and brothers. He was very good at playing off the tense question with a mere joke and therefore side swiping the question as a whole. Then one night Josiah was praying for direction in his life and what he was to do for the coming fall season and God, in a very distinct voice, asked him “Josiah how much longer is my calling going to be a joke to you?” Soon after Josiah told his pastor and accepted the call to do the work the Lord had assigned to him.

I am Josiah and I have a calling on my life to preach the word and full fill God’s will for my life. I have struggled many times in my life but I can honestly say that God has always kept me in his hands as well as in his watch. He has always heard my cries and answered when his timing was at hand. He has never failed me or forsaken me. I want to pursue an education with the Nazarene church because I believe there is a higher calling in life called sanctification and holiness. I believe there is something we can set our sights on higher than this world. I seek to have a servants heart and am ready to do God’s will above all else. I am ready and willing to answer the call. No compromise for righteousness and God’s will above my own. Amen.

Shaving and Sneezing at the same time are a deadly and bloody combination....

So I cut myself while shaving in the shower and blood ran everywhere ahhhhh!!!!!!!!!

A call....

I have had many pokes and prods about being a pastor of some sort. I always tend to get the whole "well your dad and brothers are pastors I guess you will be following soon?" or some joke to that degree. In result I always tended to respond in some sort of joking way "ohh yeah heheheeh...good one...hehehehe" Now I have heard a call to preach from about freshmen year in high school. I was always kind of scared that it would be cliche and thought it was just kind of a pressure from a "family tradition". The reality is God was there and I really didn't want to accept it. Well a few weeks ago I had really quieted myself down and felt God say to me "How long is my call going to be a joke to you" and that is what finally broke me down. If anyone knows me I absolutely positively hate to be serious. I frequently cut up and hide the serious side of me for more deeper levels of friendship but I know God was serious that night and I know He has a great plan for my life and I want to continue to seek hime in all aspects of my life and draw close to him.

Send Word to the Masses!

1 John 2: 15-17
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (ESV)

Do not love the world hould not be read as an utter rejection of the world, for "God...loved the world" (John 3:16). Rather, John warns against devotion to a world system that is opposed to God. So believe me when I say that our society's system is completely on the other side of the spectrum to where God wanted for us to be. I always payed attention to the part in the scripture where it said pride in possessions...but ever since being at CTS (Christian Training school) I have began to fast from different types of media...movies, music (of all kinds...yes even christian music), and facebook primarily. I have felt a drain of all that going out of my system and have been able to devote a lot of time to seeking God and knowing what he wants from me. I have also realized how much of a slave I was to my music. Thus the passage that says "...the desires of the flesh..." has struck me hard. I unconsciously would get in my car/anything else and have a need to play music...it was an addiction! I have since quieted my soul and have been able to really hear God. I am a firm believer that the devil has used all of our mass media options to stray our hearts and minds from God...and I will be the first one to admit falling to it wholeheartedly. My media addiction has been a thief to my relationship with God and I intend to pursue God now with everything in me and allow God to use and guide me as he sees fit. Leonard Ravenhill once said... "Do the things of this world disgust you....or do they fascinate you?" Wow! How powerful is it to finally realize how fascinated I was of the things of the world...things that were not necessarily bad but still got in the way. I can only hope that God continues to illuminate things in me and to sanctify my heart for his use...and his use only.

PS: With Care and Love

So I was riding the bus, yesterday I guess it was, when I met this homeless man at the bus stop in front of Saint Joseph Hospital. It was not I who made the first motion to speak but he. He walked past me and merely said “Well….I guess I haven’t missed the bus cuz urs still here.” I merely chuckled and replied “Well if you have we’re both in trouble.” He went on to tell to pull out a cigarette and rip off the butt/filter as to get the most nicotine out of the whole routine. Now I must be honest I was a bit nervous at riding this public method of transportation. I had never rode the city bus before and was not sure on where to get on, or even if I was getting on the right bus. The man I guess could sense this because he asked me if I had rode the bus before which I replied I had not. He coached me on the process of getting my ticked and paying for my way as well as what bus to get on to when we got to the bus station. He then told me different stories about his life and how he had different experiences through different stages in life. We then arrived at the bus station and when we were both getting off he turned to me and said “well it was nice knowing you friend I hope all goes well for you.” I replied with the same. Sad thing is I never asked what his name was.

The ironic thing was that I watched a movie last night as well. A movie called the soloist, which is based on a true story. It was about a homeless man who had gone to a higher up orchestra school but had dropped out his sophomore year due to his skits frantic/autistic mind. He soon after became homeless playing a two string violin. His favorite composer is Beethoven, a well known musical composer. A reporter meets him and the story takes off from there… (If you ever get the chance be sure to watch it. It’s a touching story that has deeper message.)

I guess your wandering what I am trying to get at through all this garble. The church I go to isn’t a “cool” church. The people there are not interested in looking or being “cool”. They don’t really follow up on the trends or see what the latest fashions. We have a van ministry where I attend, one that goes out into the rougher parts of the neighborhoods. I ride these vans as often as I can and on the route we pick up an middle aged lady named Laura. Laura does not have the ability to talk due to leakage in one of her heart valves. But I can tell you this she has taught me a lot about joy in life. Every time she gets on the van she has this immense smile on her face that brightens my day greatly. I think it is sooo sad that we try to portray Christianity as being some kind of trendy thing. We try to wear the right clothes or pray with the right kind of words. We try to find our identity through one stereotype or the other. When in all reality God calls us to find our identity through him. And yes that even means we have to love the kids that come from the unstable homes that are sometimes just a pain to deal with (just being honest). God calls us to love unconditionally. I often find myself asking what that means…. “Unconditionally”. I can tell you what it means….It means we should love without an agenda. And I can tell you what it is but practicing it, is still something that I struggle with and must continue to pray about every day.

All I can ask is that we see things through God’s eyes and not through a lens that is MANmade. That we draw closer to him and let him mold and shape every part of us according to his will.

Shalom and God bless

Star Trek (movie review)

I watched the new star trek movie with my father some time ago. I have to say it is a bit over rated. The action , as always, still remains a lil bit corny. The pro was the indepth story line that most science fiction movies tend "NOT" to have. Of course haveing Leonard Nimoy in the new movie was a nice little touch for old school fans as well. I would probably have to give it a 85%. which is a decent rating over all.

my question on my profile

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