One Week Down...

So, I gotta admit...first thing I did, first class, first worship song...I cried. I couldn't help it. It was such a long road to get here and I'm finally here and knew I was supposed to be here and I don't know...I cried okay. And now where to even start. Typical day of class is worship for an hour, one of the pastors will teach, then a break, then someone else will teach. But I gotta tell you, I've never heard anyone really teach like this. I mean there is a lot of talk about miracles and signs and wonders and stuff like that...but when they speak I can tell they don't just speak from principles and ideas...they speak of things they have experienced, they speak with power. Let me share at least one message that really stood out to me so far. It may just be a glimpse of the whole message but hopefully, it will at least spark your curiosity as it has mine.

Ephesians 3:17-21 "...that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith...may have power to grasp how deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge (experience God)...filled with all the FULLNESS OF GOD..." Jesus showed us what it was like for a man to be filled with all the fullness of God. There's a difference between knowing about God and knowing Him. I want to know Him. It's said that we become what we think the most important person in our lives think we should become. So I should become what I think God thinks I am. God is the painter. Jesus is the model. We are the painting. You get that? Why is it so hard to think of ourselves as being 'like God'? We need to be transformed...by the way we think. When we were reborn we were made new...body and spirit. But we still had a deformity...our mind. That needs transformed.
There is power in a name...Jacob (meaning 'deceiver') which is what he did a lot of his life wrestled with the angel until his hip was broken. Finally, his name was changed to Israel (meaning 'prince of God'). So many people are living under a name God didn't give them. People say, "I'm mormon or I'm agnostic or I'm no good" God says, "I didn't give you that name." In Genesis God created man in His image. We were made to be like God. Satan came and tempted Adam and Eve with the forbidden fruit saying, "you will be like God, knowing both good and evil." I hadn't really noticed this before but he was offering them something that THEY ALREADY HAD! He did the same when he tempted Jesus. He offered Him something that He already had! We were made to be like God. The war of the worlds is over "Who are you?" and the devil wants to get you to perform to become...that's religion! You see God doesn't just love you...He likes you! He doesn't just tolerate you...He celebrates you! We need to begin to believe who we are and treat ourselves accordingly. You tell people how to treat you by the way you treat you. If we've given our life to the Lord, then saying, "I'm a sinner saved by grace" is a lie. Think about that. I was a sinner, I was saved by grace, but now I am a 'saint'. We no longer have a sinful nature, we are a new creation(2 Cor 5:17). New- never before created. We have been made new and we have received a divine nature. He didn't just forgive our sins, He changed our nature. If we believe we're sinners, we believe more in the devil's ability to defeat us than in God's ability to lead us! Some call it humility: Say giving a sermon, singing a song, running a race, etc... "Oh that wasn't me, I'm nothing. It was all Jesus"...that's making fun of God and what He created. Does demeaning the painting glorify the artist? God painted you! Humility isn't thinking less of yourself...it's thinking of yourself less. Humility is realizing the source of your greatness...it lies within Him, who lies within you.
You are God's most impressive creation!
And you were born to be amazing!

There are all kinds of things I am being taught and I'm just trying to sort through and process it all. That they would not just be principles or ideas but it would be who I am and how I live. It's only been a week and already I can't remember everything being taught, but I definitely remember that as it was being taught, my spirit inside me was stiring up telling me, "Hey listen, this is all abouth the God who made you and He's trying to change your life." He's trying to get you to see 'who you are' so that you can live like it!

It was definitley hard coming here...leaving all you guys in san diego...you're like my family. Know that I miss you and love you tons. Since there are over 700 students we get split up into groups...mine went camping at Lake Siskyou this last weekend. It was a blast and I met some really cool people. It was just what I needed...to just connect with people here and start to allow myself to fully be here, if you know what I mean. Well, I think that's enough for now. Definitely let me know what you think about what I share...I'm still figuring out what I think so.


"Take it all, take everything I have...just give me Jesus"