Do it again, Lord!

Wow, I'm just realizing it's been a year to the day since I last wrote any sort of an update. For that I apologize, but I hope this last year has found you more alive than ever, knowing who you are and being fully known.

And although it's been a while I must be brief as it is almost 3AM and I'm getting up in less than 6 hours to head back to Nicaragua to visit my friends in the garbage dumps. We'll be feeding and praying for hundreds of people in the dumps, walking the streets and possibly going into a leper colony to do the same...and I love all of that but to be honest I'm mainly going for one little girl. Julietta. One of the few times I put down my camera last year I ran around the dump in Matagalpa for over an hour holding her, laughing, eating, watching her come to truly know Jesus in my arms...and not to mention shooting everyone we could with our gozo (joy) guns a.k.a. our fingers. So stay tuned and hopefully I'll have another video to share after I return.

A couple weeks after I get back I'll be heading to Costa Rica for 3 weeks where I'm helping to lead a mission / surf / family trip...I'm becoming more and more convinced that line between those things are getting wiped away completely. We'll be reconnecting with people we met last year as well as exploring further and just seeing what happens.

Normally, I'm needing help financially to make all this happen. And while God always comes through in amazing ways and through amazing people, this time He's blessed me with talents and abilities and a job that has aloud me to cover a good bit if not all of it. This being the case I almost didn't write. But that was never the real reason I wrote to you guys. I enjoy sharing these experiences with those I love and who love me. Not everyone is able to go to places I do, or even feel called to but it's always a lot more fun to live and share life with people.

So enjoy the ride with me, please feel free to pray for us as we go and that God would do more than we could ever ask or imagine. And if you would still like to give financially, I gladly accept it.

Checks can be made out to "Lighthouse" and mailed to me at 4160 Cheryl Drive, Redding, Ca 96002. You can get the whole tax deductible deal. I guess my production company that I started this last year would appreciate anything you give as it pretty much fronted most of the funds...but did so gladly :)

And it's our first official Bethel Lighthouse mission trip so that's pretty sweet!

So I guess this wasn't wasn't so brief...well brief as far as a year update goes I suppose, but yeah...love you guys, miss you, hope to see you soon, but for now just sit back and enjoy the ride...and check out this short documentary of last year's trip if you got a few more minutes.

Pura Vida,

Josh

The long awaited update...

Oooooookay, so I finally get a chance to give a little update on my current travels here. I'll try to be brief but so much has happened in the last few weeks...we'll just start and see how it goes...

Haiti:
I was in Haiti for a week with Iris Ministries. Probably the biggest thing I saw and experienced on this trip was the real, radical love of God. Whether someone got healed, or had an encounter with the Lord, or played a game of soccer with them...I saw it done out of true love. While filming everything you definitely notice a lot more than you normally would. I would watch people watching us, wondering what they were thinking. Instead of seeing them as a mission or a documentary, God was showing me them as a people. and how beautiful they are. When traveling around Haiti you first start to notice the destruction and trash and poverty and brokenness, but when you start to look beyond all that you will find a very beautiful place, and a people with such depth and beauty to them. God was beginning to show me His heart for them and through us was wanting to show the Haiti people His heart for them. And that's what I began trying to capture on camera and that's what I want to show people through the footage I took.



Quick testimony:
We were waiting at the airport to pick up some lost luggage. A man in his 40's came up to the truck motion to his ears and for someone to pray for him (he just came up "randomly"). He couldn't speak and couldn't talk since he was 7 because a he said he was cursed by a voodoo priest. A couple people started praying for him and after about 5-10 minutes he starts freaking out because he can hear the crazy horns and trucks passing right behind him in his left ear. They keep going and before we had to go he seemed to be able to hear and was learning to speak again. They got to pray over him and bless him and tell/show him how much God loves him.

Costa Rica:
This was definitely a dream trip for sure. Something I began dreaming about last year and as we went I began to see how this trip has been on God's heart since the beginning of time. We filmed the whole trip so I won't go into great detail but parts that stick out were...
Over a three day span we saw a church in the capital of San Jose come alive, hungering for the "more" of God. The first night someone felt God wanted to heal someone's knee. This boy raised his hand; he hadn't been to church for a long time but something told him he needed to be there that night. His knee got healed and he went home and told all his family. The next service his cousin (I think) came with these braces on his legs (kinda like in Forest Gump).



He had gotten brain damage when he was 2 (he's now 7 I think) and wasn't able to walk on his without braces, he would just fall down and it would be really painful.



By the end of the night he had his braces off and was running and jumping around the back of the church,



his mom was in tears and they went home and got more of their family to come...it just kept going.

Our translator invited us to his work to pray for his boss (a Senator of Costa Rica). So we got to go to this government building and pray over a senator and release the Lord's goodness over that place. There was a really important bill being voted on about abortion and the like...we were told that ten minutes before we came one very influential man said he wouldn't sign against it. We found out later that right about when we were coming in he changed his mind...pretty crazy.




Then Lance felt he was supposed to prophesy over our translator about being the future President of Costa Rica...heavy I know. Supposedly, he's had that happen about 3 or 4 other times...once by this well known prophet, Cindy Jacobs. Anyway, it's just so crazy because here we are on a mission/surf trip just going with the flow, not totally sure what we're going to do too far in advance and we end up in the Costa Rican Government.

Probably my favorite night was when we finally made it to the coast and went to a Christian Surfers meeting. A couple from my class last year, John and Shirley Vaughaun, had been there for a couple weeks and the guys there had started to ask a lot of questions about healing and prophecy and Bethel. So we went and I just got to share my whole process of beginning to hunger for more and my curiosity about healing that lead me to go to Bethel and see for myself. We got to prophesy God's goodness to each one of them and were able to pray for healing and a lot of them got touched and healed and it was just so good because as surfers we just had that immediate connection and it didn't feel forced, it just felt like family you know. This was so huge for me, I mean if you knew me well at all last year, you probably remember it being a dream of mine to see what God's doing at Bethel and around the world through healing and power and love start to break into the surf world. One man, Jamie, had an arthritic hip that hurt constantly...after a few times of praying he couldn't feel the pain anymore...we saw him a couple days later and he said it still felt good. I love those people and can't wait to go back surf with them more and just share life together again.



Lance and the team left for home on the 13th and Ben and I stayed a couple more days before making our 8 hour bus ride to San Jose to stay in a super sketchy part of town, where our cabbie wouldn't let us walk a block. His reason was signaling to us that our throats would get slit...hahahaha! So we got a hotel for 5 hours then got on another bus at 3am and took a 17 hour bus up through Nicaragua and into Honduras where we currently are right now. Again we found some sketchy hotel in some sketchy area of the capital Tegucigalpa. We just ate breakfast and are about to go meet Ryan Harris and his team at the airport. We'll be with them and Georgian and Winnie Bannov for the next 9 or so days here and then in Nicaragua, ministering in the trash dumps and orphanages...just loving people. Then we'll have a few days to figure out something to do before flying back home out of Costa Rica.

Love you all...gotta run...thanks for listening and supporting the dream!


-Josh Colegrove

Walking On Water TouR-V

This summer a few really good friends and I have a unique opportunity to take an epic film and show others just how amazing our God is. The crew at Walking On Water and I would like to invite you on a ride to be a part of it.

Walking On Water is an organization all about loving the Lord, loving people and surfing. They’ve made some great films in the process. Their latest, titled “Walking On Water,” is a story of two young surfers being taken on a journey of a lifetime. A film of exploring the world, surfing beautiful waves, meeting beautiful people and encountering a beautiful God…all seen through the eyes of a child. If you have yet to see it, check out the trailer at http://www.walkingonwaterthemovie.com.

This film is being taken all over the world with the sole purpose of spreading the love of Jesus and leading people into a God-encounter. From July 5th-25th, we’ll be embarking from Southern California in an R.V. and touring up the West Coast, premiering the movie in churches, theaters, parks and wherever we’re able to set up. Typically, we’ll start with a band or some form of entertainment, then a brief intro, the movie and end with an invitation to meet a God that’s loved them from the beginning. To find out what it’s looked like in the past go tohttp://www.walkingonwater.com/outreaches/movement_outreach/
We will be blogging along the way as well as putting together a highlight video of what God does on the trip.

We are currently organizing events in Southern California and other major cities including: Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Santa Cruz, Arcata, Seattle and ending back at the U.S. Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach, Ca. We also plan to blitz certain locations, doing random premieres along the way, open for whatever God wants to do. Right now we have a projector, sound system, a blow up screen and possibly an R.V. However, we currently in need of a generator, money for gas, food for the crew, permits to show the movie, and various event expenses. Everyone going has just finished an amazing year at the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry and is ready and eager to take this film to the streets and lead people on a journey of a lifetime into the kingdom of a very real and loving God.

We’d like to invite you to be a part of it…through prayer, financial support and getting really excited about it together! 

If you feel lead to donate, go to http://www.walkingonwater.com/donate/ and make sure to designate the funds to “Josh Colegrove” and it will go straight towards making this trip happen. 

Those of you who feel lead to pray, we would love that too as God loves us and when we pray things happen. Thank you in advance and feel free to pass this on to others you think might be interested in helping out in any way. We love you all and look forward to sharing this amazing opportunity with you!

Sincerely,


Josh Colegrove

Do all that is in your heart to do!

So what's up? Haha. I know I kind of drifted off as far as updating this blog here as the year has gone by. But hopefully I've been able to catch up with a few of you here and there and share what I've been up to, what's been on my heart and all I'm experiencing.

I want to share something that God's been stirring in me for a while, but more so the past couple months. It has to do with our dreams and our destiny. Because just as God has dreams and desires that He is fulfilling, we have dreams and desires He wants to see fulfilled because He made us to be like Him. And when we fulfill our dreams a part of His gets fulfilled.

In 1 Samuel 14, we read about Jonothan having big aspirations to take on a whole Philistine garrison...just him and his armor bearer. To this his armor bearer replies, "do all that is in your heart to do..." I believe this is what the Lord is saying to all of us.

So what is in your heart?

It may seem impossible...that's good! Because God is about the impossible. I would go so far to say that if your dream isn't impossible, it's not God.

For me, I have this dream of making a film/documentary about a group of surfers traveling the world, doing what they love to do, being free, knowing who they are and who their God is and the miraculous things that happen because of it. Not just going on a missions trip, not just trying to make a good surf film, but people just doing what they love to do, what is in their heart to do, and being free to be who they were made to be. Before coming to school at Bethel, my dream was to make films with Walking On Water...now my dream has just exploded into something so much bigger, but at the same time bringing all my passions together. I see bringing Walking On Water and Bethel together to go out and seriously change the world...bringing Heaven to the nations, to surfers, to the world. Because when Jesus taught us to pray, "Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven," He really meant it!

But that's me...my question to you is what is in your heart to do? Because you were made to be like your Father, made in the image of God and when your dreams get fulfilled so does His. You are a son/daughter of the King. Jesus said, that "all authority in heaven and earth has been given to Me, therefore GO..." The Bible says that we were "created to do good works, that He prepared in advance for us to do." I think too often people go after the dreams that think they should have or put what they're passionate about aside to go into "ministry." Not realizing that their Father made them that way and that what is in their heart is LEGAL! So as in Psalm 37:4..."delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." You were made for greatness! So "strong and very courageous, do not be discouraged for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

The Lord is for you...and He's for your dreams!

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One thing I've learned is that when a big dream hits you, it's easy to get overwhelmed by it. But remember: He chose you. So He sees that you've got what it takes and because He chose you, you've got Him. Also, you have to find ways to steward your dreams...what can you do now to move towards your dreams? The difference between those who do something and those who don't do something is the those who do something, do something. Not rocket science here...but it's so vital! Anyway, in my attempt to do something and begin going after this dream in my heart, here's a few videos that I've been working on...

http://www.youtube.com/FirstStarProductions

Love you all!

-Josh

been a loooooooong time i know...

There's no excuse like the one of being too busy. And it's not like I have many words of my own to share with you right now, but I do have some things to share. First, I miss you all and hope you're having a great new year. I've been working with the video team here as they are now live streaming the services, which if you're sitting there like, "so what kinds of things to they teach you there?" you might be interested in checking this out....
www.ibethel.tv/media/free

And the second thing I want to share comes from my good friend and leader in school, Jason Vallotton. He's actually a couple months younger than me but seems to have the wisdom of a grandfather. Here was something he recently wrote...the deeper you look into it, the more amazing it becomes in your life...

The fruit of the hard times...

Oh the pain of plowing and the reward of reaping. Broken blisters cover the sewer’s hands as he works to break up the heat baked ground. He’s beat down by the scorching sun, there is no escape from the dusty hot air that his labor is producing. He works tirelessly from dusk till dawn, day in and day out to produce something that will not be enjoyed for months to come. The work is endlessly tiresome and grueling at best. For him, the end is not yet in sight, for breaking the hard ground is the first part in this long process of sowing seed.

It is the fruit of the hard times that will carry him through the good times. The fruit that he produces in this curtail time will actually create the enjoyable seasons in his near future. The farmer understands this principle; he knows it because this core value has been passed down through the generational lines from his great grandfathers. He is not worried about the heavy price that he is paying now; he is not concerned that the seed will not grow. He is diligent in his work knowing full well that what he plants will grow. Former generations have handed him the faith that he operates from. Experience has given him the confidence to labor, knowing that it will not be in vain.

The lazy man has no generations of wisdom to fall back on. He sleeps during the heat of the day knowing all to well that the only thing a hard days work in the sun produces is blisters and heatstroke. There is no expectancy of good times or abundance; he is not concerned about the future because he is too busy trying to survive today while exerting the least amount of effort possible. This man has not been taught about the secret of the hard times; he only knows of the punishment that hard labor dishes out. His view of the world justifies his lifestyle; to him it is better to beg through the winter than to sacrifice in the spring. These people are in the church they are the ones that are never full; they look anemic and are dying all the time to get what you have. Crisis follows them around like collectors chase debt. I am not talking about the hungry in the body that are sowing from what they are eating, I am talking about the habitual taker that has no vision for sowing. To be honest, many of us have areas in our life that are like this, it may not be your whole life, but it may be one area.

Another reality letter.

Sometimes we don’t understand why we only have hard times in this life, I want to tell you that you are not sowing in the hard times, you are surviving. There is a dramatic difference between working towards the future and surviving today. This is an easy mentality to get into to. Laziness (lack of vision) creeps into areas of our life slowly crating complacency, soon you will settle for a hot meal at the end of the day instead of a harvest planted. Success will be whittled down to a full belly and a warm bed at night. Because of the lack of sewing seed, there is no harvest for the future. Every bit of his seed is eaten in order to preserve his life. If he wants to break this cycle he will have to understand this principle, the present will always have to sacrifice for a brighter future.

There is a great opportunity that comes with every hard season for those who have eyes. The farmer’s mentality should be put into action and the work must begin. There is an excitement that comes for the farmer every season, he is not excited about the blisters but he is excited about what the pain produces. I have said it a million times in the past letters and I will say it again, adversity pushes a great man to the top. The resistance that hard ground creates produces strength for the farmer, this strength will carry him all through his life, it will be the strength that he will use in he elderly years. The wisdom he gained through the labor will carry on beyond his years passed down through his family. His faith will become their faith, in the tough seasons; his son’s will use the testimony of their father to produce a harvest in their life and there will always be enough.

The Lord created adversity; He is not afraid of resistance and his first concern is not our comfort. We must change the way that we view hard labor. We spend countless hours watching TV, and listening to the news. We fill our minds with our Sports Illustrated subscriptions investing all of our time in things that produce no future harvest. These things are not bad in moderation, it can be a healthy escape when the labor of the day is done, but when this becomes the seed that we are sowing, you can only expect to reap a limited harvest, one that will be malnutrition and fruitless at best.

The seed that you sowed today came from the fruit of last years harvest. It is important to begin to look into the future and begin to sacrifice now so that you will have something to plant when the next season arrives. What does planting look like? To me it looks like stewarding the season that you are in. What ever your hand finds to do, do it will all your might. I will make a separate letter on this issue, but it really breaks down to the simple things, spend time working on the season that you are in. If you are raising children, spend time working through love and logic until you master it. If you are working on heart identity issues, use your free time to review who you are in Christ over and over again until it becomes who you are. If you don’t have money, give… What ever you want you first have to sow.

Spend your time preparing your mind for greatness; fill your life with the wisdom of God. Use the wisdom of God to show you where to Labor towards your future, sowing where the ground is fertile. Plant the seeds of truth that come from a life of diligent seeking and prepare for abundance. You will have more than enough to give and prosperity will follow you like success follows wisdom.

The fruit of hard times will be what thrusts you into your destiny. This harvest will be enjoyed way beyond your golden years. What has been sown through the sacrifice of your youth will be passed down and carried throughout the generations. So the next time you inter into the “difficult seasons of life”, break the crust on the dry ground and prepare for the fruit of the hard times…

We have a choice...

Okay, so I think I have something to say. I'm going to give it a shot here...
I know I got a little, politically fired up that last one, which is a rarity for me I know. Some were there with me...others definitely were not (sorry I haven't responded to them all yet...I haven't forgot). I'm hoping we're all learning a lot through these times we're in...I feel that I definitely am.

I don't want to get too much into politics now, but one thing I see that saddens me is the way some people, especially 'Christians' respond at times. I see hateful comments, racial slurs, words of condemnation and the like. And that really hurts my heart to see. I admit, I've been there before myself for sure. Sometimes it's just to be 'funny' but sarcasm does mean 'to tear one to pieces', right? The media definitely doesn't help. Think about the past year or so...two people are torn down over and over and over again. One of which will end up being our President. What a difference it would make if we were to honor them both throughout the whole thing.

We are called to be a people of honor. I'm not saying you have to agree with them or stand for what they stand for, but we don't honor people because they deserve it...we honor them because we are honorable. In Proverbs 18:21 we learn that our words have the power to give life...or death. In Genesis, God 'spoke' the world into existence. I think the verse in Deuteronomy I used last time still applies to us..."see I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses...now choose life, so that you and your children may live. We have a choice. No matter what side we supported, we can now either choose to say that America's doomed and oh no...fill in the blank with the latest reason why. Or say, 'okay God, You are in control, You are good, You work everything out for the good of those who love You and Your ways are much better than our ways.'

How can we tear down our leaders and expect God to touch their lives? We were all made in the image and likeness of God. And whether you believe in God or not...He believes in you. And we ought to treat everyone accordingly, no matter who they are. In 1 Peter 2, Peter writes, "Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king. I believe the king at time he wrote this was Nero...who later hung Peter upside down on a cross...and here Peter is choosing to honor the king.

So it's late now and I'm hurting to get a good conclusion here. This is one of the many things I'm learning lately. And just seems very relevant for our time right now. I have so much I want to share with you all, but am hesitant to do so until it is not just knowledge to me...but truth that I live from. Let me just leave you with this last thought...

"Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity." (colossians 3) I can promise the world to my country, I can give them the world, I can heal the sick, I can pray for my president, I can look after the poor, counsel the wealthy, make the best videos, surf the best waves, be there for kids, preach, teach, wash my enemies feet...but if I don't have love, I'm nothing. If I don't have love...nothing I do matters. How many of you know...you can't love others until you can love yourself? You can only give away what you have. And how many of you know that God's thoughts for you are more than the sands of the seashore? And those thoughts are all good. They always have been and always will be. Jesus has had your picture on the fridge (so to speak) before you were even born. He loves you...because He is love. So just accept it...and then give it away to the next person you meet.

I love you all and really appreciate you taking the time to listen here.

...now choose life.

Now choose life...

Well it's been quite a while since I got on here. Definitely not because I didn't have anything to say, but maybe I just had so much that I did know where to start yet, but I want to save that for later. Right now I think there are matters that need our attention. Dueteronomy 30:19... "This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life so that you and your children may live..." I'm sure you're all aware of the elections coming up here very soon. And I just believe that there is more at stake here than many may realize.

You have Prop. 4 that will require a teenage girl to get permission from her parents before getting an abortion. You can't give a child an aspirin in school without obataining permission but they can get an abortion? Come on. And you know all the heartbreaking facts...abortion is a $90 billion industry that drives a huge part of the economy, 89 babies killed per minute worldwide due to abortion, since Roe vs. Wade more children have died at the hands of abortion doctors than have died in all the wars put together in American History! Are you kidding me?! Abortion is the greatest holocaust in human history! The same enemy that was behind that mass murder of children in the days of Moses and the days of Jesus (because the enemy knew how dangerous those guys were to his plans) is up to his same tricks. People are in bondage and are crying out to be freed from slavery to corruption, addiction and depression and God is sending us heros in the form of children.

Prop. 8...protecting the sanctity of marriage and of life as God created us to have. This is very hard to write and not get fired up about. And our next president...for me I haven't been too sold either way, but in light of what I just shared above...I gotta vote more in favor of my morals than my money. There may be 500 amazing things I like about a candidate, but 1 thing that I just cannot budge on. Check out this amazing video the Catholic church put out... www.catholicvote.com and more than words or quote or opinions...just listen to your spirit that God gave and vote your conscience.

I've never been too passionate about voting or elections, but I feel like God is stiring this in my heart. Love and miss you guys.

Now choose life so that you and your children may live...

WOW...

I gotta share this while it's fresh, because it's blowing my mind! Okay so maybe you already thought about this but I was reading this book on the Holy Spirit and it was talking about how Jesus was actually capable of sinning. Think about that. Okay, Hebrews 9:14 says, "How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God..." It was the Holy Spirit that was the power that kept Him pure. And think about it...if Jesus wasn't able to sin would Satan have wasted his time trying tempt Jesus to sin?
Anyway, I always thought about it like, "Well Jesus is God...He can't sin." But He came down and limited Himself as a man. He lived His whole life knowing He was the our one shot. And if He sinned once it was over. So He gave Himself completely to the Holy Spirit (God) day in and day out every day. EVERY DAY...not once did He wake and say ''i'm just not feeling it today." Come on! Suddenly, it's not the cross that really impresses me as much as it is the way Jesus lived. Man, He must really love us!
Jesus depended on the Holy Spirit...how much more should we? "If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit that dwells in you. (Rom 8:11) Not only did the Spirit raise Christ, He is also the One who will raise you!

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"

Just for starters...

So I'm just going to try and get this going for now...
I know I'm going to get pretty busy here soon and know many of you are as well. But I would love to share with as many of you as I can what I am learning and experiencing up here at the Bethel school of supernatural ministry. And I know I won't be able to keep in touch personally with everyone I would like to as much as I would like to. My hope is to be able to keep these brief...to say a lot without saying too much. It was extremely difficult to leave San Diego. Especially, the youth group kids and my friends there. Borderline depressed on the drive up. And it took me about a day after I got up here to actually "arrive" here. But I still know that I am supposed to be here and if I didn't do this I would always be left wondering...
I still remember looking into that man's eyes on that train in Sri Lanka. He had no legs, had to scoot around using his hands and seemed blind as well. I felt so helpless to do anything. Even if I had money what would it really do? I remember thinking that if Jesus was there that man would be walking off that train, rejoicing. I started to think of Peter's words to the crippled man outside the temple, "Silver and gold I do not have but what I have I give you(what did he have? how did he get it?)...in the name of Jesus, get up and walk!" The same Peter that denied Jesus 3 times as He was going to the cross. He was one of the first "followers of Jesus." If I claim to be a Christian as well, should my life look more like Peter's did? More like Jesus' for that matter. "If you believe in me and the things I do, you will do even greater things than these!" -John 14:12. There just seems to be more to following Jesus than I know. In this book I'm supposed to read before classes start, "When Heaven Invades Earth," Pastor Bill Johnson states that salvation was not the ultimate goal of Christ's coming...it was to fill each newborn believer with the Holy Spirit...that we might be "filled with all the fullness of God." Eph. 2:19. Maybe that's what Jesus was talking about when He said He came to "give life and life to the fullest." Maybe not...but it's my hope to find out.
Anyway, there's a lot more details that go into why I am here, but I think that's the basics of it. I've just become too curious to not find out if Jesus really meant that we really would do even greater things than He did and how is that really possible. I've heard story after story of such things being done up here at Bethel, my sister went to this school and if there's anyone who's opinion and advice I can trust...it's definitely her. I'm nervous and know I will be put in uncomfortable situations but I know that this is where I'm supposed to be and look forward to what God wants to show me here...and would love to share it with you guys. I'm sending this to you because you have in some way been a great influence and encouragement on my life. Some I've known for a long time, others just recently. Some I know are close to the Lord and are all for what I'm doing, others may just be checking Him out still. Some I've hung out with recently, others not for years... well, you get the point. But if you don't mind listening, I don't mind sharing. Love you all; you all have a huge place in my heart and I feel very fortunate to have you in my life. Oh yeah and uhhh...Go Broncos!