God Remains the Same.

It’s hard to believe 2010 is coming to an end. This is the time of year where people reflect on what all has happened and start making resolutions for the New Year. It’s the time where people often figure out things they want to change to better their lives. While praying about what to share with you all this week the LORD has really put something on my heart that I’ve felt reminded of almost daily the last couple weeks that seems pretty simple really...THINGS CHANGE, BUT GOD REMAINS THE SAME.

Jobs change, our feelings change, relationships change, our diet changes, our weight changes, people pass away, people get married and have kids, where we live changes, the way we view the world changes, our hair changes, styles change, phones change, we lose our way, we grow spiritually...EVERYTHING changes, but do you know your LORD?

"The first of 6,823 usages occurs in Genesis 2:4 where Jehovah is compounded with Elohim...when we read the name Jehovah, or LORD in capital letters, in our Bible, we think in terms of being or existence and life, ...Jehovah is the self-existent One- "I AM WHO I AM." He is the eternal I AM, the Alpha and the Omega, the same yesterday, today and forever. All of life is contained in Him.

Why do we look elsewhere? Why do we not rest in His unchangeableness? He has never failed. Would He begin with me or you? He cannot. He is Jehovah, the self-existent, covenant-keeping God." (Lord I Want to Know You, 55)

When I reflect on this past year at The Porch it’s been amazing to see God’s faithfulness in so many of our lives. We are not the same as we were a year ago, and I pray we continue to grow in the likeness of Christ Jesus. I pray that our eyes would be fixed on Jesus (2 Corinthians 4:18, Hebrews 12:2), that we would trust in our LORD who never leaves us nor forsakes us (Deuteronomy 31), who does not change (James 1:17), and always provides. I pray that you would know the Lord as your Jehovah-jireh, "the Lord will provide."

Thank you for letting me serve with you all this past year. It has truly brought me so much joy. As I think of 2011 I pray that our New Year’s resolutions wouldn’t be something that a month from now we forget or doesn’t really matter, but that we would commit to seek Christ, know Him, trust Him, and be more like Him. Forgiving others, glorifying Him in all we do, and living on mission for His eternal Kingdom. I pray we would hold loosely to the things of this world, and cling tightly to the cross.

As always...Praying for you all~

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

www.theporchdallas.com

No Greater Gift.

"O, COME LET US ADORE HIM. O, COME LET US ADORE HIM. CHRIST THE LORD."

"Sometimes we just roll past, thinking it's just a nativity. When you get the nativity you can't just walk past it, you have to stop." --JP It's not just a story, Christmas is real. It happened. It is history. We sing these lyrics, especially around Christmas...O come let us adore him. Are you adoring him with your life or walking by too busy/distracted with everything else?

Merriam-Webster Dictionary gives the definition of "adore" as: to worship or honor as deity or as divine; to regard with loving admiration and devotion.

We also need to understand what the word deity means. The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ was God incarnate. Literally 'God in flesh', fully God and fully human, Savior and Messiah. "His nature is of deity and humanity. He didn't trade deity for humanity. He added on humanity to his deity." --JP

"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." (Luke 19:10)
JESUS CHRIST CAME TO SAVE YOU. Wow! That has to leave you in admiration.

God gave every sign and fulfilled every prophecy. Genesis 3:15, Isaiah 7:14, Micah 5:2, Micah 3:1, Born of a virgin woman, will be male, and will come to crush Satan before 70AD. The nativity was real. It happened. It is history. No one can deny the life of Jesus.

"Christ Jesus...Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:6-11)

We wonder, how did they miss it?! How do we? Are you caught up in the shopping, cleaning, wrapping, planning, traveling...or are you caught up in what we celebrate this time of year? CHRIST JESUS. Our Savior. Our Messiah. He came and he will come again. Rejoice!

"All Hail! Lord, we greet Thee,
Born this happy morning,
O Jesus! for evermore be Thy name adored.
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing;
O come, let us adore Him...Christ the Lord."

Praying you all have a wonderful Christmas full of love and admiration for Christ our King. Praying we would respond like Mary did when the angel Gabriel brought her the news of her pregnancy, "I am the Lord's servant." (Luke 1:38) There is no greater gift, nothing more beautiful, than Jesus. Let us share this good news with others, serve others over the holidays, and absolutely...REJOICE!

www.theporchdallas.com

Christmas happy...

My sister posted this the other day about her trip to Target with my three year old nephew Garrett. It's too cute not to share...

Christmas happy: We were at Target last night picking up some additional lights, when G looks over and says," OOOh, look at all the pinata sticks mommy!" I turn, confused,"They are cool, but no G, that's wrapping paper".

I think they've lived in South Texas too long haha!

Do You Believe That God Wants Best...

A dear friend reminded me this morning...Do you believe that God wants best for you? That he isn’t with holding anything from you that you need? You may be frustrated that you aren’t getting what you want in the moment, but do you trust him?

Proverbs 14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end leads to death.

Proverbs 3:5-6 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.

Psalm 84: 11-12 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. O LORD Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you.

As we grow in the Lord our way of life will change. It has to change. Everything changes. Previously we’ve done things our way and love feeling as though we are in control. When we start to lose that control, and finally allow God to lead our lives and start to follow, it can be a tough transition. So much of our lives we’ve chased after what we want and done things our way, but where has that lead us? Hurt, heartbroken, empty, or maybe realizing there has got to be something more. So often we become dependent on ourselves and others that we aren’t dependent on Christ as Savior of our lives.
Do you believe that God wants best for you? That he isn’t with holding anything from you that you need? You may be frustrated that you aren’t getting what you want in the moment, but do you trust him? Are you taking time to truly know God?

2 Peter 1:2-11

2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

10 Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Forgiven People are in Heaven.

JESUS TALKED MORE ABOUT HELL THAN EVERYONE ELSE IN THE SCRIPTURES COMBINED. HE SPOKE MORE ABOUT HELL THAN HEAVEN...think about that.

JP brought it last Tuesday. While writing The Porch News this week I become teary eyed thinking about how bad we miss it. By “it” I mean understanding what Jesus, our SAVIOR, did for each of us. We could never imagine how good our God is, and therefore can’t even begin to imagine how bad hell is.

“There is no pain in this world that compares to hell.” Hell is real, it is not a joke, and it is not a party. What breaks my heart is that we, ourselves, are what is going to keep us from eternity in heaven with our Father. “What prevents us from all the goodness God has for us? Ourselves.” (Matthew 10:39, John 3:30) Who should end up in hell? Everyone. We have all run from God. (Mark 10:18)

Romans 3:9-12 What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all!... As it is written:“There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away..."

“Addictions to sex, porn, attention, spending, relationships…all those things are born out of an addiction to ourselves.”

Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

Think about some hard truth JP shared Tuesday:
*We are called to love God and love others (Matthew 22:37-39).

We often respond, “nah love me”.

*The opposite of loving God is not worshiping Satan, it is worshipping self.
*We love His stuff and so often just want to bargain with him to get what we want.

I pray so much that you all would experience what I have in the moment where I “got it”…I need JESUS, I need a SAVIOR! I finally understood that my way of life, no matter the temporary happiness, will ALWAYS lead to death (Proverbs 16:25), and keep me from this indescribable life I’ve now found with Christ.

“Good people and bad people end up in both heaven and hell. The difference is those who are forgiven are in heaven."

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. -2 Corinthians 7:10

Praying you all would experience His amazing grace~

www.theporchdallas.com

JESUS, WILL YOU WAIT UNTIL AFTER JANUARY 10th?

I woke up in the middle of the night Saturday with the thought:

WE FOCUS SO MUCH ON THE FUTURE, WE MISS THE PRESENT.

Lately I’ve been so excited about my future! I can’t begin to explain my excitement about going to the National Championship game in January, going to Haiti on mission in April, being on my boat again this summer, and where the Lord will have me in regards to serving, relationship, career, travel, etc.

I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THE FUTURE, BUT WHAT ABOUT TODAY?!

The Lord has us here, in this moment, on this day for a very specific purpose. He has given us this day to possibly come into repentance with Him, serve Him, learn more about Him, and share His Good News with others. TODAY.

In life we get so excited about what is to come we are missing out on the joys of today! Let’s stop rushing today away. It’s like a wedding day. We plan for days, months, years for that big day. Then as soon as it’s over we think, “Wait I can’t even remember what the decorations looked like, who was there, what the food tasted like…and now… what do I start looking forward to now?”

CHERISH THE GIFT OF TODAY. The Lord is up to something so good, better than you can ever imagine. Even if life today doesn’t seem exciting, maybe it’s even a sad day for you (See Romans 8), TRUST HIM and SEEK HIM.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

To be honest, in a jokingly way, I prayed that the Lord would wait until after January 10th to return back for us because I would love to see Auburn in the big game. The truth is WHAT A GLORIOUS DAY it is going to be when Christ returns to bring us home. It will be greater than any future plan we have here on earth, greater than any football game, greater than any relationship, greater than any vacation…and that is the day I truly cannot wait for!

Revelation 21: 4-7
‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

God doesn't make junk, YOU are God's masterpiece...

CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhfUzodLRvk

So often in my life I've tried to control instead of trusting God. I've tried to bargin with Him. I've even questioned the way He made me and rarely feel like a masterpiece. I love how this video shows a sad, but true example of many of our relationships with our heavenly Father, mine included. It also shows more importantly the goodness, grace, and mercy of our Father.

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. - Ephesians 2:10

All That Matters is...I am His.

WE SPEND OUR LIVES SEARCHING FOR A WELL TO CLINCH OUR THIRST, AND WE WILL NOT FIND IT APART FROM HIM.

I’ve been contemplating on what to share this week, and really feel a tug on my heart to be truly transparent. I loved when David talked about how we constantly look to the next best thing for temporary pleasure and happiness. Then “even when you get the exact thing you want, the excitement of it only last so long”. For young adults this often comes in the form of a relationship. While searching for the one thing that will satisfy we often end up “demanding more from that person, than they can give.”


After taking time away from dating I’ve finally felt my heart open to date again. I’ve also found the devil sneaking his way back into my life in the form of insecurity. The Bible tells us in 1 Peter 5:8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.


When relationships don’t work out I’ve started to question my worth, and how people view me. If only I was quieter, looked different, or haven’t gone through a divorce etc maybe things would work out differently. My dear friend Lulie would say, “That is a lie from the pit of hell.”


My worth and yours is found only in Christ Jesus. Like David said, the thing I need most is not a relationship, not more money, not a new car…It is a greater understanding, an intimate relationship, with my heavenly Father. I see clearly that I need more time with the Lord to continue working through these insecurities, and that no relationship, attention, or compliments from a man will ever satisfy. I could never put that expectation on a guy (career, money, etc) to satisfy only what can be found in the Lord. Those things have and will only leave me feeling that there has to be something more. Understanding who God is and growing my relationship with Him is the only thing that matters. I loved when Todd referenced Matt Chandler this Sunday when he said, “All that matters is…I am His.”

Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” –John 6:35

What are you looking towards to find satisfaction? Where are you finding your worth?

The Greatness of Our God…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPxxzxBK_Eg

I encourage you all to read through Isaiah 55 & Psalm 23.

www.theporchdallas.com

Love that Does.

"DON'T PAY CHRISTIANS TO BE CHRISTIANS, SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A CHRISTIAN."

JP has shared so much truth the past two Sundays it has really got me thinking…

Are we settled on knowing God conceptually, or do we truly know God? Do we have a relationship that when He comes back…Christ will invite us to come with Him? (Isaiah 66:2, Matthew 5:6-7, Luke 14:27)

Do we have a LOVE that SEEKS out the needy, SERVES them not by what they deserve but by what they need, and SENDS others towards Christ- compelling them to want to know our God? (James 1:27, Hebrews 13:2, Matthew 25)

It is sad to me that the same excuses Jesus talks about in Luke 14, that they used to not come to his banqueting table, are the same we use today. We have misplaced priorities because of our possessions, professions, and people in our lives. So often we let the good things in our life distract us from the ultimate. I pray that we stop filling our lives with stuff, and start filling our lives with Christ.

I felt convicted about how selfish I often can be, and how I have had the attitude of what is going to happen to me if I stop and help someone? Maybe I’ll be late to where I am going. Compared to the attitude of the Samaritan, what will happen to them if I do not stop to help? It truly concerns me that selflessness is so uncommon that it seems crazy. I pray that we would live selflessly, generously, and show mercy to others.

Why do we look at others and ourselves in terms of what we deserve? We deserve nothing, yet have been given everything. We have been given grace, upon grace, upon grace...why do we not love others this way? Like JP said, there are a lot of people doing good in this world (see Oprah), but if it is not done in the name of the Gospel we are just building this world…instead of the eternal kingdom. (Titus 3:4-7) I pray that we would never forget what Christ has done for us, and that we would continue sharing the Good News with all those we meet. I pray that our good deeds would be out of love for Christ and always point back to Him.

I know these are a lot of thoughts, but we seem to often forget the greatest commandments: love God and love others. (Matthew 22:37-39)

"Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble." (1 Peter 3:8)

www.theporchdallas.com

When God Doesn't Change Your Circumstances...

“WHEN GOD DOESN’T CHANGE YOUR CIRCUMSTANCE; ASK HIM TO CHANGE YOUR HEART.”

Wow, Tuesday was incredible! Nick brought his A-game for sure! If you missed it please go back and check it out online. There were so many take-a-ways, but one that has been on my heart is the fact that “when God is silent, we go to false conclusions”. We are so incredible impatient with God, because of our own agendas. We seem to forget...

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28)

"But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." (Isaiah 40:31)

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" (Jeremiah 29:11)

"The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9)

Remember, God is sovereign, good, loving, and he doesn’t make mistakes. “Although you may not understand Him (what he is doing all the time), trust Him.”

We get caught up in ourselves at times that we forget who God is, what Jesus did for us, and how blessed we truly are. This Thanksgiving I pray that we would be THANKFUL, JOYFUL, and HOPEFUL in Christ Jesus. Instead of going to our family and friend’s homes to be served...let us follow Jesus’ example and serve others.

Offer to bring something, and if the host says you don’t need to...bring something anyways. Offer to help clean up, and if the host says not to worry...help clean up anyways. Offer to say grace, and if people look hesitant...pray anyways. Share the joy and hope you have found in the Gospel with those around you this week.

"In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)

"May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word." (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17)

Have you thanked God lately? I encourage you to stop wherever you are, what ever you are doing, and take some time with your Heavenly Father who has given you more than you ever need, and more than you ever deserve. Give thanks... (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

www.theporchdallas.com

The Greatest Motivator in Life is Love.

Afshin was incredible last Tuesday! I truly enjoyed learning about Islam and the differences in Muslim and Christian beliefs. I left filled with joy that we serve a loving and just God. It was great to be reminded that our faith has historical facts to validate what we believe. And that our salvation is not based on a weighted scale, but based on grace through faith.

“Our good works are a proof of our salvation, not to earn it.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

“If righteousness could be earned through works, Jesus died in vain.” (Galatians 2:21)

“You stand on what you have done, or what Christ has done.” (2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 5:8)

Just earlier this morning I was on a plane back to Dallas and pulled out my notes journal to write today’s Porch News. The man sitting next to me asked if I was a student, and I replied, “No sir, I am working on a devotional for my church group. We actually had this incredible speaker come and share with us about Islam last Tuesday...” I got so excited about the opportunity God was providing. After a few minutes of chatting he finally said, “Yeah I sort of believe that all religions could be correct and lead to the same god.” OH BOY!!! PERFECT lay-up for conversation. I opened my notes from the past two weeks and went through them sharing about Islam, Universalism, Pluralism, Inclusivism, Exclusivism, and we continued chatting. It was awesome! God is so good! He is LORD. He is the great I AM! His Word is truth. O praise Him!

"Jesus answered, 'I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.'" (John 10:25-30)

The truth is when I got on the plane I couldn’t wait to talk about all the football games this weekend, but the man next to me wasn’t interested in football. Praise God I didn’t waste time trying to talk to him about stuff that really doesn’t matter, when that time was obviously meant to be used for the glory of God. O praise Him!

“Love by its very nature must be freely given. If you love someone for what they give you, you don’t love them, you love what they do.”

www.theporchdallas.com

A Loving Response to Truth.

"A LOVING RESPONSE TO TRUTH IS TO POINT OTHERS TO TRUTH IN LOVE"- JP

WOW, if you missed last Tuesday PLEASE go back and listen to it. JP started our Apologetics Series and brought it! Have you ever heard people say things like: "I believe that you just need to believe in something (anything)", "Everyone will ultimately go to Heaven", "All religions are true", "If you're doing what feels right to you, then it must be ok"?? Check out the truth to those statements in last week's message. (1 Peter 3:15)

Instead of doing my normal devo, Team Next Steps would like to wish JP a HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY!!! JP has done just what last week's message was about...He has pointed each of us to truth in love.

Here is a TOP 10 List of things JP has taught us this year:

10. I’ve learned that being single is a time to fully leverage myself for the Lord and grow in Him, preparing myself for however God chooses to use me during the rest of my life. (James 5:8) -Kyle Bourne-

9. I’ve learned what it means to walk in the light (1 John 1:7), grateful for your friendship and your countless sit downs full of encouragement. (Hebrews 10:24-25) -Jarid Ghaffari-

8. I’ve learned "It's not about YOU! It's about GOD." (JP) This life is not about me and my desires. It is about living only to glorify GOD. So, those whose are lost can see my eternal joy from the works Christ Jesus is doing in my life. (Galatians 2:20) –Nick Chilton-

7. I’ve learned not to pray that God will remove all the trials in my life. Rather to be joyful in spirit, as such trials can bring a new closeness with and understanding of Christ’s character when I persevere well in Him. (James 1:12) -Nathan Harness-

6. I’ve learned what patiently bearing with one another looks like, as JP has borne with me in my weakness (Ephesians 4:2-3). –Chris Gurley-

5. I've learned to trust and obey the Lord. To not rely on my own judgment, but to pray and trust in my Savior for everything. (Proverbs 3:5-7) –Jennifer Bryant-

4. I’ve learned that my 20's aren't just life's waiting room between my teenage years and marriage but rather a time to throw myself whole-heartedly into the service of God while there are no distractions. (1 Corinthians 7:25-35) –DeAndrea Harris-

3. I've learned to be set apart in faith AND action and to be able to give an account for my lack of conformity to this world the way Dallas sees it. Giving an answer to the hope that I've found in Christ Jesus (James 2:18; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Peter 3:15). -Chris Landry-

2. I’ve learned to trust and believe in the Gospel. My life is no longer my own, and should look completely different because of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. (Mark 8:34-36) –Allyson Black-

1. We’ve learned that although JP is a great friend and leader who loves all of us of, he is just a shadow of the greatest love of all.

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

Thank you, JP, for pointing us to the greatest love of all...Jesus Christ. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

www.theporchdallas.com

Sunburns Are Not Fun.

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." ~John 10:10

I loved Ryan’s example of the sunburn last Tuesday and how each summer, even though he had gotten burned before, he wouldn’t use sunscreen and would get sunburned again…again…and again. What a simple, yet perfect, example of how we are in life. It’s similar to the definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

I remember chatting with JP about dating back in ‘09 and him sharing a verse that has stuck with me ever since. "As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly." ~Proverbs 26:11

How gross is it when dogs go back to their own vomit?! The sad thing is that’s what we do when we return to the things that have burned us. This is often a sin in our life that we keep doing, knowing that the outcome is probably not going to be good nor is it glorifying to the Lord. It could be the way we spend our money, how we talk about people, lying or exaggerating about things, the type of people we date or how we date, or any other area in our lives that we struggle with.

JP followed up that verse by saying, “So you’ve tried it your way, and how has that worked out for you? Why not try it God’s way?”

"Do you see a person wise in their own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for them." ~Proverbs 26:12

You see we get burned because we don’t remember what we should have done, shouldn’t have done, or the pain we felt. Then often the burn leaves a scar. Sometimes the scar is a reminder of the pain, and sometimes the scar is a reminder of God’s victory.

What area of your life do you keep getting burned?
Have you trusted Christ with this area of your life and tried it His way?
Are you learning from your pain and seeing God’s victory in your scars?

I remember getting to a point in my life where I was tired of getting burned again and again. I was tired of doing things my way only to never feel peace, hope, and joy. That’s when I fully surrendered…faith was all I had.

“Faith isn’t faith until it’s ALL you’re holding on to.”

www.theporchdallas.com

Don't Wait For Dates.

Dating. The area of my life I’ve struggled with the most to be honest. As much as I hate to admit it, I have settled many times in my life because of the desire to have someone around. (2 Corinthians 6:14)I can tell you first-hand that it is far better to be single than in an unhealthy relationship/marriage. My loneliest time, in fact, was being in a marriage that was not Christ-centered and was completely broken.

I loved it when JP talked about how our time of singleness can be either a waste of time, or the most productive time. It’s hard to even think about the amount of time I’ve wasted in my life worrying about dating. Since surrendering my life to Christ, it has been amazing to see how God has worked in that area of my life. By focusing more on my relationship with God and less on relationships with guys, I’ve been able to build great relationships with my girl friends, serve here at The Porch, take Bible studies to work through areas of my life that I needed to deal with, and even go to the Amazon Jungle on a mission trip! This time of singleness has allowed God to restore me, sharpen me, and better prepare me for a relationship, if that is in His will. God has blessed my life more than any boyfriend ever could! (1 Corinthians 7:35)

Spending time with the Lord in my singleness has definitely helped to make purity a priority, greatly increased my discernment, and has shown me that when things don’t work out with someone, I can have peace knowing that I have no regrets and the Lord has something greater planned for my life (Romans 8:28). I am not defined by the guy I am with or if I have one at all, I am defined by Jesus Christ. I pray that my faithfulness marks me.

Ladies:
"She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue… Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised." ~Proverbs 31:25-26, 30

Gentlemen:
"Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money… (They) are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience." ~1 Timothy 3:2-3, 8-9

DON’T COMPROMISE FOR THE REPLICA, HOLD OUT FOR THE REAL THING.

www.theporchdallas.com

Hey, How's Your Prayer Life?

Last Tuesday was AMAZING! If you weren’t there definitely go back and check it out online.

The message was about how communication is the most important aspect of a relationship. This includes our relationship with God. How then do we communicate with our Father? Through prayer. When? Continually…

"And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else. Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." ~1 Thessalonians 5:14-18

"Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise." ~James 5:13

When I think about life in general I can see so clearly how important communication is. Lack of communication can cause so much pain and confusion in our lives whether at work, with family/friends, and in relationships. Recently I was thinking about how lack of communication can hurt more than just hearing the truth. I can only imagine how God must feel when we continually chose to ignore him and not communicate. Maybe you don’t feel like you can pray to God because you aren’t sure he’s really there and listening or you don’t know what or how to pray. I’ve been there.

There was a point in my life where I wasn’t honestly communicating with anyone. I didn’t let anyone know the truth about how sad and broken I was, including God. The Lord used JP to share with me the Gospel, and used him to encourage me about how our Father wants a relationship with us no matter how broken we are, or how many times we’ve turned our backs on Him. I remembering not really knowing what or how to pray, but just praying to God that I needed help, I need Jesus Christ as my Savior, and wanted a relationship with Him. The Lord totally answered, and has continued to as I've been in relationship with Him.

You see God is faithful even when we are faithless.(2 Timothy 2:13) God doesn’t ignore us, even though we’ve ignore Him and others (Matthew 22:37-39). A relationship with Christ gives you more than any other relationship can. The Lord saves! Restores! Redeems! Gives you peace, mercy, joy, and grace! I love when JP said, “Sometimes people don't have a right relationship with God, but want him to be their magician” and just fix things or give things. True faith is the belief in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and having a relationship with Him. Trusting that even when things may not make sense, He may be doing something bigger than you. Praising Him in good times and bad, and giving Him all the glory.

How’s your prayer life? Your Father loves you and would love to chat :)

Praying you will know the Lord and that He will know you. (Matthew 7:15-23)

www.theporchdallas.com

It's All About Me.

“WE NEED ATTENTION, BUT WE DON’T WANT TO PAY ATTENTION TO OTHERS.”

Our guest speaker Aschalew from Ethiopia gave a great message last Tuesday on how life is simply about loving, giving, and serving others. There were a couple times he even called us out saying, “we are takers, we can’t see past ourselves…it’s all about ‘me’.” I hate even thinking about that because I know how painfully true that statement is. What really stuck out to me though is when he was speaking on how we look at our life as little experiments, almost testing to see how much we can depend on ourselves as opposed to God. He said, “It’s not about experiments, it’s about knowing your creator.”

Looking at myself I can see so clearly that much of my life has been a maybe lifestyle. I say that meaning I do things thinking maybe this will work out, maybe if I just try really hard to make things work. For you girls, maybe I’ll be the exception instead of the rule this time. All these situations are little experiments seeing what I can do for myself. Most of the time I’ve done this because it’s things that I want and has nothing to do with God’s plan for my life or in any way trusting in Him. During these times I am also not following what God has said is true and am not believing that these truth’s are written to protect us because He loves us. It’s evident that in those moments I am not in complete surrender to Christ. He is not my delight…something else so temporary has distracted me.

"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night."
~Psalms 1:1-2

When we become so obsessed with our plan, what we want, or how great we are doing and thinking we are the exception to all the rules, how can we begin to obey the second greatest commandment? Put simply we are called to love God, and love others. (Matthew 22:37-39)

"You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
~Galatians 5:13-14

How are you doing today, honestly? Reflect on your life, how much time are you spending trying to make your will happen? How much time are you spending getting to know your Creator, your Savior, your Heavenly Father? Are you spending all your time, energy, and money on yourself or allowing Christ to use you in someone else’s life?

There are a lot of lonely, confused, and lost people all around us here in Dallas…are you serving and loving them well? Maybe it's even the simple question of asking the person sitting next to you now, or the next person you see..."Hey, how are you doing today? Is there anything I can pray for you about?" Then listen and pray. Try it and I'd love to hear how God uses those small gestures of love and kindness.

I pray that we not be selfish young adults here in Dallas, but we would be selfless.

I encourage you all to spend some quiet time today reflecting on these verses: 1 John 3:16-20, Romans 12:1-3, Philippians 2:1-11.

www.theporchdallas.com

He IS Coming Back!

“WE KNOW HOW THIS IS GOING TO END…WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?”

JP brought it last Tuesday as we went through James 5:7-12! I encourage you to spend time in those verses.

It really caught my attention when he talked about how we often ask why God doesn’t just start fixing the things that are wrong in this world, and deal with the people that need to be dealt with. JP made a good point, where should God start then? Should he start with murderers, liars, cheaters, or maybe even with us? You see we’ve all sinned and added to the brokenness and mess that we’ve made this world. “Praise God he didn’t start before you knew him.” Christ is going to come again, but he wants us all to come to repentance.

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

Tears fill my eyes when I think of the times I’ve turned my back on the Lord, and the pain I’ve caused myself and others. Then tears of joy come when I think of how the Lord loves us, is patient with us, forgives us, and even wants to use us to help build his kingdom. We are called to be ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20), bearing witness to those around us. Sharing what we know to be true and the good news that HE IS COMING BACK! We know how this is going to end.

If you’ve met me you know how much I love football, Auburn football more specifically, but as silly as this seems I’ve been asking myself this question and want to ask you as well….I plan my weekends around when Auburn is playing, have my jersey on, chat with everyone who will listen to me about the game, learn stats, and cheer way too much, but am I that way about Christ? Do I plan for His coming again, share with everyone who will listen, know and share his Word that is Truth, and give God all the glory and praise for everything in my life? Am I more excited about football than Christ? Are you? Or maybe it’s something else you’re passionate about, but why aren't we that much more excited and passionate about the Gospel and truth that Christ is coming again?

I was at lunch not too long ago and overheard a child in a booth next to me talking about Jesus to his family. He said... "I want to be alive when he comes back!...We've got to tell everybody he's coming!" He was so excited. Those two little sentences from a child were such a great reminder for me. As I am so easily distracted by things that don't matter and lose sight of the joy and excitement that comes from the Gospel and truth that HE IS COMING BACK...We've got to tell everybody!

www.theporchdallas.com

Be a Wonder to the World.

“HE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO BE A FLEETING WONDER OF THE WORLD. HE WANTS YOU TO BE A WONDER TO A WORLD THAT WATCHES DEATH RULE EVERYWHERE, BUT LIFE INCREASE IN YOU.”

Have you ever felt like you had one foot in the world and one foot with Christ? Maybe going out and partying on the weekend, but showing up for church Sunday? Possibly going to The Porch Tuesday, and then dating someone you know you shouldn’t or having inappropriate relationships? Or maybe it’s even going to church, and then doing whatever it takes to make more money, more success, more popularity including lying, backstabbing, cheating, and joining into inappropriate conversations throughout the week? During this time did you ever get frustrated because it seemed like relationships with friends, dating, co-workers were more difficult? Did life seem confusing, hard, and painful?

Todd gave an awesome message last Tuesday and shared with us Matthew 6:19-24. I encourage you to go back and listen as well as reflect on these verses. Scripture clearly tells us “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money (you can enter anything you constantly think about here).” –Matthew 6:24

I loved when Todd said, “Judgments of sin is just the fruits of sin. God doesn’t bring chaos into your life because you chose to sin…sin is the chaos.”

For a while I would get mad at God when bad things happened in my life. I just didn’t understand why he would allow bad things to happen if he loved me. Now living in the light and having “good eyes” I can clearly see that the pain and hurt in my life came from the sin, not from God. It came from me or someone else disobeying the Lord, and often from me pushing my agenda instead of trusting in the Lords. It came from me and/or others not being fully surrendered to Christ. God is trying to rip us off from happiness, he is trying to set us free and protect us. I agree with Todd saying, “I have never listened to Him & followed Him where I lived to regret it.”

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death." –Romans 8:1-2

My other idol in life besides God was relationships. I’d knowingly settle just to have that attention from a guy, but God has restored that area of my life. He has redeemed me. A guy is no longer my desire or treasure, the Lord is and He has my heart.

Quotes from Todd: “If you attract a guy with looks, you’ll lose him the same way.” “Scripture encourages you to find someone who is not just professing the love of Christ, but showing you.” Proverbs 31:30

Undone ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1z8Efykeiis&NR=1

Praying for you all~

www.theporchdallas.com

Broken Voices.

I AM GOOD. YOU CAN HOPE IN ME. AND I LOVE YOU. ~God

Andrew from Broken Voices gave an awesome message last week (9/7) about Christ being the center of our lives. Definitely go back and listen online if you missed it.

“So many of us are never all in on anything because of situations we’ve been through. We all have this trust problem, and so we often become one foot in and one foot out” (Revelation 3:15-17). How silly is it that we would even begin to compare the faithfulness of people in our lives to that of our God (Leviticus 19), our Creator (Psalm 139), our Savior (1 Timothy 4)? Of course people in our lives are going to let us down. We are all a little broken , a little selfish, and a lot sinful. Heck, we even let ourselves down. There are times where the more we try to control situations because of our own desires the more out of control things get. We add stress and carry burdens that we were never meant to have.

Matthew 11:28-30, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

I love when Andrew said, “When the center is off, it’s only a matter of time before everything falls apart.” There was a moment in my life where I had everything I thought I needed to be happy. I had the job, the car, the home, the husband, and the dog. The only thing missing was Christ at the center of my life. In just a short amount of time all of that was gone. Everything I had hoped and prayed for and thought to be the most important things in life were gone. The problem the whole time was that I did the same thing Romans 1:25 speaks on: “They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.” Thankfully God is mighty to save, restore, and redeem. He rescued me from myself and drew me close to Him.

My desire is now isn't for the car, home, husband, or job. My desire is that "when I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have one single bit of talent left and could say... I used everything you gave me". You see my life and your life isn’t meant to get as much as we can, it’s meant to give as much as we can, and to serve our Savior who has given his life for us so that we may have eternal life(John 3:16)!!!

“Our lives were meant to move an off-centered world closer to being back on center.” ~Andrew (Broken Voices)

What is at the center of your life? What/Who are you trusting in besides Christ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuX4bSHfDvs&feature=related

"We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done… so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands. They would not be like their forefathers—a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him." ~Psalm 78:4-8

Praying that we would be “a generation rising up to take our place with selfless faith.”

Praying for you all~

www.theporchdallas.com