John 3:14-18, 20-21, 36

14Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. 16"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. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
20Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."
36Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him.

This is a great chapter about those that are saved and those that are not. Also it's about why Christ even came to the world at all. Being one who believes in Christ and what he did for me on the cross giving me salvation, I stand as one who is not condemned before God. As I seek to live by the truth, I will be examined thoroughly by both God and men to see if what I did was done for God and his glory alone. As John said “That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.”(John 3:29-30) As I mature, things I do will be done more for God and because of the ability he gives me, not for any credit that I may receive.

No work today...

Time is one of the most precious things that I have been given in my life. God seeks for me to always use time to the best of my ability. Unfortunately, times like today, when I slept in really late don’t help me make the best use of the time I have. Anyhow when I did manage to get up, I was able to get quite a lot done in the short amount of time I had available. I took Kevin over to Grandma and Grandpa’s to cut their grass. Then I had a very productive time of practice on the piano for the recital in October. Overall since I didn’t have to work today (which is nice in a while), I got a lot done.

The wonderful life

Nothing really out of the ordinary happened today. However, I did go to the first class of Mr. Pulliam’s writing class at church. There are about 12 people in this class which meets for one and a half hours every other week. I took a semester worth of this class last fall and by far that class has improved my writing better than anything has before. God certainly puts opportunities in front of me, and I must make the best of them. One of the assignments due in 2 weeks is a short paper on what I expect to learn from this class and why I think that writing better is essential. Another assignment is to write 7 days worth of journals during the next 2 weeks, so I’m likely to update my blog a bit more frequently now. After I got home from class, I had a little time, then I went to work! Some days it’s really busy at work, but today was certainly not one of those days. Instead, it was rather slow and I was able to get off very close to 10:00 p.m.

Now I’m off to bed.

Hebrews 12 is an awesome chapter!

Hebrews 12:1-3
¹Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. ²Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

...and that's only the begining of the chapter. In life there is not only a physical "race", but also a spiritual "race" as well. There are many distractions around us, but we must continually focus on the goal, the endpoint, to judge weather what we are doing is necessary. Christ desires to be the central focus of both our physical and spiritual race, so that I may see his wonderful example and follow him and not get discouraged.
I must continually ask myself:
How do the things I do today help me to get successfully to the end of life and to Heaven to fellowship with my creator?
How about you?

~Brian

Wow it's been 3 busy days

To start Monday off, (now I don't even remember what I did!) .... well I worked in the evening from 4-10 pm and then came home and tried to get to bed, which didn’t happen until about midnight. (Now the biggest bummer of the week) - I had to get up at 5 a.m. on Tuesday so I could be at work at 6 a.m.! Now, if you know me at all, you would know that I really don't like getting up any earlier than I have to, but I was finally able to drag myself out of my warm and comfy bed. Once I got to work, I brought in a ton of carts (101 to be exact, by the end of the day it was a total of about 175) which were outside so the floor under where they are stored normally could be cleaned. Then I went around to all 15 or so trash cans and emptied them, taking all the garbage to the dumpster in the back. Next I inspected and cleaned up each of the 4 bathrooms (lots of fun!). Finally I was able to go back up front and bag groceries like I was supposed to be doing. I eventually got off at about 3:40 p.m. So, to say the least that was a really long day. Today I had to get up "early" again because today, I had to be at work at 8 a.m. I worked a much more normal shift today with the exception that there were not enough cashiers scheduled to compensate for the amount of customers, so I got to be a cashier for a good part of the day. The rest of the day I was in Customer Service which I like better than anything else. Finally I got off at 4 and I came home!

I feel like I have been working a bit these last 3 days. I wonder why? It’s not like I haven’t worked 23 hours in the last 3 days! Oh well, off to bed…

~later~

Work etc...

I can't believe it's been over a week since I have posted anything at all, but here's an update on what's going on.

Not much has changed since my last update post but to keep you all up to speed, here goes.

Work at MARSH is still occupying a majority of my time considering I’m working an average of about 30 hours every week. This week I’ll have about 32. The biggest “problem” with working so much is making time in the rest of my day for the multitude of other things I (want to / am supposed to do / need to do /) have to be doing. However at work I am daily presented with opportunities to minister or witness (usually only by my attitude/actions) to those I come in contact with. The other thing I see a lot at work is just the sin of the world and that’s not necessarily a good thing to see, but it certainly is an eye opener.

The time I’m at home is spent mostly trying to finish a couple subjects that I’ve been to lazy to finish from high school, gardening and landscaping the yard, and making an attempt at cleaning up some of the clutter I have on my desk. In about a week and a half, I’ll begin a writing class with Mr. Pulliam. This class is a continuation of the class that I took a semester of last fall, and since I’m hoping to go back to ALERT in January, I’ll only be taking one semester this fall as well. He is an excellent teacher, but one of the hardest things is all the reading he assigns – usually a book every 2 weeks, and normally I don’t read that fast. The other thing I’m startingis Dr. Blackwood’s ancient church history class. I have taken his Reformation church history class, so I anticipate this one will be a lot like that one – learning all sorts of really neat stuff about the Bible, the Church, and my history as an R.P.er. That should pretty sum up what I’ll be doing this fall.

Some prayer requests that I would:
1 Make use of the opportunities to witness verbally at work.
2 Wisely plan each day so that I can accomplish the most out of the time i have.
3 Be able to learn all that God is trying to teach me by those classes and circumstances of this fall.
4 Be able to go back to ALERT in January, if that is God’s will.

That’s all for now.
In Christ,
Brian

Verses of the day

<> Hebrews 3:1, 12-13
¹Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.
¹²See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. ¹³But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.

The State Fair!

This wonderful day, I got up at a lovely 9 a.m. After about an hour or two, I had to get ready for work and eat lunch. Work started at noon and went until 4:30 p.m. Once I got off, I came home, changed my clothes and took Kevin down to the State Fair where Michael met us. Unfortunately Kevin and I forgot the free tickets that we got out of the newspapers, so Michael went back home to pick them up. We finally were able to start looking around the fair at about 6:30. One of the first things we did was to eat dinner. For dinner we ate a lamb-burger sandwich, fried Oreos, and a fried Twinkie. Both the Twinkie and Oreo were certainly different, but they were pretty good! Following dinner, we wondered around, going through several different buildings looking at the different exhibits. One of the buildings we visited was the 4-H building which has been totally re-done since last year; it looks great! By the time we finished there, it was time for Michael to leave and go to work, but Kevin and I stayed for a while longer. We were able to see and talk to some friends that we haven’t seen for quite a while. So, besides spending about $25 (which isn't really too bad), we had an excellent time.

Sleeping in....

Today I slept in much beyond when I usually get up – I didn’t get up until noon! By the time I was ready to do the things I needed to do; it was already 1:30! The day goes by incredibly fast, and only goes faster when you sleep away half of it! This afternoon I was able to fix up my calendar – I got all the dates of things in the future put on it. So now I know what’s going on ahead of me. I got busy working on my calendar and talking with mom and soon I realized it was 5:30 and I had to be at work in 30 minutes. To keep it short, I got ready for work and by then I didn’t have time to eat anything. The result of not eating is that you get hungry, and not getting my break at work until after 9pm didn’t help any! So now that I’m off and home again, I can eat something then go to bed!

Quick post

Wow what a great sermon this morning. One thing that makes it really interesting is that I just started doing 1st Timothy in my Quiet Times last week, and now they're preaching on it! What an amazing coincidence.
Today Pastor Faris preached on 1st Timothy 2 which talks a lot about prayer. As a man of God I must take responsibility to be a leader in prayer. Prayer for those over me in governemt, church, and family. When I come before God I must be pure in heart or there will be a barrier between him and me. To save ourselves from shipwreck, we must pray! Prayer is the focus of our lives, not for ourselves, but for those in authority over us.

Some stuff about me that you might not know...

A survey thing that I found on a friend's blog that I just feel like doing. I hate the usual kind, the questions are so pointless. This one however, has a bit more meaning behind the questions, and it even makes you think!

THINGS YOU CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT:
Something important on your desk: my Bible and computer
When you sleep you wear: pijamas :-) a t-shirt and shorts, nothing special
If you could afford it at the moment, you would buy: this sounds so weird, but a trip to Nicaragua to see all the friends I have down there, and to serve Christ however I can.
Something you don't have a lot of: Time, money.
If your house was burning and you could only save 3 items what would they be: That's hard, I guess my Bible, notebook/journal whatever you want to call it, computer, and my family and pets of course are first on the list.

MORALS
If there were no side effects, you would enjoy being addicted to: Singing all day long, expecially the Psalms.
A time when you purposly hurt someone emotionally: none that I can think of
A time you accidentally hurt someone emotionally: I've done that many more times than I would want to admit to, not to mention that I cant' think of any which is probably a good thing.
One person you have killed in your thoughts: no one, why would I want to get rid of anyone? Sure my little brothers may be annoying at times, but it could be a lot worse, besides we're supposed to love our neighbor as ourself.

FRIENDS:
Three traits you look for in a friend: someone who will listen to anything i want to say or ask, being willing to give time to spend with me, Godliness...
Who makes you laugh most often: I don't know; I make myself laugh quite a bit
A friend who you can tell anything: Rut, Kevin, I don't know who else.
A friend you can go to for advice: Rut Etheridge, Eric Filson, Brad Johnston...
The best piece of advice you had been given: that I should trust God for my salvation
The friend who uses most of your energy: I have no idea

EGO
Your 3 best qualities: do I seem that egotistical? I guess my servant's attitude, desire to help others, general humility
Your 3 worst qualities: I don't usually think about my bad qualities.... maybe bad use of time, lack of self motivation and my propensity to sin
Describe your Ideal self: besides the fact that being ideal is imposible, having a really, really close relationship with God would be at the top of the list, in second place would probably be a better memory
You are embarassed when: maybe when people I know act really dumb in front of other people
The greatest physical pain you ever endured: that would have to be reserved for while I was at ALERT during Basic Training, we went on a really tough 2 day hike, at the end of one of the days, we went up a mountain on a trail that switched back and forth all 3 kilometers up, to make it worse, we had our "multi-day" packs on which weighed at least 50 lbs! Either that hike or at the end of a 12 hour hike, and there was no slowing down all day long, only a couple breaks, and lunch. My legs wouldn't have gone much farther even if my life depended on it!
The greatest emotional pain you ever endured: I don't have any idea. Maybe sometimes when I have had to admit things to my parents, or God. Or maybe while I was at ALERT.
Moment you are most ashamed of: No idea.
Your best physical feature: I really can't say, God has given me a great body. I do have a good tallent for singing though, if that counts.
Who/What makes you happy: God and knowing that I can come to him anytime I want, there are no restrictions.
Who/what makes you sad: Knowing that there are so many people on the Earth that do not know Jesus as their savior, and that they will be going to Hell for eternity.

EMOTIONS
Emotion you hide most: either anger, or true, genuine, Godly love
The emotion you tend to experience most: excitement, and understanding
The emotion you are feeling most lately: is tired an emotion? otherwise slightly overwhelmed "There can be no knowledge without emotion. We may be aware of a truth, yet until we have felt its force, it is not ours. To the cognition of the brain must be added the experience of the soul." Arnold Bennett (1867-1931)
You have a huge amount of guilt regarding: I don't know
When you are angry you need: time alone
When you are sentimental you need: somebody else for support/comfort...
When you are in love you need: since I've not been in love... I don't have a clue.

MEMORIES
One of your most peaceful memories: Nicaragua in 2002, the city we were building a church in was on the beach and one morning I got up really early, went to the beach and just watched as the sun came up, it was truly amazing!
One of your most tragic memories: when my first pet died - a guinea pig, of which I have had a total of about 15 to date counting moms, dads, and babies
One of your angriest memories: probably sometime with one of my brothers
A memory that makes you laugh: I can't seem to remember any in specific
A memory that makes you happy: I have too many of those to count
Something someone can say or do that you find extremely attractive: have a good relationship with Jesus Christ
Something someone can say or do that you find extremely unnatractive: using words that are not appropriate, hurting others
A personality trait you find appealing: outoging
Your secret passion: do I have to have one?
What do you enjoy most about having a committed relationship: How would I know? I'll answer that after I'm in one, like after I'm married (if that even happens)

FINALLY
If you had more time alone you would: spend it reading God's Word, studying it, memorizing it, praying, writing, sleeping...
If you had more patience you would: loose the race to the snail
If you could change one thing about your physical appearance what would it be: I really wouldn't want to change anything, I am thankful for the way God has made me, and that's just fine.
If you had no committments what would you be doing: Sleeping, reading...
If you could have one super power what would it be: The ability to teleport from place to place
If you could start all over: Why would I want to do that? I'm happy with my life the way it has been, of course there are a few things here and there that I could change, but that wouldn't warrent re-living my whole 19.75 years!
THE END :)

~Brian

An update on life and the future

I have come to the realization that many of you really have no idea what I'm doing or where I'm going, so I figured I might as well fill you all in!

Where I've been:
So far this year, I have been at ALERT from February until April, when I was promoted out of Basic Training. Since I've been home I have primarily been working at my job (MARSH) about 20-30 hours every week. Also I have done assorted landscaping type jobs around home - gardening and weeding :). Plus some miscellaneous school stuff.

Where I'm going in the future:
This fall I'm planning on working about the same amount; ~30 hours per week, possibly getting a second job (probably a night job at UPS if I do). Primarily this money is for either college or ALERT. I'm also going to be taking a semester of Mr. Pulliam's writing class, and maybe Dr. Blackwood's Ancient Church History class as well. In January, I'm hoping to go back to ALERT for another 10-20 weeks. If I'm there only 10 weeks it will be for Emergency Response Training, which includes: counseling, chainsaw use, basic fire fighting, CPR, basic first aid, basic high angle rescue, a 2 week deployment, search and rescue, 2 weeks of diving, and "rescue systems one". The second 10 weeks, if I stay for it, would be for "EMT-Basic" (Emergency Medical Training). When I get back from ALERT I plan to work until the fall (2005) when I hope to take a year at IUPUI taking classes such as math, English, biology and chemistry that are transferable to main campus Purdue for the beginning of the 2006-2007 school year. At which point I will have 3-3.5 years at Purdue and I hope to graduate with a bachelors in International Agronomy. This I will then use as an intern at ECHO (Lord Willing) for a year or as long as God calls me to be there. From there, I hope to become a full time missionary in Central or South America. So that's the basic plan for about the next 10 years or so...

Of course marriage and a family may come along sometime in that timeframe too, I'll never know! If that all doesn't blow your mind, great! That's just the vision God has given me for my future! Pretty amazing! Well, that's about all for now.

If you want something to pray for, you could pray:
1. That I would be consistent in my daily QT and prayer time.
2. That I would make wise use of the time that God gives every day.

1 Timothy 4:7-8
7 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales, rather, train yourself to be godly. 8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.

ALERT Cadet Challenge!!

After the training session yesterday, several ALERT (Air Land Emergency Resource Team) guys and I met at the Convention center downtown to help lead an ALERT Cadet Challenge here in Indianapolis for about 350 cadets. By the mere fact that other ALERT men are here, means that I got to see some people that I know and to develop new friendships.
As the Cadets arrived, they marched out in groups of about 20 to the park where the event is taking place. Once we were all there, the cadets were divided up into their respective teams, and introduced to their squad leaders. I was selected to be an assistant for the obstacle course, helping Lieutenant Thornton to get all the cadets through in a reasonable time period and without injury. This was done for 2 separate units over the course of the afternoon. At about 4:30 p.m. everyone assembled and the cadets were then marched back over to the Convention center where their parents picked them up. I stayed to help clean up the equipment and headed toward home at about 5:30. It was a great day, and I get to do it again tomorrow!

First Timothy 2:8

What a verse! And soo much a challenge to fulfill. The Worldwide English translation says it best - "So I want men in every place to talk to God. They must have clean lives when they lift up their hands to talk to God. They must not be angry. They must have faith in God." If only i could live up to that every single day!!

Basketball

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Singing the Psalms with 1,499 other RP Christians - a truly awesome experience

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Volleyball

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8 of 9 members of the Prayer/Accountability group I'm in.

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A New Song concert.

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RP conference - Is it over all ready?

So much for a week long conference, it's over! I can't believe that it went by so fast! Here I am a week after it started and I can not even begin to describe all that went on there, but I'll still give it a shot.
To begin with, me and 34 others rode our bikes the 300 miles up to Grand Rapids, MI and Calvin College where the Reformed Presbyterian International Conference was held. Starting it all off was a session to kick off the Conference. Following that, the college age group (which I'm in) met in their room for a time of games and fellowship to get to know people. Starting Sabbath morning and every other morning after that, Ted Donnelly, a preacher from Ireland, spoke on the callings of Christians to service to the LORD. The titles of his sermons were: Called by Grace, Called to be Saints, Called to Freedom, Living out our Calling, Called to Glory. These messages were the highlight of the week for me just because of the enourmous amount of information that was presented and the many things I personally learned. After lunch was a time for recreation - biking, basketball, ultimate frisbee... then it was dinner time. After dinner each day was some sort of entertainment, weather it was a tallent show, a concert by New Song, annother message, or IRISH DANCING! (That was a total blast!!) By the time all was over, it was a good idea to go to bed, though not many did right away.
I'm not sure how I almost missed it, but after the morning message each day, there was someone that came and taked to the college group about how God had brought them to serve Him where they are currently. These testimonies are a close second to Ted Donnelly's sermons - every one was a great encouragement and challenge in some way. One evening just the guys had a special message from Matthew Topper on fidelity. That was probably the single best message, just because of it's incredible relevence to both me, and to everyone else there.
God really used this conference in my life to renew my relationships with friends, but even more so to deepen my relationship with Him. I pray that I will continue to apply things that I learned from this experience for the rest of my life.
I could keep on talking for hours, but at this point, I think I'll sign off for now. :)