Natural Disasters

I wanted to post this as a way to communicate some of the devastation of the tornadoes that hit down here in Oklahoma.
But first.... Here is the story:

This house was occupied by a man and his three dogs. He had began taking shelter as he listened to the weather man on his satellite radio. He began to take cover in his cellar, he put his three dogs in and then his satellite went out. Anxious to here what was happening he ran up stairs to grab a radio so he could listen. On his way down the wind blew in his front window and gushed through and out the back window, shattering the glass. The tornado then proceeded to lift the house off its foundation and rotate it, then it blew out the wall on the side of the house. The man was fine!
Here is the result of the house:

The cement side walk you see in the pictures is where the house sat flush to the front door was right along that front porch.

Here is the thing. Why does God let this happen? I am not sure if we will ever know, but what I do know is that through this we can find community, we can serve and we can show God's love. Lets take something that Satan meant for evil and create it for His Glory!
This Tornado was an F2, one of the smallest tornado's. Please continue to pray for those in Joplin hit by the F4 or F5 tornado! And prayers for everyone affected by the Tornado in Oklahoma!

Discipline Vs. Impulse

"So much Christian work today has never been disciplined, but has simply come into being by impulse! In our Lord's life every project was disciplined to the will of His Father ... But True determination and zeal are found in obeying God, NOT in the inclination to serve Him that arises from our own undisciplined human nature."
-- Oswald Chambers

As Christians we need to have discipline in our lives. (No better way to start out a blog than with a cliche right?)

As I read the quote above, "So much Christian work today has never been disciplined, but has simply come into being by impulse!" I am almost offended. The foundation of my "Christian work" is not impulse.

Or is it?

Why do I raise my hands in worship? Why do I give offering? Why do I read my Bible? Why do I pray? Why do I stay after service and help stack chairs?

Most of the answers look like, "I feel it is the right thing to do," or "That is what I do because I am a Christian."

We have become a generation of Christians who rely solely on our feelings. Our feelings substitute in for "God's will," and whatever seems or feels right at the time must be God's will.

Instead of being dependent on our feelings, and seeking God through convenience (our feelings become a source of convenience), lets become Christians who discipline ourselves.

2 Corinthians 5:10, "...Bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ..."
What does it mean to bring our thoughts into captivity?

Here is how I think of it:
Do you remember those old school water filters, the ones where you fill water in on the top and it filters it? I view those as "us" or "Christians." We have to filter the thoughts and motives we have. Bringing every thought into captivity means allowing God to have to opportunity to "fine-tune" or "filter" the thoughts and ideas you have so they are according to his will.
The water you put into the water filter is not all bad water, but some impurities still exist in it. That is why we have the filter, so when we drink the water it is pure.
Same with our thoughts; more times than not the ideas we have are solid thoughts. It takes discipline to capture those thoughts, hold back on our impulse to act out on it at that very moment, and finally take it before God.
Taking an idea before God does not mean presenting it to him, then carry on in your own manner. It is letting him filter that thought, shaping it into his perfect will, then acting on what God gives us.

This way God gets the Glory for everything we do. We cannot take any part of the credit if we allow God to guide and direct us.

Let's be disciplined Christians who come before God and seek his will. Lets no longer act on our impulses, no longer just go through the routine, but instead do everything with purpose and with passion.

Hope this can challenge you as it continues to challenge me.

--Clayton Hines

Sins Atoned For

An interesting idea was brought up through conversation in my Expository Writing Class today. As the professor told a story from her life, she mentioned this:

That the same price was paid for all sins.

Of course, Jesus came to the earth to die for our sins, right?

Exactly.

The price of sin was Jesus on the cross. My mind's wheels started turning; I thought of the sins that I imagined were the worst: adultery, murder, rape, torture, et cetera.

The thing is, all of these sins cost one price: the death of Jesus. So, as I thought about this concept even more, I realized that if I disrespect my parents or cussed someone out who just cut me off on the freeway, the grace that I receive is the same amount that a person who commits murder receives.

Basically, sin is all under one category and is covered by the blood of Jesus.

For the longest time, the "blood of Jesus" and "He died for our sins" had just been one huge cliche for me. Of course I knew these things, but when I actually began to meditate on the extent of which His grace extends to, it became incredible.

Jesus didn't sacrifice himself on the cross only to cover our "Christian sins" or sins that "aren't so bad." If this was the case, we would have no chance for salvation because each human being is guaranteed to need grace for more than just their "petty sin."

Here's an analogy:

My family loves to go to this theme park called Silverwood; it's in Idaho. At the gate we pay an admissions price to get into the park. That price covers us getting inside the park. Now there are numerous activities or treats a person could pay extra for, but the rest of the park becomes accessible after the admissions price is paid.

God paid our admission's price to his "theme park" of Grace. The price it cost for us to get into this park was Jesus' death on the cross. Since he died, our admissions been paid and his whole park of Grace becomes accessible to us. It doesn't matter if we choose to go on the biggest ride, or stay on the kid rides.

This is how the grace of God tends to work, and makes it that much more intense when we thinking about it. We need His ultimate sacrifice of His Son to enter His park, and for every ride we require grace to get on...

grace to stay on...

and grace to carry on from it.

He extends this grace to us in every aspect of the park. Too often we find ourselves trying to do things in His kingdom by means we used when we functioned OUTSIDE of His park. Little do we realize that we now require something bigger and better to function! No longer are we allowed to use our sinful ways or prideful means to accomplish things, but rather... it is by His grace and for His glory.

Overall, it is realizing that Christ has given us the ultimate gift for every wrong. Whether it is stealing a bike or having a bad thought, the same price was paid to cover that sin. Now that we have been told, will we receive His grace and allow it to drastically transform our lives and way of doing things? Or will we continue to walk in what we were saved from? (Romans 6)

The choice is ours!

--Clayton Hines

With help and ideas from Cayla Vichot

Read and Follow her blog Loved and Pursued; finding our identity in Christ

Thanksgiving

Today is thanksgiving. I just love this time of year; it is a good reminder of all the things I have. Along with realizing what I'm thankful for I also enjoy the company of family and food. The celebration of thanksgiving is in-it-of-itself a time to be thankful for. So many people don't have families to celebrate it with or have resources to provide a meal. As I just reflect on all the things I'm thankful for: family, friends, a house, food, the list could go on and on. It just doesn't sit easy with me that it takes a holiday for me to realize what I am thankful for. Everyday I go through life and can always find something to complain about. Often my day can be ruined by a minute detail or inconvenience. I have so much more to be thankful for than I do to complain about, yet complaints, without a doubt, make the top of my to do list every morning. Even on days where I wake up on the rift side of the bed, do my devotions, and have a cup of coffee I never cease to find something to complain about. It's our human nature to never be satisfied. I think God created us like this for a purpose, well duh he's God. This, despite the way we as humans pervert it, is a great quality to have. God never wants us to be satisfied where we are at spiritually. It is a good quality for staying healthy, not being satisfied with being out of shape, spiritually and physically. We can't become comfortable, as Christians, because the moment we do is when we become spiritually lazy and vulnerable. The moment I become comfortable with my physical shape, I start to compromise the amount of exercise I do and the amount of food I eat. Same with our walk with God. When we feel we are competent in our walk with him is the moment we start to compromise on all the things we stand for. Instead of not being satisfied with material things, let's not be satisfied with it relationship with God. Let's

not be satisfied with how much we serve others. Let's not be satisfied with just being a "Christian," but let's go and make disciples! It's incredible how we can take something God creates and pervert it to benefit us and not God. Let's recognize it and change so our lives are lived to bring God glory.

--Clayton Hines.

Wrestling Match of Life

It’s that time of year again, one of my favorite seasons for sports. Yes, that’s right, wrestling season. I absolutely love wrestling. There is nothing greater than being able to get on a mat, one-on-one with an opponent and use all the skill, technique, strength and endurance that has come from training. Wrestling for six years caused me to learn in depth about the sport and to develop a love for it. Since I have graduated high school, wrestling to compete is no longer part of my life. However, I have learned so many life lessons, and am still using wrestling as an analogy for my life.

As I have kept pushing towards God and seeking his will for my life, I have discovered some pretty awesome things. Something recently, has been using wrestling as an analogy for my life. This, as it continues to develop even as I write, has been such a cool and relevant way to see my life.

I want to start off first by describing wrestling. The season usually starts off by losing weight. The lighter the weight, usually the better chance you have. Next comes the weeks of training; two and a half hours of conditioning and technique a day. The next things are challenges, or practice matches. For someone who has not ever wrestled or is new, simulating a match before actually participating in one is beneficial. It allows a wrestler to see where his strengths and weaknesses are and fine tune them. Finally, there are the matches. This is what ever wrestler trains for, shaking hands with their opponent, wrestling hard for six minutes, and getting their hand raised at the end. However, sometimes in matches a defeat may occur. However, if a wrestler allows that defeat to shape them, they will never win another match. They must review what they did wrong, move on and train for the next match. Same goes with a victory. If a wrestler lives in that victory and doesn’t work on improving, chances are the next match may be a rough one.

How does this all apply to life? Allow me to break it down (bear with me, and hopefully this all makes sense in the end).

First off, in life we all start outlearning. We learn from our parents and teachers. If we grew up in a church we learned from our pastors. Through them we learn technique and skills to life and often after we learn we have a chance to experiment with what we learn. God always seems to bring about opportunity in our lives for us to practice what we have been learning. However, if we fail at these things it isn’t a matter of our salvation, we can simply learn from our mistakes, and “fine tune” our lives. There comes a point though when we are all on our own, for me this has been college, and we have to act out on everything we have been taught and learned through our times of “training.” When we are out in a match, there is no turning back, we have to be fully confident in the actions we are taking. If we happen to mess up a move or forget a technique there is no stopping. We can’t simply just ask to restart and expect everything to just reset. It doesn’t make sense in either end of the analogy. We have to keep going and use whatever the situation presents to better our position. We are always pushing for victory, no wrestler steps on the mat and is thinking, “I want to lose this match.” We put all we have on the mat and in the end we are either victorious or have something to work on. Either way, it’s about looking forward to the next match. We can’t live in that moment of victory or defeat forever. There has to be a time where we decided it’s time to improve. In life, when we are presented with tough situations, we can’t simply just start over every time it gets uncomfortable; we have to keep pushing for that victory, and do everything in our power to gain that victory. If somehow we come out on bottom, we keep our heads up and trust God that he has a lesson for us to learn and something bigger and better in store for our future.

I hope that this maybe is encouraging to someone, I know my thoughts might be scattered, but I wanted to get it down, because this could encourage someone.
Thanks,
--Clayton Hines

Developing a Passion

So this just came to me the other day and i thought i would share it. idk how clear it will be, kinda just wanting to get it all out.. and hopefully God will direct my fingers as they type:D so here it goes....

My first car was a 1993 Honda Civic EX. it was given to me from a family friend who had moved to Japan and didn't need it anymore. i drove that thing everywhere, it was reliable. However, i wanted/needed something new that would be a tad more reliable. well i started to look and look. and finally God directed me to this awesome little Honda civic hatchback. PERFECT!! i love that car so much!

when i first got the car i had to get adjusted to it because it was a manual (real drivers) not an automatic (*facepalm* drivers). i had been driving it around for about a month when i wanted to learn a little bit about what was under the hood. i started diving into Honda forums and online blogs. i also asked people who i knew had an understanding of cars. Every time i learned something new i wanted to know more! well this passion kept building and building. well God gave me a perfect opportunity after that, because it was time to get a new clutch. removing the clutch from a car is not an "easy" task. it requires taking out the transmission which is work. i am glad i had my buddy garret to lead me into this overwhelming task! we got it out, fixed and back in within 2 days! i have this passion to keep learning more, and to keep working on my car.

Passion.. it is a weird, almost indescribable thing. but yet we all have it right? we all have a passion for something, whether it is for video games, working on cars, playing music, or just hanging with friends we all have passions.

but where does passion come from, or how does a person become passionate.

1) it requires time spent.

we can't have a passion for something if we never spend time with it. For me, when i became passionate about my car i started to go out and just look under the hood, even though i had no idea what half the stuff was, just being there with the car seemed to help quench this passion.

2) a yearning to learn more

if i just looked at my car, but never wanted to learn what was under the hood, or how it all worked then i would not have a passion for the car, it would just be another car.

3) talk about it

after you start to want to learn more you seek out others to talk about it with. you through out your little knowledge you have and they poor into you the knowledge they have.

Finally

4) make a change

talking about it wont be enough, you have to just get your hands dirty and start going for it. otherwise all your doing is talking about how much you love this thing or person or idea, but never doing anything about it, that's not a real passion.

thinking about these 4 essentials for being passionate, none of them can happen if you don't spend time with it. how could you ever want to learn more if you never spent time with the car, or the person? how would you talk about it if you had no idea what it was like. and you certainly could go about making a change without first having spent sometime getting familiar with it.

NOW!!....

Our passion for our walk with Jesus is the exact same thing! this is so awesome!

1) spend time with Jesus.

Psalm140:13 "the Godly will live in your presence."

in order to be like Jesus we have to be in his presence, how do we do that? by spending time with him through prayer and the Bible.

2) Desire to know more about Jesus

Matthew 17:19 the disciples here were trying to cast a demon out of a little boy. the demon didn't come out, so Jesus did it. well here is where most Christians give up, because if we don't understand something the first time we tend to think we never will. the disciples show us how to want to know more. they go to Jesus and ask what they did wrong. they make themselves vulnerable to growth! they wanted to know more! they only knew they could go and ask Jesus that though because they spent time with him.

3) Talk about Jesus

Luke 2:41-49 this is the story of Jesus staying in the temple and his parents leaving him. well when they come back they are freaking out and they find Jesus in the temple with the leaders talking and asking questions and he even answers their questions. Jesus was passionate about God, and he was God! i mean its an awesome example, Jesus sat around and because of his strong passion he spent time with God, he wanted to learn more, and he talked about it with others who were "wiser" but he was even answering them.. why? he was passionate!

4) Make a change

Matthew 28:19 i think for Christians this can be the hardest part about being passionate. it is so clear because you can come back from a camp and be all fired up and passionate, why? because you spent time with Jesus, you learned more, you talked about him. but then coming back we never make it to the final step of making a change. our final step to being a passionate christian is following the great commission. because when you become passionate about something you don't just want to leave i the way it is. just like my car, i am passionate and when i got the opportunity to make a change and get my hands dirty i jumped on it. SAME THING for Christians, we have to jump on every opportunity God gives us to get our hands dirty and try! and if we mess up like the disciples it doesn't mean we aren't passionate, we just become more passionate because we can learn more and then talk about it more, and spend more time with Jesus, then trying to make that change will come easier. but the only way to make a change is trying, nothing gets done by wishing or thinking.

I hope this makes sense and is a challenge/encouragement to you. i want you to understand that this whole process of being passionate starts out with spending time with God. with out that there can't be a passion! and without spending time with God, and reading the Bible are we really being Christians? Hopefully God spoke to you through this. i just love sharing what God puts on my heart!