These Precious Minutes Burn.

Whoa! It has been quite a busy few weeks! There are so many incredible things I could blog about... but I'm really much better at talking than blogging- so ask me about the hapennings of my life right now!

Ok- before you do anything. Click on the link below and listen to the song "Precious Minutes."

http://www.myspace.com/daveandjessray

Last week I was able to work with a ton of wonderful people as we prepared for FCA's Leadership/Surf camp at UNCW. Awesome week to say the least. God penetrated the hearts of so many, and His presence was apparent. As a few of the huddle leaders talked on Thursday night, we decided that one of the most challenging aspects of camp life is the fact that God has given us, as leaders, only one week to spend with these campers. During this one week, you must exhaust all options of communication, relationship building, and EVERYTHING ELSE! Naturally, we are fully aware that only God can move in the hearts of the students, but we were all struggling with and coming to terms with the fact that through only five days with campers, we must face all of the challenges that come with the desire to plant a seed. (Check out Luke 8:4-15). As soon as campers arrived last Monday- we hit the ground running. There was little to no time to second guess or second check anything said or done. God had prayerfully prepared us to run full speed ahead with gospel in hand.
What an incredible seven days of pure chaos, confusion, exhaustion, discofort, faithfulness, openness, praise, and thankfulness! So this got me thinking... what would my walk look like in the coming months if I prayerfully submitted to EVERYTHING I was being called to do and pursued it without second thought or reserve? Now this does not entail recklessness or disobedience... just raw servitude to Christ.
Someone told me yesterday that I seem to "pick the most inopportune times to blurt out the most important things." I found this sort of humorous... and couldn't disagree. My defense was that if some things are not said at one specific moment... they can quickly become irrelevant. What would my converstions look like if I had the same attitude when it came to making disciples?
Hopefully you have listened to "Precious Minutes" at this point. If you have not... scroll up to the link and check it out now. Think about what the chorus says "These precious minutes burn." How true is this!? I waste so much time playing with fire instead of running toward it confidently. Fight fire with fire. I am ablaze because I am of Jesus- so what reason have I to be timid or spend an unhealthy amount of time "deciding" (and I use the term "deciding" loosely as I often do) upon what God has or has not called me to pursue? Pursue the gospel. Pursue Jesus. Daily, I am presentd with SO MANY opportunites to "plant seeds." As my minutes burn away, how will I spend them? How will you spend yours? Dr. David Jeremiah (What in the World is Going On) says "That is the key to pleasing the Lord in these days- continue to work diligently at what God has called you to do. Believing in the imminent return of Jesus involves more than simply waiting. It is a matter of working while we wait. Working hard. Working faithfully. Working in the power and joy and filling of the Holy Spirit."
That is simply the prayer that God has given me over the past few days. As I've shared with some of you this week- my Summer has been so interesting. As God draws me closer to Him, I've felt led to eliminate any distractions, any questionable pursuits, and anything blocking my view of ONLY Him. God is showing me that I cannot add anything to Him or take anything from Him. I want to spend this week fearlessly pursuing the gospel and all that comes with it. I want to challenge you to pray the same if God puts it on your heart. When God gives you words or opportunity, embrace it! Pick those inopportune moments to say important things :)
I'm thankful this week for the renewed confidence that the Lord has given to me. Not a confidence in myself, but in all of the areas in which He is using me. God is finally showing me pieces of Himself that I have been waiting to see! My favorite scripture comes from Jer. 33:3 as God makes promises of restoration and peace(Search for ME and I will show you great and hidden things that you have not known!) This has held true this entire summer. I will only be shown what is hidden when I search for Him. With this, comes promised peace and restoration just as it was to this weeping prophet. So this week, whatever your burden... whatever your concern, don't make what is of this world a priority. Search for hidden opportunities to present the gospel. Pray for and seek out divine appointments. God will use this desire to plant seeds where He "sow" desires. (I love puns.)
As you are already aware, I'm not that great at focusing my thoughts. So, sorry that this blog, as all of the others, is ALL over the place. Thanks for reading! And seriously... ask me about my summer. Ask about my week and how we witnessed God work at UNCW. Ask me about what I'm learning about David and his heart! Please continue to pray for the planting and multiplying of spiritually growing Churches in Angola (Luena, specifically.) Please let me know how I can pray for each of YOU this week! Thanks so much for all of your encouragement and questions and...EVERYTHING!! You guys are so amazing and I am thankful for all of you!

Remember your minutes this week.

Psalm 37, Pete Townsend, Stubborn Clouds, and Delusions of Grandeur?

To be quite honest- for one of the few times in my entire nineteen years of existence I am practically at a loss for words. I am insanely confused… yet, insanely… content? What a few weeks it has been! I am sorry that I got behind on the blogging (I warned you that it would happen!) Yikes! Warning: this might be a long one.
God is doing something remarkable here. He is doing something obnoxiously, dangerously, radically, remarkable. As of yesterday I leave for Angola in officially ONE MONTH! I am so excited!!! (and that should be given an award for ‘Understatement of the Century!’) Haha, but seriously. God is transforming me in some pretty indescribable ways these days. He is kneading at my heart so deliberately, so mercilessly, and I stand amazed. This blog is going to be all over the place, my apologies. But I am going to attempt to describe to you a little bit about what is happening here.
Okay. Here goes:
Try to bear with me through this painfully cheesy analogy--
This is literally what I feel like:
I am holding a dozen red balloons. (The color is actually irrelevant… I just like the color red.) Each of these balloons can symbolize… people I love, places I love, memories I love, ideas I love, passions I have, goals I want to reach, etc. You get the idea. If I do not hold onto each one tightly it just… slips away. I feel like I am so tangled up in the strings of all of my balloons that I’m not paying any attention to (nor can I control) what is just… slipping away. By gripping one balloon string too tightly, I might accidentally set another free. Get the idea?

Here is where I am going to try to pull all of this in together. God has shown me something amazing within the past few weeks. First, check out Psalm 37:4- “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act.” Lately, my prayer has been for God to narrow my focus and break me so that I can see ONLY Him. I asked that my will would be conformed so that my desires matched those He has for me. This He did. As so many things begin this week- continuing with work, heading off to Camp, building new relationships, preparing for Angola… God has shown me that He will not instill such strong desires in my heart without fulfilling and maturing them if they are of Him. I cannot even begin to describe this peace to you. While so many of my balloons are at risk of slipping away… why should I worry? If I possess a desperateness that is of God to tightly grip each one of those balloons- He will act. He will make it happen. God has not forgotten the work that has been done (Hebrews 6:10)… He is using it! Maybe this means temporarily letting go of a balloon or two so that others can be subject to a tighter, more focused grip. When the time is right- God may shoo some of those stray balloons back. But at the same time… some of those balloons may ascend into a mysterious abyss only to burst …and never to be seen again.

This might make no sense to you, and I’m sorry… but point in case: God is not going to make you painfully passionate about something for which He has no intention of using you. This might mean that He breaks you in the process. This might mean that He takes it from you before introducing it to your walk again. This could mean… many things. But if He has shown me anything it is that He is not going to allow His desire in me to just… dissolve. I want to challenge you to take some time this week and think about the “desires of your heart.” Are they Godly desires? What is the one thing you truly “desire” right now, and from where does that desire stem? Begin (or continue) to pray about what God will do with those desires in terms of transformation in the coming weeks. I hope that He will bring you the same peace He brought to me 

Here’s what my soundtrack looks like this week:

Grow- JJ Heller
Now or Never- Steve Means
You Said- Shane and Shane

Check these out if you get a chance! Here's a start-