How Can I Aim If I Can't See?

The past few weeks we have been going over the Gospel of John, specifically chapter 9. I ask that you take a few minutes and read the whole chapter to catch the context of what it is I’m about to share. Beloved, I want to focus on a few things Jesus does and says and how it applies to us.

The general overview of the chapter is that Jesus heals a man born blind from birth. This makes this man unfit to worship God in the Jews eyes of the time, and it makes him unwanted in others lives. The man had a radical encounter with Jesus. Jesus spits on the ground, makes mud, puts it in the man’s eyes, and after the man goes to the pool of Siloam he recovers his sight! As Jewish culture would have it, the man would then have to go see the Jewish officials in his area to go and show how he was now fit to worship. Now the Pharisees of that area missed the point and start to argue about if it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath. Now as both awesome and strange that this story gets, lets focus on some things Jesus says!

“4 We must do the works of Him who sent Me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” John 9:4-5 HCSB

His disciples have just looked at the blind man before the miracle happens and basically ask, “What caused this man to be blind, something his family did or did he cause it?” Jesus basically says, “The man is blind so that God can be glorified in him.” Then he states the above verses 4-5. If Jesus is the model of Christian living, then what do these verses mean for us? What does he mean night is coming when nobody can work? What does he mean he is the light of the world only if he is in the world? Does it mean he is no longer the light of the world?

For starters, when talking about the night he is foreshadowing his on the cross, and the three days he’d be in a tomb and everyone would think all was lost. We know that on day three he rose and appeared to many, but those days are when no one could work. Furthermore, I thought verse 5 was a strange verse and hard to apply, but check this out. Jesus is showing a side of himself that any reader of John has noticed by now. Jesus is all knowing and sovereign. He is making a proclamation that he knows not only that God has sent him, but because of that he has a mission and plan to fulfill and he’s going to step up in this moment and be the light in the darkness. We know he still is the light of the world but it’s different now.

See as the church we are now the light of the world. Scary thought huh? See when he was in the world he was the light of the world. He died, He rose, and He gave us His Spirit, the Holy Spirit. We are now called to share the light in the darkness.

“11 And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then He who raised Christ from the dead will also bring your mortal bodies to life through His Spirit who lives in you.” Romans 8:11 HCSB

It’s time we do something about it Church! Time to stop walking like a worldly zombie, dragging our feet! “Okay Bryan, I get it. I get we need to do something, but what exactly should I share with others?” Funny, Jesus says something to cover that question too!

“39 Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, in order that those who do not see will see and those who do see will become blind.” John 9:39 HCSB

Whoa, what’s going on here? Jesus wants both people to blind and see at the same time? No, Jesus says he is here on the earth to live and minister is such a way that those who can’t see God, due to the spirit of religion and the desire to follow their fleshly desires, could actually see God through Jesus. Further, He came so that those who claimed to see God, and really didn’t, would see how blind they really are.  So check it, Jesus says that this is what he was here for. So wouldn’t it make sense to say that this should be the call of our heart?

Imagine if we asked God that we could open spiritually blind eyes to his glory, and asked that the way we live would show those fakers how fake they really are. When is the last time someone told you that your faith and your walk with Jesus revealed to them how they misinterpreted Jesus? Maybe we are to comfortable with our Christian bubble of friends that we aren’t reaching people who need Jesus to. Maybe we are to self-obsessed to care about others. Maybe we are the blind ones sometimes? Maybe this passage was meant for you to see how you misinterpreted Jesus. The beauty of the story is that God has shared His Holy Spirit with the world, so that if you are the blind that you can seek after his presence and be a part of the story as He intended! Beloved, Jesus has a plan for you, just as the Father had a plan for Jesus. The night is coming for us Church, when we can no longer work…. So will you be the one who chooses to be the light as long as you are in the world? Or would you rather be blind by choice?

Make your choice Beloved!

The Big Little Words

Hello all! Back for another week of diving into the Word of God and I cant begin to explain how excited I was that I had a chance to read through a particular part of Scripture with my weekly bible study this week! You’d think after about 11 weeks we’d be about halfway through the Gospel of John, but we are slowly moving along and are currently at the end of chapter 8.  Today we are going to dissect John 8:30-59.

***I write this up here early because for some of this long section I will be paraphrasing the action and I’d like you to read this big section for yourself, and not just take my word for it. ***

“31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, you really are My disciples. 32 You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32

Jesus is at a giant Jewish feast, almost debating the Pharisees at times and He drops this bombshell on us! Notice anything strange about this passage? I see a very important two letter word in this passage. In fact some of the “biggest” words in the bible are just two letter ones. Jesus is talking specifically to people who began to believe in His ministry and He says “If” at the beginning of this sentence. Yikes! That’s a lot of pressure!

“Wait Bryan, why the big rush to assume this is hard? I’m his disciple if I read His Word! It says it right there! If I “Continue” in His Word.” I wish it were that simple. I wish people who read God’s word were the ones who could bear his name! NEWS FLASH: Satan reads God’s Word more than we do and do you think that he has salvation? No! See this verse has so much weight to it that we have to chew on it for a second and contemplate its sheer significance in our walks. It’s true, we must continue in His Word. It’s one thing to believe His ministry was real. It’s one thing to read His Word. It’s a whole other thing to live by His Word and to continually submit to His Word!

What shocked me in this passage as well is their response to Jesus’ Statement!

“33 “We are descendants of Abraham,” they answered Him, “and we have never been enslaved to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will become free’?” John 8:33

The Jews mention Abraham 4 more times in regard to being right with God! Jesus says to continue in—submit to and live out—His Word, and their response is, “How dare you say we are slaves to anything, My spiritual Daddy walked with God!” Look, it doesn’t matter if your parents, your parents’ parents, or your parents’ parents’ parents were following God when it comes to your walk with him. It’s a hard pill to swallow, but just because Mommy and Daddy are Christian doesn’t mean we are! We too must daily submit and follow Jesus!

“Well Bryan, I don’t know if you’ve noticed but He only motioned this once, so it can’t be that important!” On the contrary, he says it twice in the same conversation!

“51 I assure you: If anyone keeps My word, he will never see death—ever!” John 8:51

Look, before everyone jumps on me and says this some type of faith based all on our works, let me clarify something. In this part of the Gospel the Holy Spirit is only living inside of Jesus. It’s through that Spirit that we as followers must submit too! Jesus died, rose, and knowing that we can’t walk this walk… gave us His very Spirit! It’s the Holy Spirit that will prod and empower us to “keep” or “continue” in His word!

In essence, Discipleship comes by continuing and keeping His Word, that comes by submitting to the Holy Spirit, that comes by our choosing to have faith in Jesus, and that Faith comes by God.

“8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— 9 not from works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10

See with faith there is works, but the works are birthed and grow from the faith God plants in us! I know this is a lengthy post, but the point goes back to the first verse is listed! Go on, scroll back up and read it again! If you continue in his word, you will know the truth, and The Truth will set you free! We can be Free Disciples!

Take time to reflect:

Did you know that following Jesus means more than reading the bible, attending service, or more than your family is Christian?

Do you fully submit to the Holy Spirit, and keep or continue in His Word? If not, what areas do you need to lay before him?

Feel free to lave comments and questions below! I love you Beloved!

Arise Oh Sleeper

Today I wanted to piggyback off of my recent blog post All Day, Everyday. Last post I was reminded how God calls us to be submitted more than just an hour a week, one day a week, or even part of the week. He wants us submitted every breath of our lives. See here in America it's very hard to see the point in fully surrendering. We have so many distractions. Video games, television, Facebook, Twitter, cell phones, work, let alone our own family and friends. I can see how someone could read my last post and think, "I get what you're saying Bryan, but you don't know the chaos that goes on in my life! You don't know the limited time I have to even do what I want, not to mention what God wants." 


Look the point of the last blog is to challenge the idea that God and everything else should be separate. He should directly affect how you interact with the world around you. See in our culture it's very easy to forget how precious and amazing a relationship with Jesus is. It's even easier to forget how mind blowing it is that God himself gave us his Word, and that we live in a culture that has the opportunity to read and distribute Bibles without persecution. Why do I bring up this persecution stuff so much? It's because all around the world people are dying for Christ and we in America are so worried we won't fit in. 


See the unfortunate reality of the American Church is that we have a serious identity crisis. We call ourselves the Church, or even simply a Christian individual and yet we oddly enough look like the rest of the world! Further, we act just like the world too. This is a scary place to be because God says in his word: 


"¹⁵ Do not love the world or the things that belong to the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him." 1 John 2:15


That's a scary thought. It's no wonder we have a hard time living this walk right. See I was reminded of a verse today that I read when I had just came to faith in Jesus. When I read this I literally shared with everyone around me at the time!


"⁸ For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— ⁹not from works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰ For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:8-10

Other translations of the word "Creation" in verse 10 read "workmanship," which means God took his time with us! Now I say everything I have to share this amazing testimony I heard from the Voice Of The Martyrs back in January 2011. I'm going to tell you the story of a woman named Yubelina from Indonesia. If you have been scrolling down you may have already noticed the picture I've posted at the bottom of the Blog. This is a picture of an amazing woman that has been ingrained in my spirit since I heard her story. The picture is somewhat graphic and may disturb some of you, however I promise after you hear her testimony, you will see the beauty I do. 

Yubelina's story is one we never hear of here in the states... She was a woman much like any other woman of our country, maybe a little less rich that the women here in America, but non the less like any other woman. She longed to feel beautiful, and she longed to be cherished. All this being said, her world drastically got flipped upside down! A group of people in her village did not like the fact that there was a Secret Christian Church in a man's house. As Christianity was not a part of their society's government and highly illegal to be a part of, this group of people set the Secret House Church on fire. Yubelina Heard this was going on and ran directly to the scene. 

It's good to note that in Indonesia it is illegal to own a bible or not to mention illegal to pass them out!  It's also very hard to get these bibles into the country thus making God's word scarce. 

There were roughly twenty bibles in the Secret House Church as it was now a blazing fire. What Yubelina did next is something to be noted for. Amongst all the chaos, she runs into the inferno and grabs as many bibles as possible. As she runs out, she noticed her face had started burning, she kept running out of the building. When she reaches outside with about half of the bibles, she pats down the fire on her face and catches her breath. She then darts directly back into the fiery building, and grabs more bibles. Again her face is ablaze and she keeps running out of the house. As you look at the following picture I want you to remember a few things. 

1. Yubelina knew who her identity was. It was in Jesus and her trust was in his Word.

2. She also knew that, as Ephesians 2:10 says, God had extraordinary things in front of her! 

3. Lastly, She didn't let anything of this world stop her for serving Jesus. In fact, she can be found still now in her village speaking and sharing God's word with giant smile on her face!

Beloved, below is Yubelina and I hope after hearing her story that it challenges you and impacts you to dive deeper into God. Find your identity and don't let it be in your appearance, rather in Him. Satan would like to use this image to bring fear and disgust to your heart, however I feel very blessed to call this woman my fellow sister in Jesus and can't wait till I can shake her hand in Paradise! 

Voice Of The Martyrs January 2011

I love you Beloved.

All Day, Everyday!

As we have read through the book of John, there is a common theme that has recently come up in the past two chapters that cannot be overlooked. In chapters 6-7 we find that there are people constantly expecting Jesus to do something one way, yet Jesus does it another way. On top of that, his way was the better way! This theme boils down to the idea that we must not only believe with our mouth in Jesus, but we must live it. Living it s a little different. This is because we must be submitted to His Holy Spirit's abilities and not our own! I love this theme, even though it's my own struggle from time to time. 


But as I have talked about it with others I have come to the realization that the American Church is in a world of hurt. Questions like, "How often must we submit?" or, " is there a better time than others to submit?" I feel like we sometimes miss the point! See if Jesus would be asked this question he would answer the way he did in Luke 9:23...

" 23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." 

What's this mean you ask? Look we all have a cross to carry. For some of us it's depression. For others it's the fear of rejection or failure. Maybe even others struggle with drugs or sexual immorality. We all have a cross to bear. In this passage Jesus says that those things that bring you joy, it's time to crucify them, put them to death. Not only that but carry that cross of submission DAILY. Let's break down that word real quick. There are 24 hours in a day, 60 minutes in an hour, and 60 seconds in a minute. This means every 86,400 seconds of the day we should be submitted. That means basically every breath of your life should be his! 


"Bryan, being a Christian isn't always appealing to everyone else though!" Look I get that Christianity sometimes won't win you popularity points, sometimes it can make people uneasy, but know that it's God's desire that we are walking in his Spirit all day long. "Bryan, I don't think you know my coworkers! I don't think that you know my friends! I don't think you know my family!..." the list could go on and on. You're right, I may not know these people, but I do know the heart of Jesus. 

"32 “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven." Matthew 10:32-33 

It's a hard saying, I get that. I share it with you because I check myself with it. And no, I'm not the greatest at it all the time, but I will keep fighting to be the person God calls me to be! You should too! You see when you are submitted, the Spirit will give you the words and opportunities. He will give you the wisdom and the guidance to know what to do. He will give you the love and compassion to communicate him! It all starts with 86,400 seconds. 


You see my heart hurts that we as a church have decided to be all about Jesus for one hour a week and then set our bibles on the shelf the rest of the week. When is the last time you spent an hour eating food and said that was everything you needed for the week? I'm assuming never! Why then do we think we can live this Christian walk daily without feeding ourselves? God has given us the tools. He's given us his Spirit. He's given us his Son! It's time brothers and sisters to rise to the challenge. I don't care if you just started, or have been walking with Christ for years, the time is now to fully submit to Jesus! I promise you that you will feel a sense of purpose, a sense of joy, and a sense power that you've never felt before. However, the cost of it all is your life, your way of doing things everyday and all day! 


 I love you beloved!

Get Your Weight Up!

I’m not a guy who likes to promote my life, but for this blog I have to slightly to give context to the story. Recently I have been working out more regularly than I have in the past few years. This past week alone I ran roughly 5 out of the 7 days. After all, I am getting married this summer to and amazing and Godly woman. Anyone getting married could tell ya, they have a slight desire to look their best for such a special day. I’m no different. Further, anyone who has wants to slim down will do some crazy things in order to lose the weight. Now I’m not a person who would ever do anything unhealthy to lose weight, but I do take tips from time to time about how to lose some stomach fat.

I realized something the other day while I was praying earlier today, God showed me something in a new perspective. I was at the gym earlier this week and there was an older gentleman doing an intense ab workout. It’s super hard to explain, but I can tell you that after seeing him do this workout and seeing the results it had on him, I instantly tried it out. “How was it,” you ask! All I can say is ouch. I’ve been hurting all week even when I do the workout again, it still leaves me sore. That’s the funny thing about working out though, it hurts sometimes. Sometimes, it can seem to be harder than you anticipate, and the struggle can make you want to quit, but any regular person who works out can tell you that when you push through the pain and struggle it’s all worth it when you see the results.

“Okay Bryan, nice story. I thought this was a devotional blog?” Check this out… God blew my mind with two different avenues today.

#1 Our faith journey is like an extended workout. We should never think of our faith as those twenty-minute “best abs you can have” workouts. It’s a series of daily workouts that help you gain stamina and endurance as you grow. Yeah certain muscles can be sculpted quicker than others, sometimes the workout for a day, or two days, or even weeks can feel awkward and super hard… but just like working out, you’ll gain spiritual muscle that will help sustain you during that time.

“4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:4-6

“1 Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, 2 keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne.” Hebrews 12:1-2

Both of these passages show that faith is a process and persistence is necessary. Further, they also so our dependency upon Jesus, our perfecter and originator of our faith! We are in this life still, we still struggle with sin, and we still have a lot of work ahead of us. But with the end means in mind, similar to the workouts we do, it’s all worth it!

#2 This guy at the gym not once speak with me. Not once did he come and show me how to do his workout. Not once did he ask if I wanted his help. He just went through his regular routine of his workout. He didn’t care who was watching, didn’t care how much pain he looked like he was in, didn’t know he was impacting my workout plan, and didn’t anticipate being this example. Check this out, it was through his persistence in his own workout plan that he impacted me. Moreover, I was telling a friend this guy’s workout for abs and how it really was a good workout when I did it, and she looked at me and said he had already been doing that because she saw the same guy doing it, and also saw the results it produced on him.  You see, TALK IS CHEAP. But his actions spoke far greater than his words. In one week I found that a man impacted two peoples workout plans by simply working on himself.

You see there is a world of people who think that the Christian lifestyle isn’t worth it.  It would have been one thing if this guy told me the workout, or pulled out a paper showing me the workout, but instead he just did what he knew he needed to do! Now the paper he could have given me could have shown me the proper form, and his words could have be very helpful, but watching him do it sucked me right into it!

“2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. 3 You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” 2 Corinthians 3:2-3

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9

We should aim to be the living version of the Gospel. What if you are the only Gospel somebody ever reads? He lived it!

Are you aiming for a speed workout or the extended daily routine?

Are you a living example of the faith you claim to have?

Be blessed Beloved

That Sounds Interesting

Today we continue our trip through sections of John’s Gospel and today is no different then before. This passage may be small, but God has big plans for this word. Now normally verse 15 is the end note of the previous story but it has it’s place here so as to enlighten us to a characteristic of Jesus. Remember, Jesus just fed the 5,000 (closer to 7,000 or 10,000) right before this section.

15 Therefore, when Jesus knew that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He withdrew again to the mountain by Himself. 16 When evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, 17 got into a boat, and started across the sea to Capernaum. Darkness had already set in, but Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 Then a high wind arose, and the sea began to churn. 19 After they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea. He was coming near the boat, and they were afraid. 20 But He said to them, “It is I. Don’t be afraid!” 21 Then they were willing to take Him on board, and at once the boat was at the shore where they were heading. John 6:15-21 HCSB

We first find Jesus, after doing the unthinkable feeding, somewhat fleeing from people to the hillside by himself. Many biblical scholars will agree that this was a moment that our Savior was praying. His Apostles were most likely near by, but he was alone with His Father. Now he just fed the people around mid day and now after retreating to prayer I found something interesting. Verse 16 alludes to the idea that from his mid day rendezvous with his Father, has now turned into a 4 to 5 hour prayer and quiet time with him. From the mid afternoon all the way through verse 17 we are given the impression that Jesus prays until darkness. So involved in his prayer, that His disciples find it okay to leave him there. When is the last time we found ourselves in this situation. Did you ever think about how Jesus, being perfect, never had to ask for forgiveness, yet he is spending this much time with God. Some Christians wouldn’t know what to pray for that could last that amount of time. I struggle with this very same thing at times. We say we’re Christian, yet we don’t strive sometimes to seek God like Jesus.

Another crazy thought is who of the disciple first decided, “Hey guys, I think we waited for him enough, it’s time to go.” Not only did they suggest the idea, they were able to put it in motion. Jesus’ twelve best friends decide they don’t want to wait for him, and give the impression that they can get across that lake without Jesus. If it were me, I’d say, “How about we get far enough off shore to get Jesus’ attention, then when he sees us and comes… we go back and get him.” But that’s not what happens. They go 3 to 4 miles out into the lake.(The average person can take 20-30mins to run this distance, let alone row a boat this distance) When you row a boat, that’s a long time! On top of that, the water is getting rough and it’s dark outside. In my opinion, something is not adding up. They just left the miraculous Jesus and are in the middle of the dark and rough lake with no way to find land.. Then the word pointed the finger at me, how often do you misunderstand Jesus and decide that you know the easier way to do something? You may call these Apostles idiots, but you must remember you do the same thing sometimes! How often do we leave our self worse than we started sometimes.

Lastly, Jesus does something, which I will love him for, yet never understand. After being somewhat forgotten, Left behind, and utterly disrespected by his closest friends, he walks on water the whole distance to reach them. Notice his greeting is not one of frustration, not one disappointment, but one of joy and grace. This shadowy figure comes closer to the boat and cries out, “it’s only me, Jesus, don’t worry!” Jesus in spite of the right to let them perish in the lake, he pursues after them, and gently guides them to the right path.  He chose to love them in this time. Look for some of you reading this, you’re in the middle of what this story calls the rocky lake, it’s dark, and you’re terrified of what could happen next. Be encouraged because what may seem like a far off shadowy figure will turn out to be the Lover of our soul walking on water toward you. Literally acting in the supernatural and radically trying to grasp your attention. If that’s you today, give in to him. Be willing to let him in your boat!

How often are you praying?

How often are you telling Jesus to wait on the shore of your life while you think you can make it across the lake?

How often are you letting him in the boat?

I love you Beloved

The Little Things

1 After this, Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias). 2 And a huge crowd was following Him because they saw the signs that He was performing by healing the sick. 3 So Jesus went up a mountain and sat down there with His disciples. 4 Now the Passover, a Jewish festival, was near. 5 Therefore, when Jesus looked up and noticed a huge crowd coming toward Him, He asked Philip, “Where will we buy bread so these people can eat?” 6 He asked this to test him, for He Himself knew what He was going to do. 7 Philip answered, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread wouldn’t be enough for each of them to have a little.” 8 One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, 9 “There’s a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish—but what are they for so many?” 10 Then Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, so they sat down. The men numbered about 5,000. 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, and after giving thanks He distributed them to those who were seated—so also with the fish, as much as they wanted. 12 When they were full, He told His disciples, “Collect the leftovers so that nothing is wasted.” 13 So they collected them and filled 12 baskets with the pieces from the five barley loaves that were left over by those who had eaten.14 When the people saw the sign He had done, they said, “This really is the Prophet who was to come into the world!” 15 Therefore, when Jesus knew that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He withdrew again to the mountain by Himself. John 6:1-15

Today I wanted to focus on the story of the feeding of the 5,000. In all actuality, it probably would have been closer to 7,000 or 10,000 if the women and children were included in the counting. That’s right Jesus actually fed that many people with five barley loaves and two fish. There is so much going on in this story that I could probably write several different blogs on it, but today I want to focus on one thing in particular.

It’s the idea that Phillip’s response is different than that of Andrew. Jesus asks Phillip a question to test him, “How are we going to meet all of these people’s needs?” Now in this instance it just so happens to be that food is their need. Phillip responds with what would seem to be a natural human response, “8 months worth of wages would even help everyone have a little.” In other words, in his own mind and in his flesh he can’t see a way to possibly help all of them. 

Andrew on the other hand says something quite different. I’m not sure exactly what was going on in his mind that made him say what he does, but we see a glimpse of faith in Jesus from Andrew that Phillip didn’t display. Andrew says, “I don’t know how it’ll help you Lord, but here is the little that we have.” If I was another apostle I probably would have chuckled under my breath and thought Andrew was ridiculous for even bringing that up.  He seriously thought that five loaves and two fish has the potential to make an impact in everyone’s lives, enough so to fill all of their needs. That’s crazy, and seems preposterous.

Check out what happens next though. Jesus takes the little of what Andrews offers up, he blesses it, and….. He meets their needs with it. Now That’s Crazy!! Imagine if we as Christians came to the Lord in a similar way to Andrew.

There is a lot of hurting people in our city, workplace, schools, and families. It seems as though that the challenge to meet their needs is unbearable. That all the work in the world we could do wouldn’t meet their needs. However, God is longing for a people, a generation to come to him with the little we have,  let him bless it, and watch it feed the masses. It in fact will not only feed them until they are satisfied, but it will fill them to the point of over flow.

Some of you reading this would say that you fall under the idea that, like Phillip, there is nothing you could possibly do! Does this story back that claim up?

What would it take for you to come to the heart of Andrew? One that says, "Here is the very little I have, but I know you can do something with it!"

I love you beloved

When SON Equals ONE

It’s been a while since I’ve written one of these, this is a common saying of my recent posts, but that’s about to change. For those of you who follow me on here, I have currently started a season of my walk with God that is always challenging me to improve as God graciously uses me to improve others. All of this being said, this passage will be a recap and a re-up for some on a challenge I’ve already issued, while for other a new challenge and experience altogether.

“16 Therefore, the Jews began persecuting Jesus because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But Jesus responded to them, “My Father is still working, and I am working also.” 18 This is why the Jews began trying all the more to kill Him: Not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. 19 Then Jesus replied, “I assure you: The Son is not able to do anything on His own, but only what He sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son also does these things in the same way. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows Him everything He is doing, and He will show Him greater works than these so that you will be amazed. 21 And just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son also gives life to anyone He wants to. 22 The Father, in fact, judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 so that all people will honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.” John 5:16-23 HCS

This passage is one that is either very easy to read past, or it is too confusing for some people to dig at. Let’s look at its key components and see what’s going on.  Right before this Jesus heals a man on the Sabbath and the fellow Jews are persecuting Jesus on doing such things on a day of rest, as we see in verse 16. Things seem to be a bit confusing around verse 18 because it seems outlandish in our modern American minds that when someone claims to be the son of someone, it makes you equals with that person. Almost seems as though these Jews were angry for no reason.

Let’s look at it this way. Everyone knows that England has a Queen! Duh.. What are some things that happen when the Queen enters the room? Out of honor everyone rises to their feet, as she walks past them they bow, and when she declares something to happen it HAPPENS. Why? This is because she is the Queen, and has the authority to have it this way. Further, everyone knows that the Queen of England has a grandson that was recently heard about all over the world. That’s right, he got married… YAY! Don’t get me wrong, marriage is a great thing, but people get married everyday and don’t get the press he did. Anywho, quick question, what happens when the Prince walks in the room? Everyone rises to their feet, everyone bows when he walks passed them, and he has a similar power to the Queen. He can look at the country and say something like, “By the power invested in me by the Queen of England…” about something and it will happen. Meaning he has the same power and authority of the Queen through his relationship with her.

This principle is almost exactly the same with what the Jews are feuding over with Jesus here. To call himself the Son of God, means he has the same authority and power as God and could be seen as equal to him all because of his relationship with him.

The rest of what Jesus says in this passage is actually focusing on this principle! But what does all of this equality debate have to do with us. As you read in earlier chapters of John, we see that by faith in Jesus as Savior, we too are now seen as sons and daughters of that very God. Which means everything Jesus is referring to in this passage could be said about us! This means we should only be aiming to do what we see the father doing. This means we should be aiming to do greater things that what has already been seen. This means we should have a relationship with God in such a way that people could read this passage and say or think, “I know this guy named Bryan who lives these very verses out in his everyday walk. Bryan owns this ability and his sonship so much so, that I can honestly say that what I see Bryan doing, it’s what I would see the father doing.”

I can’t honestly say that this is something that can be said about me all the time. I will say this, now that I know this standard, I will aim for it as much as possible. 

Take some time to think about what this means for your walk with God!

Where do you place yourself, Walking in God’s authority as the Prince of England does with his Queen, or not?

In what way can you improve or what area can you start to live this way?

(Feel free to leave your answers in the comment box below)

I love you beloved

Get A Life!

What is Life? Recently I have been mentoring some students from a local school in town and have realized that this question should be addressed. As I searched through scriptures, and then gave the presentation at a chapel this morning, God assured me that this is something worth sharing to the masses. Not saying that a ton of people read this, but this is my obvious and easiest way to reach the masses :)  


Dictionary.com defines life as
"the condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms, being manifested by growth through metabolism, reproduction, and the power of adaptation to environment through changes originating internally."


In other words, it is the essence of everything living and it is the term to decipher whether or not something is animate or inanimate. So what is Life? It still feels undefined because we don't have the proper lenses at time to see the definition.

John 1:1-4
"1 In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, 
and the Word was God. 
2 He was with God in the beginning. 
3 All things were created through Him, 
and apart from Him not one thing was created 
that has been created. 
4 Life was in Him, 
and that life was the light of men." (HCS)

There are many things to look at in this passage, but the thing I want to focus on is the fact that an uneducated man that followed Jesus over 2000 years ago gets what life is! He explains in this passage that the Word Made Flesh, Jesus, not only has always existed with God, but He is the Essence of life. Let me rephrase it for you. Life is the essence of everything that is animate, and Jesus is the essence of everything that is living. This means that from the beginning of time as WE KNOW IT, everything has sustained life because of Jesus. 


So when the title of this says, "Get a Life", I'm trying to remind you that you need to get right with Jesus. 

John 14:6
"Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.""(HCS)

If Jesus is THE LIFE that means that there is no other life. Now the real thinking question comes into play. Why then Bryan are there a lot of people I know that are living that don't know Jesus? Isn't what your saying that Anybody that doesn't know Jesus dead? 


If you are to look at my argument literally you could read it that way, but what I am here to state is simply,  "it's not that life is too short, it's that we are dead for so long." (Anonymous Author) 

John 10:10
"A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance." (HCS)

Think about the way our city, our schools, our families, our friendships, ect.. could be if we truly acted as though we believed that Jesus is Life! Do we think that students of this generation would act, dress, and defines success the way that they do if WE lived our lives as if Jesus is Life? There is a part of the divine nature of man that longs to be fully alive in Christ.


See when you are born of your flesh, normal birth, you are alive in the sense that people define you as living, but God may not see it that way. It's the idea of the God-head saying "Let Us make man in Our image...." (Gen 1:26) It's the flesh we carry around everyday. But Jesus as Life is something that is the essence of living.

John 3:3
"Jesus replied, “I assure you: Unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”"(HCS)

What He means is that your spirit can only be made alive by Him! That the only way to truly fulfill the idea of, "according to Our likeness...." (the other half of Gen 1:26) is if a man or woman fully submits themselves to Jesus. This is because Jesus is Life, so to become alive to have to lay down what you think is living to receive the life He gave you through the power of the Holy Spirit by His resurrection from the dead. Do you believe Jesus is Life? If so, are you alive or are you metaphorically brain dead in the spirit (the flesh is alive, but the brain is dead)? 


I challenge you today, Start Living! 

Romans 8:19
"For the creation eagerly waits with anticipation for God’s sons to be revealed."(HCS)

I love you beloved!

How Humiliating!!

As I sit here tonight reflecting on my day, I felt lead to share a moment with you that I had earlier today and humbly use it as an example to encourage you all right where you are! For those of you that have been around me a while, or for those who have read this blog a lot have noticed that I enjoy sharing God’s word and challenging others to not only read it but notice some things for themselves about it and how it relates to them. This blog is one outlet arm of what I’m talking about. The other is something I have the privilege of doing on Sunday mornings.

For the past two and a half years now I have been pouring my heart into Junior High Students at Northpoint Church. I love everyone of them as if there are my own little brother or sister. I preach to them three out of four Sundays a month and have really come to know them. During this time I have realized that God not only uses me in the JH environment, but that He uses me in the lives of other Christians of almost any age. PTL!! As I said, currently my heart is for JH and HS students, but I have seen myself in thoughts and in ministry doing bigger venues as well.

All of this is simply the backdrop to this story. I currently am also the Teen Coordinator at the local YMCA and our facility is one where my church uses the auditorium on Sunday mornings. Normally I preach in front of 15 to 20 JH students as compared to the ample amount of seating in the auditorium. Tonight at the Y I had a moment where I stood on the stage and looked out at the empty seats, the lights were off (even the stage ones) and there was just enough light coming through a side door that allowed me to see everything dimly lit. I looked out and said, “God how awesome would it be to be an insignificant, filthy man that could one day preach the truth of God and the power of His son Jesus on this stage someday.”

As the word left my mouth I was reminded of a few things.

1) The bold advice of Paul when he instructed Timothy to guard what God had entrusted him with (1 Tim 6:20*) God said, “Bryan you are already doing what that desire declares, but only the world and your flesh is telling you that the stage is small. WOW that on rocked me!

2) When you have this heart in mind, something like the future desire will happen. For example, Matthew 25:21,23** are the responses of God to those who are diligent and trustworthy with few things and He promises more. Now some people will focus on these promises as something God owes them for being faithful, but tonight I’m led to believe that God doesn’t owe me them, He is just so awesome that these statements are true. But in that moment tonight I was reminded that what I have may be few in some people's eyes, but in being trustworthy bigger things will come.

I know this is somewhat different of me to not place all of the scripture up here, but I’m writing to those of you who look at one thing in this Christian walk and place it as the pinnacle of where you want to be by the end of this side of heaven. God’s heart for you and me tonight is simple. REJOICE IN THE POSITIONING YOU ARE IN NOW AND BE TRUSTWORTHY WITH THE FLOCK HE’S GIVEN YOU! Everything else will take care of itself!

I love you Beloved!

* “1 Timothy 6:20 Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding irreverent, empty speech and contradictions from the "knowledge" that falsely bears that name.”

**“Matthew 25:21,23 "His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master's joy!”

Oh To Touch His Garment

So the other day I had an encounter with my flesh that was more real than I’ve ever had before! As some of you may know I have had the opportunity to interact with students at my current job and through the local high school next door. In this time I’ve made friendships with people who are all over the spectrum when it comes to social acceptance, popularity, and what is seen as normal behavior. It’s been very interesting to see this, in fact it has blown my mind how unaware I was of this stuff when I was a student even in a small school. That being said, I had a choice the other day at lunch to interact with someone that could be known as one of the uncool and easily picked on at this school.

She is a very sweet girl and always full of joy! I’ve gotten to know her through my job I’m currently at. It wasn’t until I attended lunch on Tuesday that I realized what lunch period she was in. This lunch period is one where one of the students I connect with the best is, and I tend to spend more time at his table because of this. As we had our normal conversation about life and school I saw her about one table over enjoying her lunch. Something in me said, “Silly, go say hello!” Then something else came up inside of me that said, “I don’t think that is smart dude.” The classic angel and devil on my shoulder feeling came into play. After reflecting on this situation I was reminded of this story from Mark’s gospel in the fifth chapter.

“24 So Jesus went with him, and a large crowd was following and pressing against Him. 25 A woman suffering from bleeding for 12 years 26 had endured much under many doctors. She had spent everything she had and was not helped at all. On the contrary, she became worse. 27 Having heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His robe. 28 For she said, "If I can just touch His robes, I'll be made well!" 29 Instantly her flow of blood ceased, and she sensed in her body that she was cured of her affliction.”

The crowd was bigger than what I deal with, but I have found that, by the grace of God, there are a lot of students that want to talk with me. Now my situation is somewhat different than this passage one the level that this girl didn’t come through the crowd to come see me. But I feel as though God used her in my life to remind me of something.

I was literally looking down at her and said to myself, “She’s forgiving and it’s not a big deal if I don’t go say anything to her.” In that moment I felt the Lord say, “Bryan I can’t believe that you feel as though I don’t want to talk with you. I can’t believe that I’m not worth your time for even a small visit.” I’ve gotta tell you, that revelation was spiritually shattering. In the moment I knew that even if this girl wasn’t doing everything she could to see me, that I have the ability to brighten and change the atmosphere of her day by sitting at her table. 

Let get one thing straight… We as Christians represent Christ everywhere we are! I repeat… We as Christians represent Christ everywhere we are! Having said that, I eventually got up and went and sat at her table. The student I normally talked with didn’t make a big deal about the visit, and I’m not even sure if he noticed me leaving to go say hello. I do know though that when I sat down at her table, she gave me a smile that could make anybody’s day brighter. The visit was short and enjoyable. This young woman didn’t have to come through the crowds to have an encounter with the Lord. As I write this I realize now that this girl isn’t the woman in the story. I am! The crown of my story are the lies of my flesh, the ideology of our society, and the fear that a move like the one I made would only end up bad for me. Thank you Jesus that on Tuesday you let me touch the hem of your garment and be healed of these things!

Lord, I pray that if there is anyone reading this that struggles in this area at times like I do, that you speak to them as loving, yet stern as you did to me!

The ball is in your court fam, it’s time to decide what your position is, and what role you play in the kingdom in your specific atmosphere. Never let fear hold you back from being the best example of Jesus to someone!

I love you beloved!

With a Cherry on Top!

So God recently brought me back to a verse that struck on of those spiritual nerves and you think, ouch that hurts! It’s one of those praise God and feeling of complete humiliation at the same time type of moments. Let’s take a look at Romans 12:10:

“10 Show family affection to one another with brotherly love. Outdo one another in showing honor.”

First I want to break the first section down. In our society the structure of the family is crippling, so of course it’s hard to see the proper meaning of the first part. In Hebrew culture family has a much different meaning than it does in our day and age. Hebrew culture would sometimes consider cousins and cousins of cousins as brothers and sisters. To say you had a friend that was closer than a brother, means that was a really great friend. Of course there were squabbles and frustration as times, look at King David’s family history. All of that said, it means that to call someone outside of your family your brother or sister, better yet treat some one that way, probably meant the world to them!

The thing that God really beat me around with was a new idea that reflects on the second half of the verse. “Outdo one another…” I had a love/hate relationship with this phrase but came to love it when God reopened the thought the other day. When we talk about outdoing someone, we tend to put it in a way that could be derogatory to someone else. It can birth competition. Then God reminded me that there is healthy competition and unhealthy competition. What if we had a healthy competitive spirit that promoted showing honor to others?

I was like, “God what does that look like?” Then poof, came the idea. Have you ever said the phrase, “Pretty please, with a cherry on top?” God said, “Bryan I’m calling you to be the cherry on the top of someone’s ice cream! It doesn’t matter if someone is in a bad mood, or a good mood, I’m calling you to put them in a better mood than they were before because of the honor you give them!” Imagine what our lives would look like if they were full of people who where outdoing one another in showing honor or being the cherry on your ice cream. Imagine what your friend’s lives, your work atmosphere, your school setting, or your own family situation would look like if you followed this challenge.

My challenge is simple, as funny as it may sound, be the cherry on someone’s ice cream this week! Outdo me in showing honor to others.

I love you beloved.