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A while back I was in a book store and I came across this book entitled the “Bro Code.” Based off of a character from a prime time TV show, the Bro Code lists tons of rules to be followed by all men who consider themselves, “bros.” The code has rules on the topics of everything from dating to dancing, such as: “A Bro never dances with his hands above his head.” and “A Bro never wears pink; not even in Europe.”

Now while I hate to admit it, I have broken many of these rules… I often dance with my hands above my head, and have (on occasion) worn pink…

Now there is one rule though, that I realized I have faithfully carried out… to my detriment at times. Bro Code #20 “When asked, “Do you need some help?” a Bro shall automatically respond, “I got it,” whether or not he’s actually got it.”

I don’t know exactly when it began, but I feel like I’ve had the need for independence from a very young age. It doesn’t matter if I’m carrying a hundred and fifty pound sack of concrete and my back is about to shatter into a thousand pieces, I will almost NEVER ask for help. Maybe it’s pride, maybe it’s insecurity, but whatever it is, it’s not good.

Time and time again we find people throughout scripture that do whatever they can to distance themselves from God and do things on their own, only for them to fall flat on their face. For example, let’s look at the story of Samson. Before his birth Samson was set apart for God’s purpose. He was to be the one that freed God’s people from the Philistines. God had blessed Samson with an incredible strength to equip him for the fights ahead of him. However Samson’s story goes on to show that his entire life was spent after self-centered pursuits. Eventually Samson ends up in a relationship with a woman from the very people he is to save Israel from. Delilah, being one of the enemy, plans to figure out the secret of Samson’s strength in order to hand him over to the Philistines for a pretty penny. She asks, he lies, then when the captors come, he breaks free and kicks some philistine tail. This same pattern happens two more times and Samson in his arrogance stays with this crazy woman. Eventually she drags the truth out of him, and this time when the captors come scriptures tells us, “… he awoke from his sleep and said, ‘I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.’ But he did not know that the Lord had left him.” Samson is then tortured, humiliated, mocked and set on display for all to see.

Samson’s mistake was not recognizing God as the source of his strength, and using it as such. When he woke up and saw that he was being bound and attacked again, he says, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.”

I have come to realize that I do exactly this every day of my life. No matter what situation I find myself in, I in my fallen delusion think that I can get myself out of it. When I’m struggling with sin, I often believe that I can free myself from its bonds. When I am pressured and stressed, I often think that I can get myself through it by my intellect, perseverance, or charm. And more times than not I find myself like Samson, a broken prisoner to sin, to pain, to burdens…

Last night I was sitting thinking about how I should handle a particular situation in my life, and how I could fix myself in order to stop falling into the same trap. And then God, in a voice almost audible reminded me of a truth that I often forget, ignore, or deny. He said,

You can’t fix you…

I sat stunned at the immense depth of this simple truth. I mean this goes beyond asking for help when carrying something too heavy… This is about the reality that as people upon this earth we are constantly facing the chains of sin in our lives. We are constantly seeking to overcome the darkness in this place. I am constantly trying to make myself grow: spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually.

In his first letter to the Corinthians Paul writes about the faith that they have there, and then presents another foundational truth:

“I planted, Apollos watered, bud God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he how waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.”

Modern American Christianity has lost so much of this truth. Go into ANY book store, Christian or secular alike, and you will find more books on becoming a better leader, speaking with passion, being a better parent, getting a more defined six pack, saving money, getting a promotion, and a million other how-to books.

Now let me clarify that these books in and of themselves are not bad or evil, they have simply gained too much importance in our day to day lives. See Scripture says very clearly, “lean NOT on your own understanding.” Rather it gives us a clear command to trust in God with all our heart and acknowledge him in everything that we do.

I’m convinced that we must come back to the point in our lives where we realize that we are COMPLETELY dependent on God. Jesus says to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” See a child is completely dependent on his parents. They younger the child the more dependent, and in a culture that worships independence, this is a bad thing. However, God calls for our utmost dependence on Him. A new born baby relies on his parents to feed him, clean him, protect him, and love him. This is how we are to rely upon our God.

It is not my job to fix myself. I cannot fix me. I am broken and only brokenness with come out of my solo efforts. I must fully rely upon God and trust Him in all my ways if I am to change in any way shape or form. I must reach out to those who have opened themselves up to Him, to be used as His vessels, as His tools.

I pray that we would all come to realize that we are all in need of help. That we all must rely upon the goodness of our Great God to give us life. May we sacrifice our pride, our insecurities, our doubts, our fears, and our selfishness, at the feet of the cross of Jesus Christ our Lord. Let us turn now to face the glory of our God. Let us simply be captivated by His love, His light, His life… And He’ll take care of the rest. He’ll take care of us. He’ll bring growth, freedom, restoration, hope, joy, peace, life…

Whatever it is that you want to change in your life, I pray that you would come to realize that all things that were made were made through Him… Only God Brings Growth…

Just Sayins All…

Rusty

I often wonder, underneath the clothes, within the life, behind the titles, who am I? I believe that I have been called to share this message of God’s love for the world and to me that’s the most fulfilling thing I could ever do. When it comes down to it, thats who I am, its who I want to be. I want to be a child of God… son to the creator of the world, the author of beauty, love, and peace. I lose track of that sometimes…

There are other times when I get so caught up in what God is doing in everyone else’s life that I forget what He’s doing in mine. I tend to be one of those people that carries the weight of the world on my shoulders… Its very hard for me to share responsibilities or burdens, and when I fail… its my fault. I beat myself up and while I understand God will always love me, I have a hard time loving myself.

The last month or so, God has been teaching me a lot about myself and what it means to follow Him. I read this great passage in one of my favorite books ever that says:

Patiently, persistantly, and painfully our Father digs down into the recesses of self, more and more fully revealing to us just what we are and are not, in ourselves.

I am amazed at how well my creator truly knows me, and how very little I actually know myself. And even though he knows who I am deep down inside there are a lot of times when I  forget who I am… and He lovingly reminds me.

In all truth, I’ve just begun my walk. And while I may be ahead of some when it comes to maturity, I haven’t even begun to scratch the surface of what God has in store me. But as I look back over the years of my short life I can see God guiding me and growing me. I can see Him sculpting me into who I am now, and through that I have begun to realize that I’m still a work in process.

If we are going to come truly into the hands of God for His purpose, then we shall be dealt with by Him in such a way as to continually increase our spiritual measure. Not our interest in Christian work; our energies, enthusiasm, ambitions, or ablities; not our academic qualifications, or anything that we are in ourselves, but simply our spiritual life is the basis of the beginning and growth of our service to God. Even the work, when we are in it, is used by Him to increase our spiritual measure.

Everything that God allows us to expereince is intended to bring us closer to Him, closer to who He made us to be. So even my failures teach me about God, His mercy and grace, while at the same time teaching me that I truly am a Son of God.

My pastor shared a quote with us that went roughly like this:

To begin to experience God’s true joy in your life, you must first thank Him for every situation you find yourself in…

So I’m just now beginning to realize that God is cultivating me and that every day he is bringing me closer to Himself and to who He made me to be. While it is a long process and I stumble, get lost, and fall along the way… He knows what He’s doing, and I can rejoice in that.

I pray that you would come to realize that God is working in your life, whether you see it or not, and that He loves you and simply wants you to be what he created you to be… a masterpiece. He simply wants to bring you back to Himself… and when you stumble, get lost, or fall He will be there to pick you up and set you back on the path… every time.

He created you and loves you… and will never give up on you.

Just Sayins All…

Rusty

I was sitting out in a park the other day and I was really just overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of God’s creation around me. As I walked past a pond ducks and geese played follow the leader and nervous frogs jumped into the safety of the water. Butterflies danced this way and that way in the breeze. Dragonflies and bees zoomed around as if in a rush to arrive somewhere in a hurry. And as all of this beautiful life was scurrying around me, the thing I was most in awe of was the beauty of the trees and got to thinking.

What if the reason that everything grows is because to the very essence of being alive is reaching for God? When God breathed His life-giving breath into us He marked the beginning of our journey to know Him. Now post-fall-of-man, we strive with all our power to know Him again. Even people that don’t believe God’s real, strive to know Him. Both believers and non-believers alike are trying to fix the brokenness within. At the fall we were all orphaned, separated from our true Father. The only difference is that we as Christians are reaching for our Dad. This is what got me onto the trees.

Trees spend every moment of their lives reaching towards heaven. Their journey begins when they are tiny little seeds, fragile and vulnerable to the world. Full of potential these little seeds float on the mercy of the wind till they find a place full of nutrients to begin the next step of their journey. Then in complete faith they plant their little roots into the rock of the earth. And there they stay for the rest of their lives, reaching upwards. Come torrents and floods, fires and droughts, they lovingly reach towards the Most High. They never second-guess. They never hesitate. They simply do what trees do and grow. Some have grown twisted because of the entanglements around them, some stoop low to the ground from generations of ambitious climbers, some have been scared by forceful wind, and some lean to the side because of shallow roots, some stand tall, straight, and wide as rivers, and others sway in the breeze tender and fragile. Whatever their shape, they all grow towards the most brilliant source of light.

We share so much in common with these trees. We start out so small in everyway that you can be small. We don’t know where it will take us, but in faith we plant ourselves in God’s love. And there we are and must grow. Just like the trees we will all have our unique shape due to our wide variety of experiences. And regardless of what the tree next to us looks like, all we can do is reach lovingly upwards to our Father, our source of truth and light.

So I say to you, Reach, grow and live in Him. May we have the patience and endurance of the trees. May we have the strength to stay rooted in His love. That is my prayer.

Just Sayins All…

Rusty

I have come a long way in my journey with Jesus in the last couple of years. I went from hypocritical lip service to God to a dynamic and progressive daily relationship with Him. There is no explanation for the change other than God working in my life. He placed so many amazing people around me, from my parents to mentors to friends. It’s really cool to look back and see how so many people influenced me whether they know it or not. As far as I’ve come, its all only just begun. I still have so much to learn, but I can still share what I’ve learned thus far. I think that’s how it was meant to be for all of us.

It was once described to me as the Paul & Timothy relationship. Paul mentored Timothy teaching, encouraging, and guiding him through what he was experiencing. They both benefited from the relationship and in the end it was training for Timothy to be a mentor to someone else. This kind of relationship is so vital to anyone who is really striving after God. Fellowship is so important to the Christian life. We need to be held accountable, we need to share, we need to keep one another sharp. And I think that part of the reason it’s so vital is that we just need to have someone to talk to. The times when my relationship with Jesus seems to progress the most is whenever I can open up and share thoughts about God or recount all of the amazing things that He has done in my life. I get very emotional any time I am able to share my testimony. Whenever I get to have a really good conversation about God I almost always start shaking. It’s not because I’m nervous or afriad but simply because I get so excited that I get to share all of this stuff with someone. That is part of the reason that I started this website, as a way for me to share my thoughts.

So do you have someone that you can talk to? We are not meant to go this life alone despite whatever society says. We all need people to count on to trust. So again, do you have someone that you can go to with anything, that you can bring your questions about God, that you can pray with if you need? If not, I strongly encourage you to pursue a relationship like this. It will bring you so much closer to God in the right setting. (see This is Always About That…) Then on the flip side of that are you that person to anyone else out there? You are probably very aware of the loneliness in your own life that tends to appear from time to time, but what about those around you? They get lonely too, everyone needs someone to talk to. Do you know anyone around you that might need someone to listen? One of the most powerful things that we can do to reflect Jesus is just to listen to people. It is an awesome opportunity both for us to learn something and for them to teach and share something.

So do you have a Timothy? Do you have a Paul? A relationship with Jesus is a life-long, daily, progressive journey. As far as you think that you have come you’ve only taken one step. We should always be learning and we should always be teaching. It doesn’t matter how old or young you are, whether you’re a girl or boy, where you come from, or who you know. You can teach anyone. The Most High God wants you to be a witness to Him, to share what He has done for you. Let’s start sharing. One of my favorite passages in all scripture is from Jeremiah, a book about a kid that God wanted to speak through. Read it as if God was talking to you.

5[God said] “Before I shaped you in the womb,
I knew all about you.
Before you saw the light of day,
I had holy plans for you:
A prophet to the nations—
that’s what I had in mind for you.”

6But I said, “Hold it, Master God! Look at me.
I don’t know anything. I’m only a boy!”

7-8God told me, “Don’t say, ‘I’m only a boy.’
I’ll tell you where to go and you’ll go there.
I’ll tell you what to say and you’ll say it.
Don’t be afraid of a soul.
I’ll be right there, looking after you.”
God’s Decree.

God is supporting you. He’s got your back. Don’t be afraid to open up to some one. Don’t be afraid to be there for someone else. It’s the way that God wants us to live, to support each other. We are not perfect people, we cannot keep anything going on our own, but together… we can change the direction the wind is blowing. One person cannot stand against the current, but together we can run against it. Let us not give up meeting together and talking together and sharing together and living together. We are the light in the darkness, let’s illuminate the world. It’s going to be awesome.

Just Sayins All…

Rusty