The Lord is a warrior

"...The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle."
Psalm 24:8

I am a warrior. Sometimes a pretty pathetic one I must say. I still have alot of training to go through. But, a warrior nonetheless.
As a warrior for Jesus, it's my job to fight and battle to win back my family, friends, and others to Him. And, together with other Christians, to take back this city, country and world for Jesus.
I need to use the mighty power of prayer and worship, sharpen my sword with His word, and go out with my trust in Him and in His strength and Spirit. We aren't alone. He will always go out with us.

God is amazing

I am not perfect. I'm not at the place where I can say, "Here I am! I'm finished! I'm done! I'm everything I need to be!" But as flawed as I am, and even though I still have such a long road ahead of me, I can still say that God is amazing. Knowing Him beats everything, and it's so great to know that He completely understands me. He knows me even better than I know me.

It totally sucks that people are missing out on this. It nearly moves me to tears sometimes.

Lord,
Please bring people into a relationship with you, bring your people closer, bring me closer...

God is my everything, He will never let me down.

"When he looked out over the crowds, his heart broke. So confused and aimless they were, like sheep without a shepherd. 'What a huge harvest!' he said to his disciples. 'How few the workers!'"

Matthew 9:36-37

I'm beginning to see more and more how many people there are around me who might turn to Jesus if someone would just get to know them and tell them. My family, friends, people I know. There are really so many people who are just waiting to hear it.

I need to be giving it out more. I was thinking about someone I know and I said, "Lord, give her what I have." He said, "You give it."

I, sadly, "evangelize" people about my favorite bands or things like that more than the salvation I have. I need to pray for more opportunity, and not be so scared to take them when they come. That is a prayer He will always answer. I need to live by faith, not worry and double-mindedness.

"...The just shall live by faith."

Romans 1:17

I'm seeing more and more that I just need to forget everything and simply trust Him. Because, with Him on my side, what is there to worry about? Is anything gonna happen to me that He's not in control of? Is He gonna leave me speechless when given the opportunity to tell about Him? Is He not going to give me all I need? Won't He take care of me? God Himself is on my side. The Helper, The Holy Spirit, is with me. God loves me and is watching over me. What is there to fear?

God is my everything, He will never let me down.

Teach me how to fly...

"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint."
- Isaiah 40:31 KJV

"He found him out in the wilderness, in an empty, wind-swept wasteland. He threw His arms around him, lavished attention on him, guarding him as the apple of His eye. He was like an eagle hovering over its nest, overshadowing it's young. Then spreading it's wings, lifting them into the air, teaching them to fly."
-Deuteronomy 32:10-11 MSG

Lord,

A simple prayer...teach me how to fly...

The voice of truth

Oh what I would do to have the kind of faith it takes to climb out of this boat I'm in and onto the crashing waves.

To step out of my comfort zone, into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is, and He's holding out His hand.

But the waves are calling out my name and they laugh at me. Reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed. The waves they keep on telling me, time and time again, "Boy, you'll never win!" "You'll never win!"

Oh what I would do to have the kind of strength it takes to stand before a giant with just a sling and a stone. Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors shaking in their armor. Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand.

But the giant's calling out my name and he laughs at me. Reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed. The giant keeps on telling me, time and time again, "Boy, you'll never win!" "You'll never win!"

But the voice of truth tells me a different story. The voice of truth says, "Do not be afraid!" The voice of truth says, "This is for my glory!" Out of all the voices calling out to me, I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth.

Voice of Truth - Casting Crowns

This song is exactly how I feel alot of the time. It's so hard to take a step of faith out onto the crashing waves, or step out of my comfort zone and do something I've never done before. And there are all the voices that tell me, "You'll never win! You don't have what it takes. It's too big for someone like you to do."
I wish I had the faith of David. He just stepped out as he was, with nothing but his faith in God, and defeated the mocking giant, while every other soldier had no courage and didn't step out.
I guess there is a lesson in that. All I really need to do is "listen and believe the voice of truth". God can do anything and my confidence should be completely in Him. I have a small framed verse here on my desk that says,

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."
-Philippians 4:13

I have come to the conclusion that the voices will never stop, the fears will never go away, and it will never be easy. But, I need to step out anyway. If everything was easy, what need would there be for faith? And if I could do everything in my own strength, then why would I need to trust in God?

I need to be like David, and go out just as I am with nothing but my faith in a God who can do the impossible.

"The men who take hold of and shape a generation for God must be hearty, heroic, compassionate, and fearless martyrs. If they are timid time-servers, place seekers, men-pleasers, men-fearers, if their faith in God and in His word is weak, and if their denial may be broken by any phase of self or the world, they can not take hold of the Church or the world for God"

"God does not need great talents, great learning, or great preachers, but men great in holiness, great in faith, great in love, great in fidelity, great for God"

"The Church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men."

-Power Through Prayer (E.M. Bounds)

"As long as there is life, there is hope"

"God's grace is always greater than our prayers."

"Expect God to do more than we can ask or think."

-Pastor Chuck Legvold

For some reason, God has been telling me all day today that I have a purpose.

I've been sorta feeling bad lately. The devil's been whispering and then I have my own doubts besides that. I feel like a total loser sometimes, and was feeling that quite strongly today. But, I've just been hearing God whispering alot today -- "You have purpose." My life has a purpose and I am here for a reason. I don't know what's going to happen, but it's gonna happen. I don't think I can do it, but somehow I'm gonna.

As unlikely as it seems, I'm gonna do something for Him. I'm gonna live my life totally for Him, and I don't care if anyone thinks I can't. I'm gonna...

And thank you God for encouraging me, I needed it...

My strength is made perfect in weakness...

Lord...

Get rid of anything that would get in the way of you.
Rid my life of anything that would keep me from seeing you.
Trample down anything that would keep me from knowing you.

Obliterate my faithlessness and unbelief.
I want to trust in you, not in myself.

Break me down, then build me up again.

Stay my wandering eye on you, not on the storm around me.

Help my confidence to be in you, then I can fight with courage and not cowardly shrink away from battle.

"My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness."

Help me to truly live that out and really understand it.

Your coming back soon...people are being lost--forever...it's time for me to get to work...I can't just sit around and do nothing...

There's no time to waste...

Speak to me and show me who you are...

I need your healing and your voice
I hear you calling out my name
I remember singing praises to your name
Everyday with all my might
How I long to see you again

So speak to me and show me who you are
Rescue me with your unfailing love and mercy
Speak to me and show me who you are
Hold me tightly in your arms and never let me go

Aaron Shust - Stillness (Speak To Me)


What does it take to go deeper with God? What does it take to know Him more? I want that more than anything right now. There's so much more to Him than what I have now. I don't want to know the future. I don't want to simply have more knowledge. I want to know Him. I want to live in His presence. I want to be face to face with Him in prayer and worship. I want to see Him for who He really is. I can feel Him tugging at me to go deeper...so how do I do that?

A white-tailed deer drinks from the creek;
I want to drink God,
deep draughts of God.

I'm thirsty for God -- alive.
I wonder, "Will I ever make it --
arrive and drink in God's presence?"
Psalm 42:1-2

I am marvelously made!

"..You sure are a weird one Jim...you have God's word in you...yet, you always keep it to yourself...you always stay quiet...you can't help anybody, they don't want your help...and besides...they won't listen to you anyway...and even if you try to help...your just gonna make things worse...your unloved and worthless Jim...no one cares about you...your clumsy...nerdy...quiet...weird to be around...you'll always be alone...your stupid...you want to help...you love to help...you want God to use you to transform the lives of everyone you know...but you don't ever know how...your a loser Jim...your always gonna be that way...your never gonna change...your gonna fail...your gonna change the world, huh?...help people be everything God wants them to be?...your not even gonna change a single life..you don't have what it takes...your so pathetic it's sad...but i don't feel sorry for you...i'll always be right by your side...whispering...reminding you about all this...i hate you..."

"I thank you, High God - you're breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration - what a creation!" -- Psalm 139:14 (The Message).

"...Your a great person Jim...I've put my word in you and I've made you one of my own...I'm going to make you more and more like me...I will give you the strength to overcome any obstacle...maybe everyone won't listen to my word...but tell it anyway...because there are always some who will...you don't have to know all the answers...just trust in me and I'll tell you what to say...even if it doesn't always seem so, there are always people who care...and even if that wasn't true, I still care...and I love to be around you...you may have your weaknesses...but those are there so you will trust in me instead of in yourself...with my help, i'm going to use you in the lives of everyone you know...with my help, your going to change the world and help people be who I want them to be...i understand your weaknesses...trust me...i'll always be right by your side...whispering...encouraging you and giving you strength...i love you..."

I'm exactly who I need to be...

There's a light up ahead...

This is a wallpaper I made when I was listening to "Light up Ahead" by Further Seems Forever.
No matter what ever happens in life, there's always hope.

"Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ's love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture: They kill us in cold blood because they hate you. We're sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one. None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I'm absolutely convinced that nothing - nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable - absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us."
-- Romans 8:35-39 The Message

Welcome to my adventure...

My name is Jim Rogers. I'm a nineteen year old Christian who is learning more and more how awesome Jesus is and how a relationship with Him is incomparable. I've been a Christian for three to four years now. I'm a soldier for Christ, and I'm going to change the world...you'll see...

I won't bore you too much with all the details of my life before I was a Christian; those years are dead and forgotten. I went to church my whole life pretty much, but as I got older, I never really believed it. Sure, I believed in God (although, even the Devil "believes in God"), said a prayer here and there, was in church every Sunday, and went to a Christian school. I had plenty of religion, but I sure didn't have a relationship with God. Eventually I was given the choice to go to church or not. I of course, chose not to. I thought it would be much better to just sleep in. I don't really know long I was out of church, but eventually, a pastor moved right next door to us. Me and my brother, and my family too, became good friends with them. Eventually, he invited us to go to the church he was the associate pastor at.

So there you have it, I started going to church again. I went to church every Sunday, I went to Sunday School, I went to confirmation, completed it, and was given a Bible (I had a few of those by now, collecting dust of course). The problem? It was just like it was before. I didn't get it. I still didn't have a relationship with God.

I still don't know how it happened, but one day, out of nowhere, I started reading that Bible. I would sit there for hours reading through the Gospels, I couldn't stop. Eventually I started growing more and more convicted of all the sin in my life. Although I looked nice on the outside, I was a very different person deep down, outside the walls of the church.

I said the "Sinner's Prayer" a few times, but never really meant it. But one day, it hit me and I couldn't take it anymore. I needed Jesus. I didn't understand every point of doctrine, I didn't know the Bible cover to cover, all I knew was I needed Him and that He was the only one who could help me. So I knelt where I was, and asked Him to save me. No fancy words, God's not interested in those. Only something like, "Jesus, I'm sorry for all this. Forgive me. I want to do things your way from now on...".

Right then and there I became a child of God. I was forgiven and truly free. My eternity has changed from the terrors of eternal Hell, to an eternity in the presence of God. I want to describe it, but it's beyond words. Satan was defeated and I became a soldier for Christ. The battle has been hard, and sometimes it seems I can't go on. But, God is faithful. He gives strength to His people and takes care of them no matter what happens. He is much greater than anyone or anything.

I now have true joy in my life. There is nothing that even begins to compare to this. A relationship with God is truly amazing. It's the most exciting thing there is, and there's nothing that beats it. Right when you think you have experienced all that God has to offer, He shows you that there is so much more. And He'll keep doing that throughout life right into eternity. If you have religion, mere knowledge, church activities...but no genuine relationship, then I pray you'll be still and listen to His voice. He's calling you into what your empty heart is yearning for -- a true relationship with Him.

I am now in the process of leaving that old church. After nearly 5 years, much help in my relationship with God (most of which was given from my youth director), learning to play the bass and getting into music ministry, it's time to move on. God has moved me into a new church and youth group (which is a great place, and God is really working there), and into even more music ministry (which I love). I know that this year, God is going to do things in my life like never before. He is drawing me into a deeper relationship with Him. I am very excited to see what is going to happen.

Welcome to my adventure...