An excerpt from Indescribable.

"Incomparable, unchangeable
You see the depths of my heart and
You love me the same
You are amazing God
You are amazing God"

These are lyrics from Chris Tomlin's Indescribable. These are probably some of my favorite lyrics in any worship song. Why? It's content. "You see the depths of my heart and You love me the same." We are sinners. We all fall short. We all screw up every day. And we don't know how totally and utterly sinful we are. We don't know how much evil and pride resides in us. And this is the beauty of the words. God looks at our hearts, sees the very innards of them, even if we don't and still loves us and calls us sons. That should compell us to run after Him even more! That should render us in tears when we do sin against our Father. And give us a spirit of thankfulness and joy. This is the same God is powerful and full of righteous wrath who will discipline us. And He is the same God that saved us from the sin from which we all enjoyed before.

You are amazing God.

Like a lifesaver in a stormy sea.

God works in mysterious ways, in ways that shatter the human pride, in ways that confuse and frustrate our minds, in ways that we cannot understand.

I am in the thick of a trial, a very painful and messy trial. My family is not doing well and my parents' lack of God is making it all the more painful. My grandma is in the thick of her own pain.

I have been brought to stormy waters and I can not tread water. I can not rely on my own strength to save myself and hope to survive. And like a life saver in this wild and painful time, I cling to the grace of God and His gospel, that Jesus Christ was sent from God to die for the sins of men like you and I who did not deserve it, so that we may no longer die in our sins and be separated from God but live with Him forever.

Though I prepare for what I think will be one of the defining moments of mine and my family's lives, and I see there is possibly more pain ahead, I will forever trust in Him. Though the path that God has lead me through feels all the more painful, He will forever be the lamp unto my feet.

I need prayer.

A temporary quit of Internet.

Well the time's finally come for me to do a fasting of internet. I realize that I spend too much time on the internet when I could have done other profitable things, such as read good books, eat bananas, and exercise. Currently I was reading out of "Worldliness" by C.J. Mahaney and many other authors, and the second chapter is called "God, my heart, and media." I was hit with these two questions. How much time have I spent surfing the Internet? How much time have I spent blogging or maintaining an online presence through social network sites?

I realize too much time is lost.

So consider this my goodbye for a week. Pray that the time spent not on the Internet is time spent doing profitable things.

So long.

Shepherd's Conference.

I will not forget this past week. Why?

I attended the Shepherd's Conference. It was amazing. Awesome. Mind-boggling. Convicting. The highlight of my year. Need I say more? It totally went above my expectations. So much teaching, and so much worship took place at Grace Community Church. God certainly lit me aflame with passion there.

For those who don't know what the Shep Con is, it is a 3 day long conference where well known pastors and church leaders preach to other pastors and church leaders. There are other seminars through out the day tailoring to specific topics such as, "Why are we losing our Youth?" and "Preaching with Passion".

When my youth pastor had told me that some of the pastors who had been there in the past, such as John Piper and Mark Dever, were not going to be there, I had thought that the teaching was not going to be as strong. I was dead wrong. Way wrong.

To give you a slight taste of what I experience, I will write about the first sermon of the conference. John MacArthur opened up the conference with a sermon on Creation. How you could not possibly misread the Genesis account of Creation, in which God created the world in six days and rested the seventh. He based his sermon around 3 words; fidelity, simplicity, and priority.

In fidelity he stated that you can either believe Scripture or reject it, but you cannot alter it. If you don't believe the first 2 chapters of Genesis, then what chapters do you start believing in? If the first two are not true, then there are 66 books that have possible errors.

In simplicity, MacArthur argued that God's hand is evident in Creation. Psalm 104 states His sovereign control and care over all that was made. Colossians 1:16 shows that everything was "created through Him and for Him." Deuteronomy 4:32 asks a question whether something has anything been done "like this great thing, or has anything been heard like it?" In Psalm 148, the Psalmist writes that Creation praises God. If you deny the Creation account...you diminish praise to God. Creation is a massive miracle.

In priority, he proclaimed that God, in His mind, had a purpose for His creation. Within the events of history, God is doing something. He has an objective goal. And when His divine plan is done, the earth will end. Isaiah 46:9-11 states that God's purpose WILL be established. If you tamper with creation, you tamper with the doctrines of salvation. 2 Corinthians 4:6 says, "For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." As God created physical light out of the darkness, He creates spiritual light in the darkness of our herats. As the creation account progresses it becomes "very good" and more beautiful and this is the same as the believer's sanctification. God also sustains the world that He made.

This is a mere taste of what I experienced. What an event. What worship. I have been convicted of much things. God certainly used the Shep Con to help me recognize what I need to grow in. I've grown in a couple of relationships because of this and I've made a new friendship. Hopefully I can attend next year. After all, this was the first time I've heard a pastor said, "Go step on grass, kill a deer, and drill for oil."

By the way that was John MacArthur.

12 Year Old Speaks Out Against Abortion.

Just saw this video on The Rebelution. It is indeed very encouraging to see that there are youth who are not captivated by juvenile matters but who care for things that are beyond themselves. I pray that we have boldness like this 12 year old girl to speak out against the evils of today.

People need to watch older movies.

Resolutions.

The New Year has finally come. As with every new year, resolutions are made. Resolutions to be more fit, to get a better job, to be more generous, and to spend more time with family. However, new year's resolutions have a reputation of being abandoned. So, what's the point of making a resolution, right?

Well, I myself have made a set of resolutions which I hope to keep for the rest of my life, much like
Jonathan Edwards did. He made these goals throughout his life and sought to keep them as to become more and more of a person after God's own heart.

So the following is a list of resolutions that I've made from past years to the last week.

1. I have resolved to remember, with all of my heart and will, to try to give glory the God in everything that I do.
   
2. I have resolved to fill my time with much profitable things.
   
3. I have resolved to become a healthier person with the body that God has given me.
   
4. I have resolved to not become completely calloused to sin to where I will not be bothered by my sin, or the sin of others.
5. I have resolved to appreciate the world around me and remember that Heaven will be infinitely better.
6. I have resolved to always think. Nuff said.