my ol friend

Whats up everybody?

Well here is , finally, blog numero dos.
I want to thank everybody who read and even responded last time, the date is coming closer to start this Saturday night service, And I'm really looking forward to it.

I think God is giving me at least a clearer picture about what sup.. good stuff, but i still do need all your input please on what you think I service should be like...

i'd ask questions like these:
why do we call it a service?
is it for everybody?
what is the cost of going (not talking monetary...") although hmmmmm cover charge??? bouncer? ladies night????? naaaaaaaaaaaa

well, lots been going on... in my life...
a great friend got married to a great new friend.....
i caught up with an old friend that i really missed.... good stuff..
my new best friend started walking....
made a new friend, a REAL new friend this week... pretty awesome
I'm frustrated about not seeing many of my old friends

talking about friends.... here is a challenge for ya.....
now this is more toward maybe if you been following Jesus for more than 5 years....
but anybody can play!!!! ha

look at your phone.... stroll down all you contacts..... hmm nice long list.....
yea...
now how many of those people (beside work contacts) do not follow Jesus????? hmmmm
(well.. no this is not a way to go evangelize them... good grief no!)
but is your phone full of christian buddies??? or not?
is your world full of people, your clique, your peeps, your dogs' ....nice Christan people...
i dunno what that says about ya..... maybe nothing.. but if it is..... then whoa.....
might be living in a bubble no? playing it safe??? i dunno.. just thinking...
don't hate.

ok, that challenge played a lil better on my head.
but the point is this: if your only association is with christian peeps... well, heck, Jesus didn't do that.... so why us?

i was thinking about my old buddy yesterday... i miss him. we talk once in a while.. and when I am on the phone with him, my wife always knows. there's just this certain bond... connection i have with him, the stories we share.. are priceless.... i don't know if he is following Jesus. probably not... but i dare not even try to stop loving Him. hes the best.

talking to my new bud, it was kind of made clear to us, that it was easier to be transparent, and not be judged by the people outside of the Church. how our old "drinking buddies" of sort and of old, are the ones that truly know us, and the Christian circles we run in now... well they are pretty fake, full of men that are scared to reveal who we really are.
so sad and twisted i know.. but we vowed to change that in own way, and it started with that conversation. So was born a new friend.

ok, well -pretty busy here
still praying about the Saturday service, please post up your ideas
also, just finished recording an audio podcast that ill be posting soon, its pretty cool, got pastor Abel to even say a couple of things in there, ha....



so its been real. its been great.
love you all, if you need anything from me, just call.. or write... or follow, or tweet., or post, or text, or jeeeeeeeeeeez. do whatever you want to!!!

josh

uncomfortable responses / Sat. Service

Well Here it is.

I have to say.. blog consistency... not very good. But I have been thinking about this blog for awhile, promising to start it up gain, so here is my third attempt.

I was trying to figure out what my "voice" would be for this blog. You know, what I really wanted to say.

so I thought about it for several Weeks, and came to this conclusion....

I'm just going to write. yea, not that deep I know. But I do believe that some good will come out of my experiences trying to follow Jesus. And these will be the posts.

that being said, please do not expect a highly spiritual post here, even though my name is preceded with a title of "pastor". yet I know that God has let me experience and see incredible things, that I would love to share with you.



I guess I should post why I named it "A dizzy cold July"... hmmm well maybe not.
maybe later.


Ok, well the Big one.
This following Jesus. Hate to say it, but i guess, not for everybody?

One truth I cannot shake: Jesus is REAL and demands a response.
it just does. You have to respond... you do respond, everyday. Negatively or positively.. but you do respond.
Hes the independent variable in your life equation.
Our response... well I guess that depends on alot of things.... but you must RESPOND.
To HIM, and always to HIM.
hes real...
- everything else is false
- people
- religion
- everything marketed
It all passes.... , and we always feel foolish responding to things that have "passed"
but We don't like to talk about that.


And this: Its not comfortable to follow Jesus.
Its just not. If anyone has told you otherwise, do not listen, you are following something else.
Check this:
- Jesus totally delivers this demon possessed guy. This guy, who wondered around cutting himself and naked, begs Jesus to allow him to go with HIM. The people that know the demon possessed guy, are begging Jesus to get out of town.
What does Jesus do to this new convert? Send him right into the pack of people that want nothing to do with Jesus.
(Mark 5:1-20)

does that sound comfortable to you?
He send this guy back to the Jesus haters... is God sending you into the same?
Or are you the Jesus hater.. and God is sending some one to you?
either way..... its uncomfortable.
And this is following Him. many situations very related to this.

so why do so many people bail, when it starts to get uncomfortable?

so those two things I know. Its real, and its uncomfortable.
its really uncomfortable.

I heard a quote from John Piper, that i think is fantastic:
"Suffering is the best hermeneutic"

ha. for shure.

So there you have it.
Please respond if you like.

*********************************************************************

Also, god has put it in my heart to start a Saturday night service.
This is just an idea that is brewing in me, so I'm just beginning to pray about it.
I would love to hear your ideas about it though...

what should it look like? (it will not look like Sunday!!)
what can we do?

Ive been praying about having this service outside, maybe in a park once a week, and preaching for three weeks, and the fourth week have a "special project" to go out and DO what was preached. sounds crazy i know.... but at the least of things.. hopefully it will be uncomfortable.
Oh.. and some food!! We gotta eat together!

Anyway, i do value for opinion....
What is it you feel should be in a great Church service?

Hey Guys!~!!  Greeting to all of you!!!!

I know that I have not written in a looong time......

Mucho has been going on!

Wow, where to start... welll how bout just the short version???

My wife and I are back in Brownsville, TX and are pretty close to closing on our home.

Whaa????

in Brownsville?

Well yea.  

Through prayer and what we believe is God using / preparing us for upcoming trails and blessings, we will be serving in Brownsville for the next few years in developing a discipleship center and working with the youth group.  

So now my blog will have more to do with that, as my journey begins in making disciples working with young people, this will be both challenging and a lot of fun!!!!!

so I will keep you posted on all the craziness and following of  our King Jesus in brownsville.

Two things i really want to say to all of you today.... one more important than the other....

the first and least important is that I will not be so much having a blog, but really i will be having a VLOG of some sort.   I find that if i just post video up here, it will be a lot easier for me than to write something.... do no worry, the posts will not be 2 hours long, just like 2 minutes 20 seconds of updates and whatever is in my heart.  

sooo., yea... just so you know.

The second, i do want to draw your attention to...  and have your heart a for......

So, i found out some extremely bad news this morning.

Pastor Joel Stockstill's (He is an extremely gifted and anointed youth pastor at Bethany World Prayer Center in LA, whose messages have continuously changed my life) wife, Amy Stockstill passed away last night.  Im not sure how old she was, like 25 probably, and they had been married like 2 years.  I believe that it was cancer.  

So this is an arduous task for us christian, as we bear one anothers burdens and weep with those who weep (Rom 12:15)

Please pray for Joel and Amy's family, as they are consoled by our powerful comforted.  Please take some time today and lift them up in prayer.

I did not know Amy, or Pastor Joel for that instance, burt my heart goes out to them, and it hurts.

I can only imagine how my life would be crushed if Lisa was gone.  I know it would be the same for all of you and your spouse (or future spouse).

So again, I ask you to carry this burden, and life up prayers full of faith fueled by love.

I am now reminded of one of my least favorite verses in the bible....

Psalms 39:4-5

Lord, make me to know my end, and what is the measure of my days, that I may know how frail I am.

Indeed you have made my days as handbreaths, and my age is nothing before you; certainly every man

AT HIS BEST STATE IS BUT VAPOR.

None of us know if we will be here tomorrow, so lets live out this Tuesday for Jesus and give him thanks.

He is Good and has given us life.  Lets pray for Joel, and give our spouse some extra love today, since

it truly is a gift from Jesus.

for those that wish to leave your thoughts on pastor Joel's blog site, here it is..  

http://www.joelstockstill.com/?p=100#comment-1353

love you all...

here is a test video........

the sound is a little bad, im in a bit of a time crunch, and i really just want to see if this actually posts, i promise the sound will be better for the upcoming videos.