I was sitting down with my bible open thinking about the next episode I was going to write for you guys. I sat down and asked myself the question, what have you been learning about God this week in your own studies, in your own faith journey, and your own walk with Christ. I asked myself the question last night… am I really a new creation since knowing Christ. The answer is yes, but I still walk around with Black Spots. I am still so fleshly. I am still so far away from sanctified that the answer to my question was too complex for me to answer myself. I had to truly reflect on my character as a son of God. It was a necessary and spiritually healthy stream of thoughts. Paul says in Romans 3:10, “No One is Righteous—not even one.” Obtaining Holiness is not possible without the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only one I can give any credit to in this life he has blessed me with. He is the one we should have pride about. Pride about ourselves is foolery. Pride about anything separated from Christ is unsustainable. 

I began to think deeper about this question I had and found myself just extremely grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It has so much power. It is so transformative. It will change the life of any man in drastic ways. It will soften hearts, fill the souls, and sharpen the mind. The gospel is what I live to tell people about. When Christ says in John14 verse 12-14, “Anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”

When Jesus says we will do greater works than he.. he is referring to spreading the Gospel, bringing people to Christ, and being the light of the world as his believers. It is real. It is a spiritual doctrinal truth that the Gospel and your role as the body of Christ is considered greater works in the eyes of God. 

My mind was blown as I discovered these new biblical truths. It’s like God has blessed me with new levels of revelation every time I get in His Word and it’s like he knows I’m one of the few people out there that is sharing it with other people. I have too! The feeling burned on me to share these words with you guys. I’ll be honest this episode was supposed to be for another persons show. But I felt so strongly about the words and this truth that I wanted to share it specifically with you guys who are part of the I Like Birds Ministry. I am blessed and so grateful to have been given an opportunity to write for another show, but sometimes these episodes I write feel like my baby and I gotta give you guys who love me this baby. The word of God is so special to me and the Christ I worship is so important to me that it’s hard to give over an episode. That’s why even if I write one for someone else I am going to be posting it on the Bird Blog. So I am given you guys so much insight on who Christ is and I am trying to teach strictly through the word and let my testimonies, thoughts, and writings be the way God is glorified and the way you come closer to Christ! We grow in our faith together is deeper than a slogan, it is the truth that this show was built on and I put my heart and soul into this ministry. The fruit isn’t always money, but maybe the money will ruin why I do this. God maybe protecting me from that. This book I’m writing will be the way money comes in to keep this ministry going and my schedule free enough to do it. So if you have supported buying shirts, sharing the show, and coming back every week is so substantially important and is extremely appreciated. I even have a support page set up on this website and you can go there at your own time and donate if you feel led too. The website is live and I’m praying God uses it to reach more people. 

Let’s Go Deeper

I was asking myself a question while diving deeper into John 14 and really found myself trying to come up with one thing I don’t like about Jesus. Which guys… I could not think of one single thing. I find imperfections in everyone I meet quite frequently and am harsh on others like I am harsh on myself. My expectations are high for my friends, family, and humans in general. Yet, Christ exceeds all my expectations by a significant amount. 

I then elevated my thoughts to what I love about Christ. Often times I give you the listener the inside scoop of what my relationship with Christ is like but I truly want to unpack why I love Him and what I love most about Him. The list is long, but we aren’t going to do a list. He is more powerful than any list and those who want a list aren’t willing to dive deeper. Any list we seek on how to love and know Christ better is an attempt to justify ourselves by our own works in hopes  to find our worth in what we do — instead of in what Christ did for us, which in turn ends up being man-made spirituality. Which in reality is worshipping Legalist Jesus instead of Jesus the son of God. 

One of the reasons I truly love Christ is because he is a person, and in the deep of his mighty nature He thinks, wills, enjoys, feels, loves, desires and suffers as any other person may. In making himself known to us he stays by the familiar pattern of personality. He communicates with us through the avenues of our minds, our wills, and our emotions. The continuous interchange of love and thought between God and the soul of the redeemed man is the throbbing heart of the New Testament. 

Jesus is personal. He is individually present with me as I live my life for him. He helps me with my problems, he enlightens me on everlasting dilemmas, he speaks in ways I never thought possible. The Jesus I love is constantly opening my eyes and seeing his word differently. He is constant humbling me. He is constantly making me realize how much I need him to wake up tomorrow. I no longer feel invincible but I feel at peace trusting in His will. 

To have found God and still seek to pursue Him is the souls paradox of love but I want nothing else. I have to know him more, grow with him, and do what he calls me to do. I thirst for him and he is the living water I choose to drink when the lights go down and it’s just me in the room. Being entertained by sports, movies, and music is so unfulfilling that my life will forever be in this pursuit of God. It is an honor to be assigned from the Lord to tell others the Good News of the one I love, who actually loved me first. Like Paul, I confess the mainspring of my life is the burning desire after Christ. “That I may know Him” was the goal of Pauls heart and I find myself in the same boat on the same choppy waters. 

The pursuit of God is why I love him. Christ was after God’s own heart and did his entire life on earth for the Father. He faced all the things we face. Homelessness, hunger, poverty, hurt, sadness, and pain. Yet he did what God Almighty wanted him to do, all for us. All for me. We are given so many chances to turn to God, the devil is jealous of all the chances. We weren’t cast out of heaven and we his believers won’t get tossed into the fiery lake. We are promised eternal life with our Lord and Savior and we are the brothers and sisters of Christ meaning we are God’s Children. This can not and will not be underestimated on this show. Let that truth sink in and live in that as you move along in the massive footprints of Christ. 

I want to taste, touch with my heart, and see with my inner eyes the wonder that is God. This mighty longing for God I pray is ever lasting and I pray I can bring you along with me as we move forward in this ministry. We have to want it. We have to desire it. Complacency is a deadly foe of all spiritual growth. We are to never think we know Him enough or love Him enough. Right now we are living in an age of religious complexity. The shallowness of our inner experience, the hollowness of our worship, and that lack luster - uninspired - play doh Jesus we have been taught to worship is no longer acceptable in our hearts. We must dive deeper each week and truly seek the Christ I love so much. Not everyone will be willing to. Some are content with where they are in their faith journey. But I promise you, the harder you dive in the more that will be revealed. Luke warm faith will turn into a fire of passion! Your whole life will look differently when you truly discover what you love most about Jesus. Finding out more, personally connecting with him more, and letting him work through you will open doors in your life, heart, and mind that you could only dream of. Be available to love Christ with your mind, body, and soul.