Jeff Mashaw

We did this worship song at our last winter retreat in January,...

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 08:00:05 -0700

We did this worship song at our last winter retreat in January, 2012 for Christian Challenge and I fell in love with it. It absolutely rocks. Oh, and we have worship at Christian Challenge tonight at 7:30pm.

This is a verse from this weeks Bible Study passage at...

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 08:00:06 -0700

This is a verse from this weeks Bible Study passage at MCC:

“Do you not fear Me? This is the Lord’s declaration. Do you not tremble before Me, the One who set the sand as the boundary of the sea, an enduring barrier that it cannot cross? The waves surge, but they cannot prevail. They roar but cannot pass over it.”

-Jeremiah 5:22 HCSB

To boldly Go...

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 08:00:06 -0700

On Wednesdays I spend several hours hanging out at a table in the middle of Mesa Community College (MCC). I do this for several reasons:

1. I might just be a little bit crazy

2. Even though I live in Arizona, I don’t think I’ve spent enough time in the sun

3. I really enjoy having conversations with random students

4. I enjoy talking about spiritual things

5. I am trying to recruit new students for our campus ministry club

But, most importantly: I believe it is the most important thing I can be doing with my time! You see, students at MCC are surrounded by all sorts of influences and evil things which all vie for their time an affections. Most of them are unaware of the spiritual nature of their choices and I believe that is a travesty. If I do not go and sit there on that campus with my banner, and my picture cards, and my smile, and the Holy Spirit living inside me, no on else is. That is not to say that no one else is able, but simply there are no other people who are currently out there. And even if there were 10 full time ministers at MCC, it still wouldn’t be enough to reach the thousands of college students on the campus.

I firmly believe that God wants to impact this generation in a way that will radically impact the world. I also believe that God has called me to take part in this transformation by engaging in simple, but meaningful conversations with students on campus. I am really excited to be on this journey and looking forward to seeing what God is going to do.

Monday Morning

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 08:00:05 -0700

Monday morning is a really good time to sit back and think about what the rest of the week might hold. This week I am thinking about how awesome it is that I get the opportunity to do ministry on a college campus. I believe God wants to impact this generation of young people and I enjoy being a part of it. My only hope is that I am faithful to the call and I am obedient to the task at hand.

Engaging the Gathering

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 08:00:06 -0700

Today is Sunday. What are you doing today? If you are like most college students, then probably recovering from your hang-over, doing laundry and finally sitting down to homework. However, if you call yourself a follower of Jesus, I would strongly encourage you to consider going to church today. If you don’t have a church you go to, then I would strongly implore you to connect yourself to a local body.

Scripture tells us that the Church is the body of Jesus Christ, and that it’s members are the all the saints and believers through-out the world, through-out the generations. The Universal Church is one body spanning the centuries and the globe. However, this universal body is made up of local manifestations, or churches. It is in this local group of believers that we get to live out the commandments of Jesus. In fact, if you carefully read the New Testament, you will see that almost all of the letters and the directives in those letters were not to individuals, but to churches. So when Paul is writing that “your body is the temple of the living God,” that is directed to an entire church body. While there may be some truth in the personal application of that, it is the body as a whole which is the true temple of the living God. God’s present in each of us as individuals, but He truly manifests Himself in the corporate gathering of the saints.

So I tell you that if you are not connected to a local body of Christ, serving and growing together with other believers, you are not only missing out on the promises and joys of the gathering, your are stunting your own spiritual growth and connection to God.

What are your thoughts on homosexuality?

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 10:38:00 -0700

It depends upon your definition of homosexuality. And if your definition includes the word love, then we’d have to define love. Love does not, nor ever has involved anything to do with a sexual attraction. Love is a commitment, it is a choice, not something you feel. Further, in the bible, God has defined that sex is only good, and it is only right when a man and his own wife engage in it. God has set many standards for righteousness and they are not up to humans to determine whether they are just, or right, God alone is righteous enough to judge us fairly. So, from my perspective, two people of the same gender engaging in a sexual relationship is un-biblical and sinful. However, every person is a person of value and worth who Jesus came to this earth and died to save. And every human being is incapable of doing anything biblical or un-sinful apart from Jesus (that includes above all me). Recognizing this, I have been tasked not with judging other’s sins, (far be it from me with the huge plank in my own eye to judge another person) but instead to be an emissary to the nations, an ambassador of the One-True Holy and Righteous God, who has loved us all so much He came and died to allow us the opportunity to experience grace, freedom and relationship with Him.

Our banner on our table at MCC. I think it looks kinda cool.

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:58:55 -0700

Our banner on our table at MCC. I think it looks kinda cool.

Back to School

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 14:53:00 -0700

I spent most of yesterday on campus at Mesa Community College. I tabled for about 3 and half hours, and then I led our Bible study. It was nice being back on campus after having a month or so off. I really enjoyed the conversations we had with the students, and it was great to hear their questions about scripture as we began our journey into Jeremiah.

Almost nothing in this picture would be recognized by a first...

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 21:48:40 -0700

Almost nothing in this picture would be recognized by a first century human. What are the implications for Biblical application in the 21st century?

What do I do?

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 14:46:58 -0700

I feel like sharing a little bit about what it is that I do with my life, as many of you may not know. I am a missionary. Everyone who answers the call to follow Jesus Christ is to be a missionary to the people who are around them. Well I am a missionary on the college campus. I get the opportunity to serve God by hanging out with college students and sharing Jesus Christ with them. I feel as though I am not very good at it yet, though I know it is what I am supposed to be doing because God called me to do it. I have a desire to help college students see the light of day.

As I chat with young people on the college campuses, I get a real sense of true lostness. In the Christian world, we speak of Lostness as a code-word for not-saved people, or sinners, but when you talk to students you actually can feel how truly lost they are. As I just posted, dictionary.com defines “lost” as:

having gone astray or missed the way; bewildered as to place, direction, etc.

I really can see this bewilderment in most of the young people that I talk to. They seem confused and simply have no idea how to find what they are looking for. This is what encourages me in my work. I am not lost. I have been found. I have direction, purpose and a location, and I get to share this with students. It is my hope that as I continue in my work, I will see some lost students be found. It is my hope that God will use me to help find some of these people. That is a little bit about what I do.

"LOST: having gone astray or missed the way; bewildered as to place, direction, etc."

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 14:37:48 -0700

“LOST: having gone astray or missed the way; bewildered as to place, direction, etc.”

- http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/lost

Mission Service Corps Comissioning

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 10:06:08 -0700

We just returned from a Missionary Commissioning in Atlanta, GA. It was a really neat time to be able to meet college ministres from all over the United States and Canada. The event was put on by the North American Mission Board. This is the organization which sponsors me. It was really awesome to be able to see all that God is doing across the country.

All of these college ministers in the photo above are Mission Service Corps missionaries, just like me. That means that they must raise their own support to be able to do the ministry which God has called them to. Being able to chat with them encouraged me and helped me to see that this support raising journey is possible and that I can do it through the Lord’s help. I am really excited to be back in Phoenix and get back to doing all those things which God has called me to!

"Everyone is somewhere on the journey to having a hard time with us."

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 17:16:00 -0700

“Everyone is somewhere on the journey to having a hard time with us.”

- Really smart ministry Mentor

Christian Challenge Photo Montage (by christianchallengeaz) I...

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 12:34:00 -0700

Christian Challenge Photo Montage (by christianchallengeaz)

I made this awesome video for Phoenix Metro Christian Challenge. (Actually, to be fair Picasa made it… I just complied the photos and chose the music. heehee)

The Devilish Debate Over Choice vs. Chance | SBC Voices

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 10:47:00 -0700

The Devilish Debate Over Choice vs. Chance | SBC Voices:

Wow, a really well-written article. Interesting and thought-provoking. What do you think?

I’ve been reading “The Fuel and the Flame” and...

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 10:28:21 -0700

I’ve been reading “The Fuel and the Flame” and I came across this picture in the book this weekend while I was reading and it hit me right in the chest. I’ve been trying to pull my life by the caboose. I have been living my life by putting my feelings in front of the truth. Instead of trusting God’s promises found in His Word and then living them out by faith, I have been waiting to feel them before making any movement of my own. I have been immobilized by a lack of faith because my feelings have not been right. Instead I need to be moved by truth and boldly act in faith. I didn’t realize it really before, but once I saw this I understood the source of a lot of issues that have come up in the past few weeks. I have been trying to live my life according to how I feel and not according to the truth of God’s word. I need to re-adjust my priorities and set God’s Word first.

God, please help me to straighten my train and set it back on course for You. I desire to place Your truth ahead of my feelings, and to live by faith and not by sight. God I love you. Amen.

I just made a post where I thanked you and put a link to your page.

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 15:41:00 -0700

Thanks, Jason! You are awesome.

"A painter paints pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence."

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 11:31:00 -0700

“A painter paints pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence.”

- Leopold Stokowski (via reason141)

reason141: It’s my friend Jeff’s | Mytubo Guitar...

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 07:59:00 -0700

reason141:

It’s my friend Jeff’s | Mytubo Guitar Project

Thanks Jason! You’re a pretty awesome guy. Keep practicing. :)

Thumb tapping at My Desk | jmashaw

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 11:37:00 -0700

Thumb tapping at My Desk | jmashaw