If you are like me, you  know how easy it is to get distracted by things in life. In fact, I have written a detailed article about 10 such things, titled “10 Things that Distract Us from God“. What we really need to help us is a “heart checker”. Something much like a spell check when writing. The longer we go without the spell check, the more likely we have misspelled a word…or several. And the whole point of the spell check is to see if we have gone off track, and help us correct it. Well in the same way, we need to have our heart checked…and checked often.

That is where one of my favorite psalms comes to mind; Psalm 139. And particularly verses 23 and 24:

  Search me, O God, and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts.

See if there is any offensive way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting.

-Psalm 139:23-24

You see, the only accurate way of checking our heart, or spirit, is to look at God…and the life example he has given us; Jesus. We need to turn to Him daily to check our heart, and listen to where we have gone off track, and then make the corrections that are necessary.

I encourage you to commit these verses to memory, that they might continually remind you to go to the heart checker.

In God’s Love and Grace

-Colton

Hey everyone. I want to thank all of you for the wonderful support you have given me and this blog. I want to apologize for how little I have been posting the past year. It is crazy how one can get busy.

But I want to get back into consistently posting on here. I know I owe you all that, as well as God since he has definitely given me this opportunity.

So I am starting with this post…

The past year has been a full one for me. With starting up classes again at my local JC, doing my best to get adjusted to my new area (been here almost 2 years now!), as well as finding a good church home. My beautiful niece was born, and many other big things.

I had a wonderful summer; I had the amazing experience of leading worship with a dear friend of mine, Maggie Quiroz. She had a voice like an angel, and a heart like a saint, and was my biggest role model in learning how to worship God, not just in song, but with a Life. I say “had” because Maggie has since gone home to be with the Lord…she had been battling breast cancer since late 2006.

My heart was definitely broken by the loss all who knew had…but was also left with the encouragement of knowing that she is at the throne of God, worshiping him like she was created for.

Now I am sharing this with you because of the stirring in my heart that was prompted by Maggie’s life. At the young age of 31, she did leave this world, but she did not leave it unchanged. With her LIFE she worshiped God. She genuinely impacted the life of everyone who met her. Even when she was in the hospital the week before she passed, she was praying for the doctors who she came in contact with…

So this my conviction:

When I look at Maggie, I do see a glimpse of Jesus. When people look at me…do they see a glimpse of Jesus? If my life were to end at 31 years of age, will I have made a difference in peoples lives?

This is my resolve:

The life I live in the body, I will strive to no longer live for me. I will live it for the one who loved me and gave Himself for me. I will press on toward the goal to win the prize in which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. I will do my best to remember that everything is a loss compared to knowing Christ. I Will Live For Jesus.

I pray that you may be encouraged by Maggie. She has shown me that it is possible to live how we are all called to live. May we all strive to live a life that leaves a glimpse of Jesus in it’s wake.

In God’s Love and Grace,

Colton

p.s.

Here is a wonderful worship song that Maggie wrote in late 2009:

The following is such a profound video. It shows the gaping holes that “Religion” has, and reveals our need for “JESUS”. The video is called “Why I Hate Religion, but Love Jesus”.

I hope you found this video to be a great reminder of that our faith should not be in religion, but in JESUS.

In God’s Love and Grace,

Colton

What would it look like if, as leaders, we focused less on the things that make our churches entertaining and more on making disciples? What if church looked like this…

(This video was shown by Kelly Tshibaka at Foursquare Connection 2011.)

In God’s Love and Grace,

Colton

I know in my life there are times where I get confused with what the purpose of prayer is. Lord, help me with this, help me with that…but God is not an order taker. It is not wrong to pray for these things, but more often than not, prayer should spark action. Yes there are some things that are completely out of our hands, and those we need to give to God…but there are other prayers that should prompt action from us. Like one I used to pray for was “God, give me a desire to read your Word”…but what I really need to do after the prayer is read the Word, not wait on God to change something inside of me first.

Remember these quotes regarding prayer:

“Prayer is not the key to move God…it is the key to move us”

“Prayer is not for God’s benefit, it is for ours”

Prayer, just like reading the Bible, is a huge part of the process of the renewing of our minds, which is mentioned in Romans 12:2. Both prayer and reading the Bible though require action for the full effect to take place.

In God’s Love and Grace,

Colton

Here is an encouraging quote I read today about allowing and trusting God to use you:

“Jacob was a cheater, Peter had a temper, David had an affair, Noah got drunk, Jonah ran from God, Paul was a murderer, Gideon was insecure, Miriam was a gossip, Martha was a worrier, Thomas was a doubter, Sara was impatient, Elijah was moody, Moses stuttered, Abraham was old,… and Lazarus was dead. God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the CALLED!”

No matter where you are in your life with God, HE is qualifying you for his service because you are CALLED. He can help you overcome the mistakes you have made, and even use them to help others. Just allow Him to use you.

In God’s Love and Grace,

-Colton

Often we, like the prodigal son, turn away from Jesus for the things of this world…sooner or later we find that this path leads to emptiness…but Jesus is waiting with open arms to save us…all we have to do is turn and run to him.

Here is a skit, done at Winterfest in Knoxville TN. 2006, that does an amazing job showing us this:

I hope you were touched by the video, it is one of my absolute favorites. It had been far too long since I myself had watched it, and felt it was necessary to share it with all of you as well.

Remember, if you have fallen away from Jesus, or maybe have never had a relationship with him, it isn’t too late. Jesus is waiting with open arms to save you from the mess you are in…just run to Him.

In God’s Love and Grace,

-Colton

The Response Promo from The Response USA on Vimeo.

The Response is a call to prayer for a nation in crisis today, August 6 2011. I would encourage all of you to tune into the live stream. We need to take a stand for our nation.

Click here to tune-in.

What was your response?

I saw this video from YouTube, and thought it was a very creative way of telling the Road to Salvation. So, I thought I’d share it with you all! Here it is:

The Gospel is really that simple. We don’t have to complicate it.

In God’s Love and Grace,

-Colton

I too often find it easy to compromise what God is leading me to do because of the circumstances I am in. Instead of fighting for what God wants, I just lay down and accept what the world is telling me to do…that isn’t what Daniel (and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) did in Daniel Ch. 1.

The setting for this time is that king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had besieged Jerusalem. Though this seemed like such an awful thing, God used these circumstances as a means to bring the hearts of the Israelites back to Him. During this time, king Nebuchadnezzer ordered to bring back with them to Babylon some of the young Israelites from the royal family and nobility…Daniel, Hananiah (Shadrach), Mishael (Meshach), and Azariah (Abednego) happened to be some of these young men. All that were chosen had to be without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. They were to learn the language and literature of the Babylonians.

That is where  Daniel 1:5-14 picks up:

⁵ The king assigned them [the young men from Israel] a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service.⁶ Among these were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. ⁷ The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.

⁸ But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. ⁹ Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel, ¹⁰ but the official told Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your^[c] food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you.”

¹¹ Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, ¹² “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. ¹³ Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.” ¹⁴ So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days.

As you can see, it would have been really easy for Daniel and the others to just eat the food offered to them…to me, it would seem like such a small compromise…but I believe Daniel knew that if he compromised there, where would he stop? So instead, He (and the others) had faith that if they did their part, God would do His…and as we can see in the rest of Ch. 1, that is exactly what God did:

¹⁵ At the end of the ten days they [Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego] looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. ¹⁶ So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.

¹⁷ To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.

¹⁸ At the end of the time set by the king to bring them in, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁹ The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service. ²⁰ In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.

²¹ And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.

We need to learn to follow God, despite the circumstances. Whether the compromise is big or small, we need to stand firm, and have faith in God’s provision. Just like Daniel, we need to go out on the limb and do our part, and have the faith that God will do His.

In God’s Love and Grace,

Colton

This week’s “Song of the Week” is The Light In Me by Brandon Heath on his latest album, Leaving Eden. The Light In Me is a wonderful song about how God is ultimately our source for living, and the One who put the “Light” in us. The chords and lyrics are below. I hope you enjoy the song!

Song: The Light In Me
Artist: Brandon Heath
Album: Leaving Eden
Key: C

Intro: C - Am - F - C  (Piano plays: G-F-E-D during each of the intro chords)

Verse 1:
(C)                   Am
My life before You
                      F
I was a flame burning down
              C
I was burning out
                        Am
But You knew me better
                          F
For You there was never a doubt
                      G
Not since You gave me life
              Am
Something was different
              F
I knew it the instant
                     C
You put the light in me

Chorus:
(C)
The spark

The shot to the heart
            Am
You are the hope that leads me

Out of the dark
             F
You let Your love shine down
            G
So that the world can see
                     F
You put the light in me
           Am                    C
The light, You put the light in me
           G                    F
The light, You put the light in me
           Am                    C
The light, You put the light in me
           G                    C
The light, You put the light in me

Verse 2:
(C)                Am
You are the Maker
                         F
You tell the sun when to rise
                      C
I'm just a house on a hill
                         Am
But You make me brighter
                          F
Than all the stars in the sky
                     G
Keep me from growing dim
                  Am
‘Cause in Your perfection
               F
I'm just a reflection
          C               G
So pull me closer to You
                  Am
I'll catch like a fire
                  F
And I'll hold You higher
                                C
‘Cause You put the light in me

Bridge:
F             Am                C
I'll raise it high, I'll let it show
                   G
From the roof tops down to the
          F
streets below
           Am                  C
In day and night, You will be known
             G
And all will see
                     C
You put the light in me
Am   F                              C
-------- Cause you put the light in me

______________________________________________________

I hope you enjoyed the song! If you have any suggestions for the upcoming songs of the week, please let me know below.

In God’s Love and Grace,

Colton