A little over three months ago Pastor Brandon challenged the staff of NewLife to read the entire Bible in 90 days. When he first issued this challenge I had mixed emotions, I was excited yes, but also skeptical that I could see it through.
It was not an easy task in the least, there were times when I thought I wouldn't make it, but somehow I did. This was one of the most powerful things I have ever participated in and I know I'm better for it.
Here are just a few of the things I learned on this 90-day journey through the greatest Book ever penned:
God is faithful even when I am not.
Being a Pastor(Priest) in the Old Testament was one of the suckiest jobs EVER!
God forgives repeated mistakes.
God disciplines justly and lovingly according to the sin committed.
Running from God is useless.
Jesus ain't playin'!
I've been given way more than I deserve.
Jesus doesn't need my opinion, He is doing just fine without it.
People need Jesus and He wants me to tell them He loves them.
Religion is worthless noise.
Jesus is, was, and will be the best thing I could ever commit my life to.
I know this doesn't even begin to cover all that I have learned in the last 90 days, but this one thing I know for sure. I will never be the same again, not even close.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Episode 20: Cussing Pastors?
I saw this earlier in the week and it made me reevaluate some of the things that come out of my mouth. Thanks to Ed Young for challenging us to be better than we are. What do you think?
Friday, May 29, 2009
Episode 19: 10 years and counting.
Ten years ago today I married my beautiful wife. I suppose to the casual outsider our lives would look like any ordinary American middle class family, we have two kids, two cats, a dog and a hamster(they live WAY longer than the pet store tells you...FYI). We live in an ordinary neighborhood, in an ordinary house and drive ordinary cars. I suppose we are to most people, ordinary. But I say that the woman I married those years ago is anything but ordinary. So this is for you my love, may we have many more years to enjoy our ordinary lives.
You Are
by Nathan Martin
When I saw you the first time - You are hot!
When we started dating - You are hotter!
When you agreed to marry me - You are nuts!
When you walked down the aisle - You are beautiful.
When our sons were born - You are an awesome mommy!
You are my sanity
You are my voice of reason
You are beauty defined
You are my everything
You are my love
You are mine
You are Joy
I know these are only words and they are hardly adequate, but I mean them with everything I have. I love you beautiful.
You Are
by Nathan Martin
When I saw you the first time - You are hot!
When we started dating - You are hotter!
When you agreed to marry me - You are nuts!
When you walked down the aisle - You are beautiful.
When our sons were born - You are an awesome mommy!
You are my sanity
You are my voice of reason
You are beauty defined
You are my everything
You are my love
You are mine
You are Joy
I know these are only words and they are hardly adequate, but I mean them with everything I have. I love you beautiful.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Episode 18: Swine flu rant by proxy...
My good friend Kazia Ferguson posted this on her blog yesterday. I think she is dead on with this, and I coudn't agree more!
With each passing day I find myself becoming increasingly annoyed with the news media. From the ever revolving reports of the economic recession to the current health crisis of the swine flu it has become a never ending source of over the top drama. Media dramatics are nothing new. Anyone remember Y2K??? But in the current age of the internet and 24 hour news channels it is just more readily available.
As I watched the news last night I paid extra careful attention to the how they reported the news and I found that instead of starting off their broadcast with good news, they had to report all the bad news first. It was at least 10 minutes of doom and gloom before they got to anything uplifting. I was certain the world was coming to an end and I had the swine flu. News reporters seem to thrive on the current crisis and are waiting on the edge of their seats for the next crisis. Think back to the last "snow storm" we had. They had news coverage of the "Storm Of the Year" on all day & to make sure we really understood just how cold and dangerous it was outside, they had reporters standing on every street corner shivering to death and telling us not to leave the house because it was just too trecherous. I admit I did watch about 2 hrs of the coverage that day and then realized they just kept saying they same things over and over. It's really easy to get caught up in all the drama and if I am not careful fear and anxiety will overcome my mind.
One of the many things I took away from Town Hall for Hope last week was something very simple that Dave said. "Fear is not a fruit of the spirit." Let me check, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Nope, fear is not listed anywhere there. But sometimes it seems to be easier to live in fear than in love, joy, peace...
I love the acrostic F.E.A.R. False Evidence Appearing Real. I think sometimes it's easier to believe all the hype and get caught up in the fear because it is real life stuff they are reporting. They just take it and over dramatize it to make people continue to watch. It's like a car wreck you can't stop watching. You don't want to watch, but you just can't turn your head.
We as Christians can use this fear as a megaphone to reach people that feel hopeless. We can use tools like, FPU, Town Hall for Hope, the Single Mom's Car Care Day and LifeTeams to reach those who have lost all hope. It's time for us as a church to use these opportunities to stand up and say I will not live in FEAR, but I will live in the Fruits of the Spirit.
What can I say to that except....oink!?
With each passing day I find myself becoming increasingly annoyed with the news media. From the ever revolving reports of the economic recession to the current health crisis of the swine flu it has become a never ending source of over the top drama. Media dramatics are nothing new. Anyone remember Y2K??? But in the current age of the internet and 24 hour news channels it is just more readily available.
As I watched the news last night I paid extra careful attention to the how they reported the news and I found that instead of starting off their broadcast with good news, they had to report all the bad news first. It was at least 10 minutes of doom and gloom before they got to anything uplifting. I was certain the world was coming to an end and I had the swine flu. News reporters seem to thrive on the current crisis and are waiting on the edge of their seats for the next crisis. Think back to the last "snow storm" we had. They had news coverage of the "Storm Of the Year" on all day & to make sure we really understood just how cold and dangerous it was outside, they had reporters standing on every street corner shivering to death and telling us not to leave the house because it was just too trecherous. I admit I did watch about 2 hrs of the coverage that day and then realized they just kept saying they same things over and over. It's really easy to get caught up in all the drama and if I am not careful fear and anxiety will overcome my mind.
One of the many things I took away from Town Hall for Hope last week was something very simple that Dave said. "Fear is not a fruit of the spirit." Let me check, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Nope, fear is not listed anywhere there. But sometimes it seems to be easier to live in fear than in love, joy, peace...
I love the acrostic F.E.A.R. False Evidence Appearing Real. I think sometimes it's easier to believe all the hype and get caught up in the fear because it is real life stuff they are reporting. They just take it and over dramatize it to make people continue to watch. It's like a car wreck you can't stop watching. You don't want to watch, but you just can't turn your head.
We as Christians can use this fear as a megaphone to reach people that feel hopeless. We can use tools like, FPU, Town Hall for Hope, the Single Mom's Car Care Day and LifeTeams to reach those who have lost all hope. It's time for us as a church to use these opportunities to stand up and say I will not live in FEAR, but I will live in the Fruits of the Spirit.
What can I say to that except....oink!?
Monday, April 13, 2009
Episode 17: Four celebs I would love to meet.
Have you ever looked at someone famous and thought; "Dang, that guy/gal is a flippin cool! I would love to sit down and spend some time with them someday."? I have, and here they are in no particular order.
Barack Obama - President of the United States of America
I don't agree with all of his stances on the issues, but I would love to hang out with our current president. Away from all the media and all the hype that you know is a constant in his life, I would love to just spend some time with him. I love that he is very openly in love with his wife, and a great father and family man. He's a leader, and whether or not you voted for him or even like him, you had better be praying for him! I know he will appreciate it.
Josh Hamilton - Center Fielder for the Texas Rangers
Besides the fact that this guy is an incredibly talented baseball player, he is unahamedly open about his relationship with Christ on and off the field. His life story is one of the coolest examples of how Christ can take someone who is hell bent on destroying themselves and make them into something great. I am also counting on him to help lead the Rangers to their first World Series win. (No pressure Josh!)
Katy Perry - Singer/Songwriter
Say what you want but I like Katy's music. Her lyrical content is morally defunct at best, but I love her sound and unlike a lot of popular musical artists, she actually has talent. Her story is another I would love to hear more of - striaght from her, not the media's twisted version. (She's a PK if you didn't know) I would love to hear what drives her and what brought her to the place she is today. Besides all that, I need someone to show me how to play an Em7add11 chord, maybe she knows it?
Perry Noble - Pastor of Newspring Church
Perry is my kind of guy. He's a red meat eating, southern fried redneck. I love his no-nonsense approach to the greatest message of all time. He tells it like it is, and doesnt mind hurting the "Christians" feelings. We need more like him. Perry and Newspring are doing an awesome job in South Carolina and I know that they're just getting started.The only thing I have against Perry is the fact that he's a Clemson fan. At least they're orange, it's not burnt orange, but at least it's close.
That's my list, weird and random though it may be, of celebs I'd like to meet.
Who would you like to meet?
Barack Obama - President of the United States of America
I don't agree with all of his stances on the issues, but I would love to hang out with our current president. Away from all the media and all the hype that you know is a constant in his life, I would love to just spend some time with him. I love that he is very openly in love with his wife, and a great father and family man. He's a leader, and whether or not you voted for him or even like him, you had better be praying for him! I know he will appreciate it.
Josh Hamilton - Center Fielder for the Texas Rangers
Besides the fact that this guy is an incredibly talented baseball player, he is unahamedly open about his relationship with Christ on and off the field. His life story is one of the coolest examples of how Christ can take someone who is hell bent on destroying themselves and make them into something great. I am also counting on him to help lead the Rangers to their first World Series win. (No pressure Josh!)
Katy Perry - Singer/Songwriter
Say what you want but I like Katy's music. Her lyrical content is morally defunct at best, but I love her sound and unlike a lot of popular musical artists, she actually has talent. Her story is another I would love to hear more of - striaght from her, not the media's twisted version. (She's a PK if you didn't know) I would love to hear what drives her and what brought her to the place she is today. Besides all that, I need someone to show me how to play an Em7add11 chord, maybe she knows it?
Perry Noble - Pastor of Newspring Church
Perry is my kind of guy. He's a red meat eating, southern fried redneck. I love his no-nonsense approach to the greatest message of all time. He tells it like it is, and doesnt mind hurting the "Christians" feelings. We need more like him. Perry and Newspring are doing an awesome job in South Carolina and I know that they're just getting started.The only thing I have against Perry is the fact that he's a Clemson fan. At least they're orange, it's not burnt orange, but at least it's close.
That's my list, weird and random though it may be, of celebs I'd like to meet.
Who would you like to meet?
Monday, March 30, 2009
Episode 16: I will not participate!
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: "Fear always springs from ignorance."
In this time of "economic recession" a lot of ignorance based fear is being fed to us. I believe we have a choice. We can listen to what the "news" has to say, or we can listen to the voice of common sense. I am choosing common sense, and that's why I am happy to be part of something that I believe will promote common sense and kick fear in the crotch.
I am a fan of Dave Ramsey. I co-teach his Financial Peace University at NewLife Fellowship, I listen to his talk show on a regular basis, and I have followed his plan to become debt free. Dave is a no bull, "use the brain your mamma gave you" kind of guy. He, along with Lifechurch.tv, have created an event that I am proud to be a part of. We will be hosting this event at Newlife Fellowship and I hope you will join us and thousands of others as we listen to the truth and refuse to be fearful.
Check out this video...
2 Timothy 1:7 says: "For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."
I'm Nathan, and I REFUSE to participate in fear or this recession! Will you join me?
In this time of "economic recession" a lot of ignorance based fear is being fed to us. I believe we have a choice. We can listen to what the "news" has to say, or we can listen to the voice of common sense. I am choosing common sense, and that's why I am happy to be part of something that I believe will promote common sense and kick fear in the crotch.
I am a fan of Dave Ramsey. I co-teach his Financial Peace University at NewLife Fellowship, I listen to his talk show on a regular basis, and I have followed his plan to become debt free. Dave is a no bull, "use the brain your mamma gave you" kind of guy. He, along with Lifechurch.tv, have created an event that I am proud to be a part of. We will be hosting this event at Newlife Fellowship and I hope you will join us and thousands of others as we listen to the truth and refuse to be fearful.
Check out this video...
2 Timothy 1:7 says: "For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."
I'm Nathan, and I REFUSE to participate in fear or this recession! Will you join me?
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Episode 15: Blogging is hard!
It’s been awhile since I posted anything here and I know all three of my readers have missed me sorely. I apologize to you all, especially my mom, sorry you guys.
When I started blogging I thought “How hard can it be?” I mean all you have to do is write something once or twice a week and have it evaluated by the whole world (all three of you). It can’t be that hard right? Well as you all know, there is this little thing that sometimes gets in the way of our best laid plans. It’s called “life”, and man it just happened right in front of me and my poor blog was punished horribly.
While this has indeed been a tragedy, it has served to teach me something (life has a way of doing that). No matter how hard we plan, things don’t always follow those plans. I know… that was deep!
When life has its way with me and plans fail, I am reminded of this from Jeremiah 29:11 “I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord. They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope.”
In the future I will try to be more consistent in my blog-posting. I would hate to disappoint my fan base (Hi mom!)
Until then…
When I started blogging I thought “How hard can it be?” I mean all you have to do is write something once or twice a week and have it evaluated by the whole world (all three of you). It can’t be that hard right? Well as you all know, there is this little thing that sometimes gets in the way of our best laid plans. It’s called “life”, and man it just happened right in front of me and my poor blog was punished horribly.
While this has indeed been a tragedy, it has served to teach me something (life has a way of doing that). No matter how hard we plan, things don’t always follow those plans. I know… that was deep!
When life has its way with me and plans fail, I am reminded of this from Jeremiah 29:11 “I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord. They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope.”
In the future I will try to be more consistent in my blog-posting. I would hate to disappoint my fan base (Hi mom!)
Until then…
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