I am going to India everyone. All i would ask for is prayers.

I will return October 12th with incredible jet lag so even when i'm home i'm really not. Love you guys and will see you in two weeks.

Cody

Church growth Jesus' way!

If you talked to 1 person everyday assuming this starts at age 10 and you give 60 years making you 70 at this point that's 21,900 people you talked to. This is low ballin it by the way, You'll probably live longer.

Assume again that all these conversations result in you just simply talking about jesus, or inviting them out to your church. Now you may have established long term relationships. Again we low ball and say that 10,950 (half of 21,900) come to know the Lord and find a church, that would actually be a large number. Again this is 1 person doing this. What would the church look like?

My wife and I were able to lead 2 girls to the Lord Saturday. Sometimes you get 2 in one day and 0 on the other it may eqaul out to 7 per week.

If you love your church and love people inevitably a great deal of those people talked to will end up serving with you on the front lines. It's how we can build the church.

Attract
Recruit
Retain
Invest

Religous freedom and unity. READ!

This happened yesterday at Capitol Hill in Washington. Over 50,000 Muslims gathered to express their desire for peace among religion.

That's nice to want that, but it's not what Jesus says is okay.

Here it is Christians: When people ask you as Christ followers why aren't you okay with religous unity what are going to say?

We are not going to be the good guys when we say that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and NO ONE goes to the Father except through Me. The moment we disagree with spiritual unity is the very moment it gets harder to be a Christ follower.

Pray hard for strength.

IT WILL RUIN YOUR LIFE!

A man’s word used to be important to him. In Numbers 30:2 if a man made a vow it was under no condition that he had the right to back out of it. Yes is your yes, and no is your no.

In Numbers 32:11 we see the devestation of men not keeping their word to God. It says in V10 “The Lords anger burned” for those explained in V11. All the men, (Israelites), 20 years old and up, that came out of Egypt had a problem with keeping their word, with the exception of Caleb and Joshua. There was 603,550 men of that age that did not keep their word Numbers 1:45-46.

Numbers 32:11"They did not follow me fully." "They shall not see the land," (huge consequences).

At this time 2-3 million Israelites just got off a hard pressed 400 years in Egypt.

There were 2 men set apart though. Numbers 32:12- Caleb and Joshua. Why? They simply did what they said they would do for God.

If you say yes, let it be true. There’s big consequences not just for you, but everyone connected if you don't.

SATANS PLAN

God picked them.

You don't mess with Gods annointed!

Every now and then i think we all have this tendency. To look at someone doing great in life and assume that same success was meant for you. One thing! You are not them in the physical, mental, spiritual, or emotional so how does that work?

Think one minute about Jonathan (Sauls son). He was next to be heir to the throne following his father. David a little sheep hearding, timid, youngest brother, takes the reign after much pruning. 1 Samuel 18:4 look what happens. david's going to war and jonathan realizes Gods annointed. What he does next is honors God. Jonathans robe, sword, bow, and belt are given to David. Go and conquer.Next thing you know is Saul his 1,000s and David his 10,000s.

Look how much easier it is when you see God's time unfold and you let it.

Read the rest of the story to get context, but understand God has plans and it's better.

This inspiration!

To lead with passion means you set God sized goals, even when you can't see the goal.

This is why Billy Grahm has been effective.

Billies prayer on a radio show.

'Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics.. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and Set us free. Amen!'

what moves you?

Character flaws

You can always tell the character of people by the way they treat those who they don't have to treat nice.

Saul was envious because he had slayed 1,000s and David his 10,000s. Littel did he know God arranged these things. Envy rises like the Sun. it's hot, seeking to heat everything in its path until all that is touched by it will soon look and feel the same.

We all share the Saul and david enmity everyday. Be careful, this rises like sun and can torch all things if not properly handled.

The same way david and saul had enmity is the very same way our character creeps over to the bad side.

just do it!

Moses, a political leader; Joshua, a military leader; David, a shepherd; Solomon, a king; Amos, a herdsman and fruit picker; Daniel, a prime minister; Matthew, a tax collector; Luke, a medical doctor; Paul, a rabbi; and Peter, a fisherman, Aaron a secretary, not to mention a number of prophets, all being sinfull men. The best is Elijah had a nature like ours and yes God used him.

Can He use you? That questions wrong from the start. He said He will and that you were created for His use.

Matthew 28:19 so popular we're to comfortable with it.
Mark 16:15-16 " " " " " " " " " " " "
Acts 1:8

go go go!

India Training.

Tonight we had a team meeting and training for the upcoming trip to India at the end of this month. We go to India, Nepal, and London. I look forward to the change of place.

I want nothing more than to be as affective as possible and so i'm learning culture, resposibilities, do's and don'ts, as well as our team unity as it plays into our own success for us and for God.

Best thing i heard tonight was "sure we might save hundreds if not thousands, but we might save just one also" It was music to my ears simply because i realize how easy i can make it about me and that allowed me to refocuse on my God and His plan in it all.

The ever popular Proverbs 3:5-6 sounds good right now.

Prayer for us as a team is coveted.

great song!

God's Creation

I just got back from a trip to Mount Whitney which is 14,496 feet.

We went up the mountaineer trail which is not recommended by rangers because it's not a marked trail. It's more so "hiker admired" for it's difficulty and free climbing bluffs.

Five of us went up this trail starting at 11pm Sunday night and didn't get back down until 9pm Monday night. We did end up getting lost and it sent us hours off the trail, causing us to be hiking for 23 hours straight with no sleep. We were freezing to the point of cuddling with each other, slightly sick from the altitude, we ran out of water, and climbed waterfalls and cliffs where rope was required, (yet we didn't have rope).

Point is that I have never seen God like I did. The way he created mountains, lakes, animals, and the best sunrise atop the highest peak in America. There can't possibly be a valid excuse for no God when you simply look at the creation of earth.

Just a thought while lost in the forest. .

Romans 1:19-21

GENERATE HIGH!: REFLECTION!

GENERATE HIGH!: REFLECTION!

REFLECTION!

Today my wife and I spent the afternoon storming around Riverside county having lunch, shopping, and loving on each other. I've never felt as troubled as i did today.

Aly and I walked around and were clearly on the same page with this. My attention was so focused on all the people. The way they looked, whether happy, sad, depressed, lonely, mad, frusturated, or just irretable, we saw it in their eyes.

We saw desperation, and we even talked to a young women who told us to our face that she was desperate for God, but so taken back by life. Our hearts broke as we sat there analyzing why? Our burdens were intense almost to the point of guilt for feeling okay with life. We simply thought what do we do?
(Fact is i know exactly what i'm called to do).

We were scared, sad, and disturbed by the fact that Satan was killing people from the inside out. When i got home I watched that Penn "You Tube" clip that pointed out the fact that Christians claim that non-believers go to hell where he said, "Don't you think they would talk to everyone if that were the case?" (Familiarity has breed contempt).

All I can say is that we were completly taken back by our conversations, observations, and brokeness, and what to do for them because it's not easy to drop life for the cause.

Just reflecting on a day through Gods eyes. I love you wife for carring for people.

"with great power comes great responsibility"

I realize more and more the dangers of my job. More specifically the part of planning, vision, integrity, diligence, execution, and prayer. The danger comes when I let anyone of those slip just a little. There are souls at stake!

Benaiah was the “man” in 2 Samuel 23. He killed a Lion in pit on a snowy day. He killed two sons of Ariel of Moab. He killed an impressive Egyptian man that had a spear. Benaiah took his spear from him and killed him.

He was honored among 30 men. Why? He knew his job and He did it.

Could you imagine for one second if he wasn’t prepared? Devastating!

There’s no respect in half way jobs, but sometimes I do it anyway. I learned quickly that's not okay even in it's smallest form. Whether pastor, mom, dad, student, employee, Christian, whatever, You wake up every day with a choice to do or not to do.

I want to be the man who has earned the right to take the spear out of the hand of the enemy because i have found favor in the One I work for.