I’m not discussing phobias or how you run up on a chair when you see a mouse.

There is the fear of not wanting to try something and there is the fear of not knowing how things will turn out.

If you have never done something before it can be scary. Sky diving would be one of those for me. I’m the kind of person that will say to you (as I’m safely standing on land) that I would jump out of a plane to sky dive. If I were in a plane and as soon as they opened the door for me to jump I know that they would have to throw me out of that plane. It’s easy to say you’ll do something when you aren’t faced with that circumstance in that moment. So because I’ve never sky dived I can have the fear of not wanting to do it. You may have been before and you can talk to me all you want about how everything will be fine. I will still be afraid so I won’t do it. I let my fear keep me from doing something.

On the other hand, you can have the courage to try something yet still have fear. You don’t know how it’s going to turn out but you’re still going to do it. I remember the first time I went to school and it was scary. I had a great deal of fear yet I still went. This is the fear of the unknown. We’re still going to take a chance even if we’re scared.

When God calls us to do something you can have Fear #1 - where you won’t do what God has called you to do because you are afraid. You may have Fear #2 - where you somehow have enough courage to try it but you are freaking out every step of the way. You don’t know how things are going to turn out and there are some legit fears that you may have… yet you still choose to obey.

The people in the Bible that obeyed God had fear #2. Moses went back to Egypt even though he had some fears. He didn’t know how it was going to turn out. Even Jesus himself had fear. He was in the garden the night before His death pleading to God to see if there was any other way. Jesus had fear but still made His next step.

I have some fears… but I don’t want them to be fears where I won’t even try (Fear #1). I want to be able to say to God that I know I’m taking a risk… but if You said to do it, I’m going to obey you even though I don’t know the outcome.

We are fearful people which is why God tells us throughout the Bible to not be afraid. He knows that we are afraid but we can trust Him. God is working on your behalf.

One of my favorite Bible verses: “Fear not for I am with you. Do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” ~ Isaiah 41:10 

I have had some awesome things happening in my life. I will say that the last few weeks have been great moments for reliance on Jesus. In the past 4 weeks I have…

- Experienced one of the most emotional draining moments of my life

- Learned and got to practice Christ’s forgiveness at a level that I never thought I would need or encounter

- Been more excited about people in my life and investing in them and believing that Christ is going to do great things through them

- Really started realizing more that I don’t need to compare myself to others and think I’m good because Jesus is the One I should compare myself to

- Learned that my step that Jesus is calling me to take isn’t everyone else’s step (for example: if God told me to not listen to certain songs then I shouldn’t make that the standard for everyone else and hold them to that) God deals with different things in our life and we need to be helpful and patient with each other.

- Learned just how hypocritical I can be while wanting to judge someone. They may be addicted to drugs and I could be angry with them wandering how they could do that when at the same time I can’t put the computer down for more than 5 minutes and I’m missing out on quality time with real people (not just facebook friends) and seeking Jesus.

It’s going to be a big year of change for me. Scared / excited… plus I’ll be 30. Dang… yet a guy told me today that I looked 21. Jesus started his earthly ministry at 30 so I can begin new things at 30. Jesus didn’t marry though… I won’t be following Jesus example in that area of my life. I will say that I will not fear, but will walk through things this year with courage. ~ Joshua 1:9 (Message) “Haven’t I commanded you? Strength, courage. Don’t be timid, don’t get discouraged. God your God is with you every step you take.” 

There is a difference between praise and thanksgiving. Praise is acknowledging who God is, and thanksgiving is acknowledging what He has done. Based on praise and thanksgiving we need to be grateful people.

One thing we talked about is that gratitude in never invisible or silent. If you really are grateful you’ll show it and you’ll say it. Don’t assume your spouse knows you are grateful for her, tell her and show her. Don’t assume your kids know you are grateful for them.

I’ve been thinking of ways to do this practically in my life. I had someone buy me a meal the other week and I was grateful. Since I was grateful I wrote a thank you card. I want to show it and say it because that’s what it means to be grateful.

I was actually grateful that I got to help babysit a very happy baby boy for my friends not long ago. I had my video camera and I shot all kinds of video so I could put a video together to surprise them. I wanted to show you the video I made.

Look for ways this week to practically show gratitude.

We then went to a hay maze. They had a dark one for the kids. It had black tarp all over it so you couldn’t see that well. I went through it. It would have been much cooler if I was 2 ft tall! I had to squat through that whole thing… I did it all for the kids.

I shared a personal story where I walked in on a guy watching porn… it was awkward. It’s shameful when someone discovers your secret. We need to set up accountability in our lives so we don’t have those secrets.

So for the guys… I mean EVERY dude should have this one his computer. There is a ministry called XXXchurch that has a free software (you can also get the pro version for $7 a month I believe) you can download onto your computer so if it goes to a site that has porn it will send an email report to a friend that you have chosen. I have it on my computer. I don’t want to have any secrets so I am held accountable to my internet viewing habits & I believe you should to. Here is the link to download the software & find out more info.

http://www.x3watch.com/x3watchfree.html

ALSO, I mentioned a book that EVERY GUY (yes teen guys included especially) should read. It’s called Porn Again Christian. There are honest discussions about pornography and masturbation. You can buy the book online but Pastor Mark Driscoll who wrote the book has it available in pdf format so you can read the book online for FREE! I read it in 2 hours I think. It’s a short easy read… 50 something pages if I recall. Read it NOW. I don’t care if you like to read or not. This is about your marriage, your godly view of women, and how to overcome sexual temptation and what it means to be a man of God. Just get it done! Here is the link to view the book

http://theresurgence.com/books/porn_again_christian

We carry so many objects and if something happens to just one of those it can cause our day to just fall apart. Just think about all the things you wear and carry in your pocket. You have your shoes, pants, shirt, wallet, cellphone, keys, & maybe you wear some jewelry. The wallet, cell phone, and keys are the most valuable items you have and they are probably the ones you lose the most. I’ve left my wallet at a restaurant before, I’ve dropped my cell phone several times and lost it numerous times as well. I shouldn’t even get started on my keys… wow… all the times I’ve lost them and spent hours ripping through couch cushions and tearing apart the house. The other day I spent 10 minutes looking for my motorcycle key that was in my pocket the whole time. It wasn’t the main pocket on my jeans, it was one of the small pockets that you can fit a coin in just above the main pocket so I didn’t even feel it as I put my hands in my pockets.

If one of the things that we carry around becomes lost it throws everything off and it creates frustration. They’re such small objects but they seem to do the biggest damage to our day. If you’ve ever had to walk around in shoes that were too small or even had a hole in them & it was raining, you get more mad with every wet soggy step you take outside. If you lost your cell phone you lose our freaking mind. If you locked your keys in your car you know the amount of time you’ve had to spend waiting for help while missing work.

I’m talking about these things because small things do matter. When you open a door for someone, it matters. If you change a lightbulb, it matters. If you stop for someone who has a flat tire and ask to help, it matters. Small things have the chance to make a big impact.

I don’t look at my car keys every day and go, “Yes, I’m so thankful to have you!” I say this because I had a friend lock his keys in his car and I let him borrow my vehicle. A key is a very small object yet it can change everything in your day. I was glad to help him out, I’m not complaining… it just made me think about how much a small object can have a big impact.

Well using a screwdriver, a putty knife, and a curtain rod we got the door unlocked and got the keys out! There wasn’t any way he was going to pay $50 or more to have a towing company do it. It’s a good day. It’s encouraging to celebrate small victories in your day. We don’t celebrate enough. Maybe we think something big has to happen to celebrate like when someone gets engaged. Celebrate the fact that you were able to eat today! Celebrate that you made it home without a car accident (because yesterday I passed by someone who ran into the back of an SUV). If you can celebrate the small victories in your day then you begin to have more gratitude and that’s what Christ wants us to have.

25,000 is a big number but it really isn’t THAT big. I was calculating it today and if I live to be 70 then I have less than 15,000 days remaining.

I tend to think that I have plenty of time to do things. Whether it’s accomplishing dreams or spending time with friends. Some of you have lost either a loved one or a close friend this year. Usually when there’s a death people have regrets, “I should have spent more time with them.”

I like to shoot and edit videos. For a while I have been talking about making a movie yet I haven’t done it. If you keep telling yourself you have plenty of time, pretty soon time catches up with you and it’s too late. You’ve been talking about quitting your job for a while and changing some things in your life but it hasn’t happened yet. You keep telling yourself that things with God haven’t been going so well yet you’re still at the same place because you won’t do anything to fix it. You know you need to have some accountability in your life yet you haven’t asked one person to help you.

Really, time of this earth seems to go by soooo slow at times (especially at work or even school). If we compare time on this earth to eternity, then our life is just a vapor compared to eternity. So with the days you have remaining, how will you spend them? I’ve had 10,000 days that I’ve used up already. I will NEVER get those back. Life is too short to stay angry and carry bitterness. I can honestly say there isn’t one person that I’m angry with right now. I’m in good standing with my relationships. I realize how fast life goes by. Jesus is the only one who fills the voids in my life.

I’m looking forward to being with Jesus forever one day. I do believe there is life after death… I will always hold onto that. So with this life, I’m ready to take more risks… I’m ready to challenge people to commit to Christ. I will be forgotten one day when my days are up. The only thing that matters is living life for the one who risked it all for me… the remainder of my days will be filled with hope and love. Thank You Jesus!

I guess I better start making better use of my time. Going to contact some friends now…

2 Corinthians 5:17 - If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation, the old has gone & the new has come.