Today we study Kurios ((koo’-ree-os)!
This is the greek interpretation of our english word “Lord.”

Definition: a person who has authority, control, or power over others; amaster, chief, or ruler.

See as my friend Doug had told me, “Many receive Jesus as their Savior, and not their Lord (Kurios).” He showed me that at times I even look at Christ as my Savior and miss the fact that he also to be my Lord. Lord is a word that usually holds great position as in master, supreme authority, or owner. See we must understand what a Lord is to understand the full gospel of receiving Christ as our Lord. See a Lord or man of authority usually rules over someone or something.

If we accept Christ as Savior to redeem us, than we must also accept him as Lord to DIRECT US. He now calls the shots! It means that we are taking a hands off approach to our lives and allowing Jesus to have full custody of our hearts, minds, and bodies. What we do we submit it under His authority and Lordship. He is our shepherd that cares for, guides, and corrects us. He’s my Lord that i wish to serve, make proud, and do His will. He’s a Lord that makes all things right, and has full authority of the heavens. He as MY Lord has full authority over me if I release myself to His service, and it is an amazing place to be.

See my Lord Jesus Christ ALWAYS has OUR best intentions in mind. We are now his mouth piece to carry out his word. He is just, and loving to all those that call upon and receive His name. He saved us, and now we give ourselves to Him so that we may one day live in paradise with him. See he is Lord of our future land, and Lord of our current life. When He speaks I wish to listen. When He calls to me to GO, I wish to be obedient (Often times this is VERY HARD!).

My father God, and Lord Jesus Christ love me dearly and because of this I can see Him as my Lord. The one who will guide my life, and in my surrender take care of every need. Name a GREAT ruler who doesn’t care for those whom he rules. My Lord is the rarest of all and his Kingdom shall reign for all eternity.

So how about it do you accept Jesus Christ as you LORD, and SAVIOR…..?

Often times I have heard this phrase, and only once have I said yes. Growing up in the church setting most of my life i have heard, seen, and asked this question to people. This is the basis of our entire Faith as a Christian is to accept Christ as our “Lord and Savior.” After sitting in my car the other day one of my friends had said this phrase, “See many people accepts Jesus as their Savior, but not as Lord.”

Hmmm…. What exactly did that mean! Unable to shake this question in my head I realized that we do ask one question for Salvation,  but there are actually  TWO ANSWERS! Join me as we look deeper in these two words. First off is Savior!

Definition:
savior [ˈseɪvjə] n.
a person who rescues another person or a thing from danger or harm

Ok so I see how this is rather simple. Do I accept Jesus as my personal Savior? Well yes Totally 100% I accept him. As do many others who come to see Jesus for the first time and have that experience. We see that Christ is our Savior and wishes to rescue us from all harm and as we surrender our lives to Him, He begins to do a transformation in us that defies the laws of this world. We see that in Him we can be made new whole because of His sacrifice on that brutal cross that saved us from our own iniquity. He IS our Savior, and so much more. He wishes to free us from a life of sin and move us into a relationship with Him. He can redeem us from our past and set us on course for a new life. He is our Savior and forever will be the one, and THE ONLY ONE that can set your soul into Heaven.

John 14:6
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Tomorrow we look at Christ as also our LORD the one we seem to most commonly miss, and/or forget….

I remember seeing a young boy on youtube once with what I thought was raw talent. I looked at this kid maybe 15 at most and saw the potential, passion, and zeal he had for music. He was a just a kid but was blessed with a miraculous voice at such a young age. He was soon becoming viral on the internet and “EVERYONE” was talking about the potential he had and when he would be “Signed.” (I myself am guilty!) I knew one day he could make it big, actually I hoped he would!

There’s always something about seeing a modern simpleton making into the big times. For some reason though there will always be opinions, skeptics, and haters. I’m not claiming to be a fan of JUSTIN BIEBER but I can say I think he has raw talent that many artists to this day do not have. I don’t want to hate on anyone so I will say this…

Justin Bieber has the talent that we need to see in today’s “auto tuned” culture. Many wanted to see him rise, and now they pray for his fall? What’s the point? We wish to see simple people make it BIG than when they do, we hate on them. Society is fickle and we are fickle people. Justin Bieber, can’t say I’m a devout fan but I can say I’m proud to see a simple “kid” make it to the big leagues. So instead of saying…”He sounds like a girl, he has no fans, he took no grammy”…I will say…”Glad to see young talent make it, glad those girls love him (LOL), and congratulations on being nominated for a Grammy!”

Lets face it I pray to God he holds true to his morals, and can be a beacon of light onto a lot of artists that have sold their souls to be famous. Fact is jealousy makes and drivers haters. Justin is doing more in his life of 17 years than most people have wished to do in their entire lives.

Guess Sho Baraka a christian rapper says it best….

“You can be a Pharisee or you can be a witness/
If we stay in the church the world callsl us religious/
If we go on mtv the saints think were trippin/
If we try to hit the streets then we’re some thugs in sin/

Sometimes I’m confused with who is the opposition/
I think I heard cheers when I fumbled the ball/
They claim they’re on our team but praying for our fall/”

So If starvation cause ultimately death than we have a HUGE problem, but we have a HUGE solution, JESUS!!

Deuteronomy 8:3
He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

Catch that?…”man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.“

We must be hearing, speaking, and reading Jesus every single day. Let’s put this into perspective, we eat everyday three times a day roughly. That means we fill our bodies up every single day. So does our spirit need nourishment? Well this verse is plain we need his Word EVERYDAY to survive. We need to hear, speak, read, or pray something every day for our spirit to survive and be nourished. We must be with Christ every day!

I personally have been in a spiritual hunger for quite a couple of weeks. I’ve read every now and again, but for some reason I have been so distracted that I just haven’t even had the desire to read God’s Word. My Spirit is quivering…I begin to think about this verse, and how I am willingly starving my Spirit. I know I love to eat (as most guys do), but I would never starve my body willingly…so why my Spirit?

See Satan wants anorexia Christians who feel weak  and can eventually die out He wants me to starve myself and for some reasonI willingly do. Even in these “drought” season’s though I know my God wants to fill me with his Word. He continually wants to talk and speak with us about the things He wishes to do. When we eat it gives us strength to fight, without nourishment we are further prone to sin. With his word we can…

Ephesians 4:22-24
that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

Im starving and I need to start caring, and help feed others too.

In fact I haven’t even read today…looks like it’s time to get off of Call of Duty and read…

Some thoughts I wish to convey from the heart:

1. How does the body react due to starvation?

• • Starvation is the most extreme form of malnutrition.
  • In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, death
  • Inanition- Exhaustion, as from lack of nourishment or vitality

Thank you Wikipedia!

So starvation is an absence of energy which causes the body to resort to tissues and muscles for energy. eventually this process begins to tear apart the body until the final destination is reached at death. Some of you may be asking, “Why such a morbid scene Matt?” I ask you to stay with me as I believe God is taking me on a journey of what this all entails. This is not a health lesson but I believe has a very valid point. First, we must look into what this starvation thing is to fully grasp the concept i wish to share on my heart. So for today we see this…

Starvation is:

1. Deadly
2. Unhealthy
3. A cause for fatigue
4. A way to cause serious Organ damage
5. The single gravest threat to the world’s public health

*I’m starving My Spirit and I Don’t Care…..

Tribulations come in and out of season, it’s a time of testing and growth. Somehow we are supposed to be joyful in some of the most toughest and most trying times in our lives.

God has asked us in

Romans 5:3-4

And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.

Ok so we are supposed to be joyful in hard times because we it produces our character and builds our faith and hope in Christ. I can understand that and I believe that is one of the hardest things to do especially when things are SO BIG it seems impossible to ever get out. Just think when  money is tight, car starts to fail, we get laid off, and life’s necessities need to be replaced what do you feel? Joy right? (WRONG!) Least for me I get stubborn, upset, confused. Well came across this scripture in my friday bible study and this was our discussion.

Job 1:7-12

And the LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?”
So Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”
Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?”
So Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? ¹⁰ Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!”
And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.”
So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

Our smallgroup came to this realization! As a father takes pride in his son/ daughter succeeding in life, so God rejoices in our accomplishments and relationship with him. GOD BRAGS about his servant Job to Satan, GOD is excited and thrilled in his son, and wishes his enemy to see his son’s success. This made us look at the verse in Romans differently all of a sudden. Romans talks about being joyful in tribulations, and it suddenly hit us. God bragged about Job, Satan in return wanted to test his faith, which brought tribulations upon Job. See we can take joy in tribulations because it comes after God smiles at you, and says “Satan see my son/ daughter?” Satan says yes, and God brags about your love for HIM. See trials come what seems to be after God bragged about you, so be JOYFUL in the trail because God thinks very highly of you, and LOVES YOU!

GOD BRAGGED ABOUT YOU SO ENJOY THE FAITH TRIAL!!

Teaching Karate in the Tampa area is an amazing job. I have been with Extreme Youth Sports for 2 years now and absolutely love my job. Kids love to come in with their awesome uniforms and loud “HIYA’s!” The passion and skill of these young 3-15 year olds amaze me everyday. God does some amazing things in classroom settings and loves to stop and teach me valuable lessons through his young ones.

Had a student who during class was putting on his “Sparring gear,” (Pads that cover body for no injuries) and came on to the gym floor for stretches and techniques. I look over and i notice him crying during the warm ups, and i ask if everything is alright and he says “yes.” As we continue on he continues to warm up and his dad motions me over. We go outside and have an awesome conversation about his son and where he stands with Hand- to- hand sparring. Apparently he has had a “bad experience,” that has “knocked him off his horse” as they say. He was now terrified to spar again because his experience had crippled his confidence and enthusiasm for sparring.

STOP! God begins to speak…

“Matt,

Do you see this boy terrified for whats about to come. The uncertainty in his eyes because the past experience that has crippled him? Can you see the fear that has slipped in due to one traumatic experience of getting knocked down, even though he has done this countless times? His experiences have shaped this new fear in him, and now he doesn’t want to spar. See you know he’ll be ok because your his instructor and you would never let anything happen to him. You watch for his safety and pair him with competitors that he can handle, but will also stretch his abilities. “

God wow I see now thanks!

We are no different than children you and I. We all have the capacity to be fearful and timid to situations. Our past experience has crippled us and caused fear from us moving forward. One bad “sparring” experience and we want out of the game. We cry, get scarred, immobilized! We want out even though God looks down sees our “safety gear, knows our capabilities, and would never match us with something we can’t handle.

I ask these questions:

What are we fearful of?

What past experience has immobilized our future?

Do we realize God our Instructor watches us and knows HE won’t give us anything we can’t handle?

But…But…Im scared

Although sometimes we have so much fear we to must trust OUR ” Instructor” allow the stretching to take it’s course and when we fall, get back up. He knows what we can handle and any experience that has crippled us into a state of fear can be gone with a simple attitude adjustment and a loud “HIYA!”  (Just Kidding) Know our past doesn’t have to cripple us, but can motivate us to keep up with the fight and persist on doing “HIS” ministry!!

Laptop battery life: 90%
Cell phone battery life: 100%
Xbox control battery life: 95%

Battery’s are an awesome thing but they soon run out of life and need to be recharged. This means the more you use the item the more life you drain from it. If you neglect to recharge the battery than your devices will become useless and won’t be able to work. Now if i was to tally my spiritual “battery life” that’s a different story.

Prayer Battery Life: 5%
Devotional Battery Life: 10%
Bible Study Prayer Life: 20%

WARNING: Battery Critically Low

We now have a problem. See I make sure my batteries in my xbox, cell phone, laptop, and ipod are ready to go each day, but my prayer life, and relationship with Christ is in a critical state. Only way to recharge is to meet my maker so I can be ready to go again. Diligently seek a relationship with him, read his word more, pray more, and all will come together for you through the day.

Only trick is to recharge daily just like you would any other piece of equipment. If you feel like your entering a critical get into the “charging station” ASAP. If your battery completely runs out it takes much longer for it to recharge. I encourage you all have the faith and diligence to keep pressing into HIM.

When you feel like you are experiencing small tremors in life what do you do? When we feel like there seems to be potential for a storm to come billowing through our town, what can we do? When the volcano is showing all sorts of signs that it will blow do we evacuate or bunker down? When a hurricane is in our presence do you go through the hardest part, and hope you’ll see the eye of the storm?

See when life gets tough and you don’t know what to do I have found someone i can run to at anytime. As I sit here listening to “Fall into you” by Phil Wickham, I can only think one thing……He’s here!!

See i have this fear of heights, i don’t like to fall for fear of being hurt. Fact is if i do fall i find myself falling back into him! So now i fall into him….because there’s no where  else to go. See he never leaves me, and is always searching for my heart. This Savior of mine is more than a phase he’s the only thing that is constant and never changes. In the midst of instability i can experience stability. God knows my heart, my fears, mistakes, failures, and i wouldn’t have it any other way. See when all things around me move to places i’d never thought they’d go he shows me stability and joy in the midst of pain. A lot can happen, a lot is happening and I’m faced with a choice Fear? or Faith?

God is my shelter in the storm, my refuge in the tremors, and when all is about to explode he is my shield. In him there may be hurt but he has a cure…..so now all i can do is wait, can’t run so it’s time to bunker down, do my part, and pray it all comes to pass as I hope for. If it doesn’t he’ll show me the way….In the midst…….I am SAFE!!

Apologizing.
Repentace.
Guilt.
Softness of Heart.
Humility.
Pride.

“I’m Sorry” Two words that can be said regularly but NEVER actually meant. I feel we must really know the meaning of Apologizing to really understand how the Lord works. We are called to repentance, and yet i can’t help but find myself apologizing for the same sin. Anytime I’m provoked to anger, or pride I apologize. I start to eventually feel like what’s the point? How many apologies can i give? Is it worth saying “I’m sorry?”

Fact is I sin, but I’m pursuing his purpose, glory, and love. He know’s who I am and willingly looks at me differently than a man who sins. He calls me worthy, son, Child of God, saved, forgiven, etc. Even when i sin again, and again, and again, he still calls me worthy? This is something so hard to understand, but yet so grateful that he is loving. I believe the words “I’m sorry,” are powerful words, but only when backed by the heart. I can apologize all i want, but if i mean it not with my heart than they are JUST words. I want to repent and when i apologize for my wrong doings i want the Lord to see my heart not just my words.

Lord you are just, and I repent of my sin, help my turn from pride, and anger. Help me see you more in others, and light my path. Lord I’m Sorry that what i do doesn’t always glorify you, but help me know who you are so that i can be a better son, boyfriend, brother, role model. Only you can make me like you, so i ask to die to self and to live for you. AMEN.

Due to time constraint i will continue the rest of this at another time…….Apologizing to God is great but to others can be a real challenge……..Part 2 coming soon!!