God's Love Letter to You

It's amazing that when we like someone, we do all sortsof things for them. We send flowers, we give gifts, and, my favorite, we like to write notes to the one we love. God is no different. We see the flowers he gives us every spring, and the gifts he gives us in the form of the many blessings he gives us. Yet we sometimes walk right past the love note He's sent to us. His word, the Bible, is that love letter. It's the anavoidable truth that God is not some distant creator watching what happens to His creation, or that He doesn't get directly involved in the lives of people. On Every page, if you truly are looking, you can see how much He loves you. Some passages, like 1 John 1:5-10 speak about how awesome He is and the power of His grace and love:

"5This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.


8If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives."

I love this! God is light, in him there is no darkness! He is faithful and just to forgive us! This gives me comfort and hope for my life in a world full of darkness.

I want to challenge you all to pick up god's love letter once a day. If you don't know where to start, begin with 1 John.

If you want to hear about Jesus, there's Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. If you want to hear a love song to sing to God, look up Psalms. There's a wealth of love and knowledge that God has prepared for us to read and just listen and love Him with.

If you're struggling with an issue, Pastor Brett and I will be happy to help...post your issue, we'll find the verse that corresponds with that issue. If you want to talk about reading your Bible more, post it, and we'll talk!

I love you guys so much, and pray for you daily

In Christ,

Brian.

In peace with your crush

So this last thursday at IGNITE we talked about just being in a divine romace with God. letting your heart just trust in Him, being excited about just being in His presence, always wanting to talk to Him like He is your crush. What an amazing night seeing you all come up and pray that prayer. What an amazing generation that has chosen to fall deeply in love with God.

Today I had so much going on, planning for the Mojave trip (which is going to be awesome), planning the Tuesday night IGNITE high school, making sure everything is in order for the things we are doing for the summer, needless to say I was stressed out, and i totally forgot to do my time with God, I like all of us forgot that He is my crush, the one i should seek after daily. like I said Thursday i have been reading through Psalms and Proverbs and just journaling the journey that God is taking me through.

So I turned off my computer, sat back in my chair at my desk, took out my iPod and put on some worship music, and then I read this amazing verse in Psalms.

Psalms 4: 2-5 "How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame? How long will you love delusions and seek false gods? Know that the Lord has set apart the goldy for himself; the Lord will hear when I call to him. In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent. Offer right sacrifices and trust in the Lord."

How amazing is that love letter, and right when i read that, i felt this great peace come upon me and i felt so comfortable, i closed my eyes, listened to worship music and got lost in the love of God. what a beautiful and amazing moment.

I want you to focus on what David wrote when he said "when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent, offer right sacrifices and trust in the Lord" So today and tonight i want to challenge you to do something, go in your room, lay on the bed or get in a comfortable chair. take out your bible, turn on your iPod and listen to christian worship, read some scripture, and then just rest there, ask God to meet you their, and just be in peace... let your heart feel love from Him, what an amazing God we serve, just spend time with Him, remember He is calling us to a divine romance.. and what a romance it is.

Brett

thursday!

I know what you thinking........ why is there a picture of eggs on this blog....... Well let me tell you something, this thursday I have given the go ahead for Brian Doyle to preach.... and he is gonna do something really cool and it might involve and egg, but you got to come to find out. BRING YOUR FRIENDS, this series is all about outreaching and inviting our friends to church, make sure that you are being the salt and the Light to the world. I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE WHAT HE IS GOING TO DO WITH THE EGG!!!

In Him,

Brett

letter from brandon

Dear Middle Schoolers,

Well, I'm sitting here in my barracks and it is 6:40pm and the day is pretty much done far as now. Soon it will be time to take advantage of the 9, yes I said 9 hours of sleep they have decided to give us tonight (this is very very rare). Its hard to believe that I have been here at Fort Knox for as long as I have, I have only 3 more weeks (21 days) left here and by the time pastor brett gets this to post up it will be more like 15 days left or so. I graduate on the 6th of May and as much as im looking forward to that, I am really excited and looking forward to the birth of mine and lindsays son! i can't wait to officially become a dad! i miss all of you like crazy and i know with jared also gone now it probably feels a little weird at times. just know that it doesnt matter who is helping pastor brett or who is leading worship for as long as christ is FIRST in their lives and HE is FIRST in our own lives God will bless it (the ministry and the lives of those individuals) greatly! I am excited to hear that youth group is growing. That means all of you or some of you are answering God's call to share the good news, to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know pastor brett has  great things in mind that i know God is in 100%. thank you to those of you who have been able to write me. It puts a big smile on my face when i get them and read them. I can truly see God at work here. I don't know all of what you have heard but recently I have had thechance to speak at our church service on Palm sunday and i have been asked again to be apart of the service this sunday on the 18th (so by the time you have read this it will be already of past) i truly believe with all my heart that God has me here in the army for a bigger purpose than i had first thought and i am excite to explore that call! well, i got to go now (time to shower and go to bed). again i miss you all and remember to keep god FIRST in your lives at ALL times.

In Christ,
Brandon Sweeney

write me at:

Mailing Address:

PFC Sweeney

C. Co, 1-46 IN 4th PLT

3576 Wilson Road

Fort Knox, KY. 40121-5728

Salt and light

This thursday were gonna talk about being the salt and light of the world, its interesting, I had one of the creative team members come up to me the other night and ask me "Brett, i was reading acts the other day and i started to ask, why don't we have these big numbers of people coming to God like it did in acts, it was like thousands of people"

After a while i had to think but the answer was pretty clear and as well it was pretty harsh, i looked at him and i told him "because now days people don't really want to follow God, they want to just act like christians on sundays and thursdays and tuesdays."

I then started to ask him, when was the last time you met someone who wasnt a pastor that was just on fire for the Lord and actually living out their faith, he was surprised but realized it was true and commited to starting to get on fire for God and spend 30 minutes a day in deep study and prayer.

I want to challenge you all to think about this, don't be a sunday, thursday, or tuesday christian, be someone who actually takes their faith serious and see where it leads you, just read Psalms 1:1-3

In Him,

Pastor Brett

P.s.
THIS THURSDAY IS GONNA BE AWESOME, BRING SOME FRIENDS AND DON'T FORGET TO GET YOUR PERMISSION SLIP IN WITH YOUR $50 NON REFUNDABLE DEPOSIT FOR LAKE MOJAVE

Letter from brandon

Dear Middle Schoolers, Hey everyone, I hope and pray that this letter finds you all well. I miss you all very much but I know you are all doing great with staying on fire for God and for those of you who said you are praying for me (or will be praying for me), thank you. I truly believe now that God has me here in the Army for something big. I have already had the chance to share with people about God and 2 of them came to church today. God has also used me to help others though talk (counsel) and prayer. So much so that the guys here are all calling me either "Rev" or "Preacher" and its nice because so far they all seem to like me (and I them). Let all that continue to help you all and encourage you to know that God can and will use you whenever and wherever you are. I get so excited when someone here asks me to pray or lead a quick study. Things here aren't that easy, but they aren't all that hard either, it just takes a lot of being quite, paying attention, and focus on the task at hand. When you think about it, its a lot like a Christian's own walk with God! Sometimes we need to be quiet, pay attention (listen), and focus on the prize/goal. And as I end this letter, it is my own prayer that you would be still, listen for/to God, and focus on the prize (His promise) at the end. That you would live for Him with EVERYTHING you have and EVERYTHING you are. I love and miss you all (even you too leaders, Pastor Brett, and Jared) and I am waiting on letters from you all (ONLY letters). Stay strong in our Lord and let Him use each of you for His glory! In Christ, Brandon Sweeney Mailing Address: PFC Sweeney C. Co, 1-46 IN 4th PLT 3576 Wilson Road Fort Knox, KY. 40121-5728

Power

It is interesting, a month ago my wife and I were in a lot of debt when it comes to credit cards, but we were still spending like the world told us it was ok to spend. After a while my brother told raquel and I about this program that he is doing. Its a financial program based off of biblical principles. It was hard at first but now raquel and i are getting rid of our debt slowly and bring able to honor God with our financial decisions. Its funny what happens when you believe the lies of the world and you don't look at what the bible has to say about the situation your in. I want to encourage you all, as I am prepping for thursday night to look at some things the world has told you, now we have hit on some of these at IGNITE, we have hit on sex, we have hit on money being the reason to live, but tomorrow night were gonna hit on the fact of stepping out with our faith and being a true follower of Christ, were gonna talk about being transparent for God. I AM SO STOKED!!! SEE YA TOMORROW

In Hm,

Brett

Excitement

This Thursday we are going to talk about "taking your passion and putting it to use" i am so stoked about this because it seems that lot of times we as christians think its ok just to be a sunday christian, its ok for us not to take our relationship with God seriously and this thursday were gonna explore what the bible says about stepping out. James 2:14 read it :)

In Him,

Pastor Brett

ALL NIGHTER

I am so stoked for the all nighter that we are having on this thursday at 9pm till 9am and its only $3 per person at the door. were gonna have Wii, PS3, XBOX360, ARCADE GAMES, BBQ'S (YES I SAID BBQ'S NOT BBQ), POPCORN, SPARKLING CIDER, PROJECTOR SHOWING "DICK CLARKS ROCKIN NEW YEARS EVE ON THE SIDE OF THE CHURCH BUILDING, OUR WORSHIP BAND KICKING IT OFF, GAME GALOR, A PHOTO SHOOT, GAMES, GAMES, GAMES, AND MORE GAMES.) It's going to be the best new years party you have ever gone too, make sure you bring ALL your friends, the more the better were hoping to get 150 students there to party it out but if we do then that means we need all of you to bring your friends, lets pack this place out and have the best new years party EVER!. POST A COMMENT OF WHO YOUR BRINGING AND WHAT YOUR LOOKING FORWARD TOO!!!


In Him,

Pastor Brett

Mistakes

So today I was thinking about my past.... & honestly I thought of how ashamed I was and the meaningless purpose I used to live for. I thought about some times in college when I totally rejected what God wanted in my life and I did what I wanted, I acted like how I wanted, I pursued the things that I wanted, I dealt with things the way that I wanted..... WOW!.... the sad part about this, I still told people I was a christian, I still acted like I was a man of God. A lot of times I will look at my past and I will be so ashamed that it almost brings me to tears, I feel as if I don't deserve to minister and to be called a pastor. I feel as if I shouldnt even be allowed into a church. Praise God that He forgives and restores. Praise God that he loves the sinner. PS. 139:17.... .PRAISE GOD! STOKED FOR TONIGHT!!


The Sinner,

Brett

Etnies

Find what color the cat is in this blog and be the first to comment and you will win etnies gear

My brother once said "Brett i am so tired of people just being consumers of the church rather then being a contributor of the church". Now when I say church I am talking about the body of believers in this world (you and me) and the people that attend "The church". This statement always hits my heart about people that go to church and all of us Christians that are referred to as The church . There are two types of people in the church , consumers and contributors. Let me explain more...

"The Consumer"

There are the people in the church that just take in everything and really do nothing with what they learn and think that it is "all about me". These are the type of people that think that the church is there for "me". When they go and learn something new at church, they do nothing with it, and they sometimes just sit on the knowledge they gained. As well in their relationship with God they don't think of others or how to further the kingdom, rather they think that the cat is green God is just there for them.These are the type of people that when someone talks about serving, going out and letting people know who God is, or just taking part in what is happening, they ignore it and expect someone else to do it because they don't "feel" like it or they are just to concerned about their own life and their own agenda.

"The Contributor"

 There are people in the church that are contributors. These are the type of people that when they go to church and learn something about God they apply it to the people around them and they reach out to the people around them. These are the type of people that when at church they know that God cares about them and that they are important in his eyes, and that they should strive to let people know that God cares just about them as well.These are the people that don't think that it is "all about me", rather they think "it is all about the kingdom and being a part of God moving in peoples lives". These are the people that go to other countries and witness to people about God, these are the people that when they see someone in need they drop their agenda and help that person, these are the type of people that want to serve in the church and instead of thinking "someone else will do it" they jump to action because they know that God has called us to go out and live for Him, not to stay in a bubble and just be concerned about ourself.

Philippians 2:3-4

3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

 Matthew 28:19-20

¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

 It's not wrong for us to concentrate on our relationship with God or to even be concerned about ourselves. The church (that we go to) was designed for us to learn and to be in fellowship and to grow. But when that is all we do, we are not living the purpose that God has for us, That is to serve one another and to go out and tell people about Christ and his forgiveness and love. We all do this in different ways, maybe its being a good example and when people notice, you give Glory to God, or maybe its talking to one of our friends about God and encouraging them, or it could be serving at our church or helping someone when they are in need, or it could just be inviting people to church, or it can even be going to another country and ministering to people. There are so many ways that we can be a contributor of the church (the kingdom of God).

My question for myself and for you is, are you a consumer or a contributor?

In Him,

Brett

Blankets and CoCoa

BLANKETS AND COCOA

I am so excited for this thursday, we are going to have our first blankets and cocoa for middle school. This thursday we are going to have couches, lawn chairs, blankets, heaters and of course hot cocoa. Bring some friends and lets learn about the prophecies that told about Christ, i know it sounds boring at first but I promise, you and your friends don't want to miss out. BRING FRIENDS, AND BRING A BLANKET :)

In Him,

Brett

THANKSGIVING FEAST!!!!!!!

HEY EVERYBODY!!!

TONIGHT IS THE THANKSGIVING FEAST, WE ARE SO STOKED TO BE DOING THIS, LOOK AT THE PICTURE ABOVE, WE ARE EXPECTING SO MANY PEOPLE AND SO SO SO SO MUCH FOOD, WE HAVE A TABLE AS LONG AS A BASKETBALL COURT. BRING ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS AND LETS ALL HAVE A GREAT NIGHT CHOWING DOWN SOME FOOD AND BEING TOGETHER!!!

IN HIM,

BRETT

Thanksgiving feast

'Haha I love this old typical picture of a thanks giving feast. The mom, the dad, the two kids and a grandparent prayng over picture perfect food. Anyways thanksgiving feast is going to be nothing like that, tomorrow night we are going to CHOW down on some awesome food that is being provided by the parents. Its a time where we can all sit at a table and have a great time and just chill with each other and have our own thanksgiving as a youth group. I am so excited. Make sure you bring your friends and this is a great night to bring friends because they can get to know people so they will come back again.

In Him,

Brett

Etnies (Free clothes)

This first two people that comment on this blog at 7:00 pm will win!!!! you get to come to youth group thursday and pick out free etnies clothes, 1 item per winner. So at 7:00pm tonight make sure you leave a comment, first 2 comments win :)

In Him,

Brett

focus

Alot of times I get distracted from what I am doing...... if u have ever seen me preach you deffinatley know what I am talking about. It is so easy to get distracted. For instance when you are in class and the person next to you starts to talk to you, you automatically concentrate on that person and not the teacher, and like always that's when the teacher calls on you.... at least that is what always happens to me. But I have found that when I make sure and try hard to concentrate and to not let myself get distracted and I be intentional about it, there is no limitation on my focus. I say this because lately I have noticed that in reading my bible and in prayer I get distracted because im not being intentional. its the same thing when we feel close to God at church or we make big decisions for God and then during the week we allow ourselves to get distracted.

My challenge is this, start being intentiona about your prayers and reading your bible. find a spot in your house or backyard that will be designated as your prayer and reading your bible spot. Be intentional about your relationship with God and you will see such a change in your life.

In Him,

Brett

Etnies

This first two people that comment on this blog at 4:30 pm will win!!!! you get to come to youth group thursday and pick out free etnies clothes, 1 item per winner. So at 4:30pm today make sure you leave a comment, first 2 comments win :)

In Him,

Brett

Pride

So in the last couple weeks after talking with a bunch of our students at our youth group, I have realized something. We all have way to much pride and not enough humility and forgiveness. When given conflict with another person some of you get mad and think its time to attack that person that has wronged you in some way, and you are even able to justify why you are acting in such a "un-christian way". Some of you are angry about someone that has wronged you but you think your taking the high road by just ignoring the person even though your still angry about what they did, and you justify ignoring them to resulting in resolving the conflict because if you ignore them there is no conflict but yet they know and you know that there is anger on both parts. And some of you just let yourselves be walked on and you really don't talk about the conflict with the person and you just let it go, to where there is so much uncertainty in the air as to what is going on.

When did we as Christians forget why we are Christians? Why are we able to come to youth group? Why do we have so much joy when it comes to God?  BECAUSE HE FORGAVE US!

We all were the person that was doing something wrong to God, we were ALL the person that we might be having conflict with but our actions and our sins were towards God not someone else. God loves us and gave His Son for us so that we can be with him. And we sit here as christians and think we have a right to hold a grudge against another person?!?!?!?

Matthew 6:14-15
¹⁴For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

I want us all to think about this verse........................ Why do we think we should have pride and hold a grudge to someone and not fix the problem. I wonder what the bible would have been like if Christ held a grudge against people or he just ignored the conflict and didn't deal with it. I couldn't sleep this morning because of this and I have some versus for each person and there is two types of people I want to address....

1st person: These are the people who hold a grudge against people and either are mean or ignore the person they are having conflict with.

Matthew 18:23-33
 ²³"Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents^[a] was brought to him. ²⁵Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
 ²⁶"The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' ²⁷The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
 ²⁸"But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii.^[b] He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.
 ²⁹"His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'
 ³⁰"But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. ³¹When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.
 ³²"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. ³³Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?'

What this verse is about is God forgiving us (the king represents him, the first servant is us and the debt is sin) and us not forgiving others for the wrongs that they have done.  When we look at this Christ is telling us that if God forgives us of the wrong we have done, we have no right to not forgive others.

2nd person: This is the person who is frustrated with someone and just ignores the problem to avoid conflict or just doesn't want to deal with it.

Matthew 18:15-17
¹⁵"If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. ¹⁶But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.'^{[b] 17}If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

What this verse is talking about, is we need to address conflict and we need to be willing to talk to people that were mad at.

We are called to be people that honor the Lord and that when the world tells us to handle conflict a certain way, we should handle it like Christ would. And that in itself is what will change the world and the people around us for God.

In Him,

Brett

Respect for God

I think a lot of times we forget to fear and respect God, I was listening to this podcast of Chuck Booher (amazing pastor) and he was talking about the fact that as christians we have forgot how to fear and respect God.

Deuteronomy 10:12-13
¹² And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, ¹³ and to observe the LORD's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?

 Where has the fear and the respect for God gone in our country and in our youth group. So many times I see kids on their phones during the message or I see kids flirting with each other during worship....... don't take Gods love for weakness.... He Is the Creator, The Love, and as well.... the Judge. When worship is going or someone is speaking about God, we should be showing respect, we should be concentrating on what God is trying to teach us. When we are worshiping we should be concentrating on praising God, the one who gave you life, the one who is there for you when no one else will be, the one who sent His Son to die so that way you could live forever in heaven.

This Thursday is going to be so awesome, I am excited, I am going to get heated up on stage and we are going to get into the nity grity of life. I am so excited to see God work and to see Him bring us all to the next level in our walk with Him and in our times at youth group :) Lets impact the world.. .remember don't be on the sidelines, be where God is moving

In Him,

Brett

God Moving

I am so proud of you all, I keep hearing people telling me about praying with people and I keep getting prayer request from you about your friends. There are students giving people pieces of paper at their schools and they are writing down prayers to be prayed for. Prayer is so powerful, if you are one of these people keep it up, God is going to move and you will be a witness of it. But for everyone i want you to see how true prayer is.

Psalm 10:17

 ¹⁷ You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted;
       you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,

Isaiah 58:9

 ⁹ Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
       you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

Hebrews 10:22

²²let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

Isaiah 65:24

 ²⁴ Before they call I will answer;
       while they are still speaking I will hear.

Luke 11:9-10

 ⁹"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ¹⁰For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

PRAISE GOD FOR THESE WORDS OF PROMISE!! You see prayer is so powerful, God tells us that He will listen, He tells us He will answer if He sees fit, He tells us that it will build us closer to Him, He tells us that he will comfort us in it. PRAISE GOD!.

Everyday I pray that God moves in Moreno Valley among the students and so do some of the leaders, and every thursday me and the creative team pray for students to step outside of their box and live a passionate life for God and to let the world know they are loved by God.

Right now some of you at landmark are passing out prayer request cards, some of you at march middle school started a bible study and 20 kids attend, you also pass out prayer request cards. At our youth group no kids are sitting alone, at our youth group kids are coming for the first time and I see some of you welcome them with open arms, at our youth group I have seen you crying with each other and praying with each other, at our youth group I see you raise your hands to God in worship to Him, not caring about what people think, at our youth group I went from preaching 10 minutes to 30 minutes and you have told me how you want more and how you love it. You are inviting your friends to youth group, you are making a change in your lives and in the lives of those around you. I SEE YOU DOING THIS!! PRAISE GOD I AM BROUGHT HUMBLY TO TEARS. and all this is a result of prayer and God working!

God is moving at discovery and He is moving at our schools, we can't miss out and we can't settle down, we need to be on fire and passionate about what He is doing. We can't let people around us mess up our progress and our heart for God. I know that a lot of you are scared to step out, but God loves you so much, and prayer is a great way to do so.

This Thursday I am so stoked, we are going to talk about God moving, and God is definately going to move, Bring people from your school, let them know they are loved by God. Let God work through you. Let your friends come who don't know the Lord and let them experience true love for the first time. PRAISE GOD!

Amen,

Brett

Big Mistake

I wanted to put this movie up, 1) because its hilarious and 2) because we all need to realize that we make mistakes, but its not the end of the world. I know that a lot of you are truly trying to live for God and there are times when we mess up along that road. And the best thing we could do after getting knocked off the horse is to get back on and ride harder. I want to encourage all of you to not get discouraged when things don't go how you think they will. God is in control and He loves you so much, make mistakes... because that means your trying :)

In Him,

Brett

Hospital

So some of you might be wondering where I was on sunday and monday for the landmark bible study. Sunday morning around 2 A.M. I woke up with insane chest pains, I thought i was on the verge of having a heart attack, so I woke Raquel up and we rushed the hospital. When we got there the doctors hooked me up to all these machines and monitored me and gave me a bunch of shots and we were there for about 9 hours. It was a very long night, sunday and monday was a blur for me because I still had the medicine in me. Now the doctors want to run a bunch of test to find out what caused all the pain.

As I was coming out of my daze from the hospital, I realized something. What if sunday morning the pain I experienced really was a heart attack and I passed away. It really made me appreciate my beautiful wife and the life that I have. It made a cool breath of air that I breathed in mean more to me. It also made me think "If I passed away sunday morning would I be proud of the life I have lived for the Lord when I would met Him or would I stand there ashamed" It really impacted me.

So here is my questions for you, and I really want you to think about this, we really don't know when we are going to die, we might think its not going to be for a long time, but what happened to me sunday morning at 2am could happen to any one of us and it could be fatal. We could be driving home and get in a car wreck and there we go. If you died today, would be you be ashamed of standing in front of God the way you have been acting lately or would you be proud?

After you answer your own question, think, how could you start living or what could you start doing in order to make God proud.

In Him,

Brett

P.s.

I really missed you all sunday and monday and I can't wait to see you tomorrow night, Which is going to be awesome by the way.

Principle of the path

So I am reading this new book called "Principle of the path". It is amazing!!! So let me break it down for you guys and show you guys what it means for all of us. So this author talks about how in life we all take a certain path, we might have good intentions but ultimately if we look at our life and what's happened to us so far we have started a journey on a path that we haven't even notice. For instance, we have the intention of getting good grades, but look back at the times you haven't studied when you should of and see the result of the grade. Do that with anything...... Girls, I hear you talk about how you want to marry this great guy but yet sometimes you date any cute guy that asks you out. One of you might say "I want to develop a deep and lasting intimacy with God".... so you get up every morning and spend your time watching tv or getting ready instead of praying.

Basically what this guy says is that if we have a destination that we want to be at, we need to really think about the path were gonna take, meaning the intention and the decision were gonna make. For instance, we have been talking about "telling your friends about Christ" and I am sure there is a lot of you out there that is all for it.. you have GREAT intentions (meaning to do something)... now look at how many times you have talked to your friends about Christ... you see intention doesn't always bring result, but looking at where we want to be and making sure were staying on the "path" we originally set out to accomplish, which could be doing better in school, being an example of Christ on campus, inviting our friends to church, getting along with people (family members, friends). Have a goal but realize that every decision you make directs your path and will give you the result that your looking for or that you were looking for regardless of what you wanted.

Today I just spent time in prayer for tomorrow night and for all of our hearts to just be open to the path that God has for us and for us all to be wise in our decisions so that way we can look back later on and see that we did the right decisions to get the right results.

I am so excited for what God is doing on thursday nights and I can't tell you enough how much I love you all and how blessed I am to see God working in your lives. Brandon is going to do a great job preaching tomorrow night and you should definitely invite your friends. Remember, good intentions don't bring results, making the right decisions and stepping up and out for God does.

In Him,

Brett

Advice

"Give a man a fish and he will wont be hungry for a day, teach a man how to fish and he won't be hungry for the rest of his life"

This is a quote that I thought of on the way home after meeting with a friend from our church. We went to breakfast and he gave me advice on the future. I was fascinated by his words of wisdom and the way he has lived his life and the love he has for God. And it made me think, as we grow in life there are many things we learn along the way and many things we need to be taught. It got me thinking, I have many mentors in my life and they all meet these guidelines and help me, and that we should have certain guidelines as christians to who we listen to and why.

Proverbs 12:15

The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice.

Guidelines:

1) Find someone who loves God and who has a good head on their shoulders.
2) Find someone who is older than you and has been through some of the stuff you are seeking advice about.
3) Don't go to someone who will just agree with you because their your friend, go to someone who cares for you enough that they will disagree with what your doing or the direction your taking sometimes because they care for you.
4) Find someone who is honest about things and wont sugar coat them.
5) Find someone you trust, and that won't tell people your business.
6) Find someone who you feel comfortable being honest with, someone who you won't keep your brutal facts or actions from.

It is always important for us to have mentors or people that we get advice from, I hope this helps you

In Him,

Brett

Tonight

Tonight is going to be awesome, I can't wait! tonight were gonna talk about getting over our fears and comfort zones, I am constantly praying for you all that you can just live it up for God! only 9 1/2 hours till youth group ... I CANT WAIT!. make sure you invite your friends, were also a cool new game I learned while on the retreat.

In Him,

Brett

Jesus and today

I wonder what Jesus' ministry would have been like if He had a computer or a phone that he could text from. I wonder if he would have been busy doing myspace or facebook or texting his friends instead of loving on people. Imagine Jesus talking to people about God's forgiveness and those people were to busy texting their friends or even worried about how they looked so they put more importance on what they looked like and what people thought of them before they went to hear him.

Jesus was so revolutionary because instead of going with the social norm or worrying about what people thought of him (looks or actions). He wasn't wasting his time texting people or making sure his profile looked great. He was never worried about staying in his group of friends, because if He did, He knew that people wouldn't hear the message of God and that people would feel excluded and not experience His love. Jesus was all about making sure people knew that He loved them and that God has a plan for them.

I want you to think about some of these questions as I have witnessed them at youth group, at school, and on our profiles. When we come to youth group are we more worried about what we look like instead of coming and being excited about what God can do in our lives? Are we more worried about hanging out with our friends so we don't feel uncomfortable instead of making sure that no one is sitting alone and everyone feels loved? Are we more concentrated on our profiles and texting that we don't spend time with God? At our schools are we more worried about what people think of us instead of worrying about what God thinks of us? and on our profiles are we more worried about being cool instead of using it to show that we love God?

I wonder what would have happened if Jesus had an importance on the stuff we do, would his ministry been the same? would people have come and still come to know God?

In Him,

Brett

Actions

This video is hilarious, It is funny to see this kids reaction, and it's interesting to think that sometimes we can't help our reactions to things. Like if someone hurts us, or a situation at school. But there is something that we can control, the way we act and the intentions (the reason that we do things) that we have with life, the friends that we hang out with, the way we represent Christ and how we look at situations. Everday we are in school we have the chance to tell someone about God's love and we have a chance to pray for them. I want us all to think about the action of prayer and what we pray about. I want to challenge all of you to start praying for the people at your school, start praying for opportunities to tell people about Christ or for yourself to be more aware of how we portray Christ and that God will give us the courage to start talking to our friends about Christ. I truly believe that God answers our prayers (when He sees fit) and that we change from prayer and mature in our relationship with God. Start looking at yourself as an ambassador (someone who represents someone or something) for God and step out in faith and let people know who God is. I truly believe that God is changing the students of Moreno Valley, be a part of it, Pray that God will give you opportunities and step up to the challenge of letting people know who God is, invite your friends to youth group and love on the people at your school.


In Him,


Brett

challenge in prayer

so I am at this leadership conference for the high school students and I spent some time in prayer this morning for all the students in Moreno Valley that don't know God. I want to challenge all of you this weekend and everyday before thursday to take 5 minutes and pray for the people you know that don't know God or that aren't plugged into a church. Pray that God will give you an opportunity to talk to them and that He wll soften their hearts so they can come and know the Lord. I miss you all!

In Him,

Brett

Last night

Last night was amazing as I hurled glass bottles at a board that outlined a person and we talked about how we get distracted from Gods love for us and the purpose that God has for us and going out and telling people about the love of Jesus. I want everyone to really think about what hits us in life and what takes off the path that God has for us. I was so proud of all of you that came and worshiped with true hearts, never stop in your relationship with God, never settle for just doing good but in every situation honor God. Don't let life stop you from telling people about the Love of Christ.

In Him,

Brett

My dog Rocko

So lately I have noticed something about my cool dog Rocko. Everytime I have to go somewhere I put him outside, he hates going out side, in fact (it's funny) sometimes he will go hide so I won't put him out. But here is the thing, if I get a treat and take it outside he gets so excited about the treat he goes outside on his own not even thinking about the fact that he is getting put outside. Think about it, he is so concentrated on one thing that he forgets about everything else. And no I am not mean, because if he stayed inside he would pee everywhere haha.

Sometimes in life I think we get so caught up in the things that are going on around us that we forget or get distracted from what God wants us to do and the purpose that He has for us. It could be good things and bad things that distract us and take us off track.

Tonight we are going to talk about this and it is going to be awesome and a night of IMPACT, this is a great chance for you to bring your friends and for them to encounter God, we are doing something on stage that has NEVER been done before at discovery (no rocko will not be there just in case you were wondering)... its going to be awesome!

In Him,

Brett