In The Battle

I sat down tonight... and was thinking of something else... when a voice came to me tonight... You see... earlier in the night I started asking... God, what do you want me to read? The answer came loud and clear... John 5.

So... I sat down to read... I think... ok... you want me to read about the man at the pool who Jesus comes and heals him? What does this have to do with anything? ... And then it hits me like a ton of bricks. John 5:6, "When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, "Do you wish to get well?"

Notice that Jesus already knew his condition. After all... he was God and man. He already knows this man. He already knows every detail of this man's life. Do you wish to get well ... are you kidding me?... of course he wishes to get well... He's only been lying there for 38 years! (v. 5)

And then the real answer comes to me. Jesus already knows every detail of my heart... and yours as well... and He asks you... Do you wish to get well?... Well of course we do! ... and then I realize... Wow... Jesus... is inviting me into something here... He's offering me the chance to be healed of things that I have dealt with for some time now. Jesus is willing to take away all those hurts... all those things that you need healed from. Sin is the sickness of mankind... and well... Jesus is the cure. He is willing to come into your heart and mind and clean out those things which haunt you. Lust, pride, envy, jealousy... He's taking those from you... all that and more.

Posted by DJ at 8:25 PM | 1 comments  

Delicious - Foodie (blog) from Fellowship Church on Vimeo.

Check out this video from Ed Young... Some pretty good stuff. I was blown away by the message that God poured through him.

Posted by DJ at 6:57 PM | 0 comments  

Check out the sermon by Pastor Mike on the talkshoe widget on the right... It's definitely worth a listen!

Posted by DJ at 8:07 AM | 0 comments  

One thing that I have always struggled with is my sexuality. Pornography as we know is everywhere. Here are a few statistics.

When it comes to online pornography:

There are roughly 4.2 million pornographic websites. (12% of all websites)
Daily pornographic search engine requests: 68 million (that's 1 in 4 of all search engine requests)

Internet users who use porn: 42.7% (are we scared yet?)
Average daily pornographic emails/user: 4.5 per Internet user
Monthly Pornographic downloads (Peer-to-peer): 1.5 billion (that's 35% of all downloads)

So why do I bring up these stats? It's a little shocking... isn't it? And here is what I have to say. It doesn't have to be this way. So many guys want to be free of this. I know I did.

One thing that really stands out to me about these guys are... that they live like their is no villain in there lives. Now.. what do I mean about that?
Simple. Satan only comes to steal, kill, & destroy. And make no doubts about it... he is out there and always plotting his next move against you.

Jesus warns us about Satan.... "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep." (John 10:10-11)

Now the good news... Notice Jesus says... that the good shepherd gives his life for his sheep! Jesus stands in the gap for us. Think about all the super hero movies you have ever watched before in your life. Superman... Batman.. Spiderman.. Don't they always risk themselves and their lives for the lives of others? How much greater then is Jesus who GAVE his life for us?

There are a few resources out there for guys to be accountable with others. www.xxxchurch.com has free software (yes I am currently using it) that keeps a record of what you have looked at online and then reports it to two people. Another software program is comes from www.covenanteyes.com It's not free but it is a very good tool as well.

The real thing that works for me is to find people who would hold me accountable and to uplift me to stay in the battle when I had fallen. I've decided that beating people who are already beaten just doesn't quite cut it.

Posted by DJ at 8:41 AM | 3 comments  

This video speaks for itself. I just thought I'd share it with everyone.

Posted by DJ at 8:25 PM | 0 comments  

As hurricane Gustaf moves out of the region I couldn't help but think about the disaster of Katrina... not to mention what Gustaf has done. And that got me to thinking about the disasters that happen in life. So many of us encounter "disasters" in our lives. I'm about to share some real stories that are hard for me to talk about. First off... I love my dad... and I miss him dearly. There are some things that happened between us that I will never forget. I'm about to share a few of those scars and shed a little light about the way I think that effects me.

Now to those of us in the Moss family... who are close enough to know about this story... I guess it could be titled "the fork story" and they would know what I was talking about. One night while I was sitting at the kitchen table... my sister, mom, dad, and I were all eating dinner, when out of nowhere I was knocked to the floor in my chair. From what I remember, the chair went straight back and I landed on my back. Once I hit the floor... my dad happened to be so mad that he threw his fork at me. I know no one will believe this, but the fork hit me in the rib area... and stuck. It wasn't a deep wound... (not in the physical sense anyhow). My mom ran off to get a towel... and to get something to clean the wound. It really wasn't all that bad as far as that went.


So... why tell this story? Because some of us have been wounded. My dad's alcoholism shaped me in a way I didn't want to be shaped. I find myself at times being just like him.... Especially to my wife. I'm not trying to give excuses but it hasn't been an easy road in my life. I think these disasters that happen in our life can sometimes lessen the person we want to be. I know I feel like I've been down that road.

Now for the good news... I Peter 2:24 says, "and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed." No matter what you have been through... Christ has laid down his life as the ultimate sacrifice for you. Your wounds are healed.

I have a podcast by John Eldridge up on my talkshoe widget on the right. Listen to him talk about his "ordeal". Take a listen and leave some comments. It's funny to me how the timing of things happens. If only we would listen to God...

Posted by DJ at 7:18 PM | 0 comments