As P Diddy said, "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down"

"The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."   Psalm 18:2
"You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.  With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.  Psalm 18:28-29
There are so many things in life that are hard to do.  Things like:  keep a relationship, get a job, take care of your family, beat cancer, obey God, etc...  With things being so tough in the world it can be easy for us to get frustrated with the way things are going and give up.  I don't believe that anyone is born a quitter.  Being a quitter is a learned behavior.  It takes practice to be a quitter.  Thankfully for people who believe and trust in God we have help during rough times of life.  We have a rock, fortress, deliverer, refuge, shield, and a stronghold in Jesus Christ.  It's a strange feeling to be going through the valley of the shadow of death with no worries.  People don't understand it.  People don't believe it's possible.  Psalm 18 says with God's help we can advance against a troop with God we can scale a wall.
We have nothing to fear.  We have nothing holding us back (except ourselves).  There is no one or nothing that can stop us.  Why?  Because God is with us.  No one can hurt us.  No one can tear us down.  No one can stop us from completing our mission in Jesus.

IF GOD IS FOR US, THEN WHO CAN BE AGAINST US?

Seeing The Future

That is a question that everybody has answered at one time or another.  "What does your future hold?"  "What are you going to do now?"  "What's next for you?"  People of all ages have had to answer this question sometime during their life.  Most commonly this topic comes up with high school students getting ready to graduate high school.  I couldn't tell you how many times I've asked a student, "What's your plans for next fall?"  This question is also common to ask someone when they lose their job or quit a job.  This is not a bad question at all.  There will be times when we will have to have an answer for that question.

The problem with that question is that sometimes we simply don't have an answer.  Maybe you don't know what you're going to do after high school.  Maybe Community College?  Maybe a 4 year school.  Maybe a job.  Maybe laying on your mom and dad's couch.  I am now 31 years old.  I have a beautiful wife.  Two great dogs.  The best parents and in-laws that anyone could ask for.  I am working at one of the best churches in NC with a great staff and even better students and adults in the church.  Right now it seems like my life is clicking on all cylinders.  Then all of a sudden someone will come up and ask me what am I going to do in the next stage of my life?  They will say, "You can't be a youth pastor forever" or "Have you thought about looking towards pastoring a church?"

Truth is...I don't know what the next phase of my life has in store.  I don't know if I'll end up pastoring a church one day.  I don't know how long I will have a passion to work with teenagers.  I don't know.  What I do know is this.

My future is God's memory.

And so is yours.

"For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."  Ephesians 2:10  No matter what my plans or your plans are for the future, God is already there.  God had your life planned out long before you took your first breath.  Don't worry about the future and what tomorrow holds.  God is already there.  He has already blessed you with everything that you need for tomorrow.  

Your Future Is God's Memory

#follow12

This past weekend I had the amazing privilege to bring several students from FSY to the International Wesleyan Youth Convention in Louisville Kentucky.  I wish there were words that could express how much I love seeing middle and high school students connecting as one body with one goal of glorifying God above all else.

Once we got into Kentucky and checked into our hotel my prayer was that God would start to challenge and change us immediately.  When the first rally was over Friday night, I could already start to see several of our students' hearts being positioned toward God.  By the time the weekend was over we all (students and adults) were challenged to:  change our lives according to God's word, accept God's love for us, let go of the handle bars, and to rise up from a -2 to a 5.

My prayer now is that what God did in Kentucky wont stay in Kentucky.  This is not Las Vegas.  What happened there doesn't have to stay there.

Bring it home with you
Share it with the people at school
Don't forget it
Remember if God can do it in Kentucky He can do it in Asheboro

Other Observations
-High School boys like to play "fun run" against 6 year olds
-1 High School girl had gas
-Everybody needed a bathroom break but no one wanted to say it
-Madison Jordan can climb a tree
-Bus sleep is not good sleep
-The bus driver snores
-Jamie Grace signed Olivia's book

Thanks to everybody (parents and students) that made this trip a HUGE success.  Check out these video's for some highlights of our trip.

Video Highlight pt 1

Video Highlight pt. 2

@mywycon interview