Candidacy Update and a Question

Well I enjoyed a trip to the Upper New York United Methodist Church Annual Conference this past weekend.  It affirmed my direction and I was able to learn some new things.  I have also passed my Psych Evaluation and am continuing forward.  So that is the update.  I am looking to become ordained in the future as I progress through this process.  I am thinking about being a missionary/pastor in Ireland in the future.  We will see where that leads and if that is what God wants for me.

I want to ask you a question if you're there.

Why are you doing what you are doing?

• Is it for fame or fortune?  
• Is it because someone told you to?  
• Is it because you want to?  
• Is it because you're bored?  
• Is it because you feel obligated?  
• Is it because you feel you have to or it won't get done?
• Is it because you have no other choice?

Or is it because you feel called to do it?  That is why I'm doing what I'm doing!  It's because I'm called to this job, not only this current job of being an Information Technology person, but also my future job of Ministering for Jesus!  It may take time and it may be hard at time, but it's what I'm called to do.  God has put it upon my heart for many a year, 20+ years to be exact.  So I can't deny it any longer.  So I will continue to post on occasion and I will continue to strive to be what God wants me to be and try to stay off the fence.  No middle ground for me!  Not content to be luke warm any more!  I want to be On Fire, Alive, Free to be Who God wants me to be! 

-A Follower of the Way (Marc)

Cracked Pot How Do You Smell?

Cracked Pot How Do You Smell?

Clay pots are fragile, easily broken.  Yet there is a treasure in them, not an earthly treasure but a heavenly treasure.  Did you know that you’re a treasure and that you can have a power flowing within you?  If you don’t already have it.  Not a power of your own, but the overwhelming power of God.  His power is overwhelming, overflowing, bursting out, busting out, spilling over, leaking out and shining through the cracks.  Corinthians 4:7 - But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it will be evident that such overwhelming power comes from God and not from us.

These clay jars I am talking about are you and me and everyone.  These clay jars are cracked pots.  Did you know that everyone’s a cracked pot?  And that in each Cracked Pot is a treasure.  A precious gift of God!  It’s you.  We as cracked pots are letting God’s light, power, blessings, pour out, shower over, leak, and shine through all the cracks in you to all those around you.  You know it’s actually a blessing to be called a cracked pot.  We are all cracked pots.  None of us is perfect or completely whole.  But it’s in those cracks that we shine like stars.  It’s a blessing to be one that is used by God.  Because then God uses the cracks to bless others and to show others the Way to Him.

Now don’t get me wrong, being used by God doesn’t mean life is easy.  On the contrary it can be just as difficult as being without God.  Let me read 2 Corinthians 4:8-10 - We have all kinds of troubles, but we are not crushed; we are perplexed, yet not in despair;  persecuted, yet not abandoned; knocked down, yet not destroyed.  We always carry in our bodies the dying of Yeshua, so that the life of Yeshua may be manifested in our bodies too.

So as you can see we are persecuted, troubled, perplexed and knocked down.  The Bible tells us about the situation we will be facing.  It is what we have in life and we will continue to have it as long as we live here.  But it’s in those moments that we need to hit our knees in prayer and then we can stand strong.  When we take the time to go to God in prayer then we are not alone in the situation.  We like to say that God will not give us more than we can handle.  And reading from 1 Corinthians 10:13 it says  No temptation has seized you beyond what people normally experience, and God can be trusted not to allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear. On the contrary, along with the temptation he will also provide the way out, so that you will be able to endure.   So you and God make a majority.  So standing strong in prayer means we are supported by Jesus.

            We carry Jesus death and His resurrection within us.  In 2 Corinthians 4:11-12 - For we who are alive are always being handed over to death for Yeshua's sake, so that Yeshua's life also might be manifested in our mortal bodies. Thus death is at work in us but life in you.  So without the one we can’t have the other.  You can’t have the death and forget the life.  Or have the life and forget the death.  It’s together that they work.  It’s a matched set.  Did you know that each day we are dying for Jesus sake in everything we do?  In that we are being a servant for Jesus, a servant to Jesus.  While we are doing that we are being alive in Jesus.  We’re dying for Jesus to live for Jesus.  We’re dying to live more!  I like the role of a servant.  A servant is defined as a person who performs duties for others.  Jesus was a servant and yet He was also a leader.  I try to serve others and we should all try to serve others.  If we all tried to serve others than no one would be sitting around, we would all be moving around trying to help others.  Being a servant for Jesus is dying for Jesus daily that we can live in Jesus more.  That means we smell like Jesus.

            Let me reiterate that.  We smell like Jesus because we are dying in Him daily and in that we are living in Him more.  Let me read this to you for your thoughts, 2 Corinthians 2:14-17 - But thanks be to God, who in the Messiah constantly leads us in a triumphal procession and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of what it means to know him!  For to God we are the aroma of the Messiah, both among those being saved and among those being lost; to the latter, we are the smell of death leading only to more death; but to the former, we are the sweet smell of life leading to more life. Who is equal to such a task?  For we are not like a lot of folks who go about huckstering God's message for a fee; on the contrary, we speak out of a sincere heart, as people sent by God, standing in God's presence, living in union with the Messiah.  Not only do we smell like Jesus to God, but we are being led like in a parade, a processional of triumph, like returning victors.  Our fragrance is of knowing Jesus.  Think about when someone with perfume on hugs you, the fragrance lingers and sometimes spreads around you.  So it is with us.  We’re the fragrance of Jesus to God and we spread that wherever we go.  If your fragrance is strong enough the world smells it too.  If you’re servant attitude is shining like the Son then they too can smell it.  To others like us we smell good.  To those who are the least be receptive we smell at the least curious, similar to “Oh that smells good, where did you get it?”  And then to others that are blind and not as receptive we smell like death.  It’s because we remind them of what their future is like and what they don’t have.

            This leaves us with a difficult task, but not one that we can’t handle.  Why not? You may ask, because God is our supporter and out backer.  Jesus is right there with us and we can do it.  We are, everyday a witness to the world and we show life to some and death to others.  But we’re up to it, because we are “Cracked Pots” that smell like Jesus.  Giving the Good News, but not selling it.  2 Corinthians 2:17 - For we are not like a lot of folks who go about huckstering God's message for a fee; on the contrary, we speak out of a sincere heart, as people sent by God, standing in God's presence, living in union with the Messiah. We are speaking with sincerity out of the heart, not trying to make a profit.  We are a people of God, called out by God for God.  We’re standing with Jesus and letting God’s love flow into us and letting that leak out through the cracks to all around us.  Take your cracked pot and be a blessing as you’re being blessed.

Pastoral Candidacy

I have applied to become a Pastor.  So I am in the process of Candidacy for becoming a Pastor.  It is a long process and it takes filling out a lot of forms and writing up a lot of information.  I hope that my family can survive and that I have the patience needed.

We will see. . .

Here is where I am in the process so far.  I have declared my intent and asked to be admitted to the Candidacy program.  Now I just have to write up my Call and my official request for admission to the Candidacy program.  In the mean time I am filling in a lot of forms online, with more to to and assistance needed from my wife.

This is going to be interesting.

God's Call

God has sent out a Broadcast to the world.  He is calling out to everyone.  Rich or Poor, Young or Old, Big or Small, Short or Tall, Good or Bad, Every Race, Creed, Color or Gender.  

Will you Answer the Call?

Two days after Christmas 2012...snow storm!

Well Hello There,

It's the post-Christmas snow storm. It started last night and continued into this morning and a bit sporadically through out the day. I shoveled about 10 inches this morning to just leave my front door of my apartment. It was beautiful and I just really enjoyed the beauty of it all. As I was shoveling out my car also, that was an adventure in it's own right, I noticed someone who was shoveling out their car from a side road at my complex. I wasn't sure if they needed help, so I kept at my clearing out of my car. When I was done, they were still trying to get their car unstuck, so I went over and lent a hand. It was the least I could do. After several minutes we finally got a chunk of wood under the one tire that was spinning and got the car unstuck. That was an adventure also.

Driving to work was slow and steady at about 50-55 miles an hour. I was apparently braver, or crazier, than others, because I kept passing people. I just kept driving straight and just kept passing everyone. It was a safe drive the whole way. Now I'm just looking forward to getting done with work so I can go home and spend time with my family.

Christmas was wonderful as we got to spend time with my Grandma and a friend of the family.

Church vs. State

Just before I left High School I found a need for a Bible Study.  But since you can't cross Church and State, I had to find a legal way to have one.  I enlisted the help of the Bill Graham Society and there views on the matter and after reading over some legal papers on what was allowed and what wasn't allowed I approached a Teacher with the proposition. He suggested I have a talk with the principal and I did.  After some discussion in which I agreed that I would be the one holding the meeting and not a teacher, it was agreed that as long as it was not run by a teacher it was okay.

I had to jump through hoops to make a Bible Study during lunch hour a reality.  Just because Church and State regulations.  I didn't see the reason behind it then and I still don't see the reason behind it now.  I am a professing Christian, a Follower of Jesus, a Disciple, and an Apostle.  I am currently being mentored to be a Pastor.  I don't see why there needs to be such a divide between what can and can not be done in Schools when it comes to religious freedom.  Nowadays it is only right and acceptable for teachers to discuss all different forms of religion in public schools when those topics arise.  If the teacher is even allowed to discuss the topic of religion.

It isn't that we have taken God out of the Schools or that we have prevented Him from being involved in the Public school system, it's that we mentally block all that God is from being present.  God is not someone you can keep out of a location.  You can ignore God, but He is still there.  God was there in China and in Connecticut and He felt the pain, He felt the agony of what the victims and the attackers.  He witnessed it and was hurt by the outcome.  Someone may ask, "Why didn't God stop it?"  I would ask "Do you stop everything little thing from happening to your child each and every day?"  No of course not.

God has given us free will.  We make choices each and every day.  Some of them bad and some of them good.  I don't claim to know the mind of God, but as a parent I know what I can and can't do for my child.  I can't shield him from everything.  I can't stop him from being hurt or from hurting others.  It happens and I can't protect him from every little thing.  What I can do it try to train him for what is right and wrong and direct his way so that when he grows up it he will continue to do what is right.

I believe God has given us that same option and responsibility.  We are allowed to make mistakes and we for the most part know what is right and wrong.  We also know what is the way to live that is right and we know where to find the instruction manual, (The Bible).  God is right there beside us each and every day, whether we like it or not and whether we believe in Him or not.  You can refuse to believe in God and you can believe in something like evolution, which takes more faith than believing in a God who created everything and loves us and wants the best for us.

We never kicked God out of schools, we just started ignoring Him.

Meteor Shower, God is Awesome!

Last night my family went outside around 8 pm to see the Geminid or Piscid Meteor Shower.  Since they're both happening at the same time frame, not sure which or of it was both that we saw.

Take a look here for more information about the meteor showers.

Anyways, my son saw his first Meteors that night.  He is 11 and it was so special to have him see something that God planned.  God set in motion such wonderful and amazing things to see that I can't believe some people don't believe in divine creation.

We saw about a dozen and are planning on going out again tonight after we see the Hobbit.  I think it will be awesome and I just can't wait for both the Hobbit and so see more Meteors.

What was even better was that this morning I went for my 2 + mile jog and when I stepped of the front stoop and looked up I saw another streak over head.  During my jog, I checked the sky every so often, but nothing that I could catch.  After my jog I turned around just in time to see the biggest Meteor go streaking over our Apartment complex and break up.  It was a slow one, large and bright and it broke up at the end just before it went out.  So I saw two other chunks light up and then go out.

God is so Totally Awesome!