What comes to mind for most Americans when they think of the word “thanksgiving?” Usually their mouths begin watering as they imagine stuffing, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, and a turkey fresh out of the oven. That definitely crosses my mind too!
This, in my humble opinion, is a problem. Don’t get me wrong! There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the American holiday of Thanksgiving. It brings friends and family together for a time of awesome fellowship. But for followers of Jesus, the word “thanksgiving” should provoke much more than thoughts of a delicious holiday meal.
Thanksgiving should be a lifestyle for Christians. Why? Because it causes us to remember what the Lord has done for us. All throughout the Old Testament, the Israelites are encouraged to remember what God did for them (Ex. 13:3; Deut. 15:5; 1 Chron. 16:12) because it increased their faith to withstand whatever circumstances they were in at the time. The same occurs in the New Testament as well (Eph. 2:11; 2 Tim 2:8).
This was a common practice for the Israelites. In order for them to enter the tabernacle, they had to pass through the “Gate of Thanksgiving.” This is what the psalmist was referring to in Psalm 100:4. Considering our bodies are now tabernacles for the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19), we too should enter His gates with thanksgiving when we come before His throne in prayer. If we “enter His gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise,” we can’t help but to remember what He has done for us in the past. This will cause us to have faith that He can carry us through the present. Thanksgiving also helps to lifts any burdens we are carrying, allowing us to pray more effectively.
But thanksgiving should not only occur in prayer. It should be an attitude that we carry in our day-to-day activities. Having an “attitude of gratitude” will put an end to any complaints that may arise in your heart. For instance, when that steak isn’t cooked as well as you would’ve liked, instead of complaining, you can be thankful that you even have food on your plate, which is a luxury many people in this world don’t have. Or when your boss is being unfair to you, you can still be thankful that you have a steady job, unlike millions of Americans right now.
If Jesus, the suffering servant, was able to have an attitude of gratitude (Matt. 11:25; Mark 14:23; John 11:41), how much more should we! So I encourage you to make thanksgiving more than a holiday. Make it a lifestyle.
After taking a long hiatus from blogging, I am now returning to bring you news about what has been going on in my life lately. God has been rocking my world like crazy!
First of all, you may have noticed that I am not posting pictures of Nicaragua, nor am I at home preparing to go on internship to the Philippines. That is because God had very different plans for me. Instead of going on internship, He asked me to stay at BCOM for another nine months to be a mentor for the new August class. I had been considering it for awhile, and, given that I have a strong desire for seeing the men of the church step up and be real godly men, I was more than willing to obey the Lord. I guess Psalm 34:7 is true...
Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
God obviously knew what else was in store for me while staying here at BCOM. He asked Holly to stick around as well and work with a traveling ministry team called Ring the Bell. It didn't take too long for God to finally give me the green light to pursue engagement with her! As soon as He did, I set my long-awaited plans in motion.
On Sunday, September 20, I took Holly out to Annie's Parlor, our favorite local restaurant. After having a delicious meal there, we began a long ride to Milaca, Minnesota. About 20 minutes before we got there, I blindfolded her. After arriving, I walked her a few hundred feet and stood her in front of a sign that said "Skydive Minnesota" on it. I took the blindfold off and she freaked out! We were going skydiving!
After waiting for an hour or so, we got suited up and went through some quick, basic ground training. After that, we boarded a small plane with our instructors and took off! After reaching an altitude of about 7,000 feet, the door to the plane opened and I jumped first. I free-fell for about 30 seconds before opening the chute. After it opened, we floated for awhile and it was so peaceful. The quietness and the view were both awesome.
After landing on the ground, I quickly got my gear off and began the preparations to... PROPOSE! You see, I had came to the place the night before and spray-painted "Will you marry me, Holly?" on the landing zone. As Holly came in to land, I could hear her freaking out as she read what was written in the grass. After she landed, I ran up to her, got down on my knee and asked her to be my wife. Her response: "Absolutely!"
So along with mentoring, a lot of my time is devoted to planning our wedding, which will be May 22, 2010. So with all that has been going on in my life, it has been hard to keep up with the blog. But now that things are starting to slow down a bit, and I am able to get in a routine, I should be able to update the blog a little more often.
I guess if I were to say where I fall on the Armenian/Calvinist thing, I'd say somewhere in the middle, but more on the Armenian side. I believe God allows us to make decisions in which both decisions would still be in His will. He just lets us choose which path within His will to take.
In his book "Found: God's Will", John MacArthur says the most important thing is to make sure that you are living in God’s will as it is laid out in His Word. Make sure that you are saved, steeped in Holy Scripture, living a holy life, submitting to right authority, and prepared to suffer for doing right. If all those are in place, then it is a good bet that your desires are attuned to the will of God. Do what you most desire to do. Never assume that God wants you to follow a desire that is contrary to any principle laid out in His Word.
I don't believe God has one set absolute path that we have to follow to be aligned to His will. If we are grounded in the Word and submitted to all those things John MacArthur said, I think God allows us the freedom to choose.
Biblically speaking...
“Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
--Psalm 37:4
If there was one set path, our desires wouldn't really matter. We'd have to stick to that one path anyway.
"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."
--Psalm 119:105
If we are grounded in the Word, we will know how to make decisions, and we won't make one that is opposed to God
I'm all for being led by the Holy Spirit, and I'm obviously for the power of the Holy Spirit now, but I don't think people take the Word of God as seriously as they should when it comes to knowing the will of God
I'm tired of hearing that there is only one avenue to take that is "God's Will." Any other path is wrong. I think there are multiple avenues within God's Will. As long as you're grounded in the already revealed will of God (the Bible), then you are okay.
If you make a decision and God would rather you go in a different direction, he'll let you know. It happened to Paul in Acts. He was on his way to Asia and the Holy Spirit somehow blocked his path and he ended up going to Macedonia instead.
God's not going to throw a lightning bolt at your head. He's a shepherd; his rod and staff will comfort and guide you. Only in the case of outright rebellion will he break the legs of his sheep.
So my challenge to you is to not get paralyzed in a position of indecisiveness... delight in the Lord, worship Him, and make a decision. Don't stare at the sky like the disciples did at the beginning of Acts.
...for the Father up above is looking down in love. So be careful little mouth what you say.
Sorry, I had to finish the song. Anyway...
"Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."
--Jesus in Matthew 12:33-37 (NIV)
I was reading this passage of Scripture today, and it just hit me how important our words are. According to Jesus, what comes out of our mouths is the indicator of what's going on in our hearts.
Here at BCOM, there has recently been a lot of negativity going around. I have been hearing many negative, cynical remarks concerning various things. Even things that should normally be good, such as a desire to go preach the Gospel, is being tainted by negative statements that are often putting down the ministry of BCOM. On another note, what we talk about most often shows what we love most. I used to love talking about sports and music (and I still do, to an extent). That was because in my heart that is what I loved most. But, as Christians, isn't our number one priority to love God with everything we are (Matt. 22:37)?
If God is to be our primary love, our hearts should overflow with that love. Therefore, since the overflow of the heart comes through our mouths, most of our words should be related to God. Yet I rarely hear Christians talking about God.
I love engaging in conversations about God, yet they rarely happen. It seems strange, and it often makes people, even Christians, feel uncomfortable. If you truly love God, I encourage you to start a conversation today about Him. You won't be disappointed.
I was reading Deuteronomy this evening when I came across this passage:
If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, "Let us go and worship other gods", ... do not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity. Do not spare him or shield him. You must certainly put him to death.
--Deut. 13:6-9 (NIV)
This just kind of opened my eyes a little more to how serious God is about His people not worshiping idols and other gods. Even if your wife or your children do it... put them to death. Obviously, we are under the New Covenant, and this is not to be applied to us now (literally, anyway), but it shows how jealous God is for our hearts. He will not share us with anyone or anything else.
Oh, I pray I will never turn from the one true God!
This layout has been fixed and returned to normal, so it's back on my blog. Whew! I really like this layout so I'm glad it's back. Sorry for the confusion!
So because my previous layout bugged out, and I couldn't get it fixed, I have switched to this layout. I don't like it as much as my previous one, but it'll do for now. Hopefully the other one will get fixed in the near future and I can switch back to it.
Sorry for the issues! More updates about what's going on in my life will be coming soon, so keep checking back!
Hey everyone! I'm not sure what the deal is with the graphics on my blog layout. I apologize for the issues it seems to be having. If it is not fixed in the near future, I will change the layout (which stinks because I really like this layout). Thanks!
If there is one thing I have learned in the last couple years of my life, it's that things rarely go according to how I plan them. Once again, God has revealed to me that my plans are not always his plans. Therefore, I sometimes have to change my plans. That is the case now.
In a previous blog, I mentioned that I would be going on a 16-month overseas internship to Vienna, Austria. However, the Lord did not give me any kind of peace about it or vision for it. After taking a week to fast and pray to the Lord for direction, the decision was made to instead go on a 4-month internship to the Philippines in January. Holly will be joining me there as well.
There are several reasons that I arrived at this decision, the most important one being that I finally feel like I am doing what the Lord wants me to do. I have peace about this decision. Outside of that, going to the Philippines will allow Holly to visit the midwifery school that she wants to attend in the future. This trip will allow us to network and build relationships, should we come back for her to attend the school. I am also looking forward to the ministry, which will almost certainly involve working with children and young adults (one of my passions).
The Lord is also moving me to make a return trip to Nicaragua this August. Holly and I, along with a friend of ours named Moises, are currently forming a team to spend three weeks in Nicaragua. For the first two weeks we will be ministering to the children and families in the Managua dumps. We also want to reconnect with the kids we met on the first trip (such as Jimmy in the picture here). The third week will be spent aiding Adam Todd at Campo Alegria (the camp we worked at in my previous trip).
Please pray for Holly and I as we prepare to embark on the adventures God has put before us. Also, please pray for finances for these trips, as well as for Holly's remaining BCOM tuition.
Whew! That was a huge update that I'm sure caught some of you off-guard. I've found that God's good at doing that.
I'm very sorry for the lack of updates. Life here at BCOM has been very busy lately. I am planning on sending out an update very soon, so please keep checking.
Also, I'm not sure what's up with the missing images on my layout. I may have to get a new layout if it isn't fixed soon. I'll wait awhile longer though.
Hey everyone! I apologize for how long it has taken me to post on here about how my trip to Nicaragua went. Between school, catching the flu, and spraining my ankle, my life has been nothing short of chaotic since I've been back in the States.
But now I am finally able to sit down and write out a short description of what happened on the trip. So, here we go!
After arriving in Nicaragua late due to my flight being delayed, I joined my team near the capital city of Managua and spent the night there. It was hot and humid, which made me feel right at home (I miss Charleston!).
Saturday was an eventful day. First, we went to the dumps of Managua to visit and minister to the families living there. It was a sight to behold. Families live in little metal shacks. The boys spend their lives sorting through trash, while the little girls are sold into prostitution at around fourteen years of age. Anyway, I spent most of the time there playing with two little boys named Jeppi and Antonio. Jeppi loved getting on my shoulders, using my hair as reigns, and saying, "Go cow!" Haha, it was a blast!
After the dump, we visited a volcano. It was a breath-taking view that caused me to worship the God of creation.
After the volcano, we began driving to the camp that we would spend the majority of our time at. However, it didn't take long for the enemy to cause trouble for us. About two-thirds of the way there, our bus broke down. We were stuck on the side of the road for about five hours. We spent that time worshiping and talking. It actually turned out to be a good group-bonding experience, despite the fact that many of us were dehydrated and feeling sick. Eventually we were able to make it to camp and get to bed.
The camp, Campo Alegria ("Camp Happy"), is an absolutely beautiful place. It is a few cabins right on the beach of Lake Nicaragua. There are two volcanos in the middle of the lake. It was amazing!
After spending Sunday getting the camp ready, the kids arrived on Monday. We split them up into different groups. My group was Team Blue (Grupo Azul). We introduced ourselves to them and immediately began loving on them. Throughout the three-day camp, the kids swam in the lake, learned some basic English, made crafts, played sports, and, most importantly, heard about the love of God and the message of Jesus Christ.
There were a few kids that I connected with, but Jimmy was the one I connected with most. He was kind of the runt of the group. The other kids pushed him around a lot, and he usually kept to himself. So I took him under my wing and loved on him. He loved to ride on my back and dig holes on the beach. As he was leaving, I told him that God loves him and I do too. He began crying and saying he didn't want to leave. I was glad to know that God used me to touch his life and love him like Jesus loves him.
We dealt with kids from abusive homes, dropouts (at second grade!), and others. We gave them hope, a hope that there is life beyond the dumps: the life that only Christ gives.
After the kids left, we spent a few days doing construction at the camp in order to be a blessing to Adam Todd, the long-term missionary there.
Our last day was spent touring and shopping in San Juan del Sur and Masaya. We ate lunch at a restaurant called "The Iguana", where I tried a bite of cockroach. Yup. I ate cockroach.
Well, that was my trip to Nicaragua in a very small nutshell. If you'd like to know more details, just ask me!
Praise the Lord for everything he did with us and the kids. Amen!
Hey everyone! I'm writing this blog to you from Campo Alegria in Rivas, Nicaragua. We are setting up the camp for the kids who will be arriving tomorrow. I don't really have time to write a whole lot, but trust me... I'll have plenty to write about when I get back to the States. Keep us in your prayers! Thanks!
This is a video someone from Bethany posted on Facebook. I just can't wrap my mind around the fact that people actually think that this is okay and that it's not murder. Tell me what you think!
As I mentioned in my previous post, Holly and I have made a decision on where we are going for our 16-month internship with Bethany. I didn't want to say yet because we hadn't yet been officially accepted into the program.
Yesterday, however, we finally received the letter letting us know that we are accepted and where we are accepted to. So, without further ado, Holly and I will be spending 16 months in...
VIENNA, AUSTRIA! Population: 8.3 million (1.7 million in Vienna) Religious Demographics: Catholic 65.8%, Protestant 4.7%, Muslim 4.2%, Other 3.5%, None 17.1%
Austria (German: Österreich), officially the Republic of Austria (German: Republik Österreich), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The capital is the city of Vienna on the Danube River.
Austria is seen as a "post-Christian" nation. Although most Austrians claim to be Catholic, a lot of them are not even involved in the Catholic church and most of them don't even know what that really means. The children, especially, call themselves "Christians" without even knowing who Jesus is. This causes them to turn to Muslim refugee children, who are very firm in their beliefs. It is important that missionaries be sent to Austria to counter the influence of Islam and bring the light of love of Christ to the Austrians (especially the children).
In January, Holly and I (along with a few others) will be flying out to Vienna to begin our internship. We will spend the first four months learning the national language (German) and just getting acquainted with the culture. Then we will begin getting involved in ministries (or possibly starting our own if we feel led to do so) in Vienna and the surrounding areas. We will also likely have opportunities to travel to other places such as Rome, Italy and Berlin, Germany.
Ministry opportunities will include street evangelism, youth work, children's work, church work, desktop publishing, graphic arts, supporting forgotten people groups, and working among Commercial Sex Workers/human trafficking.
Please pray for Holly and I as we begin raising the funds necessary to go to Austria. I will be sending out information on how you can get involved in this ministry in the near future. Also pray for the people of Austria, that their hearts will be softened and open to the good news of Jesus. Pray for the internship team that is currently there as well.
But most of all, pray that we continue to seek the Lord above all else.
I just wanted to give an update about what's going on in my life right now.
First of all, I am currently trying to start building my Ministry Team. This is a large group of contacts made up of people who will support my ministry (financially and/or prayerfully) as well as receive news and updates from me regarding where I am going and what I am doing. If you are interested in joining my Ministry Team, leave a comment here or send me an e-mail (adam.hunter@bcom.org) with your phone number, e-mail address, and home address. Thanks! Secondly, Spring Break is coming up here at Bethany, and the Lord has provided an incredible way for me to spend it. I have been given an opportunity to travel to Nicaragua for 9 days! We will be spending a lot of time with Nicaraguan children, showing them the love and light of Christ. We will also be working on some construction projects and various other ministries. Please keep the Nicaragua team in prayer as we raise funds and prepare to go.
Lastly, Holly and I have finally made a decision regarding internship! We are definitely going on a 16-month internship, but we are not making the location known until we are definitely accepted and placed there. As soon as that happens, I will let all of you know.
Thanks for reading and check back for more updates later!
Last weekend Holly and I decided to go on a day trip to Duluth for some "cake time" together. If you don't know what cake time is, check out 1 Kings 19:4-6...
But he (Elijah) himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, "It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers." And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, "Arise and eat." And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again.
Basically, "cake time" is a term used here at BCOM to refer to down time, time spent just relaxing and resting to replenish your energy after stressful times.
So after a few stressful weeks here at BCOM, Holly and I thought it would help to get off campus and enjoy a day together away from Bloomington. So we made the 3 hour trip up to Duluth and spent the day there just relaxing and exploring.
We had lunch at a place called "Top of the Harbor." It is a restaurant that sits on top of a tall hotel, so it has a great view of Duluth and Lake Superior. But what is really cool about it is that it spins! It rotates slowly so that you can see the whole town while you are eating. It was pretty sweet. Here is a picture taken from the restaurant...
After that, we just spent the day checking out the town. We spent some time hanging out at Canal Park, which had a beautiful view of both the town and of Lake Superior. We got some great pictures there.
The trip was an absolute blast! I definitely wish it could have lasted longer, but Holly and I had a great time just chillaxing and spending some quality time together. We are planning on going back again once it warms up a little more.
So this morning I woke up to a random text from Holly's mom (Jodi Wagner). It had 1 Peter 4:19 in it.
Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.
Jodi definitely has the gift of prophecy. I've seen it active in her many times throughout my relationship with Holly. Her prophetic words have had a strong impact in Holly's life, my life, and in that of our relationship. Therefore, I'm taking the verse she sent me quite seriously.
The context of this verse is about Christians who are suffering for the name of Christ. So I am led to believe that sometime in the near future I will be suffering for His name. So I am asking that whoever reads this blog prays for me. Pray that I will have the boldness of the Spirit. Pray that I will be wise as a serpent and gentle as a dove (Matthew 10:16).
So we will see what happens. Whatever awaits me, I know that the Lord will never leave me nor forsake me.
Praise the LORD. Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD.
Let the name of the LORD be praised, both now and forevermore.
From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the LORD is to be praised.
The LORD is exalted over all the nations, his glory above the heavens.
Who is like the LORD our God, the One who sits enthroned on high,
who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth?
He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes, with the princes of their people.
He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the LORD.
--Psalm 113
Sometimes I sit down and just wonder how in the world people can worship other gods. It makes no sense to me. I look at the god of Islam and how brutal and unloving he seems to be, especially to the "infidels." I look at the gods of the eastern religions, like Buddhism and Hinduism, and I see powerless idols who require human aid to be able to "live."
But then I look at my God. I look at Yahweh/Jehovah, and there is no comparison. What other God strongly desires a personal relationship with His people? The whole theme of the Bible is how much God desires to dwell with man. He walked in the cool of the day with Adam. He dwelt in the tabernacle and, later, the temple of Israel. He personally came to earth as a human to dwell among us. Now His Holy Spirit dwells with the spirits of those who believe, and His ultimate goal is to bring heaven down to earth to fully dwell with man forever.
I don't see Allah or Mohammad desiring to be with their followers. I don't see the gods of the east having intimate relationships with those who worship them.
Let's just say that I asked God to confirm something to me, and He did that today in a pretty cool way. I'm not going to go into more detail. I just wanted to say that God is AWESOME!
I don't know whether or not you agree with Barack Obama and what he stands for (I know I don't), but if you are a Christian, I strongly encourage you to pray for this man. Like it or not, he will be our new president tomorrow. Pray that the Lord will reveal Himself to him and that Obama will open his heart to the Lord and lead this nation accordingly.
Also, I strongly encourage you to pray against the FOCA (Freedom of Choice Act). Congress is voting on it this Thursday. If passed, it will legalize practically all forms of abortion in our country. Pray that the congressmen will uphold the Constitution by leaving decisions on abortions to the states.
This week is going to be a huge turning point in our country, for better or for worse. God be with us.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name.
--Psalm 100:4
So on Fridays we have a class called Power of the Cross. Each week is a different topic about how we can live a Kingdom-minded lifestyle. The topic this week was thanksgiving.
Richee used the tabernacle to illustrate the importance of thanksgiving in the lives of believers. The gate of the tabernacle was called "The Gate of Thanksgiving." The very first step to enter the presence of the Lord was to give thanksgiving. And because thanksgiving was a part of the tabernacle, it is safe to assume that thanksgiving is a form of worship to God.
It's easy to say that you are thankful for something, but have you really walked in a spirit of thanksgiving? I know I haven't been, especially this past week. I have been on night guard this week, and the temperature, with windchill, has gotten as low as -41 degrees. Needless to say, I often found myself in a spirit of complaint. But, given that thanksgiving is a form of worship to God, one might assume that complaining is a form of worship to Satan.
A spirit of complaint is an easy doorway for the enemy to get a foothold in our lives, but a spirit of thanksgiving will send the enemy running. The enemy knows this. So he tries to get us stuck into a rut of complaining.
But we don't have to stay in that rut. I encourage you to sit down and write out all of the blessings the Lord has given you. You think your list won't be long, but once you get started, you'll find that it's hard to stop. After you make the list, take some time to just sit in the Lord's presence and thank Him for those things.
I know I have so much to be thankful for. I have food to eat, a roof over my head, a family who supports me, a girlfriend who encourages and helps me, friends who push me. What are you thankful for?
Don't spend today away, cuz today will soon be gone.
--Switchfoot
One of the biggest issues I seem to struggle with is that of living in the present. I am a thinker, and my thoughts often dwell on what God is holding for my future. But I sometimes analyze it so much that I end up trying to assume God's role and micromanage my life so that I can control my future.
It's very burdensome. Actually, it's downright exhausting. I get so consumed with the future that I become paralyzed in the present. What makes matters worse is that this is a sin. Jesus directly commands against it.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
--Matthew 6:34 (NIV)
So this is something the Lord has been working on me for awhile now. He has proven to me time and time again that He has got my future under control and that I need only to focus on today. I don't know where I am supposed to be a year from now, but I do know that I am where I'm supposed to be now, and that is what matters.
Things in my life are going really well right now. God is showing me some awesome things and doing some amazing things in my life. I have a beautiful girlfriend who rocks my world. School is back in full-swing, and I'm currently in a class with my favorite professor, Tom Shetler.
I've experienced many highs like this in my life. But there is a difference to this one: I'm prepared. I'm prepared for the fact that it is at our high points where Satan likes to take us out. He waits until things are going really well for us and we lower our guards... then he shoots an arrow right at your heart and knocks you to the ground.
It's not paranoia I'm experiencing right now. It's war. Now, more than ever, I need to fast, pray, and dig into the Word. I need to put on the armor of God and go on the offensive against the enemy before he has a chance to surround me. It's a war-zone out there. I have to be prepared. So do you.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.
I'm not usually one for doing things like "New Years Resolutions", but I have decided to make a few that will help improve certain aspects of my life. So, aside from the standard "get in shape", here are my resolutions for 2009 and beyond:
1. For at least the year 2009, I am a vegetarian. Yup. I won't be eating meat this year. There are two reasons for this. First, there is a history of gastrointestinal issues on my dad's side of the family. Meat (especially processed meats) tends to be pretty rough on our digestive tracts. Secondly, Holly is also going for this goal. So it gives us something to achieve together. (cue collective "Awwwww's" from the women)
2. I am bent on becoming a more organized person. I have always been a spontaneous, last-minute type of guy, which isn't all that bad. But I've had absolutely no form of time-management in my life. So I'm now using a planner. I'm also going to attempt to keep my room relatively clean. We'll see how well this goes. I'm going to need God's grace on this one.
3. I want to have the entire book of John memorized by the end of this year. This is going to be extremely tough, but I think it is a challenge that I am up to.
4. I want my life to become a life of prayer and fasting. I want to usher in the return of the Lord like John the Baptist ushered in His first coming.
5. I want to love God more at the end of the year than I do now.
Hey! My name is Adam. I'm a follower of Jesus, the one and only Son of God and the Man who saved my life. I'm also a student of Bethany College of Missions. If you want to know more, feel free to e-mail me at adam.hunter@bcom.org.
