the greatest book ever???

“This is my bible, it’s God’s word to me…” Growing up, I remember having to say that in children’s church, but I never really took the statement seriously or put much thought behind it. It now means that the bible is God speaking to us individually. Ever wonder why whenever you close your eyes and send that voicemail to the man upstairs you never hear a really deep, startling voice in response? For the longest I always expected God to respond to me that way, and I just knew… that one day… I’d hear that earth shattering voice, and it would literally scare the hell out of me! I think he knows some of us wouldn’t be able to handle that, so he sticks to text messaging… get it?! I know you don’t... wit’cho slow cook bizkiiit…

Getting back on topic, I have to say I felt pretty inadequate to speak on the subject. Before ’08, I could never keep a steady reading habit. I can think back on my experiences and honestly say there hasn’t been one year where I’ve come close to reading my bible every night or even going as far as making an effort to. I never really thought about why I would need to read everyday, especially stories about people from back in the day. They were cool as topics in Sunday school, but I never could draw the moral of these stories on my own. As I got older though, I realized it had a lot to do with the translation. I can’t speak for everyone but I figure that most people, especially teens, who would like to be stronger Christians, don’t or can’t get into the bible because it might not feel like an interesting read. I can respect languages different from my own but having to take the time to understand all the “thou”s and other terms made reading the bible a boring process, instead of something I enjoyed doing. Bibles come in many different translations today. Finding one you can understand and enjoy reading is very beneficial to your Christian walk. I came to this realization sometime last year when talking to my faith advisor, McBizkit (Mickey. He offered "The Message" bible to me and ever since that time, I set out to get my hands on one. To support my faith walk of 2008 I found a free translation that resembles The Message closely (called God’s Word), and I can read it with ease. So it helps to make my daily habit of reading the bible a lot more enjoyable, and reading your bible should be a major priority for us as Christians.

Before wrapping up, I’d like to get into why we should grow a habit of reading. My first thought is that it’s our responsibility as Christians to do so. Being a Christian isn’t just associated to Sunday and sometimes Wednesday nights. As Christian’s, we need strength and encouragement on a daily basis. I used responsibility in the statement before because it is our responsibility to strengthen our relationship with God not just in church, but outside as well. This adds meaning to the statement “You won’t get into heaven just by going to church.” In the opening statements of this devotional (and I thank you for being patient enough to have read this far! If you can read this you shouldn’t have any problem reading your bible every night!) I said the bible is God speaking to us individually. A lot of times when you pray for understanding, God can reply to you through the bible.

When reading on your own, it’s good to talk about what you may be confused about or misunderstand with other Christians. It makes for good talk and can build Christian relationships, and you need a lot of these as a Christian. It just makes it easier and it’s good to know that you’re not alone. Being a Christian is the hardest thing in the world to be – besides yourself – but you’re definitely better for it! Earlier, I mentioned the term Faith Advisor. It’s something I made up, but it’s someone you can turn to within your Christian walk, which are possibly more educated and experienced within their own walk. Good candidates for "advisors" are definitely ministers, especially those you can relate to on a personal level (much like Crossover leaders!). You’ll find that hearing other’s opinion on the word can be just as helpful as going to church. It’s no substitute though!

I hope you’ve got time for one last topic!
It’s habits. I’ve recently made mine to read 3 Chapters a night. It’s not too much and not too little in my opinion. Be advised that you don’t always have to read at night, or bedtime. It’s just a good time to because you’re winding down and not as busy. I encourage you, if you can find time during the day to get a couple chapters in. I dare you to even read during your free time in school! (You won’t!) It’s weird how they think they’ve taken prayer out of school, but it would really get to them seeing you reading something other than Harry Potter. A big way to keep a habit is through discipline and something I’ve recently become obsessed with – Self Image. Discipline is the power of your mind over your flesh. Your body is strong against deciding on what you are or aren’t going to do, but your mind is your true source of power. You have control over your body as long as you can force it to do what you can think for it to do. (The difference between me telling you to raise your hand, and you telling you to raise your hand is you’re more likely to do it when you’re doing the talking. Same serves with reading your bible!) The Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyers helped me realize this. Self Image is how you look at yourself. It’s the power over peer-pressure and is your self-esteem. Having “Christian” as a part of your Self Image will help guide you to do things that are Christ-like over the many things that aren’t. With your self-image in mind it would be hard to look at yourself as a Christian if you didn’t read your bible among other things (1 John 1:6 – And I couldn’t have referenced that if I didn’t read. That’s the beauty!). Enough said!

Peace and Holy Grease (anointing/olive oil for you slow bizkiitz)!

C.J.
aka 'Cizzle Jizzle'
“Jellyonmybiz-kiiiit!”

the marvelous effects of prayer

Prayer is one of the communication techniques we use to talk to God. Sometimes we overcomplicate prayer and make it seem that only certain Christians can pray. We create excuses to avoid praying. I have seen this many times before. At Crossover or any church event, the speaker asks if someone can pray? We all look around trying to pick out someone to pray or we all avoid eye contact with the speaker so he or she definitely does not call us to pray. I pray that this devotional will ease your minds about prayer so that next time you will boldly led prayer in your next church service or even with your friends.

The Bible says in Proverbs 15:8, "The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases Him." Clearly according to this scripture, God desires us to pray because our prayers please Him. We live our lives to please Him and praying to God is one of the thousand ways to please Him. One misconception of prayer is that we have to pray long and continuous prayers filled with the perfect words and dialect and speech. This is not true!!! Our prayers is talking to God so we should pray like we are having a personal conversation to God because basically our prayers are intimate conversations to God. Conversations can be long or short or both. God wants us to talk and share our thoughts to Him. We can do this through prayer. You might be wondering how to pray? or is there a book titled "Prayer for Dummies" at the local bookstore. I have a better book for you.....The B-I-B-L-E!!! In Matthew 6:5-14 tells you how God wants us to pray. You can use these verses as references on how to pray. God desires us to pray and gives us the answers on how to pray. Isn't that an awesome God we serve?

Now we know how to pray but why to pray is a question many Christians want to know. We should pray because it pleases Him and we love Him. Also prayer allows us to have an intimate relationship with God. As Christians, we strive to learn and know more about our Heavenly Father. We learn more about through having a relationship with Him. Through prayer, we can give our petitions to Him and seek His guidance on how to overcome our trials. So many times unaware, we come to God in our prayers listing out our wishes and desires that we want Him to fulfill. Prayer is a dialogue to God. Instead of just giving Him our wish list, we shoud spend more time listening to what He wants us to pray. Sometimes He might want you to pray for your parents, neighbors,pastors,teachers, friends, and even your enemies. In Matthew 5:44, Jesus says "But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." God wants us to pray for your enemies. In my life, College is much different than living at home. I have seen many things that I would not have seen unless I went to college. I remember early in last semester, I was having difficulties with my roommates. I am not saying that they are bad girls but they are not true disciples of Christ. I am totally different from them and I felt like I would never have peace in the midst of heavy downpours. At first, I pray to God ,"Please change them. They need your help more than me. Don't change me because I do not need change. Why do they act so bad?" The more I realized that I was praying selfishly. I only wanted God to correct them and not me because in my eyes, I was perfect. I attend a small group from my campus ministry and we are reading "A Heart Ablazed" by John Bevere. John talks about getting rid of our selfish desires in order to have a strong passion for God. God showed me wisdom when I started having dialogue in my prayer. He told me to forgive them for what they did but also walk in His spirit. I was suppose to show God's Love to them and their friends. Most important, I needed to change my selfish thinking and change my heart toward them. I need to pray for them and their famililes too. When I did these directions, I found peace in the midst of my storms. There is peace among my roommates and I. I show them God's love and pray for them every night. By being obedient to His directions, there are no problems among my roommates and I. Also, I have seen a change in their behavior because they are more considerate to me and they have apologize for previously acts. God is so good and I found this out through prayer. I gain so much wisdom when I pray to God. When I pray the way He wants me to, He communicates His direction for my life.

Prayer is also and I hope that you practice the awesome power of prayer and see it marvelous effects in your life.

are you celebrated?

you were made to be celebrated.
God made us on purpose, with a purpose.
and probably the best feeling in the world
is to fulfill that purpose.
Someone can be doing the right thing at
the wrong place and it won't be recognized
for what it is. When you're with the right
person, and you're being the best you,
they'll celebrate you like no one else.
They'll see in you what no one else
sees. But you have to be the best you.
But being the best you, around the wrong
people, and it won't be recognized for what
it is. You're gifts, talents, character,
personality (so on) won't be recognized and
celebrated for what they're worth. Sometimes
those that would celebrate you, might not
get it, they might not see you for who you
really are. Picture a man who talks a lot, and
is very opinionated, and gets on his closest
companion's nerves. In the day to day life
they may not recognize his views as important
or relevant to their current situation. But put
that same guy behind a microphone and you'd
be surprised at the millions that would tune in
daily to hear his thoughts on current events.
(whether they agree or not)
-Not that you didn't make it, if you never
became rich or famous, because you can definitely
be rich and famous and still be totally missing it
-but those in your world get the best of you.
I mean, they really get you.
How do you find the right person?
How do you find the right place at the right time?
~where you're gifts, talents, what you were created
for is recognized for the greatness that is in you...?

First, celebrate God.
Delight yourself in celebrating God and He'll make His
desires for you, your very own desires.
Commit your everyday life to Him and His glory, and
He'll establish your thoughts & planning process.
Find favor with God, and you'll find favor with men.
Seek first.... (Matt 6:33)

-Daniel Danger
www.youtube.com/onewordtv

music can take you there

Music is powerful. One song can mean 20 different things to 20 different people. It can cheer you up. It can bring you down. It can make you think. It can tell a story. Music has the power to move you and to inspire you.

So what do you think when you hear the words “Praise and Worship”. Does boring and church come to mind? The truth is that praise and worship is something that is not only limited to a specific type of music. It’s not even limited to music! There are many forms of praise and worship (today we will focus on music).

Even from church to church there are different expressions in music. You can hear rock style, gospel, traditional. The awesome thing about this is that it you can choose what style of music you want to praise and worship with. The style isn’t an issue to God, but the state of heart is. It doesn’t matter how you say I love you to God, what matters is that you mean it when you say it!

If you want to get closer to God, one of the biggest tools you can use are songs that Glorify Him and who He is. Turn on a cd that is full of persons telling God he is awesome and worthy and the only person they need. After a while it will draw you in, you won’t be able to help it! Praising God can be contagious! Music can help you focus on God, it can help you think about how wonderful he is. By the same token music can draw you away from God. Think of any song that you would be embarrassed for listening to if Jesus was standing right before you where you could see him.

What goes in will come out!

I challenge you this week, get out your most favorite cd that you praise God to and listen to it. Use it to help you create an atmosphere where you can easily pray and talk to God.

When you hear a song during the course of your day listen to see how it can relate to God. Does it give him Glory, or would it embarrass you in front of him?

Remember your praise and worship music doesn’t have to be traditional. One of my favorite praise songs in the last few years was not meant to be a praise song to God. And it may not be a praise song to everybody who hears it. But when I hear it, it makes me turn my face and heart up towards heaven; it makes me lift up hands towards God and reach out to Him who reached out to me. Who else has been so good to me? None but God!



For all those times you stood by me \ For all the truth that you made me see
For all the joy you brought to my life \ For all the wrong that you made right
For every dream you made come true \ For all the love I found in you
I'll be forever thankful \ You're the one who held me up \ Never let me fall
You're the one who saw me through through it all

You were my strength when I was weak \ You were my voice when I couldn't speak
You were my eyes when I couldn't see \ You saw the best there was in me
Lifted me up when I couldn't reach \ You gave me faith 'coz you believed
I'm everything I am \ Because you loved me

You gave me wings and made me fly \ You touched my hand I could touch the sky
I lost my faith, you gave it back to me \ You said no star was out of reach
You stood by me and I stood tall \ I had your love I had it all
I'm grateful for each day you gave me \ Maybe I don't know that much
But I know this much is true \ I was blessed because I was loved by you

You were my strength when I was weak \ You were my voice when I couldn't speak
You were my eyes when I couldn't see \ You saw the best there was in me
Lifted me up when I couldn't reach \ You gave me faith 'coz you believed
I'm everything I am \ Because you loved me

You were always there for me \ The tender wind that carried me
A light in the dark shining your love into my life \ You've been my inspiration
Through the lies you were the truth \ My world is a better place because of you

God Bless you! Arlene

who do you chill with?

I want to deal with how to build a relationship with Jesus now that you have decided to give your life to Him (we hope you have and if you have done so recently we would like for you to let us know by sending us a message on our blogs). Last round in the first week we explained how Jesus had to die on the cross for the sins of the world. Not only did He die on the cross but three days after His death He rose again and showed Himself to some of His followers. After about forty days with them they saw Him go up into heaven and now He is sitting right next to God on the throne. Wow, pretty sweet. This is real. So Jesus is not dead. He is alive. Not only did He die for our sins but He stayed alive so that He could show us how to live. Thats some off the chain stuff if you ask me. So let me ask you a question. Who do you chill with? Your boys, your girls? Who? What if I told you that I've chilled with Jesus? The creator of the world. Everything from the sun, the moon, the stars, the mountains and the ocean was created by Him and I get to hang out with Him. Now that you are freaked out I want to let you know that the point of this round is to let you know that you can hang out and chill with Jesus to. So how do you do that? How do I build a relationship with Jesus? I am glad you asked. One way is through prayer. If you have never prayed before,.. that is okay. I to was in your shoes before I met Jesus. Its simple. All you do is have a conversation just like you do with your boys or girls. You just ask him about serious stuff though. I first started out praying one minute a day. It was weird talking to someone you can't see but the more you do it the more you get used to it. Commit to it and it will change your life. Another way is through reading the bible. The bible is the real, absolute word of God. That means that God pretty much wrote the book. The creator of the universe wrote a book so that He could reveal Himself to us. The more you read it the more you find out about who you are and what you were created to do. Nowadays you can download the bible into your iPod or you can get it on dvd or a cd. Just pop it in and listen to it. Those are just two of the ways you can build a relationship with Jesus. I will let the team go into more details on those two and maybe another one that you can use in your life. I hope you enjoyed and until next time...
Peace and God bless.

-Mick
mickeyspassion@hotmail.com

thinking in the shower

I was taking a shower (there is something about the shower that makes me think clearly sometimes, I don't know what the deal is) and I was thinking about something. While I was in the gym running on the treadmill there was a guy and a girl trying to make a decision on which machine they were going to use. It took a while because neither wanted to make the decision first. Finally the girl stepped up and picked one. As soon as she did the guy said,.."Jesus". He made this statement because it took so long for her to pick and it frustrated him. I was in the shower and I started thinking about that. Why didn't the guy say Buddha or Alla or devil? Why didn't he use those other names in vain. Why does everyone one say,.".Jesus Christ" or "God _____" (you know the rest of that). Why? Whats the deal with that? A scripture came to mind as soon as I was thinking about that. If you read the book of Acts in the bible it talks about the name of Jesus quite a bit. One scripture says..."there is no other name under heaven by which man can be saved". WOW!!! That is pretty crucial. So this was my thought. The devil is trying to do everything he can to water down the name of Jesus so that we as a human race don't see the importance of the name (we will talk about the devil in another round so that we can show you how he operates). Why don't we say Buddha or Alla or devil? Because we can't be saved by those names and the devil doesn't care about those names. He only cares about the name of Jesus and our Father God because those are the names by which we can be saved from eternal destruction. Does that make sense? I hope so.

God Bless,
Mick
mickeyspassion@hotmail.com

I never went to church...

I didn't grow up in the church but I have talked to and have met many people who have grown up in the church and I know thats a real topic to talk about. A lot of people I have talked to have been burned out by church or they have been hurt by the church or they see to much fakeness in the church. And because of this they never get a chance to have a real experience with Jesus Christ. They just go to church because their parents make them but they are not really saved. This is a crucial question to ask yourself...'Are you saved or do you just go to church?'. I hope that message made you think a little bit if you just go to church and are not experiencing a real relationship with Jesus. The other message made us realize how off the chain God is. And because He is so good to us, that is a perfect reason that we should give our lives to Him. I mean just think about it. Look around you next time you walk outside. The bible says that 'In the beginning He created the heavens and the earth'. That means that the sky, clouds, stars, the sun, the moon, the trees, the grass,.. I think you get my point...were created by Him. The bible talks about how He spoke things into existence. He said 'let light be' and there was light. MAN!!! The bible also talks about how he created man from the dirt. Can you imagine God taking dirt and then breathing life into it? Thats how He made man. His resume and credentials are off the charts. I could go on but for the sake of time I will stop there. I would not want to live my life without Him, I could tell you that right now. I want to end this month's devotionals with a quick and short message. We have been trying to educate you on ..."Why should you give your life to Christ?" From the devotionals we get...He is the only one who died for your benefit (many people have died for the benefit of others) but rose from the dead so that you could have a relationship with God, don't just go to church but make sure that you are really saved, and because He has been so good to you without you even knowing (you just needed someone to tell you). So we have been trying to teach on the reasons for giving your life to Christ. We are not holding a gun to your head and making you give your life to Him. We are only telling the truth of our own experiences about the truth of Jesus Christ that this society tries so hard to keep from you. In saying all of that I want to say this...Don't ever feel like you have done to many bad things or have made to many mistakes to give your life to Jesus.

He died on the cross so that you would not have to deal with all that stuff. Let me ask you a question. Have you ever had a stain on your shirt? What did you do? Probably threw it in the washer if you really liked it. And when it came out it was as good as new. Well, God really likes you so He sent His son to wash away all the mistakes and bad things you would ever do. So your mistakes are not a problem anymore. Jesus settled that on the cross when He died and rose again. Don't worry about your mistakes. If you smoke drugs, drink, have sex, cuss, or have not been good to your parents. Don't worry. God has forgiven you and forgotten about your mistakes. HE has a short memory and you should to. He is not worried about your mistakes. He is more worried about you. He gives you a choice but it is up to you to make the right one. Let me tell you from experience...It is so worth it to give your life to Him. I don't care how bad you think you are. From thug to surfer He will take you as you are. He took some bad boys to be part of His team when He walked on earth. He loves us all. A former prostitute was the first one to preach that Jesus was risen from the dead. A cussing fisherman was the one who started the church that exists today. A former Christian murderer was the one who wrote most of the New Testament in the bible. Man. Forget about your past failures and Jesus will help you deal with them. It will still be a tough road but it will still be worth it in the end.

Much love.
Mick
mickeyspassion@hotmail.com