Live by Faith but do not forget Grace

Live It

2009-06-03T17:08:00.002-05:00

Are we living our lives for Jesus?

As Christians if we are not living our life for Jesus we are worshipping a False god.

Are we Sharing the Gospel with those around us?

As Christians if we aren't then we are not doing what Jesus COMMANDED us to do.

Are we building our lives around Jesus?

As Christians Jesus should be the cornerstone of our lives. Everything that we do and say should be built around Jesus. Jesus should shape and define our lives!

Daniel

Persecution

2009-05-29T10:30:00.002-05:00

"Blessed are those who are Persecuted for Righteousness sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven" Matthew 5:10

As Christians we should not run from Persecution, but instead embrace. We should thank God for being persecuted and pray for those who persecute us. Rejoice when you are being persecuted, because through your persecution God is being glorified.

Redeeming Rides

2009-05-18T11:49:00.002-05:00

So, after my last blog being noting but a rant i thought I would actually write something relevant. One of my favorite things to do when traveling is to listen to a sermon. Mark Driscoll calls this a redeeming ride. My wife and I where ever we are going usually are listening to a sermon usually by Mark Driscoll. This has really become one of my favorite things to do in the world. There are several reasons why.

One I am spending time with my wife in a car listening to someone talk about God. I mean how much better can it get?

Two, it gives my wife and I something to talk about. It is not like in church when you have to wait until the sermon is over with to talk about it. All we have to do is hit the pause button and we can talk about what was just said. This gives us a time to discuss our opinions about things, and find out more about what we believe as individuals. My wife is my favorite person to talk to the Bible about. I would not trade these redeeming rides for anything.

I encourage ya'll to try having a redeeming ride. Instead of listening to all the crap that they call music today on the radio. Find copies of your favorite preachers sermons and listen to them. Most pastors are now available on Podcast through iTunes or on the church's web site. If you do not have a favorite check out these guys Mark Driscoll, John Piper, and David Platt.

Grace and Mercy,

Daniel

P.S.- LSU won the SEC West this weekend in baseball and is the number 1 seed in the SEC tournament. GEAUX TIGERS!

Dish Network Sucks!

2009-05-15T13:40:00.002-05:00

So, when I moved to the country I had no choice but to get Satellite. After comparing prices and looking around my wife and I decided to go with Dish mainly, because they were cheaper on Digital cable. Well the guy comes to install my Dish and we find out we can not get the HD channels, because a dang tree is blocking the Satellite in Outer Space. What is the point of having an HD TV if you can't even get HD channels? Strike One for Dish!

Then one night we try to order a Pay-Per-View. Well to our frustration we can't order it, because we do not have a phone line. This made me mad, because when I was setting up our Dish with the dude on the phone he told me we did not have to have a phone line, but apparently you do. Strike Two for Dish! (We later found out that we could order the pay-per-views over the phone, but it would cost and extra dollar. So, we decided to get Net-Flix.)

This brings me to the whole point of writing this article to say that Dish Network needs to show LSU Baseball. We are ranked number 2 in the nation and I get stuck watching crap like Georgia and South Carolina. I mean seriously show some teams that are actually good. It makes me so mad. We are playing MSU this weekend and the game still isn't on TV. I live 45 minutes from Starkville for goodness sakes. You would think that they would at least show one game, but know apparently Georgia and South Carolina are so much more important. Dang it I just want to watch LSU play Baseball is that so much to ask? So, for those reasons when my contract is up I am switching to Direct TV. Thank you to the Idiots at Dish Network for giving me something to write about.

Disgruntled Dish Subscriber

Hospitals and Other Stuff

2009-05-14T14:33:00.002-05:00

Well I am sitting in a Hospital waiting to hear how my nephew did in surgery. Everything looks good and we are praying for the best. As I was sitting in the Hospital I started thinking about Scrubs. I was thinking how cool it would be to work in a Hospital, but only if it was just like Scrubs. Meaning that I was a surgeon just like Turk, my wife was Carla, and My best friend Jason was JD. It would be really amazing to work with those two in a Hospital setting.

The other thing that Hospitals make me think of is Death. I mean when you are sick in a Hospital death is always near. Whether it is in your room or just down the hall. As a Christian I am not scared of Death. I think that we should embrace Death as Christians. We should be scared, but rejoice in Death. When i die I know that I am going to Heaven and party with Jesus. I am stoked and ready to be Heaven with God. It will be amazing no more sorrow, no more sin, no more world, just God and all the other Christians.

Grace and Mercy Covers Me,

Daniel

Long Time No See

2009-04-20T12:44:00.002-05:00

It has been a while since a have last blogged, and a lot has happened in my life since then. I am now the proud father of an amazing 4 month old boy named Jackson Wyatt. He has truly been a blessing to my life. Right now he is laying on the floor playing with his little bear. I can not imagine my life with out him now.

Also since I last wrote we have a new President, and our economy has gone into the crapper.

The times are tough right now, but as a Christian I know that everything that is going on in the world is in accordance to the plans of God. I have a since of peace that everything is going to work out for the best. Who knows the best thing in this case might be on a train with a one way ticket to Heaven.

A few weeks ago my Pastor preached one of those rapture sermons. You know the ones where the preachers are like you better get ready, because Jesus is coming back soon. These sermons seem very popular now a days as I have talked to some friends and there pastors are preaching a lot of the same things. Any way during his sermon he said that as Christians we should be ready for the rapture to come, so we can go to Heaven. I see where he is coming from, but as for me I find myself wanting to stay on the Earth a little longer. The reason I want to do this is, because there are so many people that still need to hear about the Love of Jesus. There are lost people all around us the need to hear about Jesus. So, my question to you is what are you doing about those people that need to hear about Jesus? Are you telling them about Jesus, or just waiting for the rapture to come? As Christians we should be always ready to share the Gospel with those around us.

In Him,

Daniel

It's Almost Time!

2008-11-17T15:18:00.002-06:00

Well the time is almost here for my wife to deliver our little baby boy into this world. His name is JAckson Wyatt, and I am stoked about him coming. She is less than three weeks away from her due date. Although during the entire pregnancy I have said that she will be early and I am sticking with that answer.

We have had our ups and downs during this pregnancy, but it amazes how much closer we have become. I have enjoyed getting to hear the babies heart beat, see pictures of him, and feel him kick. All these things remind me of how amazing God is! God has given Amanda and me the blessing of having a child. To me children are one of God's greatest creations. To see Jackson grow from a little embryo into this huge baby all while inside my wife is simply AMAZING! There is no way any one could ever convince me that abortion is right, because I have seen first hand a little baby growing inside of my wife.

God has blessed us so much in this past year. He has blessed us with an awesome church, cool kids, and a baby. As I reflect on this last year of life I can not count how many times God has blessed my family. I think as thanksgiving is just around the corner, we should all stop and reflect on how much God has blessed us and our families. We are all truly blessed with more than we need.

Thanks you God for blessing me and my family, and just like Joshua said, "As for me and my house we will serve the Lord"... We are here to serve You God and no one else!

Peace Out,

All is well

2008-10-06T06:25:00.002-05:00

Well we are on the final stretch of our trip to the great country of Vietnam. We are back in Hochi Mihn City and we will be here until late Wednesday night. Our plane leaves at 11:55 on Wednesday night. I have enjoyed my time here, but I miss my wife a whole heck of a lot and my youth back in the states. I would not remind returning to Vietnam one day, I really do like this country.

Well can I just say I love modern technology. I love computers, the internet, and iPods. The reason I say this is, because I think it is so awesome that I can download a cd from iTunes no matter where in the world I am. Today I downloaded one of the most amazing cd's ever, "Rebel" by Lecrae. If you do not know who Lecrae is you should. Lecrae is a "Holy" rapper. His lyrics are the best I have ever herd. He doesn't just rap he preaches. His lyrics are deep, modern, and most important theological. They are inspired by the things that surround us in the world and his own life. I encourage you to check him out. I am not a big fan of rap music, but i could listen to Lecrae all day. In my opinion i think Lecrae should start a "Fellowship".

There is a song on the cd that says, "Go Hard or Go Home". That is what I want to do with my life. I want to go hard until I die for "His" name. I want to live it and preach and do it. I want to be a doer and not a sayer. I want to go out into the streets and get dirty. Lets Go hard or Go Home.

Peace Out,

Daniel

Dear People of the world that care

2008-10-04T05:19:00.002-05:00

LETS COME TOGETHER AND MAKE A CHANGE IN THIS WORLD!

I am so tired of all this election crap. We still have to listen to this for another month and I don't know if I can take it. I do not care if you are a Republican, Democrat, Independent, Moderate, or whatever you call yourself if you think that one of these men is going to change the world you are an IDIOT! No seriously you are. There is know way you can convince me that two men who have run dirty campaign's are qualified to be president. Both of the "candidates" (if you can call them that) do not deserve to lead a country. All they have done is spread have truths and lies about each other. To me integrity is one of the first qualities I look for in a person especially one who wants to lead the country I live in.

On one hand you have a man who has served in the military and I respect and appreciate him for that, but he is the biggest flip flopper I have ever seen. And I am pretty sure that if he becomes President the war will last forever and there will probably be WW3, because he is just going to want to fight everyone.

Then on the other hand we have a guy that I can not even put into words what he would do if he is president. I mean yeah lets raise taxes, so people can become poorer. And lets raise the budget another trillion dollars that we don't have. I mean come on dude seriously how can you think these are good ideas?

And he thing that bothers me the most is the fact that they both voted for this stupid bailout. I mean all this is is rewarding banks and people for being STUPID! Banks for lending the money and people for thinking they could afford houses way out of there budget.

People we need to stop spending more than we have, but hey I guess we are just following our Government. What are they like Trillions of dollars in debt? Yeah way to go Government officials and yes that includes you George Bush!

People we need to unite and come together and bring this nation out of the gutter. Rich people need to help out the poor. The government needs to stop worrying about themselves and start representing the people that elected them. America lets stop being selfish and start sharing and loving. If everyone would just stop worrying about there fancy cars and mansions then we would be better off. What good are al those things when we die? We can't take them with us. What happened to it is better to give then receive? Lets stop worrying about ourselves and start carrying for others. Enough said!

Over and Out-Daniel

The Picture is Becoming Clear

2008-10-03T04:54:00.002-05:00

I am sitting here staring out the window looking at the beautiful Ocean that is set before me. I have thoughts about how Beautiful it is and how massive and glorious the Ocean is. However in the grand scheme of things the Ocean is just a tinny dot on the earth and in the Universe it is even smaller.

As i sit here and contemplate what the next step is in my life, I believe I am slowly getting a clear picture. It is like there is something coming over the horizon and I am trying to focus in on it with my binoculars. There is something there and I am finally starting to see it. This life that we are mint to live is not about video games and television. It is about far greater things. Things that we can not even comprehend. Things that if we did comprehend would blow our minds up. Things that are so complex and creative that we can not wrap our minds around them. Things that are so massive they are amazing.

Through these last couple of days and minutes I have come to realize that maybe it is time to give up what we have and gain what we should have been striving for from the begging. The thing that matters most in life. We should give what we have have to those who need it not expecting anything in return not even a thank you. We should give it up out of Love. The things that matter most to us are the things that are on our hearts. What is on our hearts to day?

I believe some of us need to have our hearts circumcised. Our Hearts have become callused to the things of this world and we need to cut these calluses off. We need to have a renewing of our hearts and remember what should matter most to us. What does matter most to you today? If we were to take an x-ray of your heart what would we see? Would we see things of this world or would we see Love?

We are FINALLY Here!

2008-09-30T21:42:00.002-05:00

After a 21 hour flight from Jackson to Detroit, Detroit to Tokyo, Tokyo to Hochi Mihn City, and we are finally here. For a guy that is 6'5" tall 21 hours of flying is not cool. I am so glad to finally be here and getting settled in.

We are staying in Hochi Mihn City for 1 day and then we are off to a resort. Our plane is leaving out at 4:00 o' clock in the morning(which would be Thursday here). We are 11 hours ahead of Mississippi time. So, we are trying to get adjusted to the time and the jet lag. Although I have not really felt the effects of this so called "Jet Lag".

Well i just wanted to let everyone know that we made it here ok and are excited to be here. I will try to update pretty regular while I am here.

Daniel

What was She Smoking?

2008-06-06T23:34:00.002-05:00

Went to a Christian concert tonight and herd some weird band named Orphan Soul.

Could not hardcore dance, because the lead singer did not like us. Strike One!

She talked way to much for a concert. Strike Two!

She said that Jesus being born and dying on the cross did not matter! Strike Three!!!!!

Ok Jesus being born does not matter what the crap are you smoking lady? And then you have the audacity to say that Jesus Christ the Son of God dying on the cross does not matter? I mean that is the basis for my faith as a Christian. If not for Jesus being born of Mary the Virgin the scriptures would never have been fa filled, and Jesus would have just been another regular human SINNER! Guess what His dying on the cross matters, because without it we could not spend an eternity with Him in Heaven.

I do not know if she just said the wrong thing or left out a word, but by saying that made me take a step back and take a look at her theology. Now I want to be clear and come off like I am trying to judge her, because I am not. Only God has the ability to see her true heart and judge her. I still have to question her words though, because my youth were there. I can not have them believing this crap. So, i believe have a right in this situation to have a very strong opinion on this subject.

First, the birth of Jesus took place to one fulfill the scriptures and two to show Gods love for us. Jesus had everything in heaven. He humbled Himself and gave up everything he had so that we could be saved. The virgin birth is the only of its kind and the only that will ever happen. Mary trusted God that He would take care of her through out her pregnancy. Mary was a women full of faith.

Second, Jesus dying on the cross is EVERYTHING! With out Jesus dying on the cross there would be nothing else. With out Jesus living a perfect life there would be nothing else. With out the Virgin birth there would be nothing else. The cross is Gods sacrifice of His only Son so that we could spend an eternity with Him in heaven. With out the cross there would be no reason to live today. Jesus is the hope we have for tomorrow. Jesus gives us the strength to face tomorrow. Jesus is the Great I Am. Jesus is the reason we live. Thank you Jesus for dying on the cross. Let us not forget the cross and the Virgin birth, because with out them there would be no today.

In conclusion, because of the virgin birth, the cross, and the resurrection of Jesus on the third day we have hope today. We are now called to get out of bed and share the gospel with everyone we come into contact with. The Virgin birth shows us the Faith Mary had and the Cross gives us hope. We are all called to love. Let us love one another just like God did when he allowed His son to be born into such an awful sinful world and then die on the cross for our sins.

In Him John 3:16

The Weekend

2008-06-02T10:03:00.001-05:00

Went to a wedding.

Was pretty or so i was told by my wife.

My wife looked hot in her bridesmaid dress!

Talked about music with a real musician.

Got home too late.

Woke up and went to church.

That was pretty much my weekend in a nutshell. Went and did the wedding thing and then came home. I can say that I am glad the weddings or over with for a while. Weddings are fun, but they take up an entire weekend of your time and that my friends is Bogus.

However, while at this wedding I did have a lot of free time, and by a lot i mean 6 hours worth of free time. During this free time a got to talking to God. God revealed to me several things though this time spent with Him.

1. I need to be more consistent in my quiet times and reading my Bible.- This is something that I tell my youth is vital to there spiritual growth and it is. It is vital to every Christians spiritual growth. My quiet times had been laking in the past few weeks. God showed me that I need to work on this area of my life. I admit that I have fallen short in this area of my life, and with Gods help I am going to strive to do better.

2. I need to start being real with my youth.- Yeah i teach them on Wednesday and Sunday nights, but for some reason I have felt like I have been lacking in my preperation and overall deliverance to them. This is something that hurts me and is something that I have had to ask God to forgive me of. The youth deserve for me to be real with them and that is what I am going to start doing.

The God I serve is a loving, mercy making, and grace giving God. My Gods Love abounds from one end of the world 70 time 7. My God is alive. My God conquored the death. My God loves everyone. My God is THE God!

Grace and Mercy Jer. 33:3

Keepin it Real

2008-05-29T23:14:00.002-05:00

I just want to start out by saying that I am a Christian. I am not an evangelical, radical, or emergent i am just a plain old Christian. A follower of Christ if you will. This is my first post and i am going to try and just keep it real on here.

A little back story for you all.....

I am a 23 year old male that is married to the HOTTEST wife in the world and we are currently expecting our first child in December. We are both ready and anxious to see what God has in store for our little one and us. I am currently serving as a youth minister at Good Hope Baptist Church outside of Louisville, MS. I am blessed to have amazing kids that want to learn more about God. Well that pretty much sums it up for the about me section.

Like i said I am a Christian. That is what i want to blog about is being a Christian and Keepin it Real and Crunk for Jesus. I want the whole world to here the the Love that Jesus has for them. I am not one of these Bible thumping conservative Christians either.

For example, i do not believe that we should be fighting the war in Iraq. I believe Jesus taught us to Love. Now i support the troops 100 percent while they are over, but i do not support the reasons that they are over there for. Another thing is I am not the biggest fan of our President. I am not a big fan of his, because any man that says Muslims and Christians pray to the same God are mistakin (Source). I do not pray to the same God as a Muslim.

This is the problem I have with the Church today they do not stand up for themselves. The Church today is based on feel good sermons and sermons that makes everyone feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Let me say something when Jesus preached he called people out (the rich young ruler), and He made people think (How in the heck are you suppose to get a camel through the eye of a needle). Jesus was bold in His delivery. He stood up for what He believed in. Jesus kept it real.

And that is what I try to do i try to keep it real with my youth and let them know that Jesus farted and had a sense of humor. We do not have to be a group of suit wearing, President Bush backers, War supporters to be Christians. We can be different from what the Church says we are suppose to do and still be cool with the Man up stairs.

In parting I would just like to say, Remember to keep it real as a Christian and live your life for Christ. Let everything we say, and everything we reflect the very nature of Jesus Christ.

Walking with Him- Jer. 33:3