3 Things You Shouldn't Tolerate in Life

Life is crazy sometimes. So much has happened, so much is happening, and who knows what will happen tomorrow? Do you ever get through a day, or a month (or a year!) and feel like you are finally catching your breath? Sometimes we run too fast to see where we're going, and we end up wondering where we are or how we got there.

That's when it's easy for different thoughts to enter in, thoughts that demand our attention and offer a consultation on where we stand. Some thoughts are good and helpful, while others seek to bring you down and take away any joy you are holding onto. I want to talk about 3 mindsets that we should be actively destroying in our lives.

These 3 thieves are shame, distraction, and fear.

Shame will try to rob you of your past. It will tell you that you are stained, that your story has already been written as inadequacy. Shame will claim that it's too late, and things will never be as they should have been. It will replay your mistakes so often that your victories seem worthless. You might have even befriended shame in the hopes of avoiding repeating your past. Time to un-friend shame.

Isaiah speaks of hope that is available to us when he says "Instead of your shame you will have a double portion, and instead of humiliation they will shout for joy over their portion." (Isaiah 61:7) If you are in Christ, this upgrade is for you! If not, why wait any longer?

Shame destroyer tip: Think about how amazing Jesus is. Dwell on that for awhile and then think about how he gave you His record and identity. God looks at you and sees Jesus. It's true!

Distraction will try to rob you of being present. It will whisper that you should be somewhere else, doing other things, being with other people. It will tell you your life isn't good enough, and the things you do aren't worth investing in. It will present you with many good things while a great thing is unattended to.

This doesn't mean that anything unproductive is a distraction. If it's what you decided to do and you're focused on it, then you aren't being distracted by it. But it seems like from now on there will only ever be more distractions. So you have to choose what (and who) you want to allow in your life and what you want to put value in.

"Let your eyes look directly ahead and let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you. Watch the path of your feet and all your ways will be established. Do not turn to the right nor to the left; turn your foot from evil." (Proverbs 4:25-27)

Distraction destroyer tip: Write down the things you want to do this week/month and make time for them, focus on them. Put them on your schedule. Make sure to plan for rest and leisure too!

Fear will try to rob you of your future. It will create scenarios in your head of failure and pain. It will remind you of the reasons why you haven't pursued your dreams for all these years. It will masquerade as the voice of reason keeping you on a safe track.

The Bible is pretty black and white on this one - "For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." (2 Timothy 1:7) Don't tolerate this in your life! If you do feel fear (come on, we all do) there is no shame in that (see the first point). But we can't let it stay and influence our decisions.

You were born with an awesome destiny and all the tools you need to get there are available to you. Don't let fear stop you from doing what is in your heart to do.

Fear destroyer tip: Ask God if he is afraid of any of the things you fear. He's with you, after all. Pray for more of His love in those areas. Do something good this month that scares you. 

Changing bad mindsets is not always a quick or easy thing to do, but it gets easier with practice. If you want an amazing practice regimen, check this out!!

Back to the blog!

It's been awhile since I've posted on here, so this is my step towards getting back into it. I took a break for Summer and have been pretty busy with Second Year at BSSM, but I'm learning to manage all that better now and I'm excited to write again. 

This post will be about my upcoming trip to Thailand and Cambodia this March!

I'm going on a two-week long mission trip with Bob and Kimberly Johnson, a wonderful couple who have a heart for the poor and broken. Our team’s main focus will be bringing the solutions of Jesus Christ to the issue of sex trafficking. We will work alongside Destiny Rescue in both nations to pour into their staff, the rescued girls and at-risk children. We will also have the opportunity for nightly street ministry in the red light districts. Because of the sensitive nature of the ministry, we’ve been taking weekly classes on trafficking after-care and learning more about this injustice.

My heart flows with compassion for these women and children that are taken advantage of, but also for the traffickers who perpetuate this cycle. They are in just as much bondage, held captive by lies about who they are or where their identity comes from. They are all just one encounter away from receiving the Father’s love and living as sons and daughters of the King. I long to see restoration and purity abound in these nations, and I would love for you to be part of that!

We’ll be in Thailand and Cambodia from March 18-31. Please pray that my whole team is able to raise the needed support and that these nations are forever changed. If you would like to support me, I need to raise $3,150 for the trip, but $200 has to be in by tomorrow morning as a deposit. The easiest way to give is online, by clicking this link but if that doesn’t work for some reason you can search my name at trips.ibethel.org. 

You can also write a check to Bethel Church (with a note that has Thailand/Cambodia and my name on it) and send it to:

Bethel Church
ATTN: Short-term Missions
20 Lake Blvd.
Redding, CA 96003

I'm also on the worship and media teams for the trip which means I'll get to bring the creativity of heaven into these dark places and document it all through pictures, video, and blogging. I've had words spoken over my life about leading worship around the world and this is part of that being fulfilled! I'm so excited to see all that God does!!

Homework - Where is your sting?

We learned in school that making memorials of what God has done in your life is necessary to properly steward what he has given you and to keep your faith alive that He will do it again. The Israelites did this by piling stones on top of each other after they crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land, so that when their children ask about the stones they can give the testimony of God parting the waters and providing for them. When my children ask me about this blog post, I will get to tell them how God supernaturally empowered me to read 16 books over the course of 8 months at BSSM (and 1 the preceding Summer).

Yes, you read that correctly - 16 books. To graduate, you have to read every book. And there are no Cliffs Notes (you have to sign that you read it anyway)! So I'm not trying to brag or anything, but this is kind of a big deal. When I was a freshman in college, I read the Lord of the Rings for an English class (great class btw, so many metaphors to explore). I'm pretty sure this takes the cake. I also remember when I was researching BSSM, I could NOT find the book list anywhere. I realize now that all of the books are covered in tuition so they probably don't want students buying them beforehand, but I figured I'd post the list here just in case anyone is wondering. 

So here is the book list for the 1st Year of Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry:

My top 5: (in order of awesomeness)

1. Culture of Honor by Danny Silk (the bread and butter of Bethel culture!!!)

2. The Supernatural Power of Forgiveness by Jason Vallotton (read it!!)

3. The Supernatural Ways of Royalty by Kris Vallotton (all about identity)

4. Strengthen Yourself in the Lord by Bill Johnson (short and sweet)

5. Moral Revolution by Jason and Kris Vallotton (buy this for any teenager you know)

6. God's Generals by Roberts Liardon (so good I couldn't stop at 5)

Here are the rest: (in the order we read them)

-When Heaven Invades Earth by Bill Johnson

-Hosting the Presence by Bill Johnson

-30 Days to Understanding your Bible (I was one of a few people who liked this book)

-A Practical Guide to Evangelism Supernaturally by Chris Overstreet

-Basic Training for the Prophetic by Kris Vallotton

-Experiencing the Father's Embrace by Jack Frost

-The Supernatural Ways of Royalty Workbook by Kris Vallotton

-The Happy Intercessor by Beni Johnson

-Spirit Wars by Kris Vallotton

-Grasping God's Word by Duvall and Hays (loved it; hated it.)

-Christian History Made Easy by Timothy Paul Jones

So now we're down to our last week of school, with graduation on Friday. What a year it has been! So much growth, revelation, and experience. So many awesome relationships built. I can't wait to see what 2nd Year holds (officially got accepted last night!!). Here's a pic of me and Raj outside the Civic (I'm gonna miss it next year):

After a city-wide Good Friday service

And here's the one picture I took at our revival group party today. I love these people who have become family this year. Young and Hannah Kim took us under their wing, whispered softly to us at times, slapped us into reality at times, and never stopped loving. This picture captures the moment right before Andy (in the pink) is thrown into the pool (I was next).  

They're not hugging; that's an ambush.

If you're reading this, I care about you (not because you are reading it, but because you are amazing). So keep doing what you do, because nobody can do it better than you (honestly not sure if I came up with that or took it from Dr. Seuss)!

The featured song of this post is Wonder by Amanda Cook of Bethel Music. It's a spontaneous worship song (i.e. she made it up on the spot, led by the Spirit)

Pics or it didn't happen

Hey everybody, we're back from Korea and here are some pictures to prove we really went :)

Thanks again to everyone who donated to send us; you should be getting a letter soon!

The trip was a huge success, thanks to all your prayers! Our team got to speak and minister to people at many different churches and conferences, mainly focusing on unity and family, while empowering the people at each location. Unity within the church will be a key to revival, but we also got to focus on the unity of North and South Korea. We went to the demilitarized zone (DMZ) one day and got to look into the most closed-off nation in the world and pray for reconciliation and peace. Then we had lunch with the vice-mayor of a city right on the border which is pushing for the reunification of Korea. It was a very powerful day. Overall, we did a lot of battle through prayer and many people were encouraged and activated in ministry! We got to love the people of Korea and tell them how much the Father loves them and who he created them to be. 

No more pain!

That lady, holding up the peace sign, owns a shop in Daejeon. We found out she is a Christian and had pain in her back. After we prayed twice, all of the pain left and she was all smiles. She gave us free handkerchiefs and when I tried to buy a framed picture for $30 she gave that to me for free too.

Barriers turn into breakthroughs

This was my first prophetic painting ever! It's a vision I had before we went on the trip, of a chain dissolving over Korea and watering the revival that is to come. I feel like it means that God will use the things that used to keep us down to actually propel us forward. When I was praying for the lady on the left, I felt like it was for her, so I painted it that night and gave it to her. 

That's North Korea out there

We got to climb a small mountain and look out over North Korea. We had an amazing time praying, declaring freedom, and worshiping at the top.

Grill right in the table

This was at a Korean BBQ place where you take the raw meat and cook it right in front of you. It's buffet style so we got to try a little bit of everything. I even ate a little baby squid!

He who is skilled will stand before kings. Prov 22:29

This is Dustin with the vice mayer of Yeoncheon, a city right on the border of North and South Korea. Before we went on the trip, Dustin was given a piece of Korean currency by a homeless man at Starbucks. Random, right? Maybe not…the money was from 1953, the year that the demilitarized zone was established and the Korean War ended. As a prophetic act, we gave this note to the vice-mayor , declaring that finances will come for all of his plans to improve the area and foster peace.

Adorable and powerful

These kids are student at Little Heaven English school. They pretty much learn all the same stuff we learn at BSSM but they have the child-like faith that Jesus said was so important. They're also bilingual and cute. This was the honeybee classroom, and we got to teach, sing, and play with them. 

Here are some other testimonies that I don't have pictures for:
-A lady had back pain because one of her legs was shorter than the other. God grew her leg out and the pain left. Pain can’t stay when it meets the Kingdom.!
-Shoulder pain was healed when a lady’s daughter helped pray for it.
-One man came for a prophetic word but left with a relationship with Jesus! He had said a salvation prayer before, but not in his own language, so he was still unsure. Not anymore!
-A lady had cartilage restored to her knees when one of our team members sang a song over her, which she had never memorized but remembered on the spot.

It was a great trip with a great team! Now just 1 month until graduation. Here we go!

To the Core

Hey everyone, it's been a few weeks since my last post, so here's the scoop! (As to the weird highlighting of the text, I am not sure what happened...)

I leave for South Korea in 12 days! Trip paid in FULL (for everyone), and we have one more team meeting before the launch. I probably won't blog while I'm over there, but I'm in charge of recording stories and testimonies for the trip so I'll definitely have a lot to share when I come back! We're praying HUGE for this trip, so please join us in that from March 22 - April 4. 

My best bud Chris Harris visited for a week so we explored Redding, shot some guns, played ultimate frisbee (oh hey cardio!) and ended the trip in San Francisco. Here's the crew marching up the ridiculously steep Lombard Street:

Aaron's doing his famous long jump ski pose

Here's the view from the top! With part of the Bay:

Part of it looked like pictures of Brazil or Central America

So since that week, I've applied for 2nd Year here, gotten caught up on homework, looked at some apartments, and enjoyed the bits of sunshine we've had (February seemed to be the month of rain). Today I found this awesome flower:

Spring is coming!

As I prepare for South Korea, I've been thinking about my core values and why it's important to know them before you need them. Decisions aren't as hard in the heat of battle when you've already decided beforehand how to act. As my venerable small group leader, Ron, said to us, the best soldiers can risk it all because they've already died to themselves before the battle. When we get to this point with Jesus, where we consider ourselves crucified with him and no longer living for ourselves (Galatians 2:20), it really frees us to be brave. Dead people also don't care what others think of them.

So what are your core values? We have a bunch here at BSSM, but I have 4 simple ones that I think about almost daily: Love, Honor, Purity, Power. I try to do everything with these in mind. Even though every situation is different, I can usually make a pretty quick decision about whether something fits in with the character I want to portray by thinking about these words. They might mean slightly different things to you than they do to me so here's a very brief explanation: Love means caring for and helping people through sacrifice. Honor means seeing everyone like God sees them and treating them likewise. Purity means fleeing from sin and keeping my eyes and thoughts on Christ. Power means taking responsibility for myself as well as displaying the full gospel, revealing the God of the universe to humanity.

Don't let every situation sway your values, but rather establish your identity in Christ and many will flock to the security that you have in the Father. 

Here's a new song from Hillsong United's new remix album, the White Album: Like an Avalanche

Shine

I don't have any new pictures for this post, so if you normally just look at those, see ya next week.

I got a job!!! Praise Jesus, Bankers Life and Casualty hired me as a recruiter (so Redding people, if you need a job, hit me up). I started Friday, and I'm still learning the ropes and the computer system that we use. I wasn't going to be able to do 2nd year if I didn't get a job, and I've been looking since I got here in September. So in the first 5 months I got zero job offers and was wondering what's up. Then the DAY that applications opened, I got this job offer, and the next day I got another offer as well. What. A. Coincidence (wink wink, nudge nudge, Jesus).

This past week in school we learned about the glory of God, and how we all carry it throughout the day, even if we don't feel like we're doing anything spectacular. We also learned about the power of joy, and laughed at a ton of lies together. When you laugh at lies, they don't have any power over you because you are putting your hope in the truth instead. Let's try one together: "I'm too busy to experience God's presence". BAHAHAHAHA He's inside of every person He's in relationship with, and we can experience Him with every movement, every thought turned towards Him.

Festival of Cultures was last night, and it was awesome! It's a night to celebrate all the amazing people from all the amazing countries in the world who have come to Bethel. They dressed up, made delicious food to pass out, and entertained in various other ways, including some pretty cool dances.

Earlier I mentioned that my sister gave me the word "power" for this year, and then I also got the word "shine" during a worship set. I have 2 things to say about the second word. First of all, we should give thanks for our God-given talents and not think less of them. When I was younger I was very prideful and so as I matured I think I started to associate being good at something with being prideful. But excellence is not pride. Daniel and Joseph are two Biblical examples of men being promoted because of excellence. They used it for God's glory. Proverbs 22:29 says "Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men."

Also, God is all about that shine. He loves the radiance of beauty that His creation emits. Paul says that through purity we are to shine like stars in the midst of a crooked generation (Phil. 2:15). Nobody lights a candle and then puts it under a bowl (Matthew 5:15). God lit you up when you entered into relationship with Him, and he intends to show you off. That doesn't mean being in the spotlight all the time, but people will want the gospel if they notice a difference in you. I'll end with this quote from Kris Vallotton - "True humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less."

Here's an old pic, but it shines

Wow wow wow this song! Mount Zion by Jonathan Hesler. He and his wife led worship at Bethel this past week. 

Countdown to Korea: 34 days! I still need $650 by this Tuesday to make the deadline. If you would like to donate, click here :) 

My first vlog

It's a video blog, about South Korea!

Song of the week: Beautiful Exchange by Hillsong