TC You Know

Making Godly Decisions

2006-09-13T21:00:00.000-07:00

Wow, so it’s been a long time since I’ve posted on here…I’m sorry for that guys. Anyway, lately I’ve been having a hard time trying to figure out what direction I want to go in school. The decision is coming down to whether or not to go through Med-School. So a few nights ago during a quiet time it hit me that I was trying to make this decision on my own. So of course I prayed about it and asked God for his guidance. Then I started thinking about how to know if the choices I make are, in fact, Godly decisions. So that’s where this blog posting is coming from. I’m sorry there’s not a lot of depth to it this time, but like I said, it was just something that occurred to me.
It’s very evident that we’re constantly faced with making decisions. The problem with making our own decisions, is that we’re typically surrounded by peers telling us to make the decisions that, in fact, are not in our own best interest. This creates a force from both directions (wise and unwise) that makes it very difficult to understand what choice to make. So how do we know when the choice we’ve decided on is the right one or not? Obviously, it goes back to God. The idea is to rely on God to lead us in His direction. Constantly throughout scripture God gives very clear directions to the people He uses for His work; some examples:
Genesis 2:16-17 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."
-God gave Adam very clear and definite directions.

Exodus 3:5; "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground."

Also, God gives many clear directions to Paul throughout the New Testament, and Jesus does to His disciples, and countless times when He healed the blind He told them where to go to wash their eyes. God’s guidance is seen everywhere in the bible. We know that God will guide us in our decision-making if we ask Him because He makes promises to us in scripture.
In Psalms 16:11 it’s written; “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Psalm 32:8; “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.”
Proverbs 3:5-6; “Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”
1 John 5:14; This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

So it’s very obvious that God wants us to seek Him and ask Him and trust Him for any and every decision we have. He promises that He’ll show us where to go, He’ll guide us in His ways. So, in turn, not only can we be positive that we’re making the right decision, but also we’re glorifying God by giving up our own knowledge and understanding, and seeking and trusting His.

How do we pray?

2006-02-03T13:53:00.000-08:00

Often times I find myself praying for things that I want God to answer, but never get or see the answer. I thought maybe there was more to praying than what I thought. In Matthew 7:7-11, Jesus talks about praying and tells us how we are supposed to pray. He gives us 3 steps to follow when we pray. As you read through the verse He tells us to ASK, SEEK, and KNOCK.

1.) So first we must ASK God what it is we’re desiring. Now, this is simple but don’t forget, when we pray, to have complete faith that God will answer our prayers.

2.) The second step is to SEEK. So once we make our request(s) to God He’ll begin doing His part, but God wants us to do our part, and that is to seek out what God is showing/telling us. Now, this requires us to really listen to what He’s telling us, and requires faith that God is working.

3.) Last of all, we must KNOCK. What God means by knocking is that the path is being revealed to us, and God is giving us opportunities. We’re supposed to take these opportunities. But how do we know they are opportunities from God? Well, we have to ask Him if they are and listen carefully to what He tells us. (He will tell us quickly almost always)

So if we are asking with faith and seeking, why do answers or opportunities not arise? It’s simple, it’s not that God isn’t listening to us, it’s that he’s waiting for us to prove that we’re serious about our requests. We prove that by being consistent in our prayer life, even if it’s taking months. We can’t give up praying because God promises He will answer. But it’s not just about asking, we must listen and seek before we can knock on the opportunities He lays before us. A common misconception for the delay in answers is that what we’re praying for is not God’s will and so that’s why He’s not responding. The truth is, is that usually what we’re praying for is in fact His will for us, but we’re not yet ready to receive the answer (though we think we are). You see, God wants to answer our prayers and promises He will; Matthew 7:7-11 tells us that, but God first wants to make sure we’re spiritually ready to receive our requests. Prayers aren’t answered right away because God doesn’t know how to answer them, NO, prayers aren’t answered right away because God wants us to be consistent and keep praying about what we desire. God also takes time to set up circumstances for us that will lead us to our answer, and He wants us to be spiritually ready to receive our answer.
So, if you’re desiring something and praying about it, keep these steps in mind, as well as the verses. Be consistent and be patient. Listen to God and be active in prayer (seeking). And most of all, have faith and don’t give up. When you get to the point where you just think you can’t go on, just go a little more and it’s then that God usually answers. He wants to answer, be patient and allow Him time to work.

God bless,
Tyler

Men of God

2006-01-27T22:05:00.000-08:00

I've been asking myself the question lately, What does it mean to be a Godly man? OR What characteristics must we obtain to be Godly men? I've tried answering that question.
So guys, we know the societal view of what a man is. A man, according to culture, is someone who simply has a job and always supports his family. Now, this is the very basic idea of what a man (in societies’ terms) looks like.
So, is holding down a job and supporting a family all that it takes to be a man? No, but that is all it takes to be given the title “man.” The dictionary defines the word “man” in different ways. Two of the definitions really stuck out to me though. The first was the “worker.” Which, as I stated earlier, is one of the requirements to being a “man.” The other definition was “husband.” And, as also stated earlier, implies that a man have and support a family. So we know what society tells us we have to be, but lets get deeper than that, more REAL than that. What makes us men according to God? OR What makes us Godly men?
There are many characteristics that Godly men must have. I’m not going to go through all of these for the sake of my fingers from typing, and so whoever is reading this won’t get overwhelmed with all that is said. So my goal for now is to list a few characteristics and then later list more. So what characteristics/aspects should a Godly man have?
1.) A Godly man must be Godly!
We must always be seeking God and His will for our lives.
We must also fear God.
The reason fear is important is because it gives us strength in evangelism and helps to obey God and His word.
Let me give an example of what I mean about fear and obedience working together.
Ex. Abraham loved God, but feared God. Because Abraham feared God, he was obedient to God. God told Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac as an act of obedience to Him. So, through obedience, Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac. As Abraham raised the knife to kill his son, God saw his obedience and stopped him before killing Isaac. God then blessed Abraham with a ram for the burnt offering. (Genesis 22:1-14)

2.) A Godly man must be forgiving.
(Ephesians 4:32)
God calls us to be forgiving and compassionate because He is. He sacrificed His only son in order to fully forgive us and to teach us how to forgive one another.
An unforgiving man will dwell in bitterness that will eventually turn into hatred. It is also required because without forgiveness, we can have no relationships of any kind. God wants us to be men of forgiveness and compassion because He is, and He created us in His own image. (Genesis 1:27)

3.) A Godly man must be Faithful.
Faith is defined as a confident belief in the truth. It is also defined as a belief that does not rest on logic.
God wants us to be faithful in Him so that He can show us what He wants for us. (Proverbs 3:5-6) He has an amazing plan for each of us, but we will only see it as God intended for us to see it if we have complete faith in Him. God is sovereign and so we can rest assure that His will will be done, but the path leading to the end result is so much more amazing if we have complete faith and allow Him to guide us.
God wants to show us His Majesty through His blessings and his plan He has for us, but will only show us His complete plan if we’re faithful. (Jeremiah 29:11)
We must be men of Faith.

Keep in mind that when we have our complete faith in God, He’s the one guiding us which, in turn, makes us Godly leaders…which leads me to my next trait.

4.) A Godly man must be a leader.

There are two aspects of Leadership.
1.) The Family Leader.
We’re called to be Godly leaders of our homes. God gave men the role of leadership for our spouse and children. Once again, I’m using the fact that God created us in His image to analyze the point I’m trying to get across.
Ex. God demonstrates that the man is supposed to be the leader by saying that he is the Groom, and the church (the entire body of Christ) is His bride. The idea behind this analogy God uses is that He (the groom) is the Leader and we (the bride) are the followers. God is the perfect leader because he is God (obviously). God’s idea of a leader is one that follows after Him. We must be Godly leaders because we’re called to be the leaders, and if we’re not like Him in this aspect, how can we lead, support, protect, and love our spouse and children the way God wants us to.
God gave us the ability, but we must trust Him to guide us in the ways He wants us to go, and trust that he’ll help us to lead our families in the same direction.

2.) The evangelistic leader
The purpose of us being created was to have a relationship with God. God does however, call us and expects us to be evangelists so that everyone can have the joy of knowing God, and so that He can have an intimate relationship with each and everyone one of His children. If any girls read this, I want to point out that this type of leadership is expected of Godly women too. Not only that, but also leadership among peers whether they’re fellow believers or not.
Matthew 28:19-20

On a side note: God tells us and demonstrates to us that the only way to truly be a leader to one or many people, is to first build a solid relationship with that person. This means a friendship, courtship, or parent/child relationship, etc.
Ex. Adam and Eve Ex. 2 Jesus and his disciples

5.) A Godly man must be Patient.

Patience- calm response to stress (will to wait)
We can know that patience is important because the new testament refers to patience over 30 times.
Patience is an unnatural characteristic. It requires us to somewhat suffer now, for the good that is to come. Keep in mind that patience is not a gift; we obtain patience when we receive Christ. It is a skill we must practice. Many people may say that since patience is a calm response in stressful situations that having anger implies the lack of patience. That statement is completely false! Anger does not mean we’re impatient at all. Impatience comes from the way we react to our anger; for example, if we act in an anxious or out of control manner. Patience is being calm and willfully waiting, but anger is going to exist from time to time…we just need to know how to react to that anger.
I have listed below 8 reasons stating why patience is SO important.

1. We cannot obey God without patience. (if we don’t give Him time to tell us what we need to do, how can we obey)
2. It’s vital in every single relationship. (a relationship cannot and will not stand without it…think about it)
3. Timing is essential, so we must patiently wait for God to tell us when the right time is.
4. We must be patient to be able to hear God. (God doesn’t tell us what we ask Him to tell us right away, we must wait and pray repetitively for His responses. Be patient)
5. Be patient when praying for something. (Let God build up circumstances so we can be fully receive His blessings.) (Give Him the time He’ll use to create a way to give you your prayer requests. Remember to let His will be done…not everything we ask for will be given to us.)
6. It creates stability within us. Our life is calmer and less stressful because we know God will take care of things in His own timing.
7. Patience makes suffering easier. It keeps us from losing hope and keeps God in control.
8. Patience allows us to see God at work. (this increases our faith in God)

God is always patient with us, and asks for us to be patient as well.
-side note: The more patient we are, the more God can trust us with, and God trusting us allows Him to bless us in even more amazing ways because He knows we’ll be patient enough to wait it out in order to see his full plan.

6.) A Godly man must Love.

God’s primary purpose for creating us was for Him to express His love for us, to us, and for us to express our love to Him.
The reason for that we need to love is for peacefulness among neighbors, kindness, gentleness, etc.
Love is so great to God that He COMMANDS us to love. (Luke 10:27)
It’s the greatest commandment.
We are to love God more than anything else, just as He loves us more than anything else. Nothing should ever come between our love for God. Don’t get me wrong, God desires us to have relationships, (that’s why He created Eve) but God calls us to love Him first and foremost. His love for us is greater than anything else, just as our love for Him should be greater than any other love.
God did not need us, he created us because He wanted to love us and be loved by us.
Love is selfless, which is how we should be as well. Remember the example God gave us? Christ died for the sake of love. There is no greater love than that. A sacrifice, the perfect example of Agape love. The love God has for us.
These Characteristics as well as others that I have not yet posted are all part of being spiritually mature. And true spiritual maturity is what a Godly man must obtain. A Godly man reflects Christ, we are to be like Him.
I researched scripture, and this is the answer I found to my question. These types of characteristics, characteristics that God has, are what we must have in order to truly be called a Godly man.
God bless,
Tyler

The Demo

2005-11-15T09:24:00.001-08:00

Wow, so it's been forever since i last posted on here. Holy cow, anyway, i guess i don't have that much to say today. This past weekend Famous In May recorded a few songs for a demo cd we're making. It actually went surprisingly fast too. I was very surprised at the quality of sound the songs had too. Our lead guitarist/lead vocalist Adam Anglin wrote a new song last week entitled "Twist It," we put it on the demo and it sounds awesome..i'm not even lying to you! Anyway, hopefully we'll get that full demo knocked out within the week, we're going to try anyway. But it's sounding great so far. Anyway, as far as upcoming shows we have no idea yet..but we're definately looking into it and i think that this demo will help a lot, that is infact the entire point of the demo cd. Anyway, It's fun fo sho and i'm supposed to be writing a piano-driven song for the band, so i've definately got to get started on that. I'm thinking Ben Folds-ish style but i'm not sure yet, i may write more like David Gray or something like that. Anyway, i guess that's all i have for now, the demo is coming along well and the songs should be put onto the myspace.com webpage, i'll definately keep you all informed. Anyway, i hope all is well with everyone and thanks for reading. God bless. -Tyler

Home Again

2005-09-06T07:21:00.001-07:00

Well i got back from Fall Retreat yesterday afternoon. I played keyboard at camp with the band. The camp was pretty cool, i mean most of you have been to the camp before anyway so you know what it's all about. If you don't know, it's pretty much just a weekend to hang out with people you go to church with. Anyway, it was all weekend and it was a lot of fun, i'm glad i played at it. I guess that's all i have really, just a little insite on my weekend. Stay classy and keep things tasteful. Oh, have a good day too...it's nice outside so...go enjoy. Lata

Hello

2005-08-30T07:37:00.000-07:00

All i have to say is this...it's a great day, the sun is shining, lets have a picnic.