I remember finally finding that place online that had the best deal, but you had to call them up.

I was too young to know that there was a reason you had to call, and couldn’t order online.

I remember talking to this guy for what seemed like an hour for something that should have taken 10 minutes. He told me that the price online was the price of just the body without the lens. I told him that the online store said that it was a full kit including a lens… and a charger ( which is another thing he tried to sell me later). After finally convincing him that i believe there is a lens in the box he is sending me, He proceeded to the extra batteries and chargers that I would “definitely need, because without these things you cannot charge your camera and it would be useless”. “isn’t there a charger and a battery included?” I asked. He responded with a simple “no, you would need these things to charge use your camera”

I ended up buying an extra battery and an extra charger because I was lied to.

I read something today that reminded me of this.

In 2 corinthians 2:12-17 Paul is talking about how his spirit was not at rest at a place he came to on his journeys.
He mentioned that even though there was an open door, there was still something that was not at peace inside of him.
So he moved on.

Paul could have done a great work here. He even says in verse 12 ” the door was opened for me in the Lord”…
I don’t know if he had regrets about leaving, or if he wanted to stay because he could have done something great there…
BUT he tells us what comforted him in verse 14

” BUT thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.”

He says, you know what people? that door may have been open, I could have stayed there and been successful, I could may have been victorius there as well, BUT no matter where God leads me, I know he already has the victory
because through us…
through those who follow him…
we are spreading the fragrance of Christ.

Then paul goes on to explain his comfort…

Paul says in verse 17
“we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ“

That word peddler in the greek has connotations of people who “corrupt and adulterate their commodities for the sake of gain”.

that dude on the phone who lied to me was a peddler.

Paul says, we are men of sincerity
that word that paul uses for sincerity derives form this greek word “eilikrines” which means something is “found pure when unfolded and examined by the sun’s light”.
How many of us can say that when we make decisions, even those decisions that are “for the ministry”, that we are not doing them for the sake of gain.
I have found that sometimes I even lie to myself. I have found that it is easy to convince myself of something, to rationalize my decisions that I am making without giving them a second thought as to whether I am doing these things out of my own agenda or God’s.

I’ve had doors open to me before, and I’ve walked through them. But it wasn’t because God wanted me there, it was because I thought that I could be successful.
last year I shared with some of my classmates that my biggest fear is that I wont do something great for God’s kingdom. but there is something so wrong about the way I thought. The fact that I was focused on ME doing something GREAT.
Even if I say I am afraid that God wont do something great through me…
the emphasis is that I get the glory for it.

My challenge for any believer that is reading this is that YOU do something that glorifies GOD, even if it doesn’t benefit YOU… do it even if YOU go unnoticed.

Because we aren’t peddlers.

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?”

Then he goes on and does something that might confuse us. He quotes a psalm and says, you know guys, its even written in our scriptures “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” e

at first glance it seems as if paul is making a point that is antithetical to what he is trying to prove. Why talk about Gods love and then use a quote about us being killed and slaughtered like sheep, all for his sake?

If we look deeper we find what paul is communicating.
He says … tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, death… these things have been the lot of Gods people for centuries. EVEN OUR ANCESTORS WROTE ABOUT THEM!

Traditionally, suffering through trials and hardships of life has been a part of following Jesus Christ. Jesus tells us himself to ” take up your cross daily, and follow me.”

Paul goes on in verse 37 and uses my favorite greek word in the entire new testament. he calls us “hypernikao”

u’per – meaning over and beyond
nikao – meaning victorious, having the victory, a conqueror.

he says “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”

Paul says, even through these sufferings and these hardships of life that are bound to come – we can face life with complete confidence – because We are are OVER and BEYOND VICTORIOUS, we are MORE THAN CONQUERORS through Christ

A couple of weeks ago our church had a baptism service. Our church meets on sunday mornings in the Taunton, MA Holiday Inn. So naturally for a baptism service during the winter, we used the Hotel’s pool. 5 people got baptized and it was amazing. Things are going well. Church is awesome, Youth groups been going great, school been hard…there’s been a lot of work this semester, but its been stretching me. Things are good.

Its been a while, I know.
there has been a lot going on recently!
At church this sunday we started our Original Life series.
Everything worked out great.

Also Rev Days at BBC was this past week.
I enjoyed designing the t shirts, and for the first time i am content with the way they came out!
thanks to Addison Advertising!