Explosion

Every Tuesday night me and a few other guys head up to the chili's in Mesquite and have a bible study. Sometimes it's real hard for me to motivate myself to do the study for the week but I have no clue why. Every night after bible study, I go home on this spiritual high and know for sure I met with God. Sometimes I do get frustrated with the study. There's a lack of committment and we don't have a definite leader since Andy left.

So this past Tuesday night was amazing. It seems like when I declare we've had the best night ever another one comes along that blows me away. Dean led our study this past Tuesday and God revealed so much to me. We talked about the frustration of waiting for our church to explode and what its gonna take for that to happen. Kip really painted a perfect picture for me when he said, "He doesn't need our help [for the growth of our church] but He does not go to work until we give Him glory by acting in faith." What a breakthrough of a statement. When will we all begin to submit ourselves and act in faith? If we honestly long to see more people reached through our church when will we begin to let God have full control?

I left Chili's that night in a terrible state of fear. God really spoke to me and showed me where the ministry is taking me. I guess the fear came from knowing how I wasn't ready for the task at hand. In many different ways I feel ready. I feel like my talent is ready (though still needing constant improvement). I feel like I'm lining up my finances (in case God needs me full time). Everything just seems perfect except for my spiritual walk with God. There are things that I am wanting to control myself but I am realizing that I just need to give God the control. God showed me every aspect that I need to step up in my life and when He reveals that to you, its a fearful moment.

I'm praying that God reveals the same thing to me to everyone else who even plays even the smallest roll in ministry. We need to pray for these people specifically. Please pray for me and pray for those in leadership positions so that God can begin the work.

New Mp3 Player

It's been a long time since I have posted but a lot has sure been on my mind. Just because I don't post doesn't mean i've fallen out...just means I'm probably not ready to talk about it...

I need a new mp3 player. I'm thinkin maybe I do need an Ipod. The one I have now only holds 256mb and thats just not cutting it. I have about 14 Matt Chandler sermons and i've found that I can probably only hold 20 or so and thats not going to cut it. Matt Chandler sermons are probably my favorite thing to talk about right now. That guy has really had a huge affect on my life. His sermons have caused me to examine my life and realized how far I am from having it figured it out. His down to earth style really challenges the person I tend to be. Also, if it wasn't for me listening to his sermons and studying them in depth I might have never found a passion for teaching/speaking. I always thought it was something I wasn't capable of and the thought of it didn't really excite me. But now just the thought of talking to ppl about Jesus truly ignites my soul.

Please labor with me in prayer...we all need it.

The Lord is Patient

I have faith in the Lord and am thankful for his patience. Sometimes when I make mistakes my soul floods with shame and I picture God in heaven banging His hand on the throne saying "When is this Daniel guy gonna figure it out!" When really He is waiting to comfort us and encouraging us to get back up and try again. I don't doubt that he gets frustrated with our sin but I still think he knows what its like to battle it.

Hebrews 2:16-18

16We all know that Jesus came to help the descendants of Abraham, not to help the angels. 17Therefore, it was necessary for Jesus to be in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. He then could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. 18Since he himself has gone through suffering and temptation, he is able to help us when we are being tempted.

We cannot try to fight the battle of sin by ourselves. The assurance is in this very passage that he knows exactly what we are going through and is there to help us. I mean its the whole reason He came to this earth! Not only so that we would gain eternal life through him but so that he could help us in the journey that lies in between salvation and our last breath here on earth.

Let Us Pray

If you're new to my website please take some time to read a few of my posts. It's fairly new and I want everyone to get caught up.

In the meantime pray for me and I will pray for you. I pray that God will break the parts of my heart that need to be broken and mold them to His form. Also, God has convicted my heart for India. There is a trip being organized for late summer early fall and I feel that God is calling me to that. I've heard about the trip but I hadn't surrendered myself to go. I think the reason was selfish more than anything. Afraid to leave my comfort zone and reluctant to give up almost 2 weeks vacation. So pray for that and my heart being ready. Feel free to email me if you have a specific prayer request or just something you need to get off your chest.

danielgearner@sbcglobal.net

We'll Save the Tears for the Lost

Crooked souls trying to stay up straight
Dry eyes in the pouring rain
The shadow proves the sunshine
The shadow proves the sunshine

Two scared little runaways
Hold fast till the break of day light
When the shadow proves the sunshine
The shadow proves the sunshine

I think everyone will have there own interpretation here. Jon Foreman has what I think are some pretty deep thoughts. I don't know if this is what he was thinking when he wrote this but i'll give my revelation and let God reveal to you. The answer isn't always the same for everyone. To me, Jon is in deep struggle but he knows he has to be strong. He knows that even when the trials rain down on us we must have dry eyes. We must cling on to the faith that gives us strength. But when we ask God for strength we must at the same time ask God to break our hearts for the lost. We'll save the tears for the lost.

It's funny how God reveals things to me through the stupid things I do. I need to be strong. I need to save my tears for the lost.

Quarter Life Crisis

The other day I was looking through my sister’s Cds. She had borrowed my Shawn McDonald Cd (live in Seattle...amazing) and as I was flipping through her case I came across the John Mayer ‘Room for Squares" Cd. I wasn’t sure why but I felt like I needed to hear something from that Cd. John Mayer is sort of Acoustic/Jazzy/Easy Listening and I almost forgot how much I liked his material. One of his songs really ended up standing out to me. You always wonder if your favorite artists have any interest in God. Sometimes the lyrics convey deep emotions and a longing for something more. So deep that it seems spiritual in a sense.

John Mayer:

So what, so I've got a smile on
But it's hiding the quiet superstitions in my head
Don't believe me
When I say I've got it down

Everybody is just a stranger but
That's the danger in going my own way
I guess it's the price I have to pay
Still "everything happens for a reason"
Is no reason not to ask myself

If I am living it right
Am I living it right?
Am I living it right?
Why Georgia, why?

Sometimes I get stuck in a trend. Thinking that poor decisions are just a part of everything happening for a reason. Lately life has felt like a crisis situation. Very chaotic. Impossible to translate meaning to any occurrences in life. I know that, to keep myself in check, I have to constantly be asking myself "Am I living it right?" I need to go to sleep at night knowing that I did everything I could to stay in the will of God. And yes, sometimes I do fall out of the will of God. But the more I ask myself and the more I challenge myself, the closer I will be to Him. I’m asking God to pull me out of this quarter life crisis. To begin a stirring in my soul and a continual questioning of the progress of my spiritual life. Because lately, it seems there has been none made.