Derrick's Decision

Derrick Freeman is going to college to become an accountant, but is college really God's will for him? If not, he could be faced with the possibility of giving up his future, his career, and even the chance to find the right wife. When God's answer comes, Derrick realizes he must make one of the biggest decisions of his entire life.

Decisions, Decision, Decisions!!!

They face us every day. None seem to be as overwhelming as should I go to college or should I not. Many of us have thought, where am I going to find my spouse, if I don't go off to college. Then we remember the testimony of so many who have told us stories about how they dated at college and met their spouse. In our hearts and minds we being to think, maybe thats where I need to go, to college.

If college is God's perfect will for your life, by all means do not hesitate, follow God. Bible college can be a great asset. It can help shape and instill character into you. It can help you learn the in's and out's of ministry. It can be a great blessing. Yes, God could lead you to the perfect one at college. All of these are not the issue, the issue is do you have to go looking for the one, or could God bring you the one right where you are. If you are considering college as a means to an end, (the end of singleness), then may I present to you a little book called Derrick's Decision .

Could God really being me a spouse in my little home town? In my little home church? Our answer is yes!

That is exactly what God did for Samantha and Myself. 

Start at the begging (first blog) and follow Our Journey of how God brought us together. 

It truly was a Divine Betrothal.

Decisions of Our Own

 I knew in my heart I was right in God's perfect will. I had thought about college, but knew there wasn't a peace. Offers to work at other churches came and still no peace. I knew I was where God wanted me, and I am so grateful I stayed. It was here at home that God did a personal revival in my own heart, and helped me get some things straight.

On the other hand God had to move Samantha away for a while to do the same work in her that he was doing in me. God had to take Samantha to be a counselor at Apache Creek Youth and Deaf Ranch, for the summer. Which truly allowed her to surrender to God.


 It was truly amazing how fast God started working when both Samantha and I surrendered to God's will for our life. When we quit worrying about who and when and how come, ect. But rather just said "Ok, God your will be done!, Your way is always best!"


 Only now that we are married, and we review how God was working in our lives at the time, do we see just how amazing it is.

The more I read and study, the more I see things that I wish I would of done different, but through God's amazing guidance, as both Samantha and Myself gave everything to God, HE worked it out amazingly in his perfect way and His perfect time.

If you want to avoid the hurt, do it God's way.

You might be thinking how do I even know what God's will for my life is?

Romans 12:1-2 tells how to find the will of God for our life. In these verses we find God's prerequisite for revealing His perfect will.

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

In these verses we have a picture of the almighty God, begging us. Begging us to do what? To present your body as a living sacrifice. This means that each day of our life we are to give our life to God. Much the same way as you would give and award or a gift to someone.

Think of it this way, if you were going to give a gift, you wouldn't give it to them in some old dirty wrapping paper. You would want to dress it up. If you gave it to them all dirty and tattered, it would be like telling them, "I didn't really want to give this to you." "You are not worth it."

God says that our bodies, while there is life in them, should be presented daily to him. How? As a living sacrifice. We ought to be giving him our best. Are you sacrificing daily for the Lord?

Holy

This means with all purity. Not with what we consider pure, but with what God considers pure. His standard is perfection. If we are not careful we will begin to compare ourselves with others. Then based on that comparison we will decide if we are doing good or not. The only bad part about that is that is not God''s standard. And we can always look for someone who is further away from Christ then us, thus making us feel better about our self, while at the same time not being any more holy.

Acceptable Unto God

Along the same lines. We are to find out what God says is acceptable. What God says is right, not what we think is right. Our heart might say I'm doing pretty good. But God says, you are to be acceptable unto him.  We are to be what God expects us to be.

Which is your reasonable service.

God says this is the least that you should do. After all he has done for you. This is our responsible service. This is the only thing that makes sense to do.

With all that Christ has done for us. His death on the cross for us so that we could have a home in heaven, so that we could have life and have it more abundantly. Knowing that soon the rapture will happen and we will all give an account for what we did with our life. God says not only is it what you need to do, but it is the least that you should do for all that he has done for you. God gave his life for you, you should give your life for him!

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Be not conformed, Be Transformed

What is the difference between conformed and transformed?

Conformed is to be pressed or pressured. Pressured by the world.
Think of it like play-doh molds. You stick the lump of play-doh in the mold and press hard and out comes a conformed peace of play-doh, the spitting image. 


The pressures of the world, seem to push and push, and try to make us like them. All throughout our society the goal of Satan is to make us Christians like he world. Though things like TV, Movies, Music, Magazines, Billboards, ect. Everything is telling us, dress this way, act this way, be this way, if not you are not cool. Yet God expects us to be different. Can the lost tell we are Christians? 

Transformed is to be changed from the inside out. Like a butterfly in a cocoon. The  greek word used in the Bible for transform is metamorphoō which is where we get the word metamorphosis. We are to to be constantly transformed by the renewing of our mind. 

As we fill our hearts and minds with the Word of God, it begins to purge us, and shape us into what Christ would have us to be, Holy.

This is the Goal of God, while the devil wants you to be like the world, God wants you to be set apart and holy. To be not like the world. 


So many Christians say that Jesus changed their life, and yet, their lifestyle does not bear witness of that. They still watch the same things, listen to the same things, dress the same way, go to the same places.

That ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God

Then God will show to us what is that good, acceptable and perfect will, that he has for us. God's desire is for us to know his perfect will. But if our hearts our not focused and centered on him, if he were to show us that perfect will, we would run. 

The best way to find the will of God is to let God discern your heart, intentions and motives. Seek God and ask him to reveal any hidden sin in your life.
Seek the guidance and wisdom of your authorities. (Parents and Pastor) and let them help you make the decisions.


Then...

Surrender to it, before you know what it is!

White Water Rafting for the Lord!

You say' rafting for the Lord?' And I say an enthusiastic "YUP!"

Just a few days ago our Christian school had its "end of the year" field trip. 


We headed up to Pagosa Springs, Colorado for a rafting trip. It wasn't extreme white water rafting, but it really was a lot of fun. 


It was more intense then I thought it was going to be. I will be honest, I was expecting a nice little casual float down the river. But we actually hit some big rapids!

This was the first time to go rafting for just about all of us. (A total of 27 students and counselors). It was a little bit "chilly" but it was very much worth it.

It was so much fun to go rafting with Samantha! As always having her around makes life more fun! We also had our Pastor and his wife in our raft too. That made for some funny moments!! It was fun to see us all out of our element.

By the end of this trip we were all soaked, but praise the Lord the rafting company gave us water proof jackets and pants. It kept us all pretty dry, on our inner clothes. But our heads and shoes were soaked!

PS all our ladies wore skirts or culottes, but because of the cold weather, the rafting company offered us the water proof pants.  

Who's ready?!?!

So how was it rafting for the Lord. Adam?

Well, I'm glad you asked! This trip like all of our school/church trips is always centered around the Lord. But there were several things that made this trip so special in my mind.

Great Memories

I have no doubt in my mind that each one of the students had a great time. They were able to build lasting memories that they will never forget. Some day they will look back and think, "I sure had a lot of fun with my Christian school, and my Christian friends. 


If we can help them to see that being a Christian is not boring, (but rather the most exciting life their is) we can help them to continue to live for the Lord.

My prayer is that will help them when they are tempted to have worldly friends. That they will look back and think of these times where they had pure, holy fun, centered around the Lord and good fellowship.

Help Some Kids Stay On The Right Side

Unfortunately as it seems to be with most kids, once they get a taste of the world it seems to sink its hooks in them. Then it becomes a fight to get them out of it. They will ride the fence. Some days they will be so close to God then other times you can feel the worldliness.

It is times like these trips that will help win the battle in their heart. They will feel and experience a genuine fun, that is pure and holy and they will begin to crave that kind of fun. They will begin to hate the sinful "fun" that has them constantly looking over their shoulder, waiting to get caught. That kind of life for a Saved, born again child of God, becomes exhausting. It becomes miserable. And it becomes detested.

On the other hand if we can help them have great times/memories with the right friends/groups, we will place in their hearts a lasting desire to have Godly friends. This will help them always stay faithful, to God, church and even their spiritual authorities.

Kids Are Crying Out For Activities

Most kinds in my experience are not bad, nor are they seeking the wrong kind of fun. They are simply bored, and through their boredom the "wicked one" comes along and offers them an solution to their boredom. He offers them, TV, Moves, Video Games, Physical Relationships, Drugs, Alcohol. And sadly so many take him up on his offer. All they can see is the instant gratification, but not the disastrous results.

As a Jr High Sunday school teacher I can see it; where already some of the kids are seeking outside recreation. They are kids and they love sports, and because most churches are not providing them an outlet, they seek it though worldly outlets. No, not all extra curricular activities or programs are wrong, but  many do lead our youth to experience worldly talk, and ideas.


We as a church need to help minister to our youth. We need to provide them actives, we need our youth involved in bus routes, visitation, nursing home ministries, ect. They also need time to play, and if we can provide a time for them their appetites will be full. We need to keep our kids busy, and most importantly busy for the Lord.

This can be a great ministry

No, church is not only about fun and games. Its also about work. But for a young person they respond better if there are activities for them. 


We can have a time of playing, and then sit everyone down and have a time of preaching or training. We can have a time of fun, and then a time of serious bible study.


If you want to extend this ministry and make it an outreach, then you can have bus kids come. Expect the same standards that you would have for any activity. Let them bring their friends and family. Play games, set up tournaments. And most importantly have a time of preaching, a time of presenting the plan of Salvation.


We can get lots of people to attend games, that you couldn't get attend church. Family will come out if they hear their child, relative is playing in a game. people enjoy watching sports and will attend and this presents us with a wonderful chance to share the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ with them. 

We as Independent Baptists need to make sure we are in a healthy balance of. Work and play, yes play. We need not be so strict that we never let our young people have a time to play and enjoy. At the same time we need to remember we are not here on this earth to "eat, drink and be merry." We have a joy to do, we are commissioned to read the world with the gospel.


I am most guilty of this mentality, I have been accused of being an all work and no play person. But Samantha has taught me that kids need to be kids too. We cant rush them to be adults. We must let their little personalities grow. We must teach them, but at the same time realize they are kids. And they need to have that time to play.

As a husband I have had to learn that I need to put my family first, before my ministry, because they day I said "I Do" I received a ministry and responsibility to my family. My bigest fear is that I would be a great preacher and see many souls saved, but that I would neglect my own family and not see them saved. That would break my heart. 


I want to have that healthy balance, and God gave me just the lady to help me in that area. My Divine Betrothal!

If you dont want to get wet, dont sit in the front!!

God cares about us and he wants us to enjoy life. We need to remember that we dont not have to be miserable paupers, in order to be good Christians. However God does expect that we seek to use every part of our life to be a witness for him. We are commanded to win this world for Christ. God gave us a great commission. 


That means that every where we go we are to be a witness to the lost. Actively not passively trying to wing them.

We survived!!

Maybe you are wondering how you can get your youth involved in ministry, or maybe you are wishing the youth would get more serious about God.

Talk to your pastor about what God is doing in your heart and work with him to develop a plan.

Perhaps the Lord could lead you to an activity ministry to help the youth have fun serving the Lord.


-------------------------------------------------

After the rafting, we went to have a cookout at the park. By this time we were all starving!
This was lots of fun as the kids ran around and played tag with a volleyball.

Then it was time to make SMORES!

We used the provided grill and put in some charcoal and made a makeshift camp fire. It was a lot of fun. And from what I hear it was really good too!

Ahhh...now for a relaxing ride home :-)

With one quick stop at the Echo Canyon Amphitheater. 


This place is pretty remarkable. You can whisper and the sound travels literally hundreds of feet. This has always been one of my favorite places and I was blessed to share it with my wonderful wife!

In the side walk, we noticed that someone had put our initials in the cement. AWW how sweet! ;-)

With God everything is so much better! 

Being a Christian we will always have more fun then the world!

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

John 10:10

Happy Spiritual Birthday Samantha!

It was on this day 9 years ago that Samantha accepted Jesus as her personal Lord and Saviour. 

I just wanted to say how thankful I am for what the Lord has done in her. She is a wonderful person, a loving wife, a caring sister, daughter, and granddaughter and seems to just make friends where ever she goes.

I am so thankful to have such a woman of God.