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Luke 9 – A Lesson in Entrepreneurship From Jesus

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Published on March 7, 2013, by in Bible Reading.

luke9 becoming a believerToday a group of friends and I reviewed Luke 9:1-15 at lunch. We meet up once a week to eat, read the bible, and check in with each others lives. In really, I am extremely lucky to have found a group of guys like this.  As you know, I’m new on my walk and want to seek as much wisdom as I can. So far, everyone in this group has been a blessing.

When reading Luke 9 and the parable of feeding 5,000 people, something jumped out to me. Now, I have heard this story several times, but, I have never heard it from this view point. I’m looking forward to hearing your feedback.

 

Here is the scripture Luke 9 NIV - I have underlined the key points for my theory.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve

9 When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 3 He told them: “Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt. 4 Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. 5 If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” 6 So they set out and went from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere.

7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was going on. And he was perplexed because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead, 8 others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life. 9 But Herod said, “I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?” And he tried to see him.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

10 When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida, 11 but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.

12 Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.”

13 He replied, “You give them something to eat.”

They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.” 14 (About five thousand men were there.)

But he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 15 The disciples did so, and everyone sat down. 16 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people. 17 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

 

Ok, Follow my logic here:

Luke 9:1-6,  Jesus is training the twelve. They have been blessed with the Holy Spirit and now they must go heal the sick and drive out demons. Jesus is giving them a training assignment. He even tells them what they can bring with them and how they must act.

Luke 9: 10:12, The twelve come back, report their mission to Jesus, and go on to the next problem to solve. They find them selves trying to feed 5,000 people and see they don’t have enough food. Their solution? Turn them away so they can find ways to feed themselves.

Luke 9:13: And Jesus says “He replied, “You give them something to eat.” – Ok, let’s focus on this. When I first read this, I my first thought was “WHAT!?! Jesus is an Entrepreneur! (among other things)”, this is where it gets crazy.

My Background.

I own a small start up company in Seattle and have a small team. I am blessed with the challenge of trying to document a, if I may say so, genius & innovative process that has never been done before. When I say challenging, I mean to say that, well, at times I want to pull my hair out.

Here’s the deal, people don’t get it. I train and train and train people until they are blue in the face. I send them on training missions with clients and when they come back I give them a small test. Really, the goal is to if they learned the objective and if they can creatively apply it to a new situation. 80% of the time, people fail the test. No big deal. I go back to my whiteboard and try to find out what I did wrong. Why didn’t my team “get it?”

Fast Forward Back to Luke 9:13

Jesus just sent his twelve out on a training mission. When they returned they presented a problem, “Hey Jesus, we need to feed 5,000 people and we don’t have food.” Jesus Replied “You Feed Them.”

In this moment, I believe Jesus knew that the twelve had the power to do so. They just came back from a mission of using the Holy Spirit to heal the sick and cast out demons. Jesus wanted to see if they could think outside the box with their gift. So far, the twelve only did things that they were told, they only did things that they were trained to do.

Let me ask you this, what makes a good leader? I’d say the ability to go above an beyond. The ability to try new things, take risks and not be-afraid to present new ideas. The ability to collaboratively work together to find solutions.

Like I mentioned, I run a start up company. People that present problems to me and don’t have the ability to think outside the box tend not to last long.

13 He replied, “You give them something to eat.”

Jesus was testing them on their leadership, he wanted to see if they would use the Holy Spirit (for Good) in a situation that they were not trained on. And you know what, they (we) failed.

Now, Jesus is the Father and we are the kids. Jesus is the teacher and we are the students. What happens when the teacher presents a student with a chance to impress the entire class, and the student fails? The teacher shows them what they wanted them to learn. What happens when the Father takes his Kid out to the soccer field and gives him the chance to display critical thinking, then the kid fails? The Father smiles, is a  little disappointed, but knows he much teach more. “Silly child, one day you will understand” the Father might say.

Other Questions

1) What other tests, like this one, are displayed in the Bible? Did we pass?

2) Is their any evidence in the Bible that the twelve did learn from this lesson?

3) Did Jesus want us (The Twelve) to step up their game? If so, why?

4) If didn’t learn to step up our game, how did this effect the last 2,000 years of teachings? Should we be doing more with the Holy Spirit?

In closing, I keep thinking ahead to Luke 17:6

“he replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.”

If we can’t uproot a mulberry tree we can’t feed 5,000 people. But, if our faith was as small as a mustard seed, we could. Man, I thought my faith was growing, I never knew a mustered seed was so BIG!

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How Can Learnings From The Ecumenical Councils Save The World?

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Published on February 16, 2013, by in Uncategorized.

Two months ago I bumped into someone in the hallways of my office building and before we knew it, our conversation turned to Christ. This person is more experienced then I with teachings from the bible. I’m very fortunate for this, and it has helped me with my walk tremendously   Over the last two months we have been meeting once per week for an hour. Doing this time he has been educating me on the bible’s & churches history. This has helped me tremendously with my journey.

Today, doing one of our talks, I had an Idea. It was clear as day.

Seven Ecumenical Councils

My understanding of the Seven Ecumenical Councils is that these are the churches documents that fought off Heresy. Each time the Gospel was threatened, the elders from the church got together and developed a belief statement to protect that following of the church.

 

Bad Always Attacks Good

 

Bad Fighting Good, Seventh Ecumenical Council

It’s no secret. When ever you introduce something good into a large crowd, a percentage of the crowd will attack the good. The bad wants nothing more then to destroy the good. It’s pure evil and will will stop at nothing. Well, what can we learn from this?  The Gospel has survived many attacks from the bad. How did they survive? A strategy was created through a collaborative process to create the  Nicene Creed and other documents to fight evil.

Good Fights Back…And Wins

Good Fights Back - Seven Ecumenical Councils

 

Good fights back…and wins! This is good news. Still, I want to know how. How did the elders figure out how to defeat evil? What team building exercises did they use?  How did they overcome their issues, pull together, and create a plan that defeated evil? What can we learn from this?

You know, problem solving techniques can be applied to any problem, regardless of the subject matter. The question is, if we can identify their strategies we can use them to fight evil in slimier situations. This battle against evil has gone on for  hundreds of years, and we keep winning. Free will and faith wins.

How can we change the word?

When I’m solving problems at work it can be very difficult to look outside my industry for solutions. I surround myself with marketers and business owners. Sometimes I think that cross-collaboration with different industries that have slimier problems is the key.

Follow me on this one. In what other situation does evil have no other goal then to destroy good? Where can we apply the learning from the Seven Ecumenical Councils?

When Virius are introduced to the human body, they want nothing more to do then to destroy the health cells. Does the below image look filmier?

bad attacks

 

Fighting HIV, AIDS, & Ebola is very different then fighting Heresy. I have a strong feeling that the problem solving models, strategy, and through process applied to the Seven Ecumenical Councils can be used in the fight. You never know when innovation is going to hit you square in the face. Once the answer reviles itself to you its clear as day and you wounder why you never saw it. The worlds largest problems can be solved by thinking out of the box.

All I’m suggesting here is that when you see slimier problems and one problem can’t be solved, look at the problem that has been solved and learn from it!

My next step….Identify the strategies and share them :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Becoming a New Christen, Struggles in Faith

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Published on February 1, 2013, by in Becoming a Believer, Struggles In Faith.

Well, it’s almost been a year since I was saved. Because i’m not sure what the exact date is its hard to celebrate a birthday. I do remember going to a Easter service last year, so I have a feeling that I was saved in late March 2012.

It’s been a long year and it has been full of its ups and downs. But, i’m proud to say that I’m still believing and support the decisions that I have made. I’m not perfect and I do have struggles in faith. Here are some of the issues that i’m up against, please let me know your thoughts and recommend scriptures.

God bless you :)

God Knows Whats Going To Happen:  I’m having a hard time believing that God knows whats going to happen. I like the idea that my free will makes things interesting and unpredictable. Sure, I can believe that God knows what the end is going to be like, but, does God know what sin i’m going to make tomorrow or the choices that I’m going to make?

Time has already happened: If God knows whats going to happen, this means that time has already happened. I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around this one too.

God put this on my heart: This is a phrase that I hear a lot in Church and in small groups. Yes, I give credit to God for all that I do and the gifts that I have. But, when I act on something it’s hard for me to think that “God made me do it” or “God put this on my heart.” Keep in mind that I have never heard God speak to me, I can’t hear his voice. I have felt the holy spirit before, but this is a different feeling then what I believe, “God put this on my heart” would feel like.

Worship: The past few months at Church its been extremely hard for me to focus  and worship. I usually go to Church by myself, but every now and then a friend will come with me. When I first started going I went with a loved one (now my ex-girlfriend). She was further in her walk then I, and I had my biggest moments at Church with her.  Going to Church with a loved one was a completely different experience then going with a friend or by myself. When I’m by myself or with a friend I feel that my guard and analytical mind is up more.

Other Religions: I’m having a hard time putting all of my eggs in one basket. What about all the other religions? I feel as if I need to take time and learn more. But some part of me does not want to move away from the path that I’m on.

Dedicate my Life to Jesus: Wow, what a statement. Thinking of this still makes me uneasy. This is a big commitment. I hear others comment on how they have gave their life to God, and some assume that I have as well. But, the idea of giving up total control makes me uneasy.

A new way of looking at things: I go to small groups at my Church, some are men’s groups and the others are co-ed. At these groups I hear people talking about God in their life, and how they live their life. Sometimes my guard goes up and I think, “These people are a little over the edge.” I don’t want to end up like them! Yes, I want to live a holy and religious life, but I don’t want to loose my free will or the ability to think for myself.

 

 

 

 

 

Is Their Ever A Moment of Absolute Faith?

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Published on January 1, 2013, by in Becoming a Believer, Struggles In Faith.

Is their ever a moment of absolute faith? If so, what is needed to reach this moment? Is it different for everyone?

Do I need to truly believe everything that I read in the Bible to reach this feeling? Or, will I reach a moment of absolute faith as I grow on my own terms? I have felt the Holy Spirit in me. I feel faith within my heart and have experienced the joy and love that it fills me with. As I continue my walk  with Christ I seek the day that I can praise the lord with all of my heart and soul, with 100% belief in what I’m following.

As I read the bible and continue my journey, things start to get harder and harder to believe. I’ll start publishing some of my questions, in detail, in the scriptures that I am reading soon. Sometimes (not every time) I’m at church and feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. I hear the words of the preacher and feel is his talking directly into my soul. In that moment I believe because I feel. I know this is real and I know this is where I want to spend my life.

But this feeling is not absolute. Right now, as I type these words, I do not have absolute faith in the Bible or all the teachings of the bible. I read scriptures on my own weekly. Almost every time I read I experence one of three feelings

  1. These are great words of wisdom. I never thought about things this way and I’m going to adapt these new learning in my life
  2. Hey this is pretty cool, I don’t fully understand whats going on, but I’ll keep moving. Odds are i’ll revisit this later or ask someone from my peer group about it
  3. Are you kidding me? Really? You want me to believe this? Why! This is crazy…Actually, reading these words are holding me back from believing in Christ and supporting the cause. These people are crazy!

It’s not as black and white as this, but you get the idea.

I’m not sure I will ever have absolute faith in the system. A miracle is going to have to happen in order for me to truly believe that the earth was created in 7 days. If I ever believe this with all my heart and all my soul, then my entire mind has been rewired.

I want to believe in the Lord with everything I  got.  I fear that my disbelief in much that I read will drive me further and further away from the moment of absolute faith that I seek.

What Scares Me

What scares me more is that others have absolute faith in the Bible and it’s teachings. They don’t question it. Or if they do, they don’t talk about it. How can this be? Shouldn’t we all have some type of doubt? Do our preachers come across scriptures and think like you and me? Do they think, “What a moment, I can’t wrap my head around that one….” Preachers preach about things that they are going through and have experienced. Why have I not heard anyone preach about what they struggles that they are having in believing? Or how they overcome this feeling of not believing in the word of the Bible. Why don’t preachers talk about their struggles in believing?

In order for my preacher to be a preacher, is he forced to believe and preach things that he has struggles believing? Does he truly believe every word in the Bible? And here is the question that really scares me….Should I follow someone that truly believes that the bible is 100% truth?

 

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Inspired by Neil Schober’s Strawberry Fields Forever, This is My Personal Vision Statement.

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Published on December 29, 2012, by in Life Stories.

Neil Schober wrote a book a few months back called  Strawberry Fields Forever. This book is forwarded by my Pastor, Judah Smith. In this book Neil talks about his life and his quest to build a 100 million dollar fitness enterprise, how he lost it all, and then how he rebuilt it. The book goes into detail on how his relationship with God helped him along the way. I recommend it, a great book.

In the eighth chapter in this book Neil writes about his Personal Vision Statement. He writes about who he wants to be. After this statement is made, he reads it out loud with passion every morning after prayer. Being inspired by this, I made my Personal Vision Statement. This will change through out my life and as my walk with Christ moves on.

My Personal Vision Statement. This Is Who I Want To Become.

I am a well balanced, strong, ethical, spiritual, and respected person.I am a visionary, someone who see’s ways to make my life, individuals lives better and the world a better place. Through my discipline, business success, risk tolerance, and respected network, I have the ability to make my dreams a reality. I understand that I can not do this alone. My support network, family, friends, and most of all, my relationship with God are my key factors to success.

I speak with wisdom. I do not judge people. I do not not speak ill about people to others. I keep negative opinions to myself. I find the positive in almost every situation. I understand that my position in life is no one’s responsibility other than my own. I do not place blame on not others if I do not achieve my goals. I am a fighter, I don’t give up. I value my time and who I spend my time with. I want to make the most of my short time on this planet.. Most of all, I have fun, live a fulfilling life, inspire others to do good and achieve their dreams, and live without regrets.

My character and drive comes from my ability to overcome stereotypes that I, and others, have put on my self in my childhood. Also, my strength comes from  my business failures, conquered drug addictions, and social relationship failures. All of these elements give me the ability to see pain, weakness, and opportunity in others. My spiritual nature and good will gives me the ability to reach out and help these people.

I am disciplined in my daily tasks. I take pride in resisting the urges to sleep in and be lazy.  I live a healthy lifestyle, and strive to do good work. My worth ethic is strong. I take pride in the work that I am doing and do quality work, no matter if its a complex business project, or a simple cleaning task that is given to me during volunteer work. My ego does not allow me to think that my time is too valuable for the small things.

I am involved in my community. I donate money to local charities, support local businesses and business leaders, am active in local politics, and wake up every day wanting to make my local community a better place. I take this local vision of prosperity to the national and global level as well.

My business is built on a vision and mission that is not profit driven. My employees are well compensated and rewarded for the quality work that they do. My business is a shining example for other business owners on how to build a business that is driven by a purpose beyond profit. My business allows me to make millions of dollars. I have built a company that allows me to act on my ideas and visions. Because my company is build with strong and talented people that share the same vision as I, we are successful in the ventures that we pressure.

My skills in business, mentorship, leadership, and marketing are applied to further God’s kingdom through my church and other spiritual organizations that share common beliefs. Spirituality is important to me. I seek spiritual enlightenment and understanding in everything that I do.

I have not mentioned my wife in this because I have yet to find her. But, when I do, my relationship with my wife will be strong. I will respect her and love her with all my heart. I will understand that she needs my love and support just as much as I need hers. I will value her words, dreams, beliefs, and goals as if they were my own. No business obligation with every take stature over my relationship with my wife and family.

 

Rethinking Baptism. The Journey Continues

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Published on November 25, 2012, by in Becoming a Believer, Struggles In Faith.

baptism becoming a believerI have gone back and forth on the idea of becoming baptized for some time now. Just a few weeks ago I made up my mind. I’m going to get Baptized in December! But just the other day, a new thought entered my mind and I decided to hold off.

I want to grow in my faith, I want to get baptized! I really really like the idea of it. But that’s the thing, I “like the idea of it.” It feels like it was the next logical step in my walk.  The truth is, I want to be excited about it! I want to look forward to that day with anticipation.

One event passed that I was excited about, and one is coming up that I can’t stop thinking about. I want to think of my baptism like these events. The feeling of excitement, the feeling of gittyness, the feeling of….well, you get the idea.

Image Credit

I was excited About the TEDxRainer Event

I hate to say it, but I spend more time on TED.com then I do reading my bible. The idea of a collaboration of 5 – 20 minute speeches form the worlds top thought leaders, discussing local, national, & global issues is right up my ally. Sometime’s I joke with my friends and say, “I spread TED like I spread the Gospel.”

TEDxRainer

I was excited about the TEDxRainer event, like a little kid is excited about going to Disney Land. I want the same excitement for my baptism!

TEDxRainer is a local TED event that happens once a year. Last year I tried to go but the tickets sold out. This year, I was able to get a ticket! Man, once I got the ticket I told all my friends, posted on my facebook and linkedin account, and counted the days to the event.

After the event took place a few of my friends and family asked me, “Was it everything that you hoped for?”

My reply,

“Do you remember that feeling that you had when you were a kid and your parents told you they are taking you to Disney Land? You could’t wait to go on that vacation. Every day leading up to your departure you were excited. Then, when you finally got to Disney Land it was better then you imagined. All of your dreams came true! After the vacation you couldn’t stop talking about it, you told all of your friends, and you counted the days until you could go to Disney Land again. Even today, as an adult, you value that experience and want to bring your kids to to Disney Land so they can experience the same wounder and excitement!….Well, the TED event is my Disney Land.”

After telling this to several different friends on several different occasions. It dawned on me, “I’m more excited about the TED event then my Baptism.” This didn’t sit right for me.

Dedicating My Life to Jesus

Making the decision to announce Jesus as my personal lord and savor is a big step. I have said these words, I have prayed these words, but I don’t believe these words with all of my heart.

The day I get Baptized I want to be able to love Jesus with all my heart. I want to be able to truly stand behind the ideas, beliefs  and the thoughts that I do give my Life to GOD & Jesus. You know what, this day is not here yet. And that’s Okay!

When the time is right I have a feeling that I’ll know. Right now, the time is not right.

Making the decision to become a believer has been life changing. I’m glad i’m on this path and I’m thankful for everyone that has helped me on my walk. I realize that this is a walk and not a race…..and my walk continues!

 

 

 

A Holiday Season With A Family That Does Not Believe

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Published on November 25, 2012, by in Life Stories, Struggles In Faith.

At the beginning of this year I was the guy that avoided religious discussion and who thought that Christmas was just another day to give gifts. Yea I knew the story behind Christmas, but as a non-believer, it didn’t mean much to me. The holidays were a time to be with family and loved ones, nothing more. And to be honest, as a young entrepreneur it is hard to pull away from the business vision and stress to truly enjoy the holidays.

But, this year I feel something is different now that I am a believer.

Thanksgiving with Family

My vision for thanksgiving is a time with family. Everyone around the dinner table and taking turns telling one another what they are truly thankful for. But, this didn’t happen this year. All I really wanted to do was talk about my experiences with Jesus and this new path that I am on. I wanted to them to know how thankful that I was for this new finding and this new path. But, with a family that does not believe, this conversation did not take place.

A Holiday Season With A Family That Does Not Believe

How do you get though a holiday season spending time with a family that does not believe? I really want to be around other believers and worship, pray, and be thankful for GOD together. But, this can’t happen with my Family.

With Christmas coming up in a few weeks I’m not sure how to approach the situation. This is my first Christmas as a believer, and its feels special to me.

Yes, I love my family and want to spend time with them. But, deep down I do feel that because they do not share my vision of faith that it’s hard to relate.

Any advice on how to handle this situation?

Moving forward I think that hiding the thoughts that are going though my mind is not the thing to do. I should share what I’m going through with my family & lead prayer at the dinner table. But, I’ll do my best to keep it brief and only dive into deep conversations if I am asked.

 

Let The Baptism Begin….In December!

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Published on October 31, 2012, by in Becoming a Believer.

Over the last few months I have been thinking about getting baptized. I have gone back and forth on this decision, doing my best to do my research to make sure that i’m ready. I have heard many things about this event and quite frankly, It’s a little confusing. I’m to young in my journey to understand everything that the bible says about this event. So, I leave it up to Q&A with my peers to get the information that I need. After spending weeks of with these thoughts pounding around in my mind, I have decided to move forward.

Baptized with water or the holy-spirit?

A few months ago one of my friends was telling me how she was baptized with the holy-spirit. She went on to explain how she developed her prayer language from this, then described how it made her feel. More of my friends have told me about their experiences about being baptized in the holy spirit too. This is was I want too!

After plugging around for a few weeks I have been looking for that check box that says, “YES. I want to be Baptized in the Holy Spirit.” Just recently I was told that this is not something that “just happened”, it happens by the will of God and their is no rhyme or reason why or when this will happen. To date, I have been trying to find out what church I need to go to in order to get Baptized in the Holy Spirit.

This has been one of the major things that has been holding be back from getting baptized. But now that I now the answer there is no reason to wait.

Questions from a new believer

There have been many questions running through my mind on this subject. Long story short, I’m going to turn off my analytical mind and go for it. I’m going to run on faith here. Hey… I could get used to that….letting faith guide me.

 

1) Do I need to believe 100%? This held me back for some time. What if I do not have 100% faith in this Jesus thing yet? Should I still get baptized? I was at a christen business leaders breakfast a few weeks back. One of the elders that run the group said, “I wish I could believe in Jesus like I believe in Gravity”. This opened my eyes. WHAT? You don’t have 100% faith either? I think it’s time for me to stop chasing the perfect belief and take a step forward….

2) What If I change my mind? The way I understand it, getting baptized is taking a step forward and telling everyone that you are dedicating your life to Jesus. One way to say it, you are becoming a christen. You know, I still don’t know if I like that phrase, “Becoming a Christen.” The act of putting a label on what I believe is, for me, taking one step closer to the “religious” life. But, from what I have heard from my peers, many people take the step forward, then fall out. Then something else happens and they get pulled right back in. So, for me, not knowing is ok. Changing my mind is ok.

3) Every time I read the bible. I have a really cool app on my iPad, it reads the bible to me. But it does it in a mystical voice backed my  enchanting music. Currently I am reading the book of John. Every time I set time aside to read the bible I am inspired. I feel as if I am filling a void in my life. I can’t quite explain it, but I like it. So, with this feeling inside me, I’m taking the step forward to get baptized.

4) Getting baptized turned into an event. This is a big step for me, and I’d like the people who have helped me get to this point there. Also, I’d like my close friends and family there as well. Sounds like event planning to me. I run a small business and have a product launch coming up. I’m in the middle of hiring a staff and going from a one man show to a four person army! Lots of work. Put another event on top of this and well, things get a little overwhelming. But, deep down I want this to happen. And, regardless  we make time for the things that are important to us. So, with this said, I’m going to move forward.

I’m looking forward to this. The church that I go to has baptized on the first week of the month after every service. I’m not going to make it this month (November), but I am going to make it happen in the next month, December. This christmas I will be baptized.

Now, I’m praying that I get baptized in the Holy Spirit.

 

 

 

Something Stopped That Car From Crashing Into Me At 40 Miles Per Hour

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Published on October 8, 2012, by in Becoming a Believer, Life Stories.

 

A few years back, when I was a non-believer, I was faced with death. It sucks to have  to say this, but today I was faced with death again. But today I faced death as a believer of Jesus Christ.

Today was a BEAUTIFUL day in Seattle! 68 degrees, blue sky, autumn leaves turning color, and the park was full of families and people playing. My goal was to be 2 hours early for my Soccer game so I could enjoy the park and do some reading. It’s not odd that the parking lot was full, in fact this happens all the time. Across the street is a neighborhood were overflow cars park.

grasslawn park redmond wa

Trees at Grasslawn park in Redmond WA. An Amazing Day In Seattle!

My car stopped at the exit of the parking lot and I checked for traffic in both directions. I had to pass three lanes to reach the overflow parking area. One lane was for traffic in each direction and their is also a turning lane that I had to pass over. After checking both directions I started my acceleration started to move.

As I was halfway through the third and farthest lane I heard a car horn from my right. Plain and simple I just did not see this car. I pulled out in front of a Jeep Liberty speeding toward me at 30 – 40 miles per hour. This Jeep was on a one way collision path with my passenger side door. All I could hear was the sound of screeching tires and the cars horn.

As my car passed through the third lane and into the overflow parking area the Jeep missed colliding into my car by just a few inches.

Time Slowed Down and I Felt No Fear

The first time I was faced with death I panicked. My mind went into survival mode and time stood still as my brain processed possible outcomes. Today, something different happened.

I remember turning my head and looking out the passenger side window and seeing the Jeep speeding toward me. A normal reaction might have been to throw up your hands and prepare for impact. I didn’t tap on the gas peddle and accelerate, nor did I take any type of preventive action.

In that moment of stillness I felt no fear and I had no control of the situation. I had no gut feeling in my stomach, my knees were not weak, instead….I felt complete acceptance of what ever action was about to happen. My life was out of my hands.Then, the speeding Jeep came to a complete stop.

What If

What If the driver of the Jeep was text messaging. What if that driver was talking with a passenger, talking on the phone, singing along with a song, thinking about work, or doing anything but being 100% aware of their surroundings, no doubt in my mind that I might not be here today typing this blog post. I might not have died, but to walk away from a car crash like that with no injury would have been a miracle within its self.

I entered the overflow parking area, flipped my car around and parked on the side of the road. The Jeep was still stopped in the middle of the road. Then, before I could get out of my car and greet the people int he Jeep, they continued on their Journey.

Normally, when something like this happens pure adrenaline flows through your veins. Your hands shake and you become weak. Someone might need to take a few minutes and calm down before resuming to a normal thought pattern. But non of of this happened to me. I was 100% calm and thinking 100% clearly.

Thinking As a New Believer

If this happened to me just a few months ago I could have chalked this on the board of luck. Thanked my lucky stars and continued on with my life learning a lesson from my bad driving skills. But today, as a new believer in Christ, I view this situation differently.

Why was I calm doing the moment when I was faced with death? And why was I calm after? What was that complete feeling of acceptance that I experienced? Was God involved in this event? Do I have a guardian angle looking over me? This event happened no more then 8 hours ago and I do plan on reflecting on this. Trying to find learning of this situation.

I should mention that the book that I reading is The Richest Man Who Ever Lived: King Solomon’s Secrets to Success, Wealth, and Happiness. After this event I found a quit spot in the park and continued my reading, introducing me to concepts that are full of wisdom. The wisdom that I learned today effects my business, life, and leadership abilities. What if I was prevented from receiving this wisdom? Does God want me to be wise?

The Richest Man Who Ever Lived: King Solomon's Secrets to Success, Wealth, and Happiness

By the grace of God, I was able to spend an hour reading this book under these autumn trees at Grasslawn park in Redmond Wa.

Is God trying to tell me something here?

Something deep inside me is telling me that God is tiring to tell me that he is real, and he has a purpose for my life that has not yet been fulfilled.

I’ll never forget seeing that Jeep speeding toward me. The image of it is burned into my memory. Also, I’ll never forget the complete feeling of acceptance that I felt doing this run in with Death.

 

 

 

 

 

I Was Letting My Doubts In Jesus Get The Best of Me

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Published on October 4, 2012, by in Becoming a Believer.

 

I have to be honest with you, the last two weeks have been hard, very hard. It is so easy to get caught up in doubt. It’s easier to throw up your hands and say, “screw it I don’t need this Jesus stuff, i was fine before it and I will be fine after it.” But deep down I know that’s not the truth.

I can compare this feeling to my business. Keep in mind that my business is young, under 1 million in revenue, and still in the Start up mode.  Sometime’s I feel like I have taken on so much responsibility and I feel so much pressure, I just want to throw up my hands and walk away. Go get a job somewhere. Take the money in my savings account and go on vacation for a year. Recharge. But every time I feel this way I force my self to keep going, not to quit. When this happens, I slow down, extend deadlines, take deep breaths, and re-focus knowing that quitting is not an option.

Questions and Obstacles

This describes my last few weeks in my walk with Christ perfectly. When I was saved I was on this natural high and started running full speed ahead seeking answers and wisdom. I started reading books, reading the bible, started this blog, going to church every week, engaging in conversations, thinking about getting baptized and the list goes on.

I know what I feel in my heart and I can’t deny what happened to me that first day in church. But the last two weeks have been over whelming  I keep questioning everything, creating my own theories of doubt and reasons why this is not real. Today I spoke with one of my spiritual advisers and told him my planned schedule to pray and meditate. I told him what my “3 month faith goal” was.

Even with the success of the following of this blog (thank you), I started looking five steps ahead about what this concept could be, wanting to find a way to tell the world about my story. Should I invest in more facebook ads to grow the following? Should I raise money and reach more people?  This combined with the pressures of new faith, business, & life did not leave me in a good “I love Jesus” attitude.

Slow Down!

Slow Down Your Walk With Christ

When I get over whelmed, I need to SLOW DOWN!

But today I was reminded that I need to slow down, stop planning my walk with faith. Also, that even though  I do not understand everything I should keep moving forward.

Don’t forget about the doubts that I’m having,. But don’t try to solve them now, store them away to return to later. This walk is a life long journey, I’m not going to find answers to what I am seeking by the end of the 4th quarter.

So today, as I type this, I have found my Joy again. I am going to slow down. I’m not going feel pressured to read the bible every night. Growing the following of this blog to 10,000 followers, that can wait too. Helping others to find Christ, I need to focus on me first. I am going to stop making spiritual plans & routines based on others success.

WOW, just a few months into this and I almost made it to the decision that Jesus is not for me. I’m so happy that I was able to put my breaks on.

Advice For Others That Are Becoming Believers

If anyone else out there is reading this and you are a new believer, I can’t stress the importance of surrounding yourself with two or three elders that you can talk to. They don’t have to be church staff. In fact, non of my advisers are pastors or apart of church staff. When you talk with them, do just that, talk. Have a conversation about faith and what your going through. Good news, bad news, victories, doubts, talk about what ever is on your mind.

Today my conversation put a new perspective on my walk. God Bless!

- Thank you for following my story!

 

 

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