I consider the word “religion” to really suck.  It makes me feel like there are a bunch of “know-it-alls” sitting somewhere, dictating rules and pointing in all sorts of places… like gnomes. (Man I hate gnomes… they just point in random directions and have no real meaning… but anyways…) THAT’s what I think of when I hear the word “religion”, but then I read this verse:

James 1:27 (NLT):  ”Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.”

Now that I can do :)  Or at least I’d love to!  Sometimes we consider following Christ as this game of staying within the lines and boundaries in order to please God.  Then what’s the point of Love?  I was reading my bro’s Philly’s blog right before I wrote this one (scroll down and read it if you forget!) and he’s dead on!  We strive to do “right”, but there are going to be times where even as Christians, we fail and fall short of God’s Glory – God knows this and even reminds US of this in His Word (Romans 3:23).  Then, if you read my bro’s Jobby’s post (scroll down again and read it!) he talks about replacing your sin, instead of just trying to quit it.  What’s my point?

I really didn’t know what to write about in this blog, but both of these topics have been on my mind lately and this verse has been crazy on my heart as well.  Then, I come on here today and read both of these guys’ posts and knew that there’s definitely something we can’t let go of right here.  What is it??  Don’t worry about what this world dictates as religion.  Don’t worry about what this world has to offer – forget all of the (short-term) temptations that get you that “suga” rush and focus on what God is asking of us.  Pure and Genuine religion.  Care for the orphans – people who do not have parents, or have been neglected by their parents.  Care for the widows – people who have lost their spouses.  Refuse allowing the world to corrupt you.  You might think “I can’t just pick up and go find orphans and widows at this minute”, or “I dunno what you expect of me, when I have work/school to worry about”, or whatever other excuse there might be… or maybe even “I’m entitled to have a little ‘fun’ and can mess with the world for a little bit longer”, etc… YOU GET THE POINT.  No more excuses!!  Get up off yo feet and start caring.  Start refusing.  Start taking a stand for people who cannot help themselves.  Make this a lifestyle, not just a momentary ‘assignment’.  Do this because it’s pleasing for God, not because of some self-satisfaction!

Honestly?  Don’t even do it because I wrote about it… because next week, there’s going to be a different blog and it may not relate.  DO IT by understanding who God is, and what God is about – Love.  DO IT out of LOVE for others around you.  You might ask “how does refusing the world to corrupt me show someone else love??” I’ll tell you exactly how – there are people around you, that you are involved with right now.  Think about all of your “identities”.  It’s all based on someone else!  You might be a brother, a son, a co-worker, a boss, a teacher, a pastor, etc… but you couldn’t be ANY of those things without another person defining you to be that.  Meaning??  You couldn’t have been a brother without having siblings… if you didn’t have siblings, you’d just be a son.  You couldn’t have been a son, without your parents existing.  You can’t be a co-worker, unless you have another worker in the first place that you are “co-working” with.  You can’t be a boss, without having employees to be a boss over!  You can’t even be a teacher, without having someone to teach, or a pastor, without having a congregation to be a pastor over!!  Why does this all even matter???  Because YOU do NOT DEFINE yourself!  You have SO many people around you that impact and affect your life, and VICE-VERSA.  Don’t let the world corrupt you and ruin the impact that you are to really have as a son, brother, co-worker, friend, boss, pastor, etc… Stand up to this world and refuse it from corrupting/changing you even for the Love of the people around you :)

And that kind of Love??  Is Christ-Love.  That kind of Care??  Is Christ-Care.  That kind of lifestyle, will change this world’s definition of religion.  That kind of lifestyle, will perfect God’s meaning of religion in each of us – a self-less religion, a religion that gives before it ever got anything back.  A religion so perfect and genuine – it’s Love-driven.

God bless you guys.

You ever get a postcard like this?  If not, I’m sure you know what I’m still talking about… you know, those postcards from loved ones who go away and want to send you something or a letter showing the location that they’re at – they usually include some saying like “wish you here” or “just not the same without you” or something along those lines…

Ever see one from God?  You know, that moment that strikes you clearly that God elsewhere than where you’re at, and He wishes you were there with Him, but instead… you’re not… Funny thing is… you never realized God was elsewhere until He sent you the postcard! lol

There’s a song from Newsboys called “This is Your LIfe” – it’s kinda catchy, check it out when you have the chance… it talks about how we all have one chance, and it’s Now.  This life that you’re living is your life – so live like you KNOW you should. Fight for what’s right, and reflect Christ, so that wherever you may go, your LIFE may reflect Christ and lead people (your friends, family, coworkers, teachers, siblings, etc…) to the Father…

To me, this song inspires me to really take up my cross and follow Him daily – this song may not be your genre, but give it a listen, and hear/understand the words.  I feel like these words are Jesus’ desires and prayers for our each of us… to stay strong and persevere and to just DO what’s right.  Struggles come and go all the time, but a friend recently told me that “for everything that discourages you, there’s a God who’s bigger than it ALL combined.”  What true, true, TRUE words! :)

I challenge you today, take up your cross daily, so that you can follow Christ daily – no matter where it leads, remember the cross that you’re carrying, remember what it resembles and remember the sacrifice – the price – paid for both you and me.  Remember Him always – when you’re eating, playing ball, working, driving, listening to music, doing homework…

..remember Jesus :)

Hey internet world,

It’s been a very long time since the last blog I’ve done and a lot has happened since then, so I’ll be going through everything that has happened event-by-event…….. JK!  I won’t bore you with those details… today at least :)

I must say though, looking back at the past 6 years of ROC 3:22, God has done AMAZING things.  This should come to no surprise, since our God is an AMAZING God, and we shouldn’t expect anything less of Him and His awesome ways, but from a small prayer group that started out with just a few of us guys willing to sit down and pray to God for some direction to a small prayer group that is still going strong with many new additions, God has done so much!  You’re probably confused right about now.  You’re probably thinking… “you guys went from a prayer group to still a prayer group?”  My answer, along with everyone’s in our group’s answer (and I know this because they know exactly what I’m talking about), but OUR answer is YES!

The difference?  We’ve definitely come a long way and have been able to reach many youth in Chicago, and also we’ve been able to consistently fundraise for various causes and have even done several homeless outreaches within Chicago itself with ALL Glory to God of course, but all of THIS aside…. the best part has been the prayer over the years.  The consistent sitting/kneeling down in prayer to God.

I moved out of Chicago about 3 years ago, but if there’s one thing I can always be sure of, is that these guys will be gathering together to pray each and every Thursday – I’m not saying all of this to put anyone up on some pedestal… not at all actually, but rather, to say that NOTHING IS POSSIBLE WITHOUT PRAYER!!  God may use you in various ways, but let me tell you something… in my life, I know that when I am feeling closest to God, it’s because of prayer.  It’s because I know I can always go to God with anything and everything!  He’s your best friend, your Redeemer, your Savior, your “go to guy” – but not just when things go sour, but always!  At least He’s always there whether or not we utilize that opportunity to go to Him about things.  The best part about prayer is that prayer is a communication with God, an actual conversation with your creator – which actually means, He can respond back – and He WILL!  Do you want to hear from God?  Just go to God :)

I don’t want to make this some long drawn out post, but it’s time to sit/kneel down – in fact, go ahead and do it now (RIGHT NOW!) and just say a prayer to God.  It might be a thank you to God for everything He’s done in your life, or it might be about some issues that you’re facing, you might just need to vent to God, or perhaps you’re angry and you need someone to talk to… man, let me tell you – just go to God!

Be blessed.

Hey everyone,

So it’s been a couple months now of planning to host an event for the benefit of Bombay Teen Challenge (BTC) – access their site here:  www.bombayteenchallenge.org  and already God has been doing some amazing things!

First and foremost, the leadership of those involved has been exemplary to say the least!  From to making videos, brainstorming ideas, being on ‘draining’ conference calls haha, and contacting people for their support – this has been a very big eye opening experience.  As you may know, our ministry’s mission is to develop youth into a community for Christ – and even right now, I can just see leaders within our community coming together to put this fundraiser together to provide for the Education Fund of women and children who have had their lives stripped from them by forcing them into sex slavery on the streets of the Red Light District in Mumbai, India.

Together, we can help BTC nurture, rehabilitate and restore the lives of these women and children through the amazing power of the Gospel! 

Stay tuned for more updates, but for more information on our upcoming fundraising event, please check out:  www.roc322.org/btc

Thank you for all of you who have already contributed – your donations are greatly appreciated!  With your help, we have already reached a little over $2,000, but we still have quite a ways to go…

We hope that you will STAND up against this injustice TODAY and help us reach our goal to raise $5,000 for BTC’s Education Fund.

So far we’ve raised…

God bless!!

Hey guys,

Just for some encouragement… I was updating the TNP announcement and was looking for an encouraging quote on prayer to throw up there as well… and I came across Luke 6:12 (which is the quote for this week), which is:

“One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.” (NIV)

I’m not sure how many people look at the actual update/notice… or even if anyone notices that there’s always a quote up there when it’s updated each week, but I came across this and thought I’d post it.  Why?  Because it’s such a small, simplistic verse, but it reveals SO much about who Jesus was and what he loved doing… spending time talking to His Father (aka praying!).  The verse doesn’t just say, OH and Jesus knelt down at the side of His bed and prayed right before going to sleep…. HAHA, I couldn’t even imagine seeing that verse in the Bible… better yet, I wonder if more people would be praying because the Bible said Jesus did something that they didn’t think was “too radical” and “not so hard”!!

The verse said he went to the side of the mountain (left wherever He physically was, wherever His comfort zone was) & better yet!  He spent “the night” praying to God.  It wasn’t just a moment, I bet He had a LOT to do the next day (He was of course doing “His Father’s business right??)… but yet He STILL took the time out and prayed for “the night”… crazy.  That’s a lot of effort, seems to me like you would have to actually consciously want/desire to talk to God in order to pull something off like that… at the side of some mountain… for the entire night. 

Makes me realize that my 5 mins at night might not be the best that I can offer.  Maybe if I actually desire to communicate with God moreso, I can spend just a little more time with Him because I WANT to, and not because I “have” to. 

Stay strong guys, take everything to God in prayer, not out of guilt or fear, but because you want to talk to Him.  Pray without ceasing brothers :)

God bless