Lecrae

Hello everyone!

If you notice on my play list on my blog, I added some new songs. The artist is Lecrae, and I really like him! :-)

I know what your thinking...what is a guy like me, a Christian, listening to Rap music for?? Well, the thing about Lecrae is that he is using his gift of rapping for Jesus by reaching out to teenagers all around the world. If you listen to the words closely, they are really great!

I recently bought his CD, Man Up, which is all about how men should act, what makes us a man, what defines us as men, what we shouldn't do, etc. It's really great, and it's a great encouragement for me while I struggle through the same things Lecrae is talking about.

Something Lecrae said before he started singing (this was at a concert I went to) he said, "don't give me the praise and glory for singing; I don't deserve it. Glorify Jesus, I sing to glorify Jesus."

Anyway, I thought I would share what I thought of this group, and why I am adding it onto my play list.

Before I came a dedicated Christian, I loved listening to rap...however it was full of sin and wasn't glorifying God at all. This is glorifying God and the words are fun to listen to because I enjoy this kind of music. 

Something Adrian Rogers wrote: "I care not how beautifully you sing; how eloquently you teach; how liverally you give; how cicumspectly you walk - if you are not endeavoring to bring souls to Jesus Christ, you're not right with God. You...are guilty of high treason against the King."

I believe that Lecrae is bringing souls to Christ with their message.

I also like to listen to Country music, but a lot of that is inappropriate. I mean, you got Randy Travis, which are great songs, but his voice gets tiring after awhile. :-)

Thanks for reading,

Josiah

I got tagged!!! Yippee!!

I love getting tagged in blog posts. Why? Well they give me something to write about when I don't have anything to write about. :-)

Okay, so here are the rules that I need to share.

1.) Post these rules.
2.) You MUST post 11 random things about yourself.
3.) Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post.
4.) Create 11 new question for the people you ask to answer.
5.) Go to their blog and tell them they have been they have been Tagged.
So Here are 11 Random things about me!

Now for the Random things about me!

(1) I love chickens - I love eating them, raising them, reading about them, and anything else about them.
(2) I want to own my own property/house by the time I am 20 years old. Where? I have no idea yet...
(3) I want to own a restaurant and hobby farm when I grow up.
(4) I love working. For money or not, I love working. I especially love working outside.
(5) I am taking business and communication classes in college.
(6) I sleep at the bottom of a bunk bed. I share a room with my brother.
(7) I have 4 e-mail accounts, 2 bank accounts, 2 social networking accounts, and multiple other accounts on odd websites. This results in a lot of passwords!!
(8) I love the Lord, and I can't believe how amazing He is with His abundant mercy.
(9) I am on my computer a lot, almost all day. I would rather be doing something outside, like raising chickens, but not yet...
(10) I know how to drive, a stick-shift. Which is actually fun!
(11) I have an eating problem...I find myself eating when I am bored, depressed, sad, or angry.

Now these are the questions I need to answer that Gracie gave me.

1. What is your favorite book?
I love the Bible, which is probably one of my favorite books. However, if I had to pick something other than the Bible, I would have to pick the "Circle" series by Ted Dekker. (Black, Red, White, Green, etc.)
2. If you could go any place in the world, where would it be?
I would love to go to Australia, somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Possibly the Middle East too. Such as Israel and/or Egypt.
3. What is your favorite type of ice cream?
I'm boring...I love vanilla. It's plain and simple, but it's tasty and doesn't make my throat burn after I eat it.
4. If you could have any super power, what would it be?
I have thought long and hard about this my whole life. My brother and I used to play games where we would have multiple super powers and defend someone with them. I would probably have strength, however flying sounds really fun too!
5. What is your favorite joke?
My favorite joke is a blonde joke that I learned at Jet's Pizza (the place I worked at). It was a bad environment which is why I learned this joke there. (Please take note that I do not believe blondes are dumb or stupid at the slightest. Everyone has their "dumb" moments, especially me! My sister Tirzah is blonde and she is very smart.)

The joke goes something like this: "A blonde was swimming in a swimming pool. She dove straight down to touch the bottom of the pool, when she saw a little sticker on the bottom. She read what is said and immediately obeyed. The sticker said, 'Scratch and Sniff. '"

(6) If you could accomplish one thing in your life, what would it be?
I would like to own my own restaurant and be able to make enough profit from it to be able to purchase land/homes for all of my children.
(7) What is your favorite color?
I would have to say green. I used to love black, but it's so dark and is used a lot for evil, so I decided to start liking green more, which I have!
(8) What five adjectives would you use to describe yourself?
Big, Tall, Strong, Weird, Random.  (Hopefully those are accurate, let me know in a comment if you think different!)
(9) What is your pet peeve?
When plans change.
(10) What is your favorite song?
To tell you the truth, it use to be "I wanna be a Billionaire" but now it is probably "Giving you all control" by Jeremy Camp.
(11) Which of these questions did you like the most?
I liked number 6 the best because it's something I think about everyday.

Now I get to make up 11 questions for those I tag to answer! :D

(1) What is your favorite word?
(2) What is your favorite time in the day?
(3) If you could evangelize to someone, who would it be?
(4) If you were able to meet anyone in the world, who would it be?
(5) What is your favorite flavor of Gatorade?
(6) If you had 1 wish, anything, what would it be?
(7) What is your favorite Bible verse that relates to you personally?
(8) What do you want to be when you grow up?
(9) If a lion approached you on the road, and was about to attack, what would you do?
(10) What subject in school do you appreciate the most?
(11) What "active" activity that you like the best?

Now I get to tag people, and as Gracie said it; "MWAHAHAHAHA! (Malicious grin)" I feel the same way!

I tag 4 people,

My two cousins:
Tori  - at her blog
Zoe  - at her blog.

And two friends:
Dodi - at her blog.
Shamarah Sunshine - at her blog.

I really want to tag my sister, Tirzah and Gracie again, but I know they already did it. :D

Have a ton of fun writing the answers to the questions!!
God bless,
Josiah

The Search Committee

Well, I reviewed another book! This time is was a novel, written by Tim Owens. It's called: The Search Committee. Tim Owens sent this book into the Jerry B. Jenkins Christan Writers Guild and won! :D

I don't want to give to much of the story away, so I'll just basically give you the general idea of what the book is about, and what I thought of it.

The book is about a search committee, which goes from church to church, to find a pastor for their church that has none. In this book, the search committee is having several problems finding the right pastor, finding the Lord in their lives, and struggling with sins of this world as they do so.

It's a touching story, and I could actually relate to a lot of the characters that were struggling through their lives.

Another cool thing about this book, that at the beginning of every chapter is a Bible verse. After reading the Bible verse, you can understand what the next chapter is going to be about. It was pretty cool!

Overall it was an awesome book, and I highly recommend it.

Thanks for reading, and thank you Tim Owens for letting me review your book.

God bless,
Josiah

To comply with new regulations introduced by the Federal Trade Commission, please mention as part of every Web or Amazon review that Tyndale House Publishers has provided you with a complimentary copy of this book.

Jesus>Religion

Is religion and Jesus the same thing? This topic has been on my mind, as well for thousands of other people around the world. Below are two videos. The first is a Christian who is explaining why he hates religion and loves Jesus. He also explains why they are different and how they both affect  a person. The second movie is from a Catholic, who loves both religion and Jesus. I'll let you watch the videos before I further explain what I concluded with some of my personal Bible reading and with some of my beliefs as a Christian.

(Received 15,400,000 views in 20 days!)



(Received 122,000 views in 16 days)

So sure...the first one, that was originally made by the Christian, got the most views. However I threw that fact in there to show you how many people saw and might have been influenced by 1 movie on YouTube. Today's technology can be dangerous. However, used the right way, such as this movie, the Internet can be used for God's glory!

Now, back to the topic. Here is something I typed up while comparing the two videos together.

The major difference between the two videos is that Jefferson explained what Jesus and following Him has done to himself. He shared how great Jesus is by dying on the cross for our sins, and shared how he was affected by Him. Now, the catholic guy (not sure what his name is) shared what pleasures of the world would be unavailable to us if catholics weren’t around. He says that the Trinity was understood by them first. Did not the Lord provide a Bible for us to learn about the Trinity? It’s not too hard to figure that part out; all you need to do is read the Bible for what is says. (That’s another post for another time) Pleasures such as: hospitals, education, charities, science, literature, art, college, catholic church, etc. And if you notice, this guy brings all of his foundation to the “church,” his mother. He says that the reason for pretty much everything is the catholic church, and the religion that he believes in. Jefferson however, clearly defines that Jesus is the reason for everything, and it’s not some religion that is the purpose of it all.

If you listen and watch the two videos closely, you'll probably see where I got my conclusions from.

I would also like to share with you what Jefferson wrote for the description of the video.

A poem I wrote to highlight the difference between Jesus and false religion. In the scriptures Jesus received the most opposition from the most religious people of his day. At its core Jesus' gospel and the good news of the Cross is in pure opposition to self-righteousness/self-justification. Religion is man centered, Jesus is God-centered. This poem highlights my journey to discover this truth. Religion either ends in pride or despair. Pride because you make a list and can do it and act better than everyone, or despair because you can't do your own list of rules and feel "not good enough" for God. With Jesus though you have humble confident joy because He represents you, you don't represent yourself and His sacrifice is perfect putting us in perfect standing with God!

What did the catholic guy write? Here it is.

Jefferson Bethke's video 'Why I Love Jesus But Hate Religion' has stirred up a lot debate in the past couple days. And while he has many, many good points to make, many of his critiques apply directly to the Catholic Church. I have nothing but respect for Jefferson, he is an incredibly talented, sincere, and gracious guy. In the spirit of dialogue, I thought I'd make a Catholic response!

Nothing about Jesus what-so-ever in his description...however, he does explain that he wants to "defend his catholic church."
Some of the key points Jefferson shared are listed below.

Jesus is made by God, religion is made by men.

One is the Cure, and one is the infection.

Religion is man searching for God, where as being a Christian is God searching for man.

Some of the key points the catholic-guy shared are listed below.

Without the catholic church, today people wouldn't have the comforts of education, charities, hospitals, science, literature, etc.

The catholic church welcomes anyone in.

The catholic church understood the Trinity first.

Now, obviously you can see I believe in Jefferson's video more. However I do have one question about his video, and I want to ask your opinion on it as well.

Should we "hate" religion? The word hate is such a strong word, should we truly hate religion? Is it in our place, as Christians - followers of Jesus Christ, to hate religion?

This is a question that has been going through my mind for the past few weeks. What do you think?

Thanks for reading,
God bless,
Josiah

Go the Second Mile

I have been reading through the Bible for my daily devotion, and I came across the section where Jesus commands us not to hate or avenge a evil person.

Let me share with you the entire section in which I am referring too.

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away. You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in Heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."

That was long wasn't it? (Matthew 5:38-48 [NKJV]) However, there is so many awesome rules to follow and instructions for Christians to do that is different from others!!

Recently, the previous posts that were written, we have been discussing how Christians are different from the world on purpose. The same is explained here. I highlighted several of the key words we need to do towards those who hurt us, persecute us, or hate us.

To start off, I am horrible at this, and I'm not afraid to admit it. Constantly I argue with people who hurt my feelings or who do something wrong towards me that should be right. Even with my family I fight and argue with them so that no one is doing anything "bad" towards me. Jesus is clearly saying here, just let them.

So many different discussions can come from these 10 verses, it's one of the reasons I love Jesus's teachings. The main one I'm trying to point out is that, as Christians, we need to BE DIFFERENT from the world, by loving those who hate us. Twice, Jesus refers to how tax collectors do the same thing that we do. We all love those who love us back. Back when Jesus and the disciples were on the earth, tax collectors were the most hated people, because they took money from those who had none, and took extra for themselves. They were liars, thieves, and were called some of the worst sinners in their time. We need to love our enemies to be different from the world.

But why do we need to be different from everyone else? The reason is explained in verse 45 and 48, but also when people are different from others, people are automatically drawn or interested in that "different" person. Think about it. When you go to school, a party, or a social event, and there is a extra happy person, or someone who is extra nice and friendly, you want to hang out with them or want to meet them, right? Same as for Christians and the world. The world sees Christians in several ways, but if we actually follow the Word, and do as Jesus tells us (by loving those who hate us for example) people will be interested in us as people. They will ask us why we are so happy, why do we not hate, why are we kind, etc. and then we can share with them the good news about Jesus.

Hopefully that makes sense. Jesus wants us to love those who hate us, so that we can be different from the world, so that we can share the good news about Jesus and the Faith.

Thanks for reading!
God bless,
Josiah

With questions, comments or concerns please write to us at dedicatedchristians@gmail.com Thank you!!

Losing Weight

As my mom and dad have been losing weight over the past few months, I have gotten encouraged to do the same.

I have always been a "big-boy" and usually had a good amount of "blub" on my body to be noticeable. :D However, I want that to change.

Most every one's New Year Resolutions is lose weight. Well, mine is too! I plan to lose at least 40 pounds by the beginning of Summer.

The past 4 years I have weighed over 200 pounds, which at 6'5" isn't to bad...however I am "plump" and it's time to end that. :P

Currently I weigh 260 pounds. My goal is to reach 220. So far I have gone to the gym twice (I lost 3 pounds already from this), and I am trying to stay on my goal of "no seconds" during meals. (This can be very hard...)

So, I will hopefully be sharing my weight-loss-story through the weeks. :P

Hope your New Year Resolutions are going well!
God bless,
Josiah

Tortured for Christ

I recently just finished a book called, Tortured for Christ. It was really cool, but it also had it's "touching" moments when the Christians were tortured, beaten, or killed for Christ.
The book was written by Richard Wurmbrand, who is the founder of The Voice of the Martyrs, another great book you should read! Anyway, Wurmbrand was the main character in the book. He described what happened to himself and others around him when Russia was overtaken by a Communism government.

Pictures are also included in this book, of Wurmbrand and his family and friends. It also shows some of the scars Wurmbrands received from his tortures.

The book gave some encouragement, because it gave detailed descriptions of how Wurmbrand felt when being tortured. I knew, after reading this book (and a couple others) that if these Christians can withstand pain from being tortured over and over again; I can withstand the "little" things that come up and are a stumbling block in my faith.

I recommend this book, it's a great read! :-)

Thanks for reading,
God bless!

Josiah

Authors Needed! :D

Hello blog followers!!




I have an offer for you, or lets say a request for you.




The blog I created, www.dedicatedchristians.blogspot.com is in need of more young Christian authors!




The blog is for multiple authors to use as a way of sharing the gospel to those who find our blog.

If you'd like to be an author, or just have questions, please write to us at www.dedicatedchristians@gmail.com


Thanks and God bless!

Josiah

This Semester...

Hello everyone!! Christmas break is coming to a close for me. I thought I would share with you the classes I'm taking this semester, the books I'm using, and what I plan to accomplish this semester.

I am only taking 3 PSEO classes (9 credits) this semester. It worked out that way because they are all on the same day and are all related to business.

1. Principles in Management   (This class has a huge paper and a group presentation to do at the end of the semester)
2. Communications in Business  
3. Principles in Marketing   (This class had a huge paper and a lot of exams)

I have a book for each class and each book was $200!! Isn't that insane!!??! I'm really blessed to be in this PSEO program because all my books and classes are free! :-) Free college credits!

I am also going to be working on Geometry at home...I hate geometry, but it needs to be done. I may CLEP out of geometry, but we'll see... CLEP is tests you take, after your done with your home school curriculum book, that gives you 3 college credits if you pass the tests.

I plan to get all A's in my PSEO classes! Last semester I got 2 A's and 2 B's...

A - Intro to Business
A - Interpersonal Communications
B - Macro Economics
B - Research and Rhetoric

I plan to get all A's in the classes not only to look good on my report card, but also YEAH (the place I take my classes) require a 3.5 score average. Last semester I got a little over a 3.5. However, with only 3 classes this semester, I can only get 1 B and 2 A's...or 3 A's to get above 3.5! :-)

So, there is a little wrap-up of what I'm going to be doing most of this semester!

Hope you all have an awesome weekend!!
God bless,
Josiah

Hilarious Video

The Jostie Flicks are one of my favorite shows to watch! A homeschool, Christian family produces hilarious videos once a week/month that homeschoolers can totally relate too!!

These are hilarious, and you can find them on Youtube. However I thought I would share with you the most recent one they published. It's hilarious, and the "guys" will mostly understand this one.



Also I thought I would share with you my favorite Julian Smith episode. He is also hilarious!



Hope you enjoyed!!
God bless,
Josiah

What I've Been Doing

Hello everyone!!

This is just a random post to share with you all what I have been doing during the Christmas break I am enjoying!

I have been doing a lot of reading, more than I normally do. I am currently reading a book called, "At the Edge of Eternity" by Randy Alcorn. It's a very interesting book and I will be posting a review about the book...maybe next week!

I just finished a couple books about martyrs, and the stories of how people died for Jesus. The one I most recently finished is called, "Tortured for Christ" by Richard Wurmbrand. This book is also very interesting and is so detailed in how the Christians were effected through their faith. It has given me courage and inspiration that I too can be like these Christians, and suffer for the Lord, because He suffered for me.

I also have been driving a lot! I love driving, espically alone, because it's so peaceful and quiet. I drive for my mom during our errands, I drive on my own to places to pick something up at a store, and I also drive with some of my sibilings to friend's houses. It's been a lot of fun! :-)

I also made Pizza a couple of days ago! It was fun, our mom let me make my own pizza...I miss making pizzas, they were a ton of fun to make at Jet's! Here are some photos of my pizza!

Jonah's Pizza...although it doesn't look very nice, he added onion powder which gave it more taste than mine! :-)

Jonah and I making Pizzas

My Pizza after coming out of the oven.

I also made a knife! I used a piece of wood from Washington (that I had brought back with my on our move to Minnesota), a knife blade, a nail, wood glue, and electrical tape. :-) Here is a short video of my "displaying" my knife in the "weird" way that I am! :-)



Well, I should go now! I am planning on having another giveaway for my blog, but I'm not sure what to use for a giveaway yet. I am almost to my 100th post...about time right?

God bless!

Josiah

P.S. Please don't forget to check out a new blog I created at: www.dedicatedchristians.blogspot.com. Together, with a bunch of other authors, we write posts dedicated in serving Christ!

Giveaway!

This is not my giveaway, but it is my dad's! :-)

Go to my Dad's blog to learn how you can enter and win the FULL set of BALANCING THE SWORD!

Hope you win!
God bless,
Josiah