I missed this....

I'm wondering why I decided to blog so long ago.  Was it to boast me or was it to boast about Jesus?  Was it to help people or help myself?  Was it to cause controversy or help bring hope/healing?


Could it be all of the above?  NO!  Well, all of the above minus boasting me!  I am nothing to boast about.  I do not like attention.  I enjoy people saying great things about me, it helps more than people think.  However, without a doubt, my finger points up because without God I AM NOTHING!  Anything I do in this life is because of my LOVE...love for God, love for God's people, and love for God's GREAT work that God continues to do.  If I did not have this love, I would only be a math teacher probably about to punch a high school kid in the face because they complained math sucks (and it most certainly does not, at least not when I teach it).


Honestly, I started blogging because it was the thing to do when I hit college.  But, I suppose I started blogging to see if this was actually what God wanted me to do.  Did God REALLY want me to be a youth minister??  REALLY GOD?  REALLY?


I continue to ask this to keep myself humble, because every time God reminds me, "David, (or Gaddy as you like to be called), did you really think you alone were going to be a minister??  You are never alone!!  I AM with you.  Not only as God, but I also live in you.  Not only do I live in you, but I also live in the people you will come across (friends, family, wife, teens, their parents).  I am not dead, I am alive, and you are NEVER alone."


I am reminded of this today.  After the deadly final two weeks of school have come and gone (for which took much of my energy away), I am now knee deep in ministry at my current church.  I love this place, love the people, LOVE THE TEENS!  However, I realize too often I try to go it alone.  This is not fair to me and not fair to those people who have amazing talents with teens and children.  As I look back though, I realize that never once did I walk alone...God and Gods peeps have been there all along.


With this in mind, this is my blog.  I will speak my mind carefully.  This will be my therapy and the outflow of what God has on my heart.  On my heart right now, this song "Never Once".  Hear the song, feel the lyrics, I realize we are a people who are not abandoned, but loved by an overwhelmingly loving God!


Until Next Time....

Good Side of Suffering

From my quiet time today:

You have enlarged me when I was in distress.

Psalm 4:1

"This is one of the greatest testimonies ever written regarding the effectiveness of God's work on our behalf during times of crisis. It is a statement of thanksgiving for having been set free not from suffering but rather through suffering. In stating, "You, God, have enlarged me when I was in distress," the psalmist is declaring that the sorrows of life have been the source of life's enlargement or growth."

I dont know if my friend remembers, but a while back I was having doubts about my calling and place in ministry, while at the same time doubting myself as a person and Christian. One day, this friend, Kirk, asked me how I was doing. I was completely honest. I told him that I was feeling pretty down and I was not feeling God's presence at all in my life. He looked me straight in the eye and said, "Hmmmm...for me, I am closest to God when I am suffering and down..."

Back then I thought was the worst and stupidest answer I had ever heard.

However, especially this week, I understand. The past few weeks have been crazy for a lot of people that I have talked to. This week has been especially crazy for me. I have a friend that was introduced to suffering unexpectedly...completely unfair...

But God is close to us, right there with us through the suffering, saving us! Not from the suffering, but saving us all throughout the suffering.

So are you letting your suffering build you up? Are you letting God work in the chaos and confusion??

I shall end with this:

God is near to all who call, near to all who call on him in truth.

Psalm 145:18

Until Next Time....

God just said "BRING IT"

Test me in this and see if I, God, don't open up heaven itself to you and pour out blessings beyond your wildest dreams. ---Malachi 3:10

"God's ability to perform is far beyond our prayers---even our greatest prayers! I have recently been thinking of some of the requests I have made of Him so many times in my prayers. And what have I requested? I have asked for a cupful, while He owns the entire ocean! I have asked for one simple ray of light, while He holds the sun! My best asking falls incredibly short of my Father's ability to give, which is far beyond what we could ever ask."
---John Henry Jowett

July 26

My brother in Christ, Bryan Lee, turned my attention toward a devotional book call Streams in the Desert a while back. Admittedly, I have been on and off with this devotion because life has been so wretchedly busy. But since my tank was running on empty, I decided to make a pit stop (NASCAR terminology :] ) and spend some time in the presence of God and his heavenly pit crew and fuel up (I promise the NASCAR terminology is done). I will share today's devotion with you.


By faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope.
(Galatians 5:5)

There are times when everything looks very dark to me, so dark that I have to wait before I have hope. Waiting with hope is very difficult, but true patience is expressed when we must also wait for hope. When we see no hint of success yet refuse to be depressed, when we see nothing but the darkness of night through our window yet keep shutters open because stars may appear in the sky, and when we have an empty place in our heart yet will not allow it to be filled with anything less than God's best...THAT is the greatest kind of patience in the universe. It is the story of Job in the center of the storm and Jesus in the Garden. And there is no patience as strong as that which endures because we see "him who is invisible" (Hebrews 11:27). It is that kind of patience that waits for hope.

Dear Lord, You have made waiting beautiful and patience awesome. You have taught us that Your will should be accepted, simply because it is Your will. You have revealed to us that a person may see nothing but sorrow in his life yet still be willing to live because of a conviction that YOUR eyes see further than their own.

Father, give me strength to wait for hope, to look through the window when there are no stars. Even when my joy is gone, give me strength to stand victoriously in the darkest night and say to my heavenly Father, "the sun still shines."



In the middle of my big move, there have been some low points, some dips and curves, unexpected obstacles, and questions. There are still some lose ends that need to be tied, but God will take care of those ends and tie them into beautiful knots. And the knots will help me and my wife remember that God was in the middle of all of this, working it out for the good of those who love God and are willing to be patient in the darkest of nights and say "the sun/Son still shines."

So to all my people who read this, when you feel you are at your lowest point, remember...no height and no depth can escape God! God is there, because the sun/Son still shines!!

Until Next Time

Are You A Trader??

This was my final sermon to my former church Lees Chapel in Dunn, NC. It was Graduate Sunday and my final day with them. Read through it, watch the video when prompted by the link titled "Are You A Trader," and let me know what you think!!

PS....sorry if it is weird....blogs dont like it when you copy and paste from Word apparently!

There is a skit from the 90s from Saturday Night Live featuring deceased comedian Chris Farley. The skit is called “Matt Foley: Motivational Speaker.” Matt Foley is a motivational speaker to high school teenagers, or anyone that will listen to him, who lives in a van down by the river and lives on a steady diet of government cheese. In one scene, Matt Foley explains what these growing teenagers may be feeling and what they think their life might become:

Now I know youre thinking that youre gonna go out and
grab the world by the tail,
and pull it down,

and put it in your pocket

But im here to tell you that as you go out there

Youre gonna find out

That youre not gonna amount to
JACK SQUAT

Have you ever felt like that or been told that? That you will never amount to Jack Squat? Is there a chance that your story could be different? That your short time here on this earth could make an eternal difference?

Are You A Trader?

Since the video is about two minutes long, moves very quickly, and information sticks when you say things more than once…let me explain the challenge for you today and for the rest of your short time here on earth.

You have been tricked. You have been tricked into thinking that this life is all about me, me, me…the money money money and the blingy bling bling. The further you are up on the ladder of life, the better off you are for the rest of your life. But, like most ladders, the higher up you are, the further you fall.

This is an extremely distorted and confused version of the American Dream. At some point, this dream became all about building up the individual…and not the people that need it the most. What kind of world do we live in that promotes the big people getting bigger and bigger…and the poor man growing smaller….that instead of giving a hand up, we just give a hand out and be on our way? Is there not more to this life?

A group of people created an organization called rightnow.org in part inspired by the story from Jesus about the Good Samaritan from Luke 10:25-37.

They have been inspired to be a group called Traders. Traders are a new type of missionary, not defined by geography, because it is really easy to go far away to people or lands you do not know, mainly because you may never see them again. Traders are more defined by the mission they are on, right where they are at, everyday, right now. We are called to live out our faith, not just talk about, sing about it, sit up and sit down about it. They really live it!

TRADERS have 4 motivations in their life:

1.) Traders choose daily to follow Jesus. It is no longer about me, it is about Jesus. Je-sus!! That leads us right back to the parable. The man chose to follow the way he knew was best, to stop and help. This way we now know is the way Jesus calls us to take, to go and do likewise. Thus, we sometimes must sacrifice the time it would take to take of a stranger, the money it could take to heal him, and share whatever skill it could take to bring life back to the broken.

2. Traders hate injustice and find ways to bring the hope of Jesus to the desperate. What is it in this life that you hate? It is extremely easy to pick what you hate in this life…what are the things that break your heart and makes your fist clinch…or makes you want to vomit. For the Samaritan man, it was seeing another person left behind, broken and scarred, hopeless and alone, being passed by the ones who should have been the first to help him. So what is it that makes you angry, fist clenched and breaks your heart…find specific ways to tackle these issues that show the hope and healing that is within the heart, life and spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ.

3. Traders use work as worship; everything you do can be an opportunity to worship the God who created you. God is most glorified when we use our God given talents for good and life changing work.

4. Act swiftly, because the time is right now. It is not after college, it is not after your kids start going to church, it is not when your kids graduate…the time is right now, when we exit the doors.

As the video says, this movement can result in a generation of traders, who are making a difference with their time, money and passions, that are God-kingdom focused and not self focused, so that our short time here can make an eternal impact. And if generations after us follow us, just think of what this world has the potential of becoming…

So what do you say? Are you ready? Are you ready to be a trader? Are you ready to choose to walk with Jesus everyday, fighting injustice, all the while worshipping the God who created you, and doing that right now? That challenge not only goes out to you folks here, but all of us. We are a family. You graduates in front of me, you are not alone. You will always have this church as your family…and we will walk with you in your decision to be a trader in this lifetime. So what do you say? Middle school? High School? Graduates? Parents? Families? Church? What do you say?

May 21?? Really?

May i preface this by asking you to go and read my professors blog on this topic? It is a quick read.
http://tinyurl.com/3t3gyg2

First of all, if May 21 is legit, I will be the first to find my professor and my friends up in heaven and punch them in the face because they are in Israel when all of this "will" go down.

But with that said, I believe I won't have this opportunity. Harold Camping, the leader of this Judgement Day movement, has been wrong once before (calling Sept. 6, 1994) and he is likely wrong again.


My reasoning? He pulls one Old Testament scripture (Gen7:4 saying giving a time of destruction of the earth as 7 days) and then a New Testament scripture (2 Peter 3:8 saying 1 day is a thousand years and a thousand years is a day to God) and coming up with some pretty ridiculous math to bring Judgment to May 21, 2011. I have my Math degree...and have had some class that mention "special" numbers in the Bible...but Harold's thought process is ridiculous. and remember, these verses are taken WAYYYYY out of context...so always remember to think about what these authors were going through when these passages were written. As my professors always say, "CONTEXT, CONTEXT, CONTEXT." And when you pull two verses out of the Bible...guess what you have left....A BIBLE!! A recording of peoples lives as they have lived under God and with Jesus in their real lives!!


All of this to say, we have NOTHING to worry about. Do not go sell your house, do not go spend your life savings...because the followers of this movement HAVE!!! The disappointing thing is that they have thousands of followers, but even they say only about 144000 will actually make it to heaven...hmmmmmm.

May we remember some verses of scripture that Jesus himself and his followers taught us from the beginning:

Matthew 24

³⁶"But the exact day and hour? No one knows that, not even heaven's angels, not even the Son. Only the Father knows.

^39-44"The Son of Man's Arrival will be like that: Two men will be working in the field—one will be taken, one left behind; two women will be grinding at the mill—one will be taken, one left behind. So stay awake, alert. You have no idea what day your Master will show up.

As Peter said, "false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction" (2 Peter 2:1). John in Revelation said Jesus was coming but never said when.

And when Timothy’s mentor Paul spoke about this he said: For "evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived" (2 Timothy 3:13), and "the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths" (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

Finally, there are some good things we can take from these people who are looking forward to May 21. Though we might think these people are a little nutty for waiting for May 21 at 6pm (according to you time-zone, that is when it will "happen" for you), I have to pat them on the back for being EAGER to see the face of God and their Savior Jesus!! And let it be known, I am just as eager! We are called to be eager!!

My heart is burdened for these people who have followed this movement with all their heart. What if we see May 22? What happens then? What happens to the hearts of these people. My first thought is that they will fall away from the faith...and that is sad. My heart prays for these people that they may not be discouraged, that they continue to follow Jesus just as hard as ever before. And i have the same prayer for myself and all of you when the light breaks on May 22 and we are brushing our teeth and preparing for worship.

And please know that none of us know when this will happen, not even Jesus. So it could happen May 20, June 30, or nov. 29, 2059. Until it happens, be ready. Live your life for God, doing what Jesus did: Loving God and Loving People.

And these people that follow May 21 show us something else…
Everyone is searching for something…

When we believe Jesus, his death, resurrection and returning, we have the greatest mystery in the world…because it is TRUE!

And whenever the day does come...I can only echo Casting Crowns...OH GLORIOUS DAY.... :)


UNTIL NEXT TIME....

The Monster of Lust

Time to flex the blogger's muscle again...gotta reclaim my voice and drive my journey deeper...
Recently I have fallen away because of some different stressors in my life....but all stressful things come to an end or work themselves out...and the same is true in my own life. Now, as my journal begins, I restart my journey to where I used to be, or maybe where God needs me to go...

And now to share my thoughts on life and God today...

"Lust is a poor, weak, whimpering, whispering thing, compared with that richness and energy of desire which will arise when lust has been KILLED!"
-C.S. Lewis from Red Lizard of Lust

Lust is a pretty crucial topic in the life of men and women alike. [So if you see me just focus on the men, please know it is not a gender issue. Ladies, all the ladies, this is for you too :) ] Our eyes can wander before we can think twice and often the second thought is about what we just saw. Often this is about looking at women (or men) and seeing them as an object instead of a child of God. We often get trapped in this lust and their seems to be no way out. The words of John Piper give us a starting point in overcoming lust, "We must swallow up the little flicker of lust's pleasure in the [all consuming fire] of holy satisfaction."
Our hearts should be so in tune with God that we no longer feel any form or need of lust. God can be that satisfaction for out lives if we let it. If Easter means anything, it reminds us that we can be made brand new, given a new life. A life where we have this holy satisfaction that centers on God and what He is doing in us and around the world. In this life, we are counted as righteous for our faith in God and His promises through a relationship in Jesus, our Savior. (Romans 4)

We are reminded to clothe ourselves, or surround ourselves on every side, with this new life of holy satisfaction and people/things that will support it. In this way, we may be tempted, but we never fall into the trap of lust. Why? Because, as John Piper writes, "Our aim is [no longer to] avoid something erotic [or tempting], but to gain something excellent."


Live to gain something excellent in a life that is completely dependent on God and the business He wants you to take a part in!!!

Until Next Time...