ogbyfuel.com

This last Sunday's Super Bowl was a great one to watch.  Like every year, I spent it hanging out with the youth for our annual Super Bowl Party.  We had a great time watching the game, eating a ton and having some good fellowship.  After the game, we start the cleanup.  So we did not see any of the postgame interviews.  A day or so later I hear about some of those interviews.  Especially those from Packers players Aaron Rodgers, Donald Driver and Greg Jennings.  This post kinda goes with the last one and the comments for it.  It's great to see players with a world stage like that giving thanks to God.  I'll let the video speak for itselft.  Congrats Packers, what an awesome God we all serve!

When I mention the stuff, what comes to mind?  Tangible stuff? Feelings stuff? Life stuff?  Whatever may come to your mind, is it worth pouring your life into and making it priority one?
I heard something interesting last week.  It was a radio broadcast of Focus on the Family.  There was a speaker on there (I don't remember his name) that told the story of a friend he has.  This friend was attending a Texas A&M football game and noticed a bunch of people standing around a dumpster outside the stadium.  When coming up to the dumpster, he noticed that it was full of trophies.  The university was making room for newer awards and tossing the old ones out.  The speaker asked what things do we do that we think are important, only to get tossed in heaven's dumpster?
Very true.  As students or adults, what do you do that seems so important at the time, only to be seen as worthless in heaven?  Clubs, organizations, sports, committees, teams, jobs, school. . . . ministry.  In terms of eternity, I commit myself to a lot of stuff that God won't have any use for.   So do we just dump all of it?  I don't even know how to do that.  Whenever my wife and I would fight about me being involved in so much, I always end the argument by asking what  she wants me to give up.  Neither one of us know the answer to that.  But i do know this.  Take the stuff that you do and do if for your eternal life. 
Let me take that a little farther.  What if we traded in pointless stuff  and sold out and gave our life to things bigger than our life?  To sell out simply means taking your life and turning it into God's life.  Living out your life for the cause of Christ.  Changing the way you look at things and look at people.  Living with purpose for a change.  I think in doing this, people are going to notice. Maybe it's not a positive notice at times.  Other times, it's one of intrigue.  Either way, it is the life we are called to.  Live it well, live it for Christ.

We are careful not to judge people by what they seem to be, though we once judged Christ in that way. Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new. God has done it all! He sent Christ to make peace between himself and us, and he has given us the work of making peace between himself and others.             2 Corinthians 5:16-18

God bless you and stuff you do!
Later!
 - Parker

The Judgement House finale was Sunday night. It's been a tiring six nights, but an amazing time as well.  Around 1300 people went through this year's drama. And over 120 of those made decisions for Christ! God is good!
I had the opportunity to work as a soul winner alongside Bro. Tom giving the invitation at the end of the tour.  Truly the best job!  It was great seeing the looks on people's faces coming out of the scenes.  You could see the look of God working in the lives of so many of them.  What a blessing it was to do what I did and to work with the group of soul winners!  It was awesome to see God work in the lives of the participants and workers alike!
Share your stories of Judgement House here.  What was your part?  What belssings did you receive? How awesome was all of it?
All in all, a great two weeks of JH!  Looking forward to seeing great blessings from all of those that made decisions and to get the opportunity to baptize some of them.  Thanks Oak Grove and God bless!

But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.     1 Corinthians 15:57

 

Tonight we revisted the Louie Giglio talk How Great is our God,  If you've never seen the Louie Giglio Passion Talk series, I suggest you check them out. Simply amazing!
Toward the end of the talk, Louie said that the same God who breathed the existence of the universe and everything in it also carries us in His hands. God is always there during the hardest parts of our lives. When we are at our lowest point, God is there to give us the strength to carry on. He is faithful in this for those of us that love His will for our lives.  He referenced the following scripture, with this promise.
                                            But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
                                              They will soar high on wings like eagles.
                                            They will run and not grow weary.
                                               They will walk and not faint.                        Isaiah 40:31

This got me thinking about the hurt in our lives as well as the live of the people around us.  I was listening to the Matthew West song My Own Little World. There is a line in the song that says, "Father break my heart for what breaks Yours."  I believe that is what each one of us needs.  We need to take notice of the needs of the people around us.  The kicker to that is the people that are around us is the the population of the planet.  I'll save you the Google, that's over 6.7 Billion people!  As Christians, as followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to lift up the poor and needy.  That way of thinking comes from God himself.  If we love the Lord, we will love His people.
                                                Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker,
                                                  but helping the poor honors him.        Proverbs 14:31

With the upcoming holiday season, we need to grasp the train of thought that puts others before ourselves.  Do you remember the sign, it's still in the youth room, that says WILL LIVE FOR MORE THAT MYSELF?  It's time we start living that.  As followers, we're called to. It's getting to be that time of year, the time that makes thinking of others easier for everyone to do.  Let's change our "me first" attitude.  Jesus' words, not mine!

So those who are last now will be first then, and those who are first will be last. 
                                                                                                                                Matthew 20:16

So I've been thinking about small groups again (or still).  It seems like that is what is on my mind a lot lately.  And more than being a thought, it has been a huge frustration in ministry.  I believe to grow in love, grow in scripture, or grow in relationships, you've got to start small.  Scheduling group this year has been a difficult task thus far.  Running into road blocks, walls, schedules and priorities. Simply put, I need some help.  Maybe some encouragement. I don't know. . . .
We have to keep moving forward or we get stagnant, right?

Why groups?  Here's why:
    Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.        Hebrews 10:24-25

Well, we just finished the series on how to get a life.  The subtitle for it was; A Life Well Lived.  So I wonder how you would respond to that.  Thus far, would you say that you've lived your life well?  One that honors God and loves others?  Some will say that the love for God is there, but that you have a hard time loving others.  Are other people easy to love and love all the time?  Of course not!  I'm thankful that God doesn't love us the same way we love other people.  But in order to love others, we have to fall more in love with God.  Otherwise, loving people is difficult or next to impossible.  Without the love of God in us, we can not truly love another person.  Whether it be a friend, a family member, husband, wife, children, or just a stranger on the street.  We can't love them without God's love in us.
Let me leave you with what the Bible says on the subject, from the perspective of John.

    We love each other because He loved us first 
     If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see?  And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their Christian brothers and sisters.          
                                                            1 John 4:19-21

    Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too.  We know we love God’s children if we love God and obey his commandments.  Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome.    1 John 5:1-3
 

 

Just finished part three of How to Get a Life tonight and I have a few more thoughts for you. 
The main question tonight was; "what happens when I die?"  Think about that.  What happens after you die? Notice that I am making that sound like a sure thing.  That's because it is.  Every one of us are going to die one day.  I know that's not a profound thing to say, but I really want you to think about.
So if we all know that one day our life be over. One, unexpected day.  Then, what plans have you made for the next day?  What will happen after you die?  All throughout the Bible, it only speaks of two options for eternity.  Heaven and Hell.  That's it. Only two.  So I ask again, have you made plans for eternity?
Let me leave you with a little bit of scripture.
                        Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity.    John 12:25