In God's Presence...

Ok, It's been a while since I've posted on here. Sorry for the inconsistency!

Have you ever heard anybody pray, "Lord, we invite you to join our presence," or something along those lines? I have and I have prayed it many times. However, I have been thinking about this statement since I taught a few weeks back on the presence of God and how we are considered a temple of the Holy Spirit.

In the Old Testament, the temple was a holy place. It was where the high priest would enter the presence of God within the 'holy of holies.' That room was so holy, that, if you were unclean entering it, you would not come out alive. I won't go into much detail about the temple to save time. Basically, the Temple was a Holy place; a place not to be defiled.

For the past few months, I am beginning to realize that we are called the "Temple of the Holy Spirit," meaning that God's presences resides within us. If Paul is truly comparing us to the Old Testament temple (which he is) then we are considered holy when we become followers of Christ.

I don't know why this seems like such a new thing to me, but for some reason, I really have begun to understand what it means to have the presence of God around me wherever I go. When I eat, his presence is there. When I pick my nose in rush hour, he is there. When I am sipping a cup of coffee and reading the paper, he is there. So, why is it that I fail to see him around me wherever I go - at all times of my day?

I have no longer been praying "God, grace us with your presence" because I feel like God feels ripped off when we pray that. I wonder if he's just sitting right beside us saying, "I'M RIGHT HERE, YOU BOZO!" So, I have begun to pray, "Father, open my eyes to see you wherever I go." Because I feel that God is always around us, it's just that we fail to see him because of our sin and selfishness.

So, then, if we are considered a temple of the Holy Spirit, meaning that God's presence is always with us and withIN us, why is it that I do all the stupid things in my life that I do? Why is it, that I reacted in an unloving way to a driver who is obeying the speed limit to a tee and I want to go 10 over? Why is it, that I laugh at jokes that are crude when I know that God's not laughing with me? Why is it, that I ignore a person who needs help and assistance because I am too busy and caught up in my own agenda?

If I... If WE truly realized that we are constantly in the presence of God, would we do those things we do? (DON'T sing that song! I know it's catchy, but don't sing it!... I made you sing it, didn't I?) Wouldn't our life be a life stamped with integrity? Wouldn't we live in the fear of God? (the healthy fear). Wouldn't we see people in a different perspective, through the eyes of Jesus?

Last week, during staff journalling, I called myself a "one issue prophet." Meaning that, there always seems to be one single issue that bothers me about myself and about my generation. That issue is compromise. (Compromise in a negative way) I'm seeing friend's break up marriages, I'm seeing friends make dumb choices in relationships because "it feels right." I'm seeing friends who were leaders in bible college fall away from God because they want to follow their sensuality and lusts. Isn't there enough of that in this world? Isn't there enough compromising, flakyness, non-committalness, two-faced, surfacy people in this world to make everybody sick? So, why become one of them?! After all, doesn't the word Holy come from the basis of the definition, "To set apart?"

It's time to set ourselves apart. It's time to claim the holiness of ourselves through Christ. To live and dwell in Sin is defiling the very thing that God sent his son to die to make holy. Do we really understand that? I don't know if we do.

So, from now on, I'm going to make my every morning prayer, "Lord, open my eyes to see your presence all around me, every day, every hour, every minute that I'm alive."

It's through prayers like these that can help us be "in-tune" with the spirit's promptings wherever we go so he can do radical things through us.

Peace out, mah brethren and sistren!

Lurneeng tu Kommyunickayt

I think everybody should take courses on conflict resolution and how to communicate effectively... It would make life a lot easier.

I find that the majority of drama, the majority of hurt friendships comes from a lack of how to effectively communicate or to effectively deal with an issue properly. And it's starting to tick me off.

This isn't because of one specific incident, but it seems as though (probably with me being in ministry) that I have had a lot of conversations with people who are dealing with hurt relationships or drama in their friendships. For every situation, it's come down to a lack of being able to listen and understand each other. Of course they can hear and then reiterate what the person said to them, but they fail to truly understand it.

What happens when there's not clear communication (and when I mean communication, there has to be understanding, not just speaking and listening.) is it leads into over-internalization and over-analyzation; two things that become detrimental powder-kegs to any situation. How many times have we (saying this because all of us have dealt with this at some point in our lives) spent all night tossing and turning in our beds because we're thinking of a conversation or an incident that could be different? THAT ISN'T HEALTHY!!! What happens is a chain of events... We lose sleep, become physically tired. We over-analyze therefore becoming mentally tired. When we are mentally and physically tired, Satan sticks his foot in the door and starts bombarding you with thoughts and doubts so much so that you become spiritually tired.

Once you're physically, mentally and spiritually fatigued, you are immobile.

Sorry about this rant, but I've been a bit frustrated lately because the obvious seems hard to grasp...

From now on, for all those family members, for all those friends, for all those young people who are dealing with drama... Let's all learn communication and conflict resolution in the healthy way.

FREEEEEEDOM!!!

If you were interested in hearing some of my sermons, you can go online to our church's website and listen to it. I did the "Freedom" one from October 1st.

Here's the link: "Freedom" by Tyson

Peace out

The "Different" Sub-culture

So, It's been a while! Life has been buuuuuuusy, but amazing! I can honestly say that this church is amazing! Every day we're seeing new people and non-Christ followers enter our doors. Our youth group has grown exponentially and we're taking a healthy group of highschoolers to our first retreat this Friday.

But that's not what I'm hear to write about. So, let me begin...

I know too many people, or maybe too many people know me.

I don't say this to boast, but I tend to be that 'person' that everybody remembers. Everywhere I go I run into old classmates, old ministry friends, ex-band fans, old campers and people that I know from other circles. I have come to the realization that I cannot go many public places without running into someone that I know. And this has been happening at my latest 'hangout spot'... a.k.a. a coffee shop.

It's called Ethical Addictions and it's in downtown Langley. It's filled with college students and teenagers, hanging around the couches playing card/board games and chatting. It's unique, in that, all sorts of cultures/social groups come out to this gathering place. From punk rockers in their spikes to preps in their latest fancy urban shoes, rolled pant cuffs and tight sweaters.

Every day that I have stopped in to read or study my bible, I have encountered old friends and the conversations I have had with the majority of them is starting to give me a 'holy discontent.'
Some of you may be getting sick of me bantering about this topic continually, but it seems to be so prevalent in our culture/generation. I have been seeing peers, who proclaim to be Christ-followers, live lives of outright sin and blatant compromise.

And it's ticking me off.

For some reason, many of my peers are falling into the idea that living with their boyfriend/girlfriend, or going on couples camping trips (and being in the same tents... even though nothing may be happening, it's like lighting a match in a room full of open gun-powder... it's making room for the enevitable.), or getting drunk on weekends, or living in lives of lust and sexual activity, or socially dabbling in drugs, or dating unbelievers (ministry dating? pffff... whatEVER!), or stooping to a lower level and dating a creep for the sake of dating, or participating in the activity of things that are unacceptable, or making jokes that are way over the line... theses things they view are all acceptable and ok because 'we are all believers and know where each other stand.' (How many times have we used that one before... I know I have).

I have been feeling truly sad in seeing the lives of compromise that Christ's bride seems to be living. Are we having an affair? It's seeming that the christian community is turning into the same community that existed in Corinth. Paul made it his effort to attack the lives of sin that they were living in. (If you want to hear an amazing series on the book of corinthians in the light of N. American culture, download Mars Hill podcasts with Mark Driscoll)

Tonight, I was prepping for my breakfast devotion group and felt called to continue reading on into the third chapter of Colossians and read the following:

5 So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don't be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. 6 Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming. 7 You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. 8 But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. 9 Don't lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. 10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. 11 In this new life, it doesn't matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.

For some reason, we have forgotten that Christ is all that matters.

This is call for us to live differently. Being a Christian is to be a different culture. Being a Christian means to stand out and apart from the world and live the way Christ intended for us to live.

That is all, I have written too much and I need to go to bed... Just felt like I needed to give you a post so you don't think I'm dead.

A few words on Tyson...

This is Tyson

Tyson is my friend

I find it interesting that Tyson could come up with the time to post about 100 comments on my blog in less than an hour, but yet he hasn't updated his blog in almost a month.

That's all I have to say about Tyson right now.

Back in the Homeland!!!

Excuse the tardiness of this. Life has been UBER busy since the move.

Well, after leaving 7 hours later than planned, recieving a speeding ticket from a worship pastor, running into my friend at the border, and a day later, I arrived back to the homeland!!!

Yes, that's right! I, Tyco, am back in Canayda for good. But before we go any further into how life is going up here, I would like to share with you the adventure that I had.

1. I left Seven hours later than planned:

I always know that whenever someone moves, they leave later than planned. I'm actually quite surprised that I left as soon as seven hours after my designated departure time. I have known some people who have left 1-3 days after their designated departure time. So, relatively speaking it wasn't so bad.


2. I got a speeding ticket from a worship pastor:

I don't know if you have ever gotten a speeding ticket before. For some reason, I always hear this voice inside my head telling me that I will be getting a speeding ticket. It's happened to me twice before. This time was no different. Acutally, the thought in my mind was, "Wouldn't it be funny if I got a speeding ticket on my last trip out of California?" Lo and Behold, I got a speeding ticket with only 30 miles left in California. Funny that, eh?

But the cool part was the cop and I had a really good conversation about ministry and life. (For some reason, I always get into really good convo's with random people.) He shared with me how he was the worship leader at his church and is thinking about heading into fulltime ministry after working for the CHP a little while longer. So, we were able to encourage each other and give each other our blessing. The cool part was that He wrote me up for going only 75mph in a 70mph when he originally clocked me for going 84mph. My old roommate (the cop) said that the court might even throw out the ticket because I was only 'going five over.'

3. I ran into my friend at the border.

I always am nervous about what to expect when crossing the border, because they are so strict. But I never expected the blessing that I recieved when I crossed this last time. Because I am moving back, I had to declare my goods that I was bringing across... sometimes (if they don't like you) they can make your day miserable.

So, I had to go into the border office so they can process my 'Returning Resident' paperwork; changing my residency from USA back to Canada. When I was waiting in line, I was called forward to the counter. I couldn't believe it, but it was my old highschool buddy, Kyle Harrison. So, we had a good chat, talked about church and where God is directing us and about his new marriage. He processed my paperwork without a problem and approved all my goods that I brought across... praise the Lord!

So, my trip back went really smooth and without a hitch! I praise God for the way he has blessed me and even been gracious to me (even when I was being disobedient to the speed laws) as I took my last trip back to Canada.

I will have my Canadian number up soon, but not yet.

Maia's Dream man...

For the Sake of not regurgitating a wonderful story... I would recommend you to read my friend, Maia's, latest blog. It's plumb full of pleasant goodness, yo!

Maia's Blog