Ephesians 6:10-18 "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,"

Men we were not made to live like most men, we were made to fight, we were made to strive, we were made to work, we were made to conquer, we were made to give ourselves for something eternal.

Now we live in a fallen world, that lives in darkness and death. The kingdom of the evil one is spread across the land. We were not called to give ourselves to trifles, we were called to advance God's kingdom. To live with a passion to fight for Him, and to only every once in awhile drop our swords and look up for a smile.

I want to Fight! I don't want comfort. Because the Kingdom of God is built, not by those who rest easily in the streets of Zion, but by those who go out into the streets and fight. The weapons of  our warfare are not carnal, they are mighty intercessory prayer, the proclamation of the Gospel, and sacrificial love.

Raise up men of God! Do what you were called to do, be valiant and strong, take your stand beside Jesus Christ and His cause, and watch the Devil come after you. Attacking you from the outside and the inside, but that's what war is about.

This is from an old sermon that I found on line the other day and i thought that I would share it. I don't know who it was that was speaking but I loved the message behind it.

1. Men step up and be strong men of God.
2. Everyday the spiritual battle around us is waging and real. Fight like your life depends on it, Fight like the lives of your family, friends and your children depend on it. Because it does!

Jason

Cover the Earth in the Blood of Christ

Have you ever seen the Sherwin Williams paint logo?

I was following a Sherwin Williams paint truck the other day and as I studied their logo (as a Graphic Designer that is the sort of thing I do),  I started to see the gospel in it.

In the logo, the earth represents the earth and the red paint represents the blood of Christ. The paint is even red, how fitting is that?

Let's say that Jerusalem is where the paint starts being poured. Just like Christianity the paint continues to spread across the earth until the whole earth is covered. As the Gospel is being spread throughout the world and the Kingdom of God advances more and more people enter into the body and are covered by the blood of Christ.

Jesus came to this earth to pay our debt owed, a payment that required blood and death. Because that sacrifice was perfect our sins are now covered. Jesus didn't stop at paying our debt though, He rose from the grave and conquered death and now anyone that believes given new life. Jesus paid my debt, covered my sins, gave me new life and now it is His blood that protects and seals my salvation.

So as I think about the SWP logo it reads "Cover the Earth" but I see "Cover the Earth with the Blood of Christ"

Romans 4:7  "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered;

Jason

Breath Deep

Have any of you ever almost drowned before? At the moment you were kicking , fighting to keep your head above water thinking this was the end, what was your biggest fear? Was it death, or something else?

I have almost drowned before and when I think back it wasn't death that I was most afraid of, it was what taking that first breath of water into my lungs was going to feel like. Was it going to be painful? Would death be instant or would it be slow and agonizing?

Isn't this how we all approach giving God control of our lives?

It's that intense moment as we sink just below the surface, exhausted, no longer having the strength to keep our head above water, lungs burning for a breath of air and crying out for mercy that we remember the promise that God makes to us. He says I AM the water of life, breathe me in.  

  As we read scripture God makes it very clear to us that He is in control of all things. He wants us to follow His will because He is the only one that truly knows what is best for us. When we try and keep control of our lives He will discipline us like the loving Father that He is, not because He is a cosmic killjoy, but because the love and plan He has for us is greater than we could image.

God is the creator of all things so why do we make Him small and think we can control our lives better than He can? Why do we have such a hard time trusting Him? God promises to provide for your needs, to give you strength, comfort, healing, love and life. All He asks for in return is that you believe and trust in Him.

The way I see it is there are two ways to trust God. We can stick our toes in and test the water or we can do a cannonball into the river of life. So take a deep breath, plug your nose and jump into the hands of God.

1 Timothy 6:17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.

Jason   

From Inseparable Friends and Delinquent Teens to Brothers in Christ

Has God ever given you an opportunity to share the Gospel with somebody, but you didn't have the guts to speak it? I think that if we are honest the answer to that question would be a loud resounding "YES".

I recently got a great email from a friend and it went like this;

"Thanks for the blog. Somehow you decided to start writing the blog at a time in my life when I needed it. I really think the blog was the beginning for me realizing that I have so much more to give and so much more to let go of. I have also learned since my hospitalization that I have more friends than I ever knew that have the same beliefs in God that I do and we just somehow never talked about it. Such a sad thing that we never talked about it. Do you remember when I came to Sparks? I had very recently forged a relationship with God before coming to see you. I was very excited about it and was really living it. Actively going to church. Talking about it with friends. Reading the Bible daily. I was in a good place. When I cam and saw you, you were in a much different place at the time. I remember a rant at a bar we were at when you went off about Creed and their hidden agenda of talking about God. I think at the time you believed you were an atheist. I have always been disappointed in myself for not telling you what I thought that day. I wanted to tell you how wrong you were, but did not have the guts to do so. I am still a more than a little ashamed of that. Not surprisingly, we did not talk much after that. I can only think of a few times we spoke over the next several years. Funny to say that I sometimes thank God for Facebook. I may have never known that you have become a Christian and that everything is right with you now. We very well may have gone the rest of out lives not knowing that we walk in the same shoes. I thank God that you DO have the guts to put yourself out there and shamelessly let the world know that God is the answer. How ironic that it has worked out this way. I am as happy as I can be that we went from being inseparable friends and delinquent teens to brothers in Christ."

When Shawn came to Sparks, NV it was 10+ years ago and he's right, we were in very different places in our lives. I wouldn't say that I was an atheist, I would probably have identified myself as a Satanist. I lived for no one but myself and was more than happy to find my identity in that and get my power from him. Truth be told even if Shawn would have shared the Gospel with me I wouldn't have accepted it, it just wasn't my time God had plenty of work to do in my heart.

So why do we rely on Facebook to tell us that our friends and family have become Christians? Shawn and I have been friends for many years, but it's not like I called him up one day and said "Hey guess what happened to me today, I became a Christian, do you know Jesus?" It wasn't until I started writing this blog that I found out he had became a Christian years ago.

I guess what I'm trying to say is we should be SHOUTING AT THE TOP OF OUR LUNGS THE MESSAGE OF THE GOSPEL! Jesus has pulled us out of the grave and breathed into us new life. Why wouldn't we want to share that with those around us? Is being accepted more important than their death? Pray for God to place people in your life to share the Gospel with and when He does seize the moment! The gift of Grace is too good to keep to yourself, share it with anybody and everybody. It's the seeds that we plant today that God springs forth life!

Shawn, I too thank God for Facebook, I thank God that He has saved the both of us, I thank God that we can say we went from being inseparable friends and delinquent teens to brothers in Christ. I love you brother!

Romans 1:16 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes'   

Jason

Act Now, for Tomorrow May Never Come!

This weekend I got an email from a longtime friend that rocked me to the core.

My friend, Shawn woke up one morning to an intense pain in his lower leg. As he started to put all of the symptoms into a website it came back as DVT (blood clots in the deep veins of his leg). Knowing this wasn't something to blow off, he hopped into his car and headed to the ER.

He described the picture perfect ER visit, he got right in, was diagnosed with DVT, given medications, a care plan and then sent on his way. Once he got to his car is where it gets scary. He says " As soon as my butt hit the seat it feels like someone grabbed both of his lungs in their hands."  In less than three seconds, he went from chest pain, to Oh crap, to unconsciousness. According to the doctors he should have died where he sat, but by God's Grace he woke up, disoriented knowing he need to get back inside of the hospital. He pulled himself out of the car and only made it halfway before he felt himself going out again, so he laid down in the roadway of the parking lot, thinking someone would find him. No one did and again by God's Amazing Grace he woke up again determined to get into the hospital. In pure survival mode, he made his way back into the hospital and yelled for help. I'm so happy to announce that after a 5 day stay in the hospital and what could be a lifetime of medications he is doing well. I can't help but think that God had His hands on him that day, and at times picking Shawn up and carrying him to safety.       

Bigger than what had happed to him physically, was what had happened to him spiritually and emotionally.  Shawn says "as a man, father, husband, Marine, and Police Officer, I always felt like I was in control. I talk about God and saying that everything happens for a reason and that life is in God's hands, but I don't think I really believe that until now."  Shawn's overwhelming thought since that day is how fast this all happened. He had no time to think of his wife and children or his relationship with God. It brings him to tears every time he thinks about it.

Before this happened he had been struggling with the feeling that he wasn't close enough to God, or that he wasn't doing enough as a Christian man to really call himself a Christian. He says with absolute truth that several times he thought "I will get to that later, I'm just too busy with everything else."

To this I say, Shawn, it's not what YOU DO that makes you a Christian, it's what Jesus DID that makes you a Christian. God reminds us of that often and sometimes that discipline hurts...a lot! God wants 100% of our hearts, that is where we start, making God central in our lives and let everything else flow from that.

Shawn's point: Don't wait for one day get yourself right, let God redeem your relationships with friends, family and more importantly Himself. God is in control and only He knows which day will be your last and you have to be ok with that.

This email was sent to his family and friends as a call to action, to stop putting the important things off until tomorrow, for tomorrow may never come.

Matthew 24:36 "But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only."

Jason

I am a New Creation

 I have fought for some pretty stupid causes in my life. Causes that had no eternal value at all. I identified myself as a warrior, a solider for what I believed in. I have destroyed lives. I have destroyed relationships. I have caused pain. I have caused sorrow. I was an instrument of the Devil, believing his lies that I would somehow be rewarded and my life would finally be complete. But all of the things I once found my identity in, was just a smokescreen for my own anger, hatred and pain. I was angry so I took it out on those around me. I hated myself, so I hated those different from me. I was in pain, so caused pain to anyone I could, thinking that it would somehow take my pain away.

 In the midst of the life I was leading I would get glimpses of God and I would hear Him calling my name, but I never answered Him. I fought against Him, thinking, God is for the weak. "I can do this myself" I would say. But God is more persistent than I am, God is stronger than I am, and God is stronger than my sin and the sins committed against me.

 God grabbed a hold of me so tight one day, and this time He wasn't going to let go. By the Grace of God he put my wife into my life. I went to "Living Stones Church" with her one Sunday and it was a day that would drastically change my life. On that day I heard God audibly speak to me, and physically felt Him with his arms around me. He told me to follow Him, that he would heal my pain and fill the hole in my heart and make me complete. I wanted all that God was promising, but as I started thinking of the evil I had committed I had an overwhelming sense of doom. "How could God forgive me?" All that I had ever searched for was placed into my hands and then snatched away...or so I thought.

 I went months trying to work my way to this salvation that was preached every Sunday until I had exhausted my own power. I was at the end of myself,  ready to admit defeat and accept my punishment of eternal damnation. That is the point that I cornered one of our pastors after the service and told him all of the things I have done and that I was ready to accept what was coming to me. The answer I got from him wasn't the one that I was expecting though. He went through scriptures with me and showed me  that I hadn't gone too far, I hadn't done too much and that what God wants for me is greater than I could have ever imagined.

  My salvation wasn't based on me forgiving myself or by my own power. It is based on the work of Jesus Christ and the work He accomplished on the Cross. It was Jesus that bore my sins and the sins committed against me on the Cross. The wrath that I thought God had against me, Jesus took upon himself...for my sake. He lived the perfect life that I never could, died the death that I deserved and then resurrected from death to give me new life. He came to this earth to be the perfect sacrifice that paid my debt in full, but here was the kicker for me...Jesus' righteousness was passed onto me. Upon accepting Christ as my King and Savior I was made a new creation, God took my heart of stone and replaced it with a heart of flesh and He now sees me as blameless in his eyes. All of the sins I have committed, commit and will commit are paid for. All of the sins that have been committed against me, that caused my anger and hatred against myself, that I then took out on others, were taken away in an instant. The chains that had made me a slave were shed that day and I never want to look back.  My past is now hidden in the body of Christ, and it is now through that power, that I am free to live the life, and be the man that he created me to be.    

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Jason

I Have Insurance

 This morning I woke up to snow. It wasn't a lot, just enough that made me think that I should leave a little early for work.

 I love the snow, it makes everything clean and new; things seem to be extra quiet and life slows down a little.

 One thing I'm not, is afraid to drive in the snow. I did it for many years in a tractor-trailer while driving for FedEx Freight. You don't have to freak out about it, there are just some slight changes that you have to make in your driving to get to where you're going safely. Leave extra stopping distance, drive at a slightly slower speed, ease into the turns; you know use some common sense.

 As I got on the road I seemed to be the only one that was changing my driving habits at all, and it got me thinking of how we view our salvation and others view religion. The way I see it is we can look at it one of three ways. * Attention * there is only one correct answer.

1.       You can drive through your Christian life saying " I have insurance (salvation) Now I can do what I want and still go to heaven."  This is how most people were driving this morning, thinking only about getting themselves to where they were going, without regard for the others around them.

2.       You can hit the road without insurance and think that if you just drive carefully enough (good works)  you'll get to heaven. This is a ridiculous view. Driving without insurance carries with it a hefty penalty. That penalty in your  life is death.

3.       Or you can have you insurance (salvation) and drive with consideration to those around you, so you all get to where you are headed safely (good works).

James 2: 14-18 says What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good  is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

 There isn't a religion in the world that doesn't agree that there is something wrong with us, but what differs is their opinion on how to fix it. This is where the world views religion and sees us as hypocrites. Worldly religions will tell you that it is through your good deeds that you receive your salvation, but just try and measure up to perfect and you are bound to fail. By heaping up your good deeds, YOU DO NOTHING, to secure your place in heaven. Good deeds to receive salvation is just an extension of your selfishness.

But here is what God says about us...you can do nothing to fix yourself.

Here is the good news though, the main point of the Gospel, and if you read nothing else READ THIS... God sent His Son to die in your place. Jesus being fully God , and fully man, means he lived the perfect life that we can't. He then died in our place as a perfect sacrifice and that means the salvation is permanent. He then rose from the grave, conquering death to give us new life, and when He rose from death that means the payment was accepted.

Jesus bought and paid for our insurance with His blood. It is through that, that our good works flow. Not to receive salvation but because we have salvation.

So drive knowing you have insurance, look for the opportunities to tell others that their bill can be paid for them. Love the people around you with the love of Christ and let you good works flow from that. "Rest and go in peace."

Jason

Jesus Christ Superhero!

 I'm going to tell you a story that will be hard to believe, but every word of it is true.

 Once upon a time I was a "Comic Book Geek". I think it may have started as a kid with a large collection of Star Wars and GI Joe action figures. I would play outside with them for hours. I'm sure there are some still buried in the backyard of my childhood home. My brother and I used to make the whole DC and Marvel Universe out of Play-Doh. My mom still has those 30 years later.

 When I got older (24) I had a friend that owned Goblin Comics in Vancouver WA. That's when things got out of control. I acquired many of long boxes full of comics. Judge Dredd, Thor, The Incredible Hulk and way too many Image Comics titles to mention were my favorites. It didn't just stop with "Graphic Novels" (Graphic Novels is a term to make those afflicted feel justified by being a grown man with thousands of dollars worth of comic books) though I had boxes and boxes of assorted action figures and cards too. I have since then sold them off or given them away.

 I think what always appealed to me about Superheroes is the fact that I need a savior. Even though make-believe, that's what they were. They fought against evil, stood for justice and truth. They were someone to find hope in, but no matter which Superhero you favor they all have a similarity... they aren't perfect. They always struggled with their human propensity to sin.

 No matter how I felt reading those stories they weren't real, those heroes weren't going to fly down and save me and I would never have a personal relationship with them. Then I found the Holy Bible. It is a story of the Greatest Superhero of all time. It's a story of Jesus Christ and how he came to save the world and continues to save the world. Jesus Christ fights against evil, stands for justice and He is the truth. He is the hope of the of the world, but unlike the "Graphic Novels" , Jesus is perfect, real, and alive. He lived the perfect life for me so He could be the perfect sacrifice for my soul. Jesus died to save me and resurrected from the dead to give me new life. He didn't do this for fame, money, pity or because of anything I did. He did it because of His love for us.

 It is our sin that puts Him on the Cross, but bigger than that, it's His love for us that makes Him endure. He is stronger than our sin. He is more powerful than all evil. He loves us, despite our constant failure and eagerly awaits our arrival in Heaven. How awesome is that!?

 Jesus Christ is the ultimate superhero and I have a personal relationship with Him. I have felt Him with his hands on me pulling me out of death, darkness and into life. I have heard Him speak to me. It doesn't matter if it is John 3:16 for the first time, or for the 316th time, there is always something new. Unlike the comics, every time I read the Bible, God reveals new truths to me, encourages me, strengthens me, teaches me and builds me up to be more like Him.

 So now every time that I watch a Superhero movie or put on my Green Lantern or Thor t-shirt I am reminded of the Gospel. In Jesus Christ I don't have just a t-shirt...I have a full suit of armor, a shield, and an awesome sword. Believing in Him as my savior makes me alive, gives me hope and equips me for battle alongside Him.

Jason

1 Corinthians 13:11 " When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways."

I will...by the power of His Will!

At Church this weekend we started a new sermon series called "Real Marriage". It's based off the New York's Best Sellers #1 book by the same name. The book was written by Pastor Mark Driscoll and his wife Grace Driscoll.

The morning started off like any other Sunday, getting ready for church, setting everything up and praying that everything goes smoothly. See the Church that my family and I attend is the "Living Stones Sparks Campus", and we meet inside the Mendive Middle School is Sparks. We start each morning with an empty gymnasium, and with the help of roughly 50 volunteers it is transformed into a beautiful place of worship. It is a huge evidence of God's Grace that it all comes together the way it does. God is doing His work through us each Sunday to reach the city of Sparks, I see new faces every weekend. We are a church that preaches Jesus' name. We lift Him on high and He draws the people of Sparks to Himself.

The message started off with pretty much more of the same... keep Jesus the center of our relationships, and He will redeem and make them flourish, but as Pastor Harvey continued to preach, God was softening my heart and revealing to me the ways I don't keep Him central in my marriage. Harvey told the story of how he met his wife and that the first two years of their marriage didn't go so well. It was a story that sounded all too familiar to my own marriage. Don't get me wrong, I love my wife, and I love my marriage...but a healthy marriage is hard work and we can't do it alone, we need God's power, not our own. It's only through humbling ourselves, reaching out to our church, asking for help and submitting to His will, that this marriage will be redeemed.

The sermon was one of those that seemed like every word was directed at me. It was a huge kick in the butt by the Holy Spirit to grow up, be the man He created me to be and to fight like hell for my wife, kids and my marriage. Towards the end he asked all the men of the congregation to stand and take an oath. The oath was a call to action to re-engage and join back in that fight with the power of God that he gives us. It was a very powerful moment for me, that only got more powerful as we then went into a time of communion where Pastor Harvey told all the Husbands, Fiancés, Boyfriends to serve their Wives, Wives-to-be, and Girlfriends communion. It was a very powerful time as I served my wife communion. We prayed together, cried together as I reminded us as a married couple of what Christ had done for us, and made an oath to her that I will rely on God's power, grace and love. Then we took the elements as one flesh in Christ, stood and worshiped the one true God that saved us both and gives us the power to truly live as He has created us to be.

I DO solemnly resolve before God to take full responsibility for myself, my wife, and my children.

I WILL love them, protect them, serve them, and teach them the Word of God as the spiritual leader of my home.

I WILL be faithful to my wife, to love and honor her, and be willing to lay down my life for her as Jesus Christ did for me.

I WILL bless my children and teach them to love God with all of their hearts, all of their minds, and all of their strength.

I WILL train them to honor authority and live responsibly.

I WILL confront evil, pursue justice, and love mercy.

I WILL pray for others and treat them with kindness, respect, and compassion, because that is what Jesus Christ did and does for me.

I WILL work diligently to provide for the needs of my family.

I WILL forgive those who wronged me and reconcile with those I have wronged.

I WILL learn from my mistakes, repent of my sins, and walk with integrity as a man answerable to God.

I WILL seek to honor God, be faithful to His church, obey His Word, and do His will.

I WILL courageously work with the strength God provides to fulfill this resolution for the rest of my life and for His glory.

I encourage all of you men to take up this oath and join in the fight for our marriages, to break the chains of our pasts, our sin and to live as the men God has created us to be through His power, Grace and Love.

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.  Joshua 24:15

Jason

Sitting on God's Shoulders.

 Remember when you were a kid and your Dad would hoist you up on his shoulders? Maybe you went somewhere special and couldn't see. Maybe it was because of your constant complaining that he put you up there to make it stop. Maybe it was out of sheer love that he placed you up on his shoulders, to be near you, to show you what he saw, and just to lead the way so you could enjoy the ride and the wonders around you.

 I don't know about you but those times were special to me. I felt safe knowing that my Dad wouldn't let me fall. I had confidence in knowing that He knew the way. I could see everything around me, as he would point out the special things and he would teach me about the world around. I could relax knowing I was in the presence of my father.

 Have you ever thought of the correlation between those times and what Jesus Christ has done and does for you?

 We grow too big to sit on our fathers shoulders and we rely on the teachings of our father to get us through this life, but the fact is that we fail. Without someone holding us up and leading the way the world gets the best of us. That is where Jesus comes in.

 Jesus gave up His crown and came to earth as a man to live a perfect life for us. He obeyed the Father perfectly, even as He was nailed to the Cross, dying the violent, bloody death that we deserved. Then three days later he rose from the dead, conquering death and sin so we could have life. What Jesus was doing was fighting for us. He was making a way to save us from ourselves, because he wants to hoist us up on his shoulders, just like our father did as children.

 Luke 15:5-6 says; "And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.'

 Did you catch that? Jesus is always there, searching for us. If we turn and ask for His forgiveness and place our faith in Him, He puts us on his shoulders and carries us home.

 So place your faith in Jesus and let Him hoist you up onto His shoulders, feel safe that He won't let you fall, have confidence in knowing that He IS the way. Rejoice in the blessings He gives you, praise Him for the truths that He reveals to you, and relax in knowing that you are always in the presence of the Father. His love is a perfect love, never changing, never fading and never ending. Jesus fought so we could live. So live a life on his shoulders, in reverence of Him.

 Call your Dads and tell him that you love him. Hug your children and tell them that you will always fight for them. Put your children on your shoulders and teach them that Jesus does the same, but most of all get on your knees and thank God the Father for doing the same for you.

Jason

Dodge Ramcharger and the Gospel?

 A few months back I became the proud owner of a 1984 Dodge Ramcharger. It may not be much to look at but it's my tank and I love driving it. It's full on strong, heavy Detroit steel, It has a roll bar, a big front push bumper, and when I turn the hubs and put it in 4 wheel drive it's unstoppable. I guess what I'm trying to say is although it lacks the modern safety conveniences, I feel safe and secure driving it around town.

 Like most older vehicles there are things that have long given up and no longer work. The back hatch won't stay up, the passenger side window doesn't work, the speedometer no longer works, and no matter how many times I reset the clock, it won't stay in time. So I leave with plenty of time to get where I'm going and just keep up with traffic to gage how fast I'm going, driving around looking out the huge windows, enjoying the beautiful area God has placed me in.

 Then one day I realized that my Ramcharger is a perfect picture of how I live in the Gospel (stay with me I'll explain). The Tank is just like I am, ruff around the edges, broken and in need of constant loving care, but just like the body of Christ, once inside I'm safe from what the world has to throw at me and He constantly gives me the loving care that I need. Jesus said that no one knows the time he'll return but God the Father, so what is time to me? I just move along, working diligently, trusting that if I steward my time well, I'll get to where I'm going on time and ready at moment's notice. If I do the same in my Christian life I'll be ready when the day comes that I die, or Jesus returns. The speedometer is one of the best parts though, because it's not how fast I go, or how hard that I work, I'll get there. My salvation is the same way, because it's not how fast or how hard I work that seals my salvation, It depends on the work already done by Christ on the Cross and because he is faithful I'll get there.

 Jesus' sacrifice was perfect and my soul is saved because of it. I'm safe inside Him because He is strong. I love Him, so I work for God's Kingdom because He loved me first and sacrificed everything for me. I love and care for the people around me, because He continues to love and care for me. When I think about the way He loves me and all he has done for me I am comforted and feel like I'm living in a bubble, and just like the big push bumper on the front of the Ramcharger, he has given me the gift of the Holy Spirit to empower me to push through anything.

 So I drive my truck like I live my Christian life. Safe and secure in the Body of Christ, and my salvation. I keep my eyes focused on the Heavenly prize that awaits me, but at the same time giving thanks to God for the things around me.

 Philippians 1:21 Paul says," For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." and like my Ramcharger my physical body is just a vessel to get where I'm going.  I think that if we all look at our lives that way we be comforted and rejoice in the bubble God has placed in.

Jason