Why we should fear God

 I’ve recently been wrestling with the idea of not only loving God, but also fearing him at the same time.  In my opinion, it’s just as important to fear our marvelous creator, as it is to love him.  One of the biggest reasons why I thought we shouldn’t fear God is because he is full of grace, forgiveness, and love.  However, I have learned that he also wants us to fear him because it helps us fight the temptations of sin.

 Proverbs 14:27
The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death.

Proverbs 16:6
Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the LORD a man avoids evil.

Something I heard awhile back that is a perfect example to this topic had to deal with a prisoner who was serving time for murder.  He claimed that he loved the Lord, but didn’t fear him.  He said that if he would have feared God it probably would have changed the way he thought about things and he wouldn’t be sitting in prison today.  I believe that if you truly love someone you want to do the right thing out of love for them.  Moreover, there are times that fearing the wrath of God would help you in the battle of good and evil.

Overall, I have come to the conclusion that we need to have a good balance of love and fear in our relationship with God.  We need to put him first in our lives and not think of him as some sort of fantasy because he is more real than you or I.  It is essential for us to trust in him ALWAYS; and to truly have faith in his plan for our lives because it is already written out for us.  He knows what we do not and it’s easy to forget that sometimes.  Lastly, always remember to fall back on his word because it’s more important to do what IS RIGHT, rather than doing what “feels right.”  Satan uses our feelings and emotions as a weapon against us…therefore, ALWAYS TRUST IN THE WORD OF GOD!

Your friend,

Daniel

“Im not telling you it i…

“Im not telling you it is going to be easy, i’m telling you it’s going to be worth it.”

Isn’t this the truth?  I can’t remember a time in my life when accomplishing something easy felt more rewarding than accomplishing something difficult, or challenging.  I believe that most people aren’t successful because they quit when things get tough.  If we all just had a little more faith and confidence, then I believe we could all accomplish far more than we think possible.  This goes for everything in life: athletics, school, relationships, and etc.  The next time you find yourself struggling, or happen to be going through a difficult time, you can rely on this truth from God to get through it! Romans 8:18- “ I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” 

Finding my strength in the Lord

Have you ever looked at someone in your life, whether it be a celebrity, family member, that popular kid in class, or even a friend, and said something similar to this: “Ugh, I sure do wish I were more like that person because they always get what they want and they never seem to be struggling.”  This person may be popular, rich, athletic, gifted, or simply look like nothing ever goes wrong for them…Well if you’re anything like me then you have been in this situation at least once in your lifetime.  It is natural for us as humans to look at someone, or something, in envy.  God created us to have desires because he wants us to desire him; however, a lot of the time we use our “feelings of desire” to look at someone else on this earth and want what they have because we believe their life is much better than ours. 

I’d like to confess that this is something I’ve recently been struggling with.  Here are just a few examples of the things I have been going through:

1. I look at my peers and see that they keep getting good grades in school, but I can’t seem to get a good grade if my life depended on it.  I am an average student, so when I see my friends 4.0 tough courses it causes me to feel worthless and unsuccessful.  The worst part about it is that it looks relatively easy for them and I just can’t comprehend how they do it.  
2. I feel like no matter how hard I try to make money and save it I always end up further behind than I was before.  Then I see people my age who are extremely well off and never seem to be struggling financially. I swear they literally have a  money tree somewhere in their backyard! 
3. I’ve been wrestling my whole life and have developed the belief that hard-work, self-control, and discipline are key elements to being successful, in not only sports, but also life!  The thing that causes me to struggle is when I see an athlete dominate everyone else, and I’ve seen first hand how they treat their bodies badly with drugs and alcohol, or don’t train hard, and etc.  For someone who has tried to succeed by working hard and sacrificing a lot of the “fun” things in life, it causes me to question a lot of things, and start to wish I were naturally gifted like the person who keeps winning the championships, yet doesn’t really work hard for it.  One of the hardest things to swallow in athletics is when you do everything you are told to do in order to be successful, but you then lose to Joe Blow and don’t understand why because the night before he was out with his buddies partying, while you were at home resting up and preparing for your competition. 

These are just a few of the scenarios that I have been struggling with recently, but this morning I read Psalm 73, and it hit me in ways that I haven’t felt in a long time.  

 Psalm 73

¹ Surely God is good to Israel,
    to those who are pure in heart.

² But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; 
    I had nearly lost my foothold. 
³ For I envied the arrogant
    when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

⁴ They have no struggles;
    their bodies are healthy and strong.
⁵ They are free from common human burdens;
    they are not plagued by human ills.
⁶ Therefore pride is their necklace; 
    they clothe themselves with violence. 
⁷ From their callous hearts comes iniquity;
    their evil imaginations have no limits.
⁸ They scoff, and speak with malice; 
    with arrogance they threaten oppression. 
⁹ Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
    and their tongues take possession of the earth.
¹⁰ Therefore their people turn to them
    and drink up waters in abundance.
¹¹ They say, “How would God know?
    Does the Most High know anything?”

¹² This is what the wicked are like—
    always free of care, they go on amassing wealth.

¹³ Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure
    and have washed my hands in innocence. 
¹⁴ All day long I have been afflicted, 
    and every morning brings new punishments.

¹⁵ If I had spoken out like that,
    I would have betrayed your children.
¹⁶ When I tried to understand all this,
    it troubled me deeply
¹⁷ till I entered the sanctuary of God;
    then I understood their final destiny.

¹⁸ Surely you place them on slippery ground; 
    you cast them down to ruin. 
¹⁹ How suddenly are they destroyed,
    completely swept away by terrors!
²⁰ They are like a dream when one awakes; 
    when you arise, Lord,
    you will despise them as fantasies.

²¹ When my heart was grieved
    and my spirit embittered,
²² I was senseless and ignorant;
    I was a brute beast before you.

²³ Yet I am always with you;
    you hold me by my right hand. 
²⁴ You guide me with your counsel, 
    and afterward you will take me into glory.
²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but you? 
    And earth has nothing I desire besides you. 
²⁶ My flesh and my heart may fail, 
    but God is the strength of my heart
    and my portion forever.

²⁷ Those who are far from you will perish; 
    you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.
²⁸ But as for me, it is good to be near God. 
    I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; 
    I will tell of all your deeds.

After reading this scripture I was able to see that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.  No matter what you’re going through in life you have to remain faithful, and honor God’s word until the end; because when its all done and said, and your short time on Earth is over, God will be the ONLY ONE left in your life! ²³ Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. ²⁴ You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. ²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. ²⁶ My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. ²⁷Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.²⁸ But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.  The people that live their lives selfishly and refuse to acknowledge our Lord and heavenly father as the sole purpose for their blessings will perish at the end of their lives.  I can say with 100% certainty that I would rather live a life on earth for God, with all of its current sacrifices; rather than live a life for myself on earth, and be “successful” in life (according to societies standards), and forfeit eternity with God in heaven, after I pass away and leave this planet.  “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?”- Matthew 16:26

 

Striving to live a Christ-centered life! Doing it for an Audience of One!

“I SURRENDER, BUT AM NEVER DEFEATED”

Last May, I had the opportunity to attend the Ultimate Training Camp in Fort Collins, CO. This camp is designed to help Christian-athletes from all over the world learn to be in the world and not of the world.

“You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” James 4:4

Going into camp I didn’t really understand how my sport could be related to my relationship with God in anyway. I never really knew what mixing my sport and faith looked like until I went to camp; I also struggled with being motivated to train or compete in my sport any longer. I just finished my second  complete season as a college wrestler, and sixteenth year overall. In the past, trophies and medals were easily enough to motivate me to work hard and continue to push myself to be better than ever before, but for whatever reason, I struggled to find even the smallest amount of motivation to finish out the year and not walk away from wrestling for good! The idea of an NCAA National Championship wasn’t even enough incentive for me to care about practice or training…Lets just say I felt washed up and burnt out with the sport I grew up loving!

After a week at UTC, surrounded by over 100 other student-athletes each seeking a deeper relationship with God, I can honestly say that my heart, mind, and soul have all been rewired.

I was able to realize that my identity was found in wrestling all those years, instead of Jesus Christ, like it should’ve always been. Since my identity was in wrestling I believed my self-worth came from my performance on the mat. However, I learned that God’s formula for self-worth is much different than the world’s formula.

God’s formula: What God declares true about you=Self-Worth.

World’s formula: Our performance+others opinions=Self-Worth

One of the most important concepts that I was able to learn at camp had to deal with idolatry! I saw that I had MANY idols in my life, which came in the form of: wrestling, girls, my social life, Facebook, and etc. “If a good thing becomes a God thing, it becomes idolatry.”

“The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:19-21

Three truths about idols:

1. Idols are silent
2. Powerless: sports, fame, money, sex, etc.
3. Idol worship leads to destructive living

Lastly, I was able to see how my sport is directly intertwined in my relationship with God. I’ve finally realized that I have been uniquely blessed, with some amazing gifts and abilities to bring glory to God! He has given me the platform I now have to share the great news of the GOSPEL to others! In Romans, we are told to use our bodies as living sacrifices…as a way to worship God!

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:1,2

I am now motivated to train harder than ever before and to compete with extreme passion; not in hopes of taking first place and winning a gold medal, but to thank God for all that he has done for me and to worship him every second of every match that I wrestle, every practice I attend, and everything else I do with my time on this planet. Taking first place and winning medals is nice, but they will one day rust and wither away; whereas, living a life for God and worshiping him in all that you do, is investing in eternity and receiving a reward that can never fade away! I know that I still mess up from time to time, but my ultimate goal is to earnestly seek the Lord with all my heart, and to get right back on track, as soon as I notice I’m veering off course!

Put God first in your life today, with an “Audience of One” attitude, in ALL that you do!

To learn more about this life changing camp here is the link to the UTC website:

http://www.ultimatetrainingcamp.com/

How can you live a purpose driven life?

“Do not live a life to solely please others, live life for God, and then attack your goals with a purpose.” – Franklin Gomez

What does this mean you ask? How can you apply this to your own life and start honoring God in all that you do? I will attempt to answer that in the remainder of this article!

A good friend of mine once told me this: “Do not live a life to solely please others, live life for God, and then attack your goals with a purpose.” This friend was, Franklin Gomez; he was a multiple time NCAA All-American and a one time National Champion for Michigan State University. Franklin has won numerous other awards, but most recently he qualified for the 2012 Olympics with his silver medal performance at the 2011 World wrestling Championships. Of all the people I know and have a personal relationship with, Franklin is definitely the most qualified to be able to boast in his own abilities and accomplishments; however, he chooses to boast in the Lord and do everything for the glory of God! I was fortunate enough to be able to spend a year of my life as Franklin’s teammate, and I can honestly say this young man influenced my life more than anyone else ever has, simply by the way in which he lived his own life.

Franklin was a fifth year senior when I came into college and he just finished winning the NCAA Division 1 title at 133 pounds in 2009. I fully expected Franklin to be a very vocal and somewhat ‘boastful’ person. I figured he would be ‘too good’ to help me out; or maybe even ‘too good’ to still listen to the coaches, and do the little things like help move mats, run the youth tournaments, and etc. However, I was quickly proven wrong! Franklin was always eager to give me pointers and help me out. He was and still is one of the most humble guys I know. Franklin truly has a servants heart. (Philippians 2:3-5″Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.”) Even though Franklin has reached ‘celebrity status’ in the world’s eyes, he remains grounded and Christ-centered. He could easily begin thinking he was able to accomplish all of these wonderful accolades by himself, but he chooses to continually thank God for his talents and for blessing him with all that he has! (“Deuteronomy 30:8-10 “Then the LORD your God will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your land. The LORD will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your ancestors, if you obey the LORD your God and keep his commands and decrees that are written in this Book of the Law and turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”)

My freshman year I thought success only came from the amount of wins and loses you acquired throughout the season, but Franklin showed me that this belief was indeed, false. It was rare to see him lose, but when he did you would’ve thought he won the match, based on his lack of visual emotion and actions. Whether he won or lost, he would always shake the opposing coaches hand and he never threw a fit or complained about the outcome. This surprised me greatly, when I asked him why he didn’t get upset, he told me something like this, “wrestling isn’t my God. I do it because I love it and God has blessed me with the ability to continue the sport I grew up loving.” He also said, “If I lose, I am not satisfied, but I don’t allow my loss to effect my mood because I know I wrestled my hardest and my identity isn’t found in wrestling. You also can’t get better if you are constantly thinking negatively about the match you just wrestled because you will think everyone is criticizing you, when in reality, they are simply trying to point out your mistakes, so you can grow from the loss and get better.” Therefore, we need to strive to put our identity in Christ because he never changes and loves us for our success and failures. God already knows your whole life story. (Psalm 139:13-16 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.) When we put our identity in ‘worldly things’ we will always end up disappointed. It may seem fulfilling and you may enjoy getting praises from people on earth now, but how will you feel if your identity is in your sport, grades, job, or _________ (fill in the blank) and all of a sudden you can no longer play your sport because of an injury, you failed a test that caused your GPA to go down, or you are suddenly fired from your job? If your identity and whole purpose in life was in your sport (or whatever it may be for you) and you can no longer play it, then what will your identity be now? Is your life suddenly a disappointment and people consider you a failure? How will people view you? If you go your whole life simply trying to ‘be the best at whatever you do,’ so people will praise you, then you will more than likely end up feeling unsatisfied and continue seeking something else to make you feel accepted, wanted, desired, and etc. If you put all your trust in Jesus Christ and make that your identity, then you will not be let down; sure, there will still be tough times that you will have to go through and endure, but the end result of your life will be an eternal reward that is far more amazing than any gift we could ever receive here on earth! I found these amazing lyrics that pretty much sums up how most of us feel about putting our identities in ‘worldly things,’ and not Jesus Christ, like we should:

“Identity”
[Verse 1: Lecrae]
Hair, check!
Shoes, check!
A brand new fit, lookin’ cool, check!
I’m lookin’ in the mirror like oooh, yes!
To cover for an insecure dude, check!
But she won’t feel me and they won’t like me
If I ain’t in them J’s or them brand new nikes
Let’s dig deeper inside my psyche
When it’s all said and done even I don’t like me
He live in the gym and his hair stay faded
Late model car so they think he made it
He’s Christian, he gave his life
But he still ain’t satisfied in the savior Christ
Still finds his identity in looks and cars
If he only knew that he ain’t have to look so hard
If he looked in God
It may seem odd
But he be so satisfied, he can leave it all
[Chorus:]
I’m not the shoes I wear
I’m not the clothes I buy
I’m not the house I live in
I’m not the car I drive, no
I’m not the job I work
You can’t define my worth
By nothing on God’s green earth
My identity is found in Christ, is found in Christ

I am confident in the idea that Franklin has been, and still is, so successful because he has the right balance and priorities in his life. He puts his relationship with God above all other things; including his sport, education, relationships, sleep, and even entertainment. When I say he puts this relationship above all the other things, I don’t mean that he puts God first and then forgets about him when he is doing his other activities; no, what I mean is that Franklin uses his relationship with God as his foundation and makes it a PART OF EVERY OTHER THING HE IS INVOLVED IN! He goes out on the mat and competes his hardest every match, as an act of worship to his heavenly father. It is my belief that Franklin gives everything he does 100% effort, in hopes of worshiping God through it; whether it be relationships, wrestling, school, coaching, playing the guitar, piano, or even spending time with friends in fellowship. He brings his relationship with Christ into every activity he does, and this causes him to want to do his best in every aspect of life (to honor God), which in turn, helps him be successful because he is doing it for the right reasons. (Colossians 3:23,24 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”)

I think living a life for God also helped Franklin remain disciplined and motivated. I remember times when some of us on the team would be watching a movie and Franklin would leave midway through it because it was approaching 11:30pm. He was adamant about getting to sleep at a decent time and trying to keep a routine, even if that meant he was going to have to sacrifice some of his leisure time with his friends. He would wake up in the morning and spend some quite time with the Lord before he began his day. He would read his bible and try to reflect on the things he was reading. I believe this is a key element to helping make sure everyday is a day that you are walking with the Lord and honoring him. If we are constantly in the Word and reading the bible, then we will be more apt to remember it’s truths in times of trials and/or temptations. When we have a stronger relationship with God, it allows us to stay strong in times of trouble, and it will also help us learn to be thankful in the rough times. One of my favorite bible verses is (Romans 8:18 “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.“)

In closing, I would like to share a few other important ideas that Franklin has shared with me in the past. All of which, have a strong correlation to this statement: “Do not live a life to solely please others, live life for God, and then attack your goals with a purpose.” If you are trying to live a life that is pleasing to God, then you better fully expect to be looked at differently. People will notice that something is different about you. Whether it be a huge and significant difference, or a small one, you can guarantee that people will notice it and begin to treat you differently. The most important aspect to this (and by far the hardest part) is making sure you do not compromise your faith in Christ, and if you do make a mistake, quickly repent and ask for forgiveness with sincerity. That means you are asking God to forgive you and are trying to turn away from the sin you keep committing. One quote that stands out in my mind is this: “As you obey God, don’t be surprised if others regard you as ‘different.’ Your obedience makes their disobedience stand out!” I don’t know who its from, but Franklin is the one that told it to me. Therefore, you should almost consider it a compliment if you’re looked at differently, because more than likely that means you’re walking close with the Lord. The main point that I am trying to get across is this: if you are always trying to please people on this earth, it’s going to be hard for you to accomplish your goals. You will begin to be consumed by the thought of pleasing others, rather than focusing all your attention on the task at hand. When you live for God, it causes you to ignore the negative aspects of what this world is trying to tell you. All you care about is pleasing God and doing whatever you can to honor him. This will make you focus more closely on your goals, and help you achieve them by honoring God in the process. (Galatians 1:10 “Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.”) This will be a challenging process, but I am convinced, with 100% certainty, that it is well worth the effort!

Extra advice from Franklin Gomez:

1. Put everything in God’s hands and always carry yourself in a Godly manor! You never know who you may impact or when, so always be prepared!
2. Be GRATEFUL in everything!
3. Live God’s purpose and will for your life! It will be a more fulfilling life!
4. Don’t be selfish, but seek out whatever is in your best interest.
5. Go deeper with God. It is very fulfilling!

“Fame fades away. Therefore, you should use your abilities to IMPACT as many people as possible. Give your best effort to God everyday, and focus on impacting people, rather than trying to be the best wrestler of all time. Fame fades away!”

Are you real with God?

Are you someone that rushes their prayer time with God? Do you only ask for him to bless your life and the things you think you need/desire in this lifetime? We need to start talking to God like we do our friends. It should be an intimate and passionate conversation. He is our heavenly Father and he wants to deepen the relationship by spending time with you. When you pray make sure you allow time for him to speak to you. Also, work on asking him to transform your heart and ask him to make his desires, your desires as well. I pray that his will be done in your life.