The Message

The Gospel Message by Bryan Jennings from WalkingOnWater on Vimeo.

Wisdom and "The Ministry of Marriage"

So much has happened in my heart this year and in the way that I worship God. So much has changed in how I live by faith. So much has shaken me to the core and caused me to cling to God's Word and the promises within it's pages. So many verses have jumped off the page and rung my bell. So many sermons have spoken to me and called me to dig deeper and attempt to apply scripture to my walk. Through the victories and failures I am learning to fail forward. And one area that I desperately want to align myself in accordance with the Bible is in the area of relationships leading up to marriage.

About a year ago give or take a few months I went on a wisdom rampage. Devouring Proverbs daily for almost 6 months. Studying the life of Solomon and listening for Wisdom in a sea of Podcasts. I asked for Wisdom, prayed for Wisdom, searched for Wisdom, hungered and thirsted for the kind of Wisdom that comes from Christ. If you knew me in that season of my life I'm sure you heard me speak of some kind of desire to know, have and exercise Wisdom in life. I don't regard myself to be a wise man, I have a long way to go. A long road to walk with Jesus and to be sanctified along the way. Yet, in these days right now, over a year later, wisdom is calling again. I've been confronted with a truth that the wise thing for me to do right now is to learn from my mistakes in failed relationships and do what I can to prepare myself for marriage. It sounds corny even as I type that last sentence but the calling to enter the covenant of marriage is no small task. I have been confronted by Christ to live out my faith now in a way that will bring glory to God later in life through the ministry of marriage. Who a man is as a husband and father to a large degree shapes who he is as a minister of the Gospel.

This entire calling to grow in this area of life started when I listened to a series by Craig Groeschel called "The Vow." That series came in and rocked me to the core. I wasn't even thinking much about marriage but the Truth and the Wisdom could not be ignored in my life. Jesus was speaking to me and guiding me with this series. Then a few days ago a book at the bookstore caught my eye by Voddie Baucham. The book is called "WHAT HE MUST BE ...if he wants to marry my daughter." The book has further confronted me with the sad statistics of the state of marriage in our culture and called me to strive and pray and prepare myself for a marriage that exalts God's Word and functions in the way marriage was intended to bring Him glory. I am now concerned with what I must become.

There are some things a man simply must be before he is qualified to assume the role of a Christian husband. For instance, he must be a Christian (2 Corinthians 6:14); he must be committed to Biblical headship (Ephesians 5:23); he must welcome children (Psalm 127:3-5); he must be a suitable priest (Joshua 24:15), prophet (Ephesians 6:4), protector (Nehemiah 4:13-14), and provider (1 Timothy 5:8; Titus 2:5).

I desire to honor God's Word and strive to become a man who will love his wife and lay his life down for her. I want to learn from the mistakes I've made in the past and do what I can now to walk with God in obedience to His Word. I want to be victorious in the battle for purity. I want to learn to lead in love, to lead in The Word, to lead in righteousness and to lead in selflessness. I want the world to know through my marriage that Christ has changed my life by grace.

*Words in bold by Voddie Baucham from "What He Must Be"

A day in this life...

Everyday is a new chance for me to be stretched and broken. When I break, the Gospel seeps through the cracks with power. Cause it's not about me...

Rolled over this morning and opened my Bible and was so encouraged by what I read. In 2 Peter 1:3 it says: His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence. It made sense. I have everything I need to live this day for the Lord. I was supposed to teach tonight and God showed me that I have everything I need to share the Gospel. I dont have a degree from a seminary and I still havent read the entire Bible but I have everything I need in Christ to share the Truth of His grace tonight. So I head out the door to work and morning prayer knowing that this day I will give to Christ and live it for Him. Yet... Living in the will of God and following Christ is always easier said than done. Everything came at me today. I wasn't communicating well, things were getting under my skin, attitudes were stirring within me. I knew for a fact that this opposition was trying to hold me back from teaching God's Word tonight. Up until this point in my life, I've experienced severe opposition as soon as a day before I would teach but never on the same day. I just decided to follow through and be faithful to what I had studied and what I felt called to share.

I stood up today almost a broken man and in that moment I knew that God had moved me out of the way. I knew that He needed to speak tonight. Peace is with me now as I type this knowing that the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ was proclaimed as the Way to know who God is. God is Creator. His book is all about us knowing Him through His Son. The whole book is God revealing Himself to us. Even the first verse reveals Truth. He has created us. And check this, we can never know who we are or know what our purpose is until we find out who Jesus is. Once you find out that Jesus is who He said He was... Once you find life through His Spirit you will also find that you were created BY HIM FOR HIM. Purpose now flows through your life to bring Him glory, honor and praise.

There will be more hard days to come. There will be more Truth as well, as I read God's Word and He reveals Himself through Jesus Christ and The Holy Spirit. There will be more struggle and more victory. There will be more brokenness and emptiness followed by joy and praise.

The last 7 days

*Hungout with about 250 kids last weekend... Sumo Wrestling, playing relay games, eating ice cream, pinata, loud music and much more fun

*Kicked off Club on Monday... Gator fans are scarce in this region.

*Taught from the Bible that we are created beings with a purpose to honor God with our lives... He shapes us, We live for Him.

*Hungout with a bunch of Middle Schoolers Tuesday to Kickoff MS Club. Lots of pizza, lots of new faces, lots of good times.

*Swam a couple times this week and got a good core workout too... smellin like Chlorine is awful, I miss the salty water!

*Yesterday went on a hay ride, rode a horse, had a bond fire, made smores, threw the football and Frisbee, saw some human skulls and bones,went to an Ostrich farm and a potato field right by the border of France.

*Watching the action from Lower Trestles all week. Hoping Machado can win one again!

*Realized I wont be able to watch the Gator game this week. :(

*Religious Education Conference starts tomorrow... sitting in on some sessions.

*Stoked about the days to come.

*I'll be home in 3 months!

Club Kicks OFF!

Club Kicked Off to a roaring start last night. It was rep your favorite college football team night and its sad to say I was the only one in Gator Orange & Blue. (I guess people don't understand Championship football here) 45 Students came to hang out and enjoy the night. We had a great guitar player come and lead us in some indescribable music. We had some awesome volunteers come and pump life and energy into Club. We had some good grub to munch on provided by the Chapel. We dug into God's Word and found out that even in the 1st verse of the Bible, God is revealing Himself to us. He says through Genesis verse 1, "I am Creator." Then we looked at Colossians 1:15-16 how we were created By Him For Him. The ramifications of this Truth are astounding! We have purpose! To honor God with our lives! I love that passage in Colossians... Christ is supreme!

Under the same sky

Sitting here in some place with forest hills and tiny roads. No fast food for kilometers. No gelato within walking distance. I worked hard today, made good use of time and crossed some things off the list. I've had a crazy night though, one of those nights that make you hopeful for tomorrow. I've spent the last short while reading old blogs from this trip. Walking down the bumpy memory lane of my first few months here. It's amazing the way the tables have turned now. I am a different person now than I was 5 or 6 months ago. It's funny as I read my old blogs how much I notice the Christianese. It's funny how words like grace, mercy, truth and love flow through everything. Maybe as Christians we try to communicate using these words sometimes and tonight I wonder if there's a better way? I want to learn more. I want to continue on this path. I want to find more of God. I want to be a stronger man. I want to be healthy spiritually and physically. I want to be a better friend. I want to listen more than I speak. I want to charge the waves of life harder than I charge the waves of the sea. I want to connect with my family and love them better. I want to be a better brother, son, cousin, student, leader and a better man. I want to take this experience and never forget the lessons I've learned here. I want to go full throttle for His glory the rest of my days!

Reminiscing

Charlie Hall live at Murray Hill Theater... January 2009!



If you look closely in the crowd you can see me and some of my friends just enjoying the night!

Mission: His Glory

I'm moving around a bit this month as my roommate's family comes to visit. I am staying with a friend in the small mountains north east of Heidelberg for the next week and then I will be staying with another friend for a short period of time after that. It's a new perspective and the world keeps changing. The cool air is rushing in now and the first indications of autumn have arrived. Watched a football game in the cold rain last night and then had dinner with some friends at a lovely restaurant called "Vapiano's" in Mannheim. I loved the Rucola Ravioli with a Caprese Salad.

We are gearing up for Club to start in a matter of days and I'm in expectant hope that this year we will see more of Christ and Him glorified. I am contemplating God's glory and praying that I will be used in the capacity that I was created. My hope and eyes are on Jesus. I am extremely excited to be here this fall to enjoy Club, the HS football and share Christ through my life.

I'm also excited to finish strong here and return to Jacksonville in a few months. I'm hoping to use what I've learned here and serve the Lord at home in the ways He calls me. Life never made much sense until I met Christ. Now, as His will unfolds, I am concentrating on Him, knowing that in Him I can do all things and be the man He created me to be. It's a hard road that takes faith. It's a chaotic life that teaches us to embrace Truth. It's His voice that's beckons me to be silent before Him. It's His glory that is becoming my mission.