Easter 2013

It takes death to overcome the weight of this world. Today we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The one who tore the veil of sin so that we all might find life through His sacrifice for us. I am humbly proclaiming this not to offend, but to exhort  my excitement and belief in eternal life given to us through Jesus Christ. This song says it all!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcHPkSBE-nQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Sweet Revenge!!!!

I am one who waits patiently in order to get even. Tonight was revenge years in the making!

Back story

Scene: My oldest son years ago in diapers running around the house with the biggest smelliest, messy diaper known to mankind.

Situation: I am digging through the diaper bag grabbing lots of wipes and a new diaper.

Offense: My younger brother encouraging my son to jump in the air and land on his butt like this! (My brother literally illustrating this action for my son Trevor to follow exactly down to the grunt as his butt hits the floor)!

Reaction: I scream no!!!!!! (As I run in slow motion to keep my sons bottom from hitting the ground).

Needless to say I wasn't fast enough! By the time I reached him his butt had hit the ground. This has a explosive effect when it comes to diapers that are overly filled with....well you know....really nasty stuff! I won't go into detail but it was really bad! From that day forward I vowed I'd have my vengeance!

Today I have had my vengeance! Earlier this evening I called my brother just to catch up and see how things were going. As the conversation progressed he asked me if I wanted to talk to his son (my nephew). I took the opportunity to chat with him and talk about cool stuff like video games. However before we ended the conversation. I asked him "The" question. I asked if he would like to accept a top secret mission from uncle Todd. He replied "yes" without hesitation. I could tell he was totally willing to do my bidding.

Excerpt from actual conversation:

Uncle Todd: Gavin would you like to accept a top secret mission?

Gavin: Yes!

Uncle Todd: Ok, you know how your dad likes to wear his pants low rider style?

Gavin: Yeah....

Uncle Todd: You have to be real sneaky cause your dad is fast. When he has his back turned and is not expecting it. Run up and yank up on his exposed boxers! Yank real hard and then tell him that is from Uncle Todd!

2 hours later.....

The phone rings and it is my brother asking if I told Gavin to pants him. In the background I can hear Gavin laughing and screaming it was Uncle Todd's idea! Apparently Gavin felt more comfortable yanking dads pants down instead of yanking his boxers up. So my revenge was far better then planned. It only took around 11 years but it was worth it! My brother while laughing vowed to repay me. Yet I still feel the diaper thing is only a quarter paid off. There is nothing more fun than playing pranks on a brother. Little Gavin did a good job and took his dad by complete surprise. I can only imagine what his reaction was when his pants hit the floor.

MIA....

I've been missing in action for a while when it comes to this blog. So to catch things up to date I guess I'll just lay it out quickly. I've decided to start a Christian Skate Board Ministry called Skull Hill Skate. I have the first Skateboard in production and a percentage of each sale for the boards will go to www.samaritanspurse.org to help the people of Haiti. I'd like to get some t-shirts, hoodies, and hats up for sale as well. However I don't want to get too far ahead of myself so I'll take it a step at a time (praying with each step) and see how things go with the boards first. Here is a mock up of what the board will look like.



It is such a blessing to actually use a hobby of mine to do something that can help other people. On top of the Skateboards I have been asked to design a biker patch for the 3rd Annual "Ride With Me" Motorcycle Poker Run. This is an event that happens every summer, where bikers from all around gather to ride to raise funds for the Flathead Valley Life Flight Operations.



This all has been a tremendous blessing for me. To take a hobby and use it for the good of others is more than I could have asked for. I would not be doing any of this if it weren't for God and his inspiration. He truly has given me the desires of my heart!

Psalm 37:4
4 Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Snapshot

It has been a while since I have last posted so I figured I'd give you all the scoop. First and foremost we are still waiting for a slot to open up in Spokane so we can take Ashley to the neurologist. It could take up to three more months to get her in. It is hard to be patient when you child is sick. So we have a few more months at the most to wait. On top of that work has been cutting hours drastically. I have been blessed to keep all my hours this far and I pray that the economy picks back up so my co-workers can keep up on their bills.

I recently went to the chiropractor because of horrible back pain that I've had for almost 5 years now. It seems my spinal cord fused to my hip when I was developing in my mothers womb. This has caused my spine to curve and throw things off a bit. I have slight nerve damage and constant pain but I am surviving. There is no remedy other then surgery to fix it and I don't plan on doing that too soon. So I'm going to just grin and bear it. That is pretty much all the drama so lets get to the happy stuff!

The family has been doing great. My wife has honed her talents and has become and awesome baker, cook, and knitting addict. On top of all the schooling and crafts, I am amazed at how she can keep on going. She is amazing and I love her with all my heart! Trevor is at Altitude winter camp having fun with friends learning about God while snowboarding/sledding/eating twinkies stuffed with Vienna sausages.

Jacob is awesome like his dad at video games. I think I may have to recruit him to be my sidekick when we go pro. In fact we as a family could probably do this. We could call ourselves the Harvey 5! Yup now we just need to practice so we get good enough to find sponsorship.

We are excited to start our church home group soon, which is always such a blessing. I am excited to get it started again to not only hang with friends we made the first time around, but to also welcome new people into the group. You can never have enough friends who are like minded who love God with all their heart,body,and mind. I am counting down the days! That is what has and is going on in a snapshot. I'm sure I left quite a few things out. I'll just have to write about those things later.

Merry Christmas!!!

I just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!!! This is by far my favorite holiday! Not just because of gifts and good food. But because it is a time where families get together a celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. It is the time of year where songs glorifying to God are played over the music systems of stores all across the world and for the most part are accepted by everyone. I love Christmas because this is the day where the world celebrates the birth of salvation for all who put their faith in Jesus Christ.

Christmas is truly the most wonderful time of the year!

Just A Little Update.

What have I been up to lately? I have been keeping myself busy with Photoshop and Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 2 for fun. When I am not creating things on Photoshop or as the gamers say...Pwning noobs A.K.A. Kicking butt. I have been busy in Church and Church activities. These past few years have been the greatest of my life. I feel a purpose and that I am doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing, and there is no question about it.

As far as the family goes.....

They are all doing well! We set out into the wild and captured a Christmas tree with an axe. The boys had a ton of fun helping me to chop it down. Unfortunatly it was at the bottom of a steep hill. So it took a ton of Kids and 3 adults to pull it up. It is too huge for our living room so it will require trimming. We tried to put it up tonight but after two dysfunctional Christmas tree stands. We decided to call it good and get a new stand tomorrow and do the decorating then.


Well that is all for now. I must be off to bed, there is much to do tomorrow.

The Foundation Of Forgiveness

What is forgiveness?

Forgiveness:
1.Act of forgiving; state of being forgiven.
2.Disposition or willingness to forgive.

Forgive:
1.to grant pardon for or remission of (an offense, debt, etc.); absolve.
2.to give up all claim on account of; remit (a debt, obligation, etc.).
3.to grant pardon to (a person).
4.to cease to feel resentment against: to forgive one's enemies.

In order to understand how to forgive we must understand what brought it into existence. That one thing is what we call sin.

THE BEGINNING OF SIN

In Gen:3 we read about how sin entered the world because of Adam and Eve’s disobedience to God. Before sin entered the world there was no need for forgiveness because there was no sin. However since the day Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden there was need for reconciliation of Sin.

Of course God could have decided to start over from scratch once sin entered the world but he clearly decided to let it continue to exist. WHY? The answer may seem mysterious to you and I until we fully understand that God Loves us! Out of Love he let us live even if it was in a fallen state. He forgave Adam and Eve even though they sinned against him.

He held them accountable for what they did but none the less he forgave them. Just as he forgives us know and stays his judgment against us because of what his Son Jesus did on the cross for all of us. Out of Love he died for us. He paid our ransom granting us forgiveness so we could share in eternity with him.
John 3:16 so clearly states this….

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

I. Love A Foundation To Build On

In order to forgive we need to know how to start the process of Forgiveness. Just to say you forgive someone is not enough. The old saying goes actions speak louder then words. Forgiveness is not only a communication through words it is an act of reconciliation in a relationship. In order to reconcile a wrong done against us we must stand on solid biblical ground.

We must understand what God would have us do, and just how he’d have us do it. We need to look the the Bible our field manual to life. Like a users manual for a Car that lets us know exactly what specific part of the car does what the Bible tells us exactly what we are to do in specific areas of life. So to learn how to forgive we must first understand how to take the first step in that direction. What is the foundation of forgiveness?

Love is the foundation of forgiveness.

There are different degree’s of Love when it comes to us in our relationships. There is the Parental love towards ones children. There is the Love shared between Married couples. There is Love that is shared between friends or even our pets. There is Love for God and heavenly things, and there is God’s love for us. Love is broad but yet it is specific in its Characteristics.

We can find these Characteristics in I Corinthians 13. These Characteristics are what Love truly is and not exactly what the world tells us love is. Today I want you to look at Love as the basis for all your relationships. Love should be the foundation of every relationship we have. Yes even those bad relationships!

we are to Love even our enemies!

Because whether we like it or not we know people who don’t particularly care for us and that we don’t particularly care for in return. Those are still classified as relationships and Love should be the foundation we rebuild those relationships on.
Through Forgiveness we can tear down the decrepit walls that have been built on the quicksand of hard feelings and grudges, and we can build a solid structure of Love and respect that will create a new relationship far different from the ashes of the old.

The strained relationship is the relationship we are going to focus on today. These are the relationships that are hard for us to be forgiving in. So in order to truly forgive someone we must understand how to LOVE FIRST rather then cast judgment.

What is love?

In today’s culture many people have the impression that Love is just a feeling of butterflies and floating on air that we have that leads us to never want to leave the side of our companion of choice. This misconception has completely destroyed families and has mis-lead people away from what Love truly is!

What people don’t realize is that LOVE is an ACT of COMMITMENT. Love is an action not just a happy go lucky feeling. Our culture has it burned into our minds that Love is this euphoric state that never goes away once you find it. In this mindset we are set up for failure from the beginning. When the euphoric feelings fade away, when the going gets tough. People decide not to stick it out for the long run because this relationship isn’t as enjoyable as it used to be.

Don’t get me wrong being in Love and Loving others have a lot of good feelings that accompany it, there are also bad feelings as well. Especially when we are asked to forgive those who have hurt us the most. Love is not just the feelings we have but the actions we take to maintain healthy relationships pleasing to God.

True love is an act of sacrifice.

Let us look at how the bible describes love.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails.

What do you see when you read that? The first thing that pops off the page at me is LOVE SUFFERS LONG.

WHAT OTHER WORDS POP OFF THE PAGE AT YOU?

DO THOSE WORDS DESCRIBE FEELINGS OR SOMETHING ELSE?

Paul is not writing about how love feels, he is writing about how it can be seen in action. True love is always demonstrated by action. YOU SEE LOVE IS AN ACTION NOT JUST A FEELING. IT IS AN ACT OF COMMITMENT TO THOSE WE LOVE.

Now you might be thinking to your self that you don’t really love those who have treated you badly and wronged you. And really you don’t want to. What you are thinking is based off of feelings. It is easier to Love those who treat you kindly and with respect.

Remember: LOVE IS AN ACTION! LOVE IS LONG SUFFERING!

My wife Stacey's Love has suffered long for a period of about 13 years! She has had to put up with my bad moods, my high pitched signing first thing in the morning. (and strange voices) My sleeping in the middle of the bed, and squeezing the toothpaste tube from the top rather then the bottom yet she still sticks with me. You see I'm not perfect even though I'd like to think I am. I have bad days and good days. I can sometimes say the wrong things and sometimes say the right things. I have hurt her feelings before.

Those butterflies we feel in our stomach when we first got together come and go. They aren't constant. In fact they fly away when we get in a fight and leave us with a bitter stomach. This is where true love prevails! Through our act of commitment out of love towards each other. We press forward and our love strengthens.
We are married and have made the commitment to each other that we’d follow the ingredients of Love in 1 Corinthians 13. For better or for worse.

However everyday relationships aren’t always that committed so it is hard to forgive those we are friends or acquaintances with. It is easy to hold a grudge or even end a relationship out of anger then it is to reconcile it some times.

What about someone who has hurt us deeply?

In trials you must always make sure you a setting out from a position of Love no matter how much a person has hurt you. Even if they are what you would call an enemy.

JESUS TELLS US TO LOVE OUR ENEMIES!

Matthew 5:44-48
44 But I say to you, LOVE your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you LOVE those who LOVE you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.


We are called to LOVE our enemies

In my own experience I have found that grace is a hard thing to give those who seemingly take advantage of it when you practice grace towards them. There is a great lesson to be learned in that when it comes to Gods Grace towards us personally. We should never take that lesson for granted.

Think of all the times you’ve fallen short when it comes to sin. How often has God forgiven you when you have done him wrong? Shouldn’t we extend the same forgiveness to those who have sinned against us?

AREN’T WE SUPPOSED TO BE IMITATORS OF CHRIST?

Ephesians 5:1-2 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma .

How do you feel when someone continually wrongs you after you have forgiven them time and time again? We get angry or frustrated right? According to the gospel of Matthew we are to Love our enemies and bless those who curse you. We need to look to God as the example on how we are to actively forgive. Forgiveness is one of the hardest things to do especially when you have been deeply hurt by those who have wronged you. However we are called to do so without hesitation. Isn’t that what God does?

HOW THEN DO WE LOVE OUR ENEMIES?

II. The Ingredients Of Love

1 Corinthians 13:4-8
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails.

We must suffer Long We must look at how God has dealt with us as the example of this.

2 Peter 3:9 –The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is long suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance

God does not take his promise lightly. The root of Gods forgiveness is love! If God’s love is in us, we will be long suffering to those who annoy us or hurt us.

In 1 Corinthians 13 we find a list of ingredients that make up this love we can build forgiveness on.

1. Love Is Long Suffering!

We have to put up and remain calm in situations where someone is persistently pushing our buttons or wronging us. This is one of the hardest things to do especially when you are not being treated justly. We can see there are quite a few ingredients of Love that we must have to sustain active forgiveness in situations where you have endured many wrongs from certain people.

2.Is Kind

We must be kind even if we are being treated poorly.
Take time to cool down before you speak or Act.

3.Does Not Envy

In certain instances we may Envy what another has. Envy is the root of jealousy and causes conflict. If we Envy someone then we often harbor ill feelings for them. Envy murdered Abel (Genesis 4:3-8) In order to forgive we must not envy.

4&5.Does not parade itself and it is not puffed up (PRIDE)

If you are gloating and trying to be viewed better then the person you are having conflict with you are not acting in Love towards them. We must sacrifice our pride and respectfully humble ourselves, we must swallow our pride.


6.Does Not Behave Rudely

Even if you are being treated rudely by another, treat them with respect even if they don’t deserve it. When we act rudely in return we are not acting out of love but out of anger.

7.Does Not Seek Its Own

Philippians 3-4
3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

If we take this to heart and apply it to our lives then forgiving others will become easier to do. We will see conflict with others diminish because we are paying them respect. Often our own selfishness causes others to lash out against us.

8.Is Not provoked

It is easy to get provoked by someone who likes to push our buttons. We must remember to not let anger lead us into sin but to let love lead us into Grace.
Someone once put it this way…..

“When the man who possesses this love gives way to provocation, he loses the balance of his soul, and grieves the Spirit of God. . . surely if he get embittered against his neighbour, he does not love him as himself.”

(When we don’t let love lead us, we set our selves up for a fall)


9.Thinks No Evil

Don’t think of ways to get even or to gain revenge. By doing so we are giving thought into acting on our anger. This is premeditation of sin or sin in the fact that we are judging someone out of malice.

10&11.Does Not Rejoice In Iniquity But Rejoices In Truth

Love . . . does not rejoice in iniquity: It is willing to want the best for others, and refuses to color things against others. Instead, love rejoices in the truth. Love can always stand with and on truth, because love is pure and good like truth.

12.Bears All Things

This is a big one! Love Bears all things it covers all things! In the act of forgiveness if we are truly walking in love it will cover the worst possible transgression against us. We being human must seek divine providence when it comes to some matters. We will be able to carry the burden of being sinned against. IF SOMEONE WERE TO HURT MY FAMILY I’d have to seek God in order to forgive that person.

13.Believes All Things

In love we must believe that by showing Grace towards those who sin against us that because of the Grace and respect we’ve shown them will cause them to have a change of heart when it comes to us and God. In some cases it may seem we believe in the impossible!

14.Hopes All Things

As we forgive we hope that whatever the problem was will cease no longer. We hope for reconciliation with those we argue with. In hope we are looking to the future in a positive manner rather then a negative one. This helps us to Forgive and Forget.

15.Endures All Things

Meaning if we are walking in LOVE we are able to have superhuman strength when it comes to the slings and arrows of everyday life. We are able to withstand trials and come out strong. (Arrows Just bounce of us as if we were made of steel!)

15.Love Never Fails

Underline NEVER FAILS No matter what….If we are walking in LOVE we will never fail to Forgive those who have wronged us. No matter what has occurred. Because In LOVE all is Forgiven Jesus Christ is the example of that!

No matter what we have done or what others have done to us. Christ Forgave it all!!!

III.Prayer

Prayer is the mortor that holds the foundational bricks together in our Christian walk. We must always be prayerful in all situations.

PRAY FOR THOSE WHO WRONG US

I HAVE FOUND THAT PRAYER TOWARDS THOSE WHO HAVE WRONGED ME IS SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN SO HELPFUL FOR ME IN FORGIVING THEM. I ENCOURAGE YOU TO START PRAYING ON A REGULAR BASIS IF YOU DON'T ALREADY. ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE WHO HAVE WRONGED YOU.

WHAT SHOULD WE PRAY FOR?

1.ASK GOD TO SOFTEN YOUR HEART

2.ASK GOD TO SHOW YOU WHERE YOU FALL SHORT WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM.

3.ASK GOD TO HELP YOU FORGIVE THEM

4.ASK GOD TO GIVE YOU THE ENDURANCE TO CONTINUALLY SHOW THEM RESPECT. EVEN IF THEY DON’T SHOW YOU RESPECT BACK.

5.ASK GOD TO HELP YOU TO LOVE THEM

We must remember God even loves those who don’t Love him!

Matthew 5:45-46 for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you LOVE those who LOVE you, what reward have you?

Even if non-believers are not accepting of his saving grace they are still blessed and provided for by him. If you think about it every breath is a gift from God. Even though they mock him and continually deny him. He still provides for them so they might know his LOVE.

God still is LOVING to those who hate him even if they don’t deserve it. Jesus died not only for you and I but for them as well. We don’t deserve the Grace he has given us. Yet he extended it to us out of LOVE.
So we must do the same to those we need to forgive because the same has been done for us. The price of their Sin against us has been paid in full whether they have accepted it or not. We should not stand against them in Judgment but stand with them in LOVE.

Jesus Mocked On The Cross Prayed to His Father As He Died.

“Father Forgive them for they do not know what they do!”

As He hung there dieing, He prayed for those who sent him to his death. He Loved those who beat him, who scourged him. Who spat in his face and insulted him. He prayed for those who mocked him as he drew his last breath. He prayed for those he Loved even though they hated him even though they crucified him. He took all their sin on to himself and paid the price in full.

As Jesus loved his enemies so should we love ours until our dying breath.


Matthew 6:14-15 - 14 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.


Read Matthew 6:14-15 and realize we are asked to do the same as Jesus. We must pray for those who mock us. Who down right hate us for who we are or what we stand for. We must love them as Christ loves them. If we can't extend the same love towards our enemies as Christ extends to us. Then we are not standing in love or grace, nor are we doing what God would have us do.

I urge you all to take inventory of your lives. Look deep into the relationships that you need to be forgiving in. Seek God for guidance and provision, so that you can take steps towards forgiving those who have wronged you. Stand in Love and let your grace towards them be a light that shines forth the glory of God so that the world may know his Love.