sweetly broken

Ecclesiastes 5:1-3
Stand in Awe of God
Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. As a dream comes when there are many cares, so the speech of a fool when there are many words.

That passage of scripture has totally floored me! The past few days I havn't been able to talk to God. Before I was so quick to just babble off words to God that sometimes mean nothing. Really think about this. When we pray we should try and imagine ourselves coming before God almighty. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
In Revelation 4 John's spirit is taken up to heaven and He gets to see the Throne Room of Heaven. John describes what he saw. One sitting on the throne. And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. John sees flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder coming out of the throne. You have to give John credit because he tries so hard to describe what it was like but I am sure the words he is using doesn't even come close to describing what he really saw. John continues to describe what is around the throne. Twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones he saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads. There were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God; and before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatrues full of eyes in front and behind. He says the first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face like that of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, "HOLY, HOLY, HOLY IS THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME."

This is all going down this very second in heaven. This amazing worship with these amazing creatures and a hundred million angels just worshiping and worshiping and worshiping God. It is so humbling. When it says in Ecclesiastes 5Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. I don't know about you but I have been doing it all wrong. My view of God has been all wrong. I am sure most of you have seen Passion of the Christ. Do you remember how you felt after watching that? I was not only broken but I was just in AWE of God. I had no words to describe what I saw and what I felt. It saddens me to think that people really do see God as this old man sitting on clouds in heaven with these angels that are playing harps. How is it that man came up with that description of God? Because after reading what the bible says God is like, I see this amazing BEING that is so awesome that words can't even describe what He is like. When I see what Jesus did while He was on this earth it just brings me to my knees. So the next time we come before this AMAZING, HOLY, GOD. May we come before Him in complete AWE.

So the past couple of nights for me I havn't been able to sleep well. I have been waking up in the middle of the night just wide awake frustrated and sad. I find myself in the middle of the night just praying for people in my life that God has put on my heart. I lay in my bed thinking about the children out there that are being sold into slavery. If you don't know this, right now there about 27 million human slaves and most of those are kids. And when I say slaves I am not just talking about labor, I am talking about children being forced to do things that are so disgusting. Then to think about the poor. The families that are suffering. The families that are starving to death. The people out there who are dieing of a disease that is cureable with medicine that we can buy at the grocery store. Or how about this one. How about the millions and millions of people that are dieing everyday that don't have a relationship with Jesus Christ. So I am sitting here going, "Lord, what is it in this world that you would have me do???" I know my life wasn't created just to entertain a few people in the morning. Even as I write this letter to you I am hurting inside. Ya I know going down to Juarez is great and I am so honered and blessed to be apart of something amazing like that but there is so much more going on in the world and I am just struggling with what my part is. Ya know what it is? I am just so sick of talking and talking and talking and I just want to do! I just want to do something. I heard about this woman in thailand who would sneak into these places where they would keep these children that were sold into slavery. She would sneak into these homes were all these kids were in the middle of the night and grab as many as she could and just run! She would grab and carry as many as she could and run as fast as she could so that she could try and save these kids. Well they found out who she was and the word got back to her that they were going to find her and they were going to kill her and the children. So then she started running for her life with these kids getting them to safety. And Now she is in Northern Thialand with these kids she has rescued. A hundred and 25 kids that she rescued. 125 kids!! Man I am looking at that and I am going, "THAT IS WHAT I WANT TO DO!!!" "I WANT TO DO SOMETHING!!" I bet you that is a woman who is alive. I bet you that is a woman who is fullfilled. Try and imagine yourself waking up and looking out and seeing 125 kids that you rescued. Can you imagine how fullfilling your life would be? I mean how much more fullfilling would it be to see 125 kids in my living room then to see a giant living room with nothing in it. God designed us to LOVE. That is how He made us. It is so fullfilling to LOVE. Think about how unfullfilling it is to always think about my needs. What do I need? What can you do for me today? I mean really!!!! IT is so sad. I am like that most of the time. It really is so disgusting. God is trying to show us and trying to tell us that we will LOVE to LOVE. That we can have a fullfilled life by living out the fruit of the Spirit. To have Love, Joy, Peace, Pacience, Kindness, Goodness, Faith, Gentleness and self control. Can you imagine if all of those things just flowed out of you.
Please pray for me. I just want God to use me and my family. I want to do nothing but God's will for my life. I pray that you would look at your life and take a step back. Are you only worried about you? Are you sick to death of talking and talking and hearing other people talk about what we should do. Lets stop talking and let's start Doing!

In Jesus Name
Amen

Dex

That has never been God!!

What do you think of when you look at your bible? Or look at a bible? What comes into your mind? So many people have this book wrong. They think it's just a bunch of rules and a bunch of does or dont's. They think the bible is a religion. Some system of works where you can earn your way into God's love or earn your way into heaven. Man, that's just disgusting!! That has never been God!!! Some people believe that the God of the New Testament is all love and no wrath. And the God of the Old Testament is this wrathful God. NOT TRUE! God is the same today just as He was thousands of years ago. God Has never changed. Understand that this bible that you see or own has always been about this love relationship between us and this amazing creator God. This Amazing creator God who is just filled with nothing but Love and He points at you and says, "I want you!" What is the greatest Command God gives to us? LOVE ME with all of your heart, mind, soul and strength. Direct everything you have towards Me and lets just be in love. And don't turn it into anything else. Jeremiah 2 talks about God's love for the people of Israel. God says I remember when you were young. I remember your devotion to me. God was saying, you would follow me anywhere. Remember those days when you were in love with me and you would do anything for me. And God goes, I would do anything for you. If anybody tried to devore you, I would destroy them. I was your protector. If anybody even tried to hurt you I would throw plagues at them, I would kill them because we were in love. But then He says in verse 5. What fault did your fathers find in me, that they strayed so far from me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves. God goes, "So why did you leave me? I thought we had a thing going here? Remember you used to follow me and love me. You would take care of my needs and I would take care of you and protect you. What did I do that was so bad that you would walk away from me and start following these other idols?"

I think about my life. I think about all of the things in my life that I put before my awesome God that loves me and just wants to have this Love relationship with Him. My oldest son Kaleb and I were talking today about some of the things that tempt us and take us away from God. My son Kaleb mentioned food and tv. It is so true. We eat and eat and eat. We never have to worry about food. As the rest of the world starves we have a fast food restruant on every corner. As we sit home in our comfortable house eating and watching tv, there are millions and millions of people dieing of starvation and disease. How pathetic I am sometimes. We are so stinking rich it's pathetic. For the past month I have had this unbelievable hunger for not food but to do something to help those in need. Whether thats here in Albuquerque or it's in Africa or India. I can't just sit by and act like it isn't happening. I have to do something! I am sick of hearing from people that you can't save the whole world. I don't ever want to hear that again. What I do want to hear is that we can do something. We can make a difference. We can change the world. We can stop being so selfish and we can reach out and help others. So what is the first thing we have to do? Love God!! Go after Him with everything we Got. Run to Him and lay everything out before Him. If we seek Him first then everything else will fall into place. He will give us the courage and the drive and the wisdom we need to love others and to make a difference in the world. He is the one who can change us from being selfish little rich snots to people that our loving and want to give and help those in need. May we all fall on our faces and ask God to forgive us.

You are faithful and Holy God! I love you! May this letter touch the heart of your people Lord.

Dex

HAVE YOU EVER HAD THIS THOUGHT??

Have you ever had this thought? I am this little itty bitty person on this planet earth, just hanging out in this huge universe and here I am trying to explain God to you. What arrogance. Man I think about the arrogance I have had in the past when I talked about Him or wrote about Him. As if I understand God. Me. Itty bitty me. I have excisted on this earth for just a few years as a human being on this tiny tiny little planet and I am going to sit here and tell you what He is like??? As though I understand Him!!! Think about it for a second. That is so arrogant! Man I don't even understand my wife. And I am going to try and explain God! How can somebody like me or you explain this Holy Eternal God who made the universe that we are living in?
Let me just say this....I do not understand God. In DEUTERONOMY 29:29 The bible says there are secret things that belong to God. But then it says that there are things that have been revealed. And those things belong to us. So there are certain things that God lets us know about Him. And that is all we want to talk about. I mean think about this for a second. They used to never say Gods name. There were followers of Him that couldn't even say the name of God. People that thought they had no right as a human being to speak a name that was so sacred. Think about how many times you use God's name a day? God's name. Every breath you take God has allowed you to take. I heard a story the other day about a 33 yr old guy who was married and had a family. He died in his sleep. He was 33 yrs old and died in his sleep. When they found him he was in the bed of the girl he was having an affair with. Man! When I heard about that all I could picture was that man going to sleep and then waking up in front of Jesus.


How many times have I gone to bed mad at my wife or someone. How many times have I used the name of God in vain. How many times have I sat down to write a blog and not just be in complete awe of God. Please forgive me God. I pray right now and I hope you pray this prayer as well. Father, our Father in Heaven. Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord ALMIGHTY! Father I ask that you would not let any words or thoughts come out of my mouth or head that are not true about You Father. May we realize how careful we should be when we speak of YOU. Who are we Father that you would be so good to us. Everything we know of you Father is so amazing and fascinating. Fill us with your knowledge Lord. Protect us Father from false teaching. Because we never want to be little you. Please forgive us for the times we have. In Jesus Name. Amen.

I can't wait to share about the amazing things God has been showing me and telling me. May we all go out today and love and serve this Amazing God will all of our Heart, mind, soul and strength. And Love our neighbors as ourselves.

Dex

That was me fishing when I was a little kid. As I was reading in Psalms this morning I came upon this.....

1 O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.

3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.

4 Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.

5 You hem me in—behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.

7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?

8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, a]" class="footnote">[a] you are there.

9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,

10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.

11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"

12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

15 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,

16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

17 How precious to b]" class="footnote">[b] me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!

18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake,
I am still with you.

I encourage you to read that passage again and again. It blows me away just how awesome and big God is. How Loving and how amazing He is. Listen there is nothing that you could ever do on this earth that would make God love you any less. If you have been running from God, He is still right there watching you. He is with you Wherever you go. You can't get away from God. Maybe in your mind you can say to yourself "He is not there and I want nothing to do with Him." But in reality God is still there watching you and loving you. You can say all you want "How can a loving God send good people to Hell?" and God's love for you never changes. You can spit in His face and curse His name and God still loves you the same. You can do the most evil thing in the world and guess what? God still loves you the same. Stop running! It's pointless. Because God is with you and He is running along with you. He loves you and wants a relationship with you. I can't wrap my brain around why you wouldn't want that!!! The maker of this universe wants to have a loving awesome relationship with you.

I hope this encouraged you today. When I am feeling down and need a pick me up. I think about my amazing God in Heaven. Who is watching my every move. Who knows how many hairs I have on my head right now. Who gives me that breath and that breath and that breath and that breath and that breath and that breath.....

I love you Father!

Have an awesome day
dex

Why I believe

If you have a belief or a faith, have you ever taken the time to find out why you believe in what you believe in. It hit me a few years back. I asked myself the question. I have been a Christian my whole life. Why do I believe in what I believe in. Where is the proof? So that is when I started investigating the truth. I am going to give 5 peaces of evidence, why I believe in this amazing God the bible talks about.

First piece of evidence if I am going to make a case for the reliability of Gods word. It would be manuscript evidence. If you were interested in College in ancient manuscripts and you took a class and studied ancient manuscripts you would know from your studies that there are certain types of papyrus certain types of paper certain types of manuscripts and if you were educated in ancient manuscripts you would have the ability to tell me when a manuscript was written between 25 to 50 years when it was written. So we can figure out how far back they date. We have unearthed many ancient manuscripts so far. Let me give you a few stats. We have right now unearthed 7 different manuscripts from Plato. There was a roman historian his name was Levy we have found 10 different manuscripts of his writings. Homer has the most by far right now with 643 manuscripts. Now what's interesting about all of these ancient manuscripts that we have found so far is this. We have never found an original. We have never found an original manuscript from any of these guys. They have all been manuscripts that have gone down the line and yet know one doubts that Plato ever lived. Aristotle. The earliest manuscript we have of Aristotle is 1,450 years older than the time he lived. 1,450 years went by before we found a manuscript of Aristotle and yet you will never find anyone in a class room say Aristotle never lived. So here is the question. When it comes to the bible how much time went by from when the originals were written to what we have in our hands today. In the case of the Old Testament for a long time it was 1,300 years. And because it was such a long period of time people make the assumption that there is know way that what we have in our hands today is reliable and accurate to what the original authors wrote under the inspiration of God's Holy Spirit. Now something dramatic happened in 1947. There was a Shepard boy that was walking around by the dead seas. And he saw some caves by the dead seas and he began to look through the caves and he found some clay jar pots and he looked inside and found some ancient manuscripts of the Old Testament. Because of the findings which we now call the Dead Sea scrolls, now the earliest manuscript that we have of the Old Testament is only 600 years from the time it was written. So it went from 1,300 years down to 600 years. And what was so significant of the Dead Sea scroll findings was it had the entire book of Isaiah in it. Isaiah was written right around 750 b.c. The earliest manuscript before the Dead Sea scrolls was a manuscript from the book of Isaiah from 900 a.d. some 1,600 years later. So when the Dead Sea scrolls were found they dated those books back to 150 b.c. just 600 years difference from the time it was written. Now think about this. We have a manuscript at 150 b.c. And we have another manuscript at 900 a.d. Skeptics said there is no way when we put those two manuscripts side by side that they will even match up. Over a thousand years has gone by from the time that this one was written. There's no way there even going to look similar. So guess what we did? We lade them down next to each other. Side by side. Guess what we found? Not one single word was different. Are you ready for this? Not one single punctuation was different. So right now you are probably saying to yourself "How in the world could this be?" Let me explain something to you. Back then people took the word of God very, very seriously. They preserved it. They lived for it. They died to keep it going. And if you had the privilege of being the transcriber of the word of God you didn't take your job lightly. You took it very seriously. You see back in the Old Testament time, they didn't feel worthy enough to write down the words of God. But they did to preserve it. So this is what a transcriber would do. Before he would sit down he would bathe. Because he didn't feel worthy to enter into this holiness. Then he would begin to write and as a transcriber you weren't aloud to ad-lib. You weren't aloud to write from memory. Your job was take what was written and transfer it over. To take it from one spot to the other spot. These transcribers took this so seriously that every time they came up on the word "God" they had to bathe again. Because they didn't even feel worth to write down God's name. When they were done with the manuscript they would pass it on to some independent people who would check the manuscript and this is how they would check it. They would check it line by line from beginning to end. They would count the number of characters and the number of syllables and the number of punctuation, from the end to the beginning, then they would take it from the middle, then they would go from one side to the other side. If they found 2 errors on a manuscript they said they could fix those. If they found 3 errors on a manuscript they considered the manuscript condemned and it was disposed of. What is the time period from the Old Testament to the originals from what we have today, its 600 years? How about for the New Testament. Are you ready for this! It's only 25 years. 25 years from the originals. And out of curiosity how many manuscripts have we unearthed so far through archaeology, we said 643 for Homer, that's an awful lot! Well the bible only has 24,000 manuscripts. And every single one says the exact same thing. Over and over and over again. That is evidence number 1.
Evidence number 2. Archaeological evidence. Archaeologists have dug down to find out what went on before us and one of the things that concerned archaeologists for many years is that the bible talks about a large civilization called the Hittites. And archaeologists and scientists have said that we have never found any evidence for the Hittites civilization so obviously that part of the bible that talks about the Hittites isn't accurate because we haven't found anything with this population of people and the bible clames that there was a huge population a huge empire so obviously the Hittites were a myth a fable a lie, that portion of scripture isn't accurate. Then something happened in 1906. It happened that an archaeologist unearthed the capital city of the Hittite nation. And he just so happened to find a map that helped him unearth 40 more cities of the Hittite nation. You have now studied in school about the Hittites. And the bible said all along that they were there we just had to find the remains that they were there. Let me throw another one at you. For a long time people believed that Daniel wasn't an accurate book. At least the skeptics did. And the reason they didn't believe that the book of Daniel wasn't accurate it because the bible talks about this king by the name of Balthazar. And all the little tablets and all the little stones things that we have of the Babylonian kings Balthazar aren't listed as a king. So all the skeptics think there is no way the book of Daniel can be accurate because Daniel clamed there was a king by the name of Balthazar. Then 1956 an archaeologist unearth 3 stone tablets and on those 3 stone tablets explained what happened during this time period. Turns out the king of Babylon at that time decided to go on an extended campaign to wage war in far away nations. And he left his son in charge of the kingdom whose name just happened to be Balthazar. Who just happened to be reigning at the same time Daniel said he was in Babylon who just happened to be there at the time when Daniel wrote the book of Daniel. They have just found at the red sea the one passage point were the children of Israel could cross where God parted the waters so they could cross the red sea. And they have unearthed under the water in the red sea large Roman chariot wheels. How do you explain that? We have the archaeological evidence that it did happen. Archaeologists have unearthed millions and millions of artifacts and have yet to find one thing that disproves the bible.
#3. Scientific accuracy. So let me just say first, the bible isn't a science book. Now I am just going to list the top 4 and there is like 30 or more of these. So scientist through out the centuries has said that this is the way the world is. And the bible says no it's this way and it turns out that the bible was right. For example. The bible says that the earth is round. Scientists believed it was flat. How about this one. The number of stars. The bible says that there are billions of stars in the sky. Did you know that for along time those scientists only thought there were 1,100 stars in the sky? Well we know now that the bible was right. There are billions and billions of stars. The bible says that the wind blows like a cyclone. Scientists for many many years believed that the wind blew straight. You watch the weather channel lately. They say the wind blows like a cyclone. The bible says that blood is the source of life and of healing. For a long time we thought if somebody was sick they needed to bled. They would drill holes into people's skulls to bleed them out. Well what did we find out about blood? The blood is the source of life and of healing. Again the bible isn't a science book. But when the bible speaks of science it has yet to be disproven.
#4. Prophetic evidence. The Old Testament makes some incredible and some very specific predictions about who the messiah is going to be. Some of those predictions were written some 1,400 years before Jesus was born. And these prophecies from the Old Testament are very specific. They talk about where he is going to be born, when he is going to be born, what is going to appear when he is born. It talks about how he is going to live and how he is going to die. There are 332 prophecies concerning the Messiah. It's as if God was saying "Listen, I don't want you to miss the messiah when he comes, so I am going to give you 332 clues. The person who fulfills all 332 prophecies that is the messiah." So how many prophecies did Jesus fulfill? 332. All of them. And the skeptics say "well of course he did" He was very young, probably went to the temple allot and read the manuscripts read all the things that he needed to read to fulfill all of the prophecies. Well let me just say that person doesn't know much about prophecy. For example. The prophet said where the messiah would be born. That he would be born in Bethlehem. That he would come from the house and line of David. Those wise men would come and bring him gifts and that babies in the surrounding areas would be slaughtered because of his birth. Now those prophecies are pretty hard to do when you are just a baby in a manger. If you have a bible I want you to turn to Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53 is a beautiful description of what Jesus did for us on the cross. Now remember Isaiah was written right around 750 b.c. 750 years before Jesus came on the scene. It talks about all the things that the Messiah would go through. Now get this. This was written before crucifixion was any form of punishment. Hadn't even been invented yet and yet in Isaiah he was able to tell us with great detail what it would look like. Now look over at verse 9 of Isaiah 53. It says "He was assigned a grave with the wicked." Ok so when Jesus died he was assigned a grave with the wicked. Here is what they would do with criminals that died on crosses. They would dump there bodies in Gahanna. Which was the city dump? When Jesus talked about hell he talked about Gahanna. Gahanna was a place of wild dogs that were looking for something to eat. It was a place where the fire never went out. Well Jesus died as a criminal. So what they would do is once a criminal would die on the cross they would dump the bodies at the city dump. Now imagine if Jesus would have been buried out in the city dump. There would be nothing left of Him. The dogs would have eaten him up. But then if you keep reading in Isaiah it says this...and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Joseph of Arimathea comes on the scene and gives Jesus a Kings burial. Joseph had a tomb that had never been used. So answer this question. How do you fulfill a prophecy when you're already dead? I could go on and on and on and on. You just have to study the evidence. It's all there. There is proof. Documented proof.
Let me give you one more and then I am done for now. #5. The evidence of changed lives. I truly believe that most people don't want to read the bible because they are scared what it might say to them. Millions and millions of people. Rich and poor. Regardless of the color of there skin or social status. Kings and poppers who have read this book have found a God who loves them and forgives them. A God who sent His only Son to die for our sin. There is hope in the words of these pages. There is forgiveness in the words of these pages. There is a second chance in the words of these pages. When you read the pages of the bible they find meaning and purpose in there lives and they would give up there life to the point of death to protect this book.

BACK FROM THE DEAD

Being a Father is hard work! Most of the time i don't feel like I am doing enough for them. Or most of the time it seems like I am getting onto them for something they are doing wrong then enjoying them or having fun with them. As I am writing these words Landon my youngest son had been crying for something to eat. So I made him a burrito. As I sat down he dropped it on the floor and Lola the bulldog ate it "AAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!"

Last year I remember going through a time at the radio station where I felt like I wasn't doing enough for the Lord. It was very frustrating. You see I want to make my mark on this world. I want to live the life that God gave to me to the fullest. Not my will but God's will for me. When I take my last breath on this earth I want to be able to look back with no regrets. I want to build the Kingdom of God. I want God to recieve all the Glory and Honor for what ever I do while I am on this earth. I remember coming into work one morning and just pouring out my heart to God.
I told God to take me out of being at the Edge if I wasn't supposed to be there. That very morning baxter began his Shizel report and starting reading about this woman who had died and had been dead for 17 hours and then came back to life. When we called the number that was listed on the news story the woman's son answered the phone and began telling us what happened. click on the interview....





After the interview it was as if God was telling me "I am in complete control, Trust Me, I have you exactly where I want you." Friends this was just one of the many times God has show me His amazing supernatural power. The God I serve and worship is worthy of all praise and worship. He is the only one true God. He conquered death and has the power to bring back any one He wants from the dead. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords!!
His name is Jesus!

dexblog May 2

DEX BLOG APRIL 30