We are PUMPED!

Next week on Wednesday, Josh and I will be leading our first FPU class. If you don't know what FPU is, it stands for Financial Peace University and it's through Dave Ramsey. It's a 13 week course that talks about savings, debt, insurance, investing, etc. Call us nerds, but this is a dream of ours to be able to share what has helped bring us to the place we are at. Dave Ramsey's principles coupled with our hardwork and all the doors the Lord has opened has brought us an abundance of financial Peace! I started a fan site on Facebook so you can follow the journey of our FPU class. We will anonymously be collecting money saved and debt paid off. We will be sharing helpful tips and victory stories!! If you're on a financial journey, we'd love to hear from you, too and we especially love money saving tips! Check us out and "LIKE" our page. Josh and I just paid off our car last week and we got the pink slip in the mail yesterday. That was an amazing feeling! And we are beyond motivated to pay off the student loans! We need your help in cheering us on as this will be an uphill battle for sure! We can't thank friends and family enough for blessing us so much already. More than anything, we are looking forward to the day we can pay forward all the blessings we've received!!

Paid off the Car

The battle wages

Most everyone is fighting some sort of battle; some big, some small. And on top of these battles we are waging one huge battle: the battle for souls. The Lord owns it, but Satan wants it. Ephesians 6:12 says "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." What that means is our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Seriously.

And the victims caught in the middle? Oh, those are our spouses, children, moms, dads, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews, grandparents, friends...the list goes on. Why does it seem like so many of us are crossing our fingers, closing our eyes and maybe throwing up a prayer and merely hoping our loved ones are saved? Matthew 7:13-15 says “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Keyword: Few. adjective, -er, -est, noun, pronoun
–adjective
1. not many but more than one: Few artists live luxuriously.
–noun
2. a small number or amount: Send me a few.
3. the few, a special, limited number; the minority: That music appeals to the few.
–pronoun
4. a small number of persons or things: A dozen few volunteered, but few have shown up.

What if the Lord returned RIGHT now and said, "Ok, let's go. Destination: Heaven. Oh and here is a panel of every single loved one in your life. Pick a FEW to come with you. "? I don't know about you, but I would plead the case of every person there and would agonize over selecting a FEW. Fortunately, some of our loved ones are saved. Heartbreakingly, some are not.

The word 'Christian' means 'little Christ' or 'Christ-like'

Luke 19:10 "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

If Jesus' was here to seek and save, shouldn't we be seeking and saving?

I've heard that an atheist once posed this question, "Assuming your God is real and this Bible is 100% true, How much do you have to hate someone to not tell them about Jesus Christ, your Lord and Savior. If you know about heaven and hell: Why would you allow someone to go to hell, because you didn't tell them about Jesus?" Same concept with speaking truth or reminding people of God's love, why aren't we constantly doing it? I include myself in this.

Christians: We know we have loved ones whose eternal destination is unknown to us. We know the road is narrow. We know the Bible is 100% true. We know each day is a day closer to this earthly life coming to an end.

So the Mystery Remains:

WHY ARE WE NOT SHOWING UP TO THE BATTLE?

What do I mean by that?:

Why are we not on our knees, praying? Why are we not telling people the gospel? Why are we not speaking truth to those around us? Why do we sugarcoat it? Proverbs 27:6 says,"Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses."

One major component of showing up for the battle is preparing yourself for it. When someone signs up for the military, he doesn't get shipped off to fight on the front lines as soon as the ink dries on his signature. No, he goes to basic training and mabe even some specialty training for months and months before heading to war.

There is an epidemic of people who call themselves Christians and have grieved hearts, petitions laid out for the Lord, most of which stem from a plethora (HUGE AMOUNT; opposite of FEW) of unsaved loved ones, but they can't be bothered to prepare for battle, much less show up for it.

They don't have time for devotions. They work hard so they're too tired for prayer night. Sunday is their day to relax so church is out of the question. Other Bible studies interfere with highly important things such as grocery shopping, cleaning, the Laker game, etc. I honestly dont say this to condemn anyone, you could definitely find me guilty of some of the above, but every day I GET IT more and more and want others to get it because the LORD IS COMING BACK. I just want to shake people when I hear they're "B.U.S.Y." (being under satan's yoke) excuse and say, "Really? REALLY? Washing your car is more important than your brother or sister's soul?" Because that's pretty much what we are saying, not intentionally, but still. The rapture hasn't happened yet and when it does we don't get to give a free pass to a FEW of our unsaved family or friends. In fact, NONE of them will make it. They will depart because He never knew them. BUT we're here NOW and we can tell them now. We can pray for them fervently, worship our creator and draw near to Him and set ourselves apart to be even more of an example and encouragement to those unsaved or on the fence loved ones.

DUDE.

GET TO THE THRONE.

GET ON YOUR KNEES.

PREPARE FOR THE BATTLE AND MOST IMPORTANTLY:

SHOW UP.