REST

     Wow! So I am at passion as you probably know,  if you know me. I fully intended for this blog today to be on what God was teaching me through a song or a speaker and I hate to disappoint but that will not be the case. God spoke to me in a way no speaker or musician could. I am still a bit in disbelief and I do not know if that is a good thing or a bad thing ha.
     As a part of what I get to do at Passion, I watch children of the passion staff which is what grants me my all access pass. I am often with the speakers and artists but as a part of what I do I am not suppose to be star struck or ask for photos or anything like that. ( not so easy) ha. I think I met my favorite today though and no one else would ever know her or her name. The last couple of weeks I have been constantly thinking and wrapping my mind around a lot. Most of this is all great stuff but nonetheless a lot. If you know me at all, you know I let this stuff get to me and tend to worry a bit too much. So as I am sitting in the session this morning this lady sits next to me in the press box and I know who she is but she has no clue who I am. Her name is Vicky and she is the head over all the intercessors at passion. She sits next to me and I am overwhelmed by a sense to ask her to pray with me. The voices within are screaming, "ASK!" "TELL HER YOU NEED PRAYER!" and the only thing I can think of is dont bother her. I figured her mind is full of so many other important things and I let the whole session go by and I said nothing. She turns and leaves and regret creeps over me like a shadow that mutes all voices.
     We go down below to get our lunch and I let the girls go and get there food and food for the little boys. When its my turn to go the line is long and full of people that you dream of meeting and seeing and I stood there alone in line. While I am standing there, I SEE HER! She is walking my way and she has a death stare on me. She stands next to me, looks at me, grabs my badge and says,"TJ". I am immediately relieved. She doesn't have to say anything but she says," I need to pray for you, how can I best do that". I immediately word vomit all over this woman and she completely understands and in the middle of this line she starts to pray for me. I am beside myself at this point and she hugs me and says, "Being busy isn't your problem. You need rest, you need rest today. The opposite of rest isn't busyness. The opposite of rest is anxiety and worry. Be at rest". WOW WOW WOW WOW!
     I realize this story may mean more to me than it will to anyone else but as a testament to God I have to write this and hope you are encouraged. I hope you dont just find encouragement in this blog but you really do find rest. Hebrews 4. Find rest today.

In Christ
TJ Earl

The Armor Bearer

Life was never meant to be lived alone. From the very beginning when God created man He said it wasn't good to be alone. God was living with Adam at that time so it's interesting he says alone. So we know God is with us in spirit so we are technically never alone but He knew companionship was a great thing created and needed. God himself loves companionship.
Those who know me know that I am not married so I am speaking of a different companionship ( for the time being ) I have had several guys in my life that helped me and invested in me along the way. Five imparticular.
The first is Mark Mckeehan and for some reason I have no pic on my phone with him. Quite a shame ha. This man has been through the fire with me. He always seems to call me in his office before I even ask him for help. Never holds it back and tells me what I need to hear rather than what I want to hear.
The second is Matt Paradis. From the second we began to work together we were brothers and it was obvious God had brought us together to bring glory to his name. His kids are like my own neice and nephews and will always be. His wife is like my sister. I bother him with issues more than I probably should but his house and heart is always open without invitation.
Third is Jon. If you want to know how we met, just ask him. He would love to tell ha. Jon is my brother. That's all there is to it. We have fun like brothers. We disagree and fight like brothers. Had he came from the same parents there would be no difference in our relationship except we would just have known each other longer. He is there for the good and the bad and vice versa. There is nothing either of us don't know and that's all there is. We tell it like it is and he is the brother I never had.
Brad Lowery. We met in high school and have been best friends yet. We are the same and so different in lot of ways. Our key bond is that we are young men in the ministry and trying to find out way through ha. Our life took a different turn than others in college and God allowed us to have each other to work through this time. When we are fed up with ministry we talk to each other. When we are on top it seems like in ministry we praise together. He encourages me in ways he doesn't know and I am who I am in the music realm because of Him.
Last is my dad. Your dad is the first person in your life who says I'm proud of you and don't get me wrong, I need to hear that from others and love it when you say it, there just isn't something quite as fulfilling as your dad saying I'm proud of you son. I learned this from my earthly father so that one day I might hear this from my Heavenly Father. My dad had made me into who I am, so if you don like me blame him ha. I love being a " Earl". Grant it that it has its downs ha but I love what comes with it. We love God first and our families second. We honor our time with loved ones and do what we can to help who we can. We fish, we work, and we laugh. The man I am today is because Heavenly Father and my earthly father. The other four just help stand me up and keep me above water.

For more see Jonathan and his armor bearer in 1 Samuel. Be with them Heart and soul.

In Christ
Michael Earl Jr.

Christmas Is.....

        There are a lot of things that we say and debate that Christmas is and isnt. As Christians, we all know that Jesus is Christmas. But even that doesnt seem to be good enough anymore. That does'nt even seem to be the debate anymore. The debate between Christians is how much Christmas is too much Christmas. How much Santa, or how many gifts, or what story do you tell, or blah blah blah. To all of this I say a resounding "WHO CARES".
        Christmas is love. Love is the purpose for His coming. Love is the purpose of our beginning. When I really began to think on this I understood the main purpose and there were no longer anymore debates. If you are telling your kids about Santa, use the purpose of Love. If you are giving gifts, give them with a purpose of Love. If you are with your family, by all means BE with them in Love.
        There are two things in life that have really taught me Love. One is Jesus. (of course this was an answer). The other is my family. I am so excited about this Christmas because no matter where I am and no matter who I am with I will BE ALL there at all times and sharing it with people that mean the most and sharing it with the ones I LOVE. I know all this sounds random and not the typical Christmas post but this is my heart. Make this Christmas a Christmas surrounded, saturated, and stained with LOVE.


Love
TEEJ

......On Friday

         Okay Okay Okay!!!!! I know I have skipped a few weeks and I know it isn't Thursday but I have been "busy". Classes are finally over and the break has begun. I am in Paris currently with friends and leaving in the morning for DC. Rach and I will pick up some hitch hikers on the way.

          In life you are constantly meeting new people. You constantly lose and form relationships. We put a lot of stock in people and who we think they are and who they might be. God has always put people in my life at the right time for what I need. There are those who are here for a season and those who are there for a lifetime. Its easy to differentiate between the two. You confide in the ones who are there for a lifetime and confirm those who are there for a season. No matter the reason God put them there for a reason. God is always working through His people. This calls me to a higher responsibility. Who is God speaking to through me. Josephs life was not an easy one. He did not choose to be put in the life of Potiphar's family but God placed him there and He was with Joseph. Potiphar's house was blessed because of the faithfulness of Joseph. Who is being blessed, OR who isn't being blessed because of your faithfulness or lack there of? Don't make relationships and don't form them. They are from God and He will bless them if you are obeying Him. All relationships should be overshadowed by The relationship between you and God.

Happy Friday
TEEJ

Dear Me Part Deux

Dear 18 year old, full of yourself, crazed with the spotlight me,

        You are not making your best decisions right now. Actually, this is a understatement. You are on a path to ruin your life and shame your family and relationship with Christ. You still have your compassion and a heart for others but it has been fogged over by the desire to be the coolest smoothest guy in town. Everyone knows your name and they know where you come from. YOU HAVE THEM ALL FOOLED.

     Your family is the most important thing in your life and you are going to forget that. You will say things to them you will dread in your future days and you will hurt them more than you know. You are not better than the rest of your family and you have no right to think so. You are soon going to realize what great parents you have and you will quit treating them like crap. They are gonna give you several instructions and you are going to ignore them. YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE IGNORED THEM. No matter what happens with your sisters and no matter what happens to your relationship, they are your sisters. Nothing will ever change that and you are going to love them more and more as life continues. 

You and Dad are about to become best of friends. You are going to be able to talk to him about anything. You should have took advantage of this a long time ago. He has advice for you that will change your life forever. You will begin to get close to him as soon as he gets a brain tumor ha. NO MORE WASTED TIME. 

  Relationships..................... ah man. Where to begin ha. You think you need to be married in two years and you are going to force an engagement that is not needed. You think its all you want but in reality it will destroy you. It really is not her, it is you. Quit hurting girls. You think you will be the greatest husband/dad in the world an you have SOOOOOOOOOO much to learn. You dont need to be married then. That time will come. You will find who God has for you not for who you want. God's wants will become your wants. QUIT WORRYING! SLOW DOWN!

   Man you are about to be so blessed with great friends and great jobs and great opportunities. You will take it all for granted sometimes and you will let worry take over your future too many times. The essentials to remember: God is everything, He is all that matters and what He wants for you. Serve Him with all you have. Friends will come and go. Recognize the ones that will always be there and confide in them. Family. Love them with all you have. Take care of all their needs and support them. One thing that will always remain the same through every year of your life is that God sent His son for you out of His great love. He died for you and rose from the grave for you. He chose you to be his SON. Live like it.

PS. Peyton will mean more to you than you know. Your influence could change his life. Take the responsibility heavily.

In Christ

TJ Earl

A Constant Consciousness of God

Jim Cymbala, to me, is my biggest hero of the faith. I love listening to his sermons reading his books, but one quote imparticular that sticks out to me is, “ A constant consciousness of God is the greatest defense against Satan”. This quote instantly forces us to ask the question, “ How can I constantly have a consciousness of God?”. When I began to think about this I realized several ways to accomplish this and they were very obvious.

The number one way to have a consciousness of God is through prayer. When I say this I don’t mean prayer before bed or before dinner. I’m talking about Prayer, sweat dropping, knee wearing, eye crying prayer. Maybe its in the car or in your office. For me it is a lot of times on the lawn mower where I spend a lot of my day. You understand what I am saying? We should constantly be in prayer. You can always be praying. When you are talking to a friend about a tough situation, then you should be praying. When your kids are headed to school we should be praying. THERE IS NO WRONG TIME TO PRAY. Maybe you need to pray to God to teach you how to pray. People often ask about your prayer life. Really though our LIFE should be full of prayer. It is not just suggested, but it is necessary for the Christian life. Jesus Christ prayed at all times and in every situation.

Another way to keep a consciousness of God is through the Word of God. You can’t avoid the fact that each time Satan tempted Jesus Christ, He quoted scripture. He knew the importance of memorizing scripture. Satan has no hold on the Word of God. Satan knows it is the extreme truth, but if he can lure you away from the Word of God then you now have left the path with no road map. The Word of God is life support, but only for those who depend on God for air. There are many verses in the Bible that tell us of the importance of the Word of God. For example Psalm 119:105 says, “ Thy (God) Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” We could go on and on but one thing that is for sure is we NEED Gods word, and If we know we need it we should longing for it.

The last way for us to keep a consciousness of God is through our relationships. As Christians we should always be surrounding ourselves with men and women that remind us of His nature. I have no clue where I would be today if God had not placed people in my life that reminded me of the nature of God. If you are constantly studying something over and over again you will find yourself looking a lot like what you are studying. Lets not forget that the reason we study something is to know it more and more. We need to be very careful in who and what we let influence our life.

These are just a few ways to keep a consciousness of God, but what we can guarantee is that if you follow after God and obey these things you will find yourself constantly keeping your mind on eternal things and easily defending the enemy.

In Christ

TJ Earl

The Key To Education

So much more and more we are asking the question in ministry if education is important. I cant count on fingers and toes the amount of times in my life I have heard someone say, "Paul didnt go to seminary so neither will I!" This argument and many others are so heretical.
The Bible teaches educating ourselves in scriptures are important to our walk with Christ. This doesnt mean that we should all go to Bible college and to seminary but that we all should be well versed and educated in the Bible. In any other job or career, we are expected to know what we are talking about and to be "trained" in what we do. It would be foolish for me to walk onto a job and attempt to do my job with no training. As a matter of fact it would be unacceptable and I would be fired before I ever started.
In staff meeting this week Mark did a devotion on 1 Corinthians 9:24. Most all know this but in case you didnt, Paul is talking about the Isthmian Games and compares them to the Christian life. He talks about running the race and running it to win. In order to win it takes months and months of training. In that training comes choices and some of them harder than others. Take for example, right now I am trying to get back in shape. I am working out every weekday morning and I have to be very disciplined to do so. I could eat a huge burger every day ( like I want to ) or i could stick with tuna or fruit. One is much more desirable than the other, but the choice for me to win has to be the healthier one. If I am constantly taking bad choices I will surely disqualify myself from the competition.
You see my fear is that we as Christians are showing up on race day with no training and we are so out of shape we cant even complete the first leg. It takes determination and desire to finish the race. You cant be a halfway Christian just like you cant be a halfway marathon runner. As the body of Christ and for myself I want us to be running to win and putting our blinders up so that all we see is the crown. Keep your eyes on the prize!

In Christ
TJ Earl