Repent of disobedience.. not just sin.
I know that we tend to repent of our sin, and we usually think of the specific sin .. like fights we get into with our significant other, or stealing something out of a store, or using someone or something in a selfish way.. well what about repenting of being disobedient to what God says when He speaks to us in our hearts.
I think we need to get deeper in understanding the heart issue. Maybe it’s not the specific sin that is the problem.. maybe it’s us purely disregarding, neglecting, and selfishly turning our faces from God when He speaks to us in our hearts.
Not to long ago I had gotten into a dispute with someone and became outraged.. and in the moment as I had said some really mean and nasty things, God spoke to me and said “Jake, you need to stop this now! And apologize for what you have said. This is not what I want you to be”. I blatantly ignored His words and what He had told me and continued to pursue that person with angst and hurt.
Had I done what He had said I would have been humble in knowing I was in the wrong for what I was saying and doing, I would have asked for forgiveness from that person and I would of obeyed God’s word.
I had done none of that. I had disobeyed God, said things that HE did not want me to say and I hurt another person who is very close to me and whom I love.
So instead of just asking for forgiveness from God for what I had said and saying to Him “Father forgive me for my anger”.. I need to ask for forgiveness for disobeying His word for me at that moment. How is it that God is to speak to us and show us His way when we don’t listen and we are to stubborn to do what He asks.
In this argument I felt I was right, God had told me I was wrong and should stop, I was to prideful and continued in my prideful selfish way. How am I suppose to change then? For me to grow I need to be obedient, a lot of people don’t even like that word because it makes them think of a dog or something.. well God is the father shouldn’t we obey what our father says to us? I mean He does know better than us right? We do want to walk in God’s path for our lives right? So God doesn’t just work in our lives with miracles, and big blessings… I’ll be honest it would be a miracle for me to overcome my pride and obey God’s word when I’m in the middle of an argument, when I want something really badly and can get it, when I want to talk about ME instead of listening to HER or HIM. This would be a miracle in itself, and when we are obedient to the words God speaks to us in the moment we are working in the greatness of love. His love and in that small way bring Heaven to earth.
Make sense? I hope so.. this just came to mind after walking my dog down the street before leaving for PA on tour.
Canada!
So we played a few shows in Canada and here is my update on some of the awesome things I've seen and did while there!
Firstly I want to thank the kids from Seattle for taking me out to Red Robin! It was awesome hanging out with a youth group... it's been a while since i've gone out with 11 kids for a nice lunch! Plus Seattle is one of my personal favorite places, thanks for the great conversations and i loved answering your questions about being a Christian on tour and what the tour life looks like! ha you guys were great!
After Seattle we went for Canada! Canada was pretty cold and I won't lie, I wasn't ready for it. I need a new winter jacket! Two sweaters , a jacket and a ball cap wasn't enough for the winds in Calgary and Edmonton...
Brandon Sloter, our videographer has been teaching me some new photography tricks with my camera and actually let me borrow one of his old lenses to learn how to shoot with. I've been reading up on some photography books and have realized that... I don't really have any hobbies, BUT THIS COULD BE ONE!!! If you love cameras and photography I'd love to hear about how you shoot and send me some pics to scope! I've got a Canon T2i and a few lenses.. i'm a noob when it comes to this but I really enjoy capturing moments on tour so it's been fun!
The show in Edmonton was awesome but kind of weird, they had all of the under age kids on the right side of the venue and all the over aged people on the left.. plus the stage curved so their was a weird center of the room... I tried my best to give every side attention and speak to both crowds.. never had that problem before. After I spoke with tons of you guys at the merch table. Surprisingly you guys bought quite a lot of HS merch and gave in donations and we really appreciate that.
You guys have a huge mall!! I've never seen anything like it! A huge wave pool and water slides inside the mall! Along with an ice skating rink!! The mall is one of the top 5 largest in the world! INSANE!!
I also decided... I want a ferret... They are awesome and I want one to bring out on tour! ha Little on the salty side as far as the price.. close to 300 bucks for one of these guys? Anyone have one? Are they nice?
Then I went next door to an asian grocery store.. never really been to one in my life, but walking in i felt i wasn't in Canada.. not even close! However I did find some very interesting eats there as I walked around... I needed shampoo and soap.. lost them on tour.. bummer.
Lastly we went through the American/Canadian border for a check.. it took us two hours and they also x-rayed our bus... here's a pic of us sitting in a tight room waiting for them to finish x-raying our bus. haha it was a little toasty in there.. after that we finished the movie Bourne Supremacy it's an amazing movie! Next Bourne Ultimatum !!
Canada was full of great times and I actually enjoyed every minute of it! Thanks Canada for being supportive of the Heart and being hospitable to us.
