what is proper church etiquette anyway?

during the middle of the service last monday night a girl, accompanied by a friend to assist her, stumbled her way up to the front of the sanctuary to, in my mind, “rudely” interupt the message. all i understood was the pastor say, “ummm yea, lets get the prayer team and you guys can go and pray.” i’m not going to lie, my thoughts were not church thoughts at this moment if you can get what i’m saying. in my head i’m thinking, “c’mon girl! don’t you know proper church etiquette? (as if there is one) she must not have been raised southern baptist.” anyways, as the pastor wraps up the sermon, i notice the prayer team laying hands upon the girl in the back of the room and then began conversing with new friends and goofing off with others. all of the sudden, cheers erupt in the back of the room and my mind grows instantly curious. all i can see is the girl, who i saw barely walking with the assistance of her friend no more than 20 minutes ago walking by herself from one side of the sanctuary to the other. i’m still in a state of curiosity wondering what in the world is going on. the pastor then grabs a microphone to explain… the friend that helped this girl walk into the sanctuary and up to the front of the room during the message, brought the girl to church with one intention, for her to get healed. the girl had muscular distrophy. keyword: had. she could not walk without her leg braces and even with the braces on she needed assistance from someone else. after prayer over the girl, the prayer team removed her braces and helped her walk once from one side of the sanctuary to the other. they prayed more. she then walked from one side of the room to the other, by herself. i can’t remember a time where i had ever felt the presence of God as much as i had in that moment. God’s healing power healed this girl right before our eyes. the last time she had walked by herself occurred when she was a freshman in high school, about 6 years ago or so.

God healing people of their diseases. to me, that’s bringing a glimpse of heaven to earth.

this sunday a man and his wife shared the most powerful testimony i had ever heard. the man set up the story by explaining how the Lord has spoken to him through his dreams his entire life. he records them, prays over them, and waits until they come to fruition. about a year and a half ago, he has a dream where his entire family is swimming at the pool with some family friends. all of the sudden he notices a baby girl floating motionless in the pool. he picks the lifeless baby up, notices that it is in fact lifeless and he prays over and over again, “in Jesus name, come back. in Jesus name, come back…” sure enough, the baby comes back and he wakes up. he writes the dream down, records, and prays.

fast forward to about a month ago. the man and his entire family are at his inlaws with some family friends. they are, dun dun dun…all swimming. his mother in law runs off to the bathroom with a friends year and a half old baby to change her into her swim suit. all of the sudden, the family hears a scream from the bathroom. they shrug it off. the tone of the scream changes. fear then fills them all. the wife runs in the bathroom to see the baby lying on the flooded floor. no pulse. not breathing. eyes motionless. and it had just used to bathroom on itself. the baby girl was dead. the wife runs in a panic to grab her husband. he runs in with all of the kids. the mother in law tells him to run and call 911. he sprints to the phone picks it up and sets it back down, remembering his dream, says a prayer, and says…”the kingdom of God is here, lets do something about it.” he runs back in and begins to lay hands upon the baby. he, along with his entire family began yelling “in Jesus name, come back. in Jesus name, come back. satan, you can’t have her! in Jesus name, come back…” over and over and over again they pleaded. a long period of minutes pass and the family witnesses life come into death as the baby begins to breathe. eyes begin to move. heart beats. the baby is alive. oh and the husband and wife were holding this precious baby girl the entire time as they told the story. we serve a powerful God that is more powerful than anything we could ever even begin to imagine.

God resurrecting the dead. to me, that’s bringing a glimpse of heaven to earth.

growing up with the background that i have, i had never ever been exposed to even believing these sort of things could happen in our day and age. i grew up believing Jesus could heal. i believed Jesus could raise people from the dead. but his followers?

Jesus says in john 14:12, “truly, truly, i say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that i do; and greater works than these will he do, because i am going to the Father.”

greater works than the son of God himself? what does that even look like?

my depraved depiction of greater works than Jesus did is simply enabled by the Holy Spirit. i have yet to understand the Holy Spirit and am sure i will never be able to grasp the implications of the presence that resides in me and the rest of God’s people. God has made his people his temple to dwell in with his presence. what? God lives in me? huh? it is because of the Holy Spirit that Peter was able to heal people with even his shadow (acts 5:15).

what does this kingdom look like on earth? i believe the kingdom of heaven is “like a treasure in a field, which a man found and covered up. then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field” (matthew 13:44).

i believe when Jesus calls his followers, he calls his disciples to: renounce themselves and give up their heart in order to obtain the heart of Christ so that he may live through them. when the Spirit lives in us, our lives are changed eternally. not only do we anxiously await for the day that we will reside in God’s kingdom, but we live our lives to see that kingdom be displayed in us and through us in every moment and circumstance of our life. “for the love of Christ controls us” (2 corinthians 5:14). does that love shine through in everything we do? absolutely not. we are human. we fail. “but if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins” (1 john 2:1-2). praise God.

the simplicity of the Gospel. “believe in him whom he has sent” (john 6:29). proclaim fearlessly “the kingdom of heaven is at hand” trust in the power of the holy spirit that resides in us that we will do greater works than Jesus through “healing the sick, cleansing the lepers, casting out demons, and even raising the dead.” (matthew 10:7).

Jesus desires his followers to love him with all their heart mind and soul. he desires relationship with us. through the relationship with him we will bear the fruit of obedience and gifts of the Spirit. doing greater things than Jesus himself. God desires to bring his kingdom to earth through his followers. God has called us, how will we respond?

goblins saved me.

what do you think of when you picture heaven? is it a fairy tale land with angels flying around? maybe a place with a rather big house, with quite a few rooms? a big yard to play the greatest sport known to man? lots and lots of food? yes, i listened to too much ccm music when i was younger. but seriously, what defines heaven? what makes up this place that we long to inhabit one day? i remember the first time i ever was convinced heaven, in fact, even existed. i was a chubby 2nd grader, fresh off his first kiss on the play ground. yes, my dad did call me fat when i was in 2nd grade. yes, i still had game despite the extra bulge in the belly. i went to an easter service play production with mi madre and they did a phenomenal job of scaring the daylights out of me into believing in this jesus guy. seriously, i was bawling my eyes out on the car ride home saying, “i don’t want to go to hell! i don’t want to go to hell!” i remember from that night on i believed that because of my confession in jesus i wouldn’t have to go to that scary place the play so well depicted through a bunch of scary goblins running’ around yelling and gnashing their teeth. i was convinced i was going to heaven, but what now? at this point, jesus was a means to an end for me. a ticket out of the scary place where the goblins lived.

when i look at scripture, i can’t help but see jesus speak of heaven. however, i do not think jesus speaks of heaven in the same context with which i did as a fat second grader. jesus says to the 12 apostles before he sends them out to proclaim, “the kingdom of heaven is at hand. heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. you received without paying; give without pay.” matthew 10:7-9. i do not believe jesus tells his disciples to go off and preach, “believe in jesus, just so you can get all the good that heaven has to offer.”

when jesus prayed to his father in heaven he said, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done. on earth as it is in heaven.” he isn’t saying, “okay, i’ll believe in you God, just so one day i can have eternal life in heaven and play sweet games of football.” he is saying, “God let your kingdom come down from heaven to earth and dwell with your people. wipe away every tear from your creations eyes. defeat death eternally. do away with all mourning, crying, pain, and destroy the former way of living life. make everything new.” (revelation 21:4-5).

it is very interesting and intriguing that jesus commands his disciples to preach the “kingdom of heaven is at hand”. in arms reach. just reach out and grab it. he says, you have freely received this gift of my spirit. now, freely give it to others through sharing Christs’ good news, healing, resurrecting the dead, cleansing the sick, and casting out evil spirits. the kingdom of heaven is at hand on earth.

now, i already asked what you think heaven looks like. but now, what does that same vision of heaven look like on earth? does it mean going and proclaiming the name of jesus fearlessly to all nations? to your friends? family? homeless? business partners? does it mean healing the sick? does it mean cleansing the lepers? casting out demons? does it even mean raising the dead?

i know what i believe my depraved picture of heaven on earth looks like and i will update this thing soon with my thoughts, but lets discuss this. in our present day and age, what does it look like for heaven to meet earth? how is jesus leading you to bring heaven into your everyday life? your time alone? your interaction with others?

not a hobby.

so, i do not want to brag or anything, but i must admit, i am really good at updating this bad boy. i’m also 100% serious all of the time. as many of you may know and experience on a daily basis the frustration of attempting to converse with me without a break for sarcasm or “twss.” doesn’t happen, often. however, there are some topics that i am passionate about that i could talk for hours about with the sarcasm left at the door. there are some things that overwhelm might heart with joy that i cannot help but share with others. also, there are some topics i hear about or read about that just induce downright anger within my soul. you’re about to read one of those topics, unless you already find yourself bored already and wanting to go play goldeneye 64, be my guest.

i just started a new semester in college, which is kind of scary because i will only be able to say that 2 more times (hopefully). i am taking a class called spiritual formation, in which the name basically explains itself. we are reading through a few books and discussing what we can digest from each writing and apply to our spiritual lives. right now, we are in the process of reading a book called “soul making” by alan jones. the novel is well written and quite humorous at times, but biblically sound? eh, not so much. here’s where i start to get a little frustrated. oh and that was a bit of an understatement.

here is a quote alan uses in his book…

“i don’t want you to go away with the impression that there’s any–you know–any inconveniences involved in the religious life. i mean a lot of people don’t take it up just because they think it’s going to involve a certain amount of nasty application and perseverance–you know what i mean?…as soon as we get out of chapel here, i hope you’ll accept from me a little volume i’ve always admired…”God Is My Hobby.”"

if words could only express true feeling and emotion. this outrages me. this breaks my heart. this is not what jesus preached in the least bit. but, even worse, this is the state of a multitude in today’s society, especially in the country God “blesses” more than any other, america. (that was sarcasm). we have found ourselves in such a state of mind that we can compartmentalize our lives in such a way that we give God 2 hours on sunday, 2 hours on wednesday, an occasional retreat, maybe a service project here and there and then go about our lives acting as if the love of Christ really dwells in us. that my friends is what you call, Christianity as a hobby. this is something i’m extremely passionate about not only because it pisses me off, but, because my friends, it’s something i’ve found myself apart of for a very large part of my faith journey.

matt chandler says…”if you want a hobby, buy a boat. those are actually fun! church is the worst hobby you can have.”

jesus says in luke 14: “if anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters–yes, even his own life–he cannot be my disciple. and anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple…in the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.”

do we ever hear this gospel preached in our day and age? have we really ever been told that if we truly want to follow jesus we must deny ourselves everything. i feel like all i’ve ever been taught was that i just must be “willing” to give up everything for jesus’ sake. sure, willingness is a good attribute to have, but to actually give up our lives where jesus determines everything (finances, lifestyle choices, where we go to school, where we live, the car we drive, what we do in our spare time, everything) this places us in a whole new ball park of christianity in which we rarely see in our culture.  i’m sick and tired of hearing about how if you place your trust in jesus he will give you your “best life now.” i’m tired of listening to preachers like t.d. jakes preach in their 45 million dollar areas and say that “jesus is a product and when you have a product of excellence, it’s easy to sell.” what jesus says in luke 14 is anything but easy to do. jesus says flat out that if you follow me, you are a dead man walking. you have a cross attached to you. present day time this exists in the form of an electric chair, a needle, a noose. a public execution device, not a situation or experience that you can say, “well i guess this is just the cross i bear.” no, jesus says take up your actual cross and consider yourself dead so that i may, in return, with pleasure, live through you and give you true life as you pursue me everyday for the rest of your life.

this is a picture of what it looks like to renounce everything that our flesh and our earthly selves desire and pursue the way the truth and the life of jesus christ, giving him lordship over our life to lead us into the only true way, only truth and only true life that exists. however, it will cost you everything. it’s not easy. it’s not a hobby.

so as i continue to read the words in mr. alan jones’ book, i can only hope that somewhere along the way he will stop sensitizing the serious implications the gospel demands of us. also, i do not write this in an attempt to say i have it all figured out and i am doing any of this perfectly. i am on a journey and in the middle of a process striving to allow christ to do all of this through me, because i know on my own i am damned, but through christ, this is all possible.

to those of you who did not bail to play goldeneye, thank you.

mountains are pretty in colorado

i love mountains. today, i saw mountains. i will drive through mountains today. i will hike up some mountains tomorrow. i will snowboard down some mountains on friday and saturday. sunday, i will leave the mountains. to me, mountains display such a sweet portrait of God’s intracicy. i know, mountains consist of rocks, dirt, and some occassional trees and snow caps as decor. but, seriously,  the moment i could visibly make out the outline of the mountains that sit behind denver from my plane window today, my heart began to pace a little faster. i gasped a couple of times. and then caught myself continually saying, “wow, how freaking cool are you God?”

my mind went from such deep thoughts to napeleon dynamite. “how much you want to bet i can throw a football over them mountains?” quoting the wise uncle rico.

as you can tell i was excited. i know the dude in front of me knew i was excited as well. you know the annoying person that likes to continually bounce their leg up and down when they’re nervous/excited. i  mean they just can’t stop, even if you forcefully stop them for a moment, it’s kind of like putting water on a grease fire. the leg bounce just come back with more force and mmf than before. severe cases even get both legs going sometimes. well, i am that annoying person. and i’m pretty sure the dude in front of wasn’t having the smoothest ride. and it was not due to turbulence.

he then attempts to extinguish my fire of excitement by saying aloud to his friend next to him, “those mountains are puny pieces of crap compared to what we will see.” his ride became a little bit smoother from that point on. i mean i was just excited to see anything that was larger than the rolling hills of brentwood at this point and negative nancy proceeds and says, “oh those are nothing.”

now, as i have been sitting in the airport for 4 hours waiting on my ride. yes, 4 hours, and we have 2 more to go. anyways, i began to think about that statement “those mountains are puny pieces of crap compared to what we will see.” and i began to think about why mountains fascinate me so much. as i thought about that, it dawned on me. although, those beautiful pieces of dirt and rock with a snow cap on top of them are indeed magnificent, what else is there? although God has created intricate  mountains, how many times does he say to me, “oh, those things, those are just pieces of soil that look cool. it’s not that big of a deal.”

God is trying to show us something through his creation. i do not know how God, the creator of all things, speaks to you through creation, but he says this to me. “those mountains, rivers, trees, stars, oceans, etc. are nothing. yes, the creation is good, but it does not even compare to the love i have lavished upon you. yes, they are intricate design. but, i knit you together in your mothers womb. you are fearfully and wonderfully made (psalm 139). you are my greatest joy.”

so it appears that dude with the long hair and mangy beard sitting front of me was somewhat right. these mountains are beautiful, but they are puny pieces of crap compared to what we can see if we allow God to reveal who he is in and through us.

“How great is the love the
Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And
that is what we are!” 1 john 3:1

walk in truth today.

best of 08

11. cut copy – in ghost colors
10. death cab for cutie – narrow stairs
9. anathallo – canopy glow
8. ben sollee – learning to bend
7. copeland – you are my sunshine
6. this will destroy you – self/titled
5. sigur ros – med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust
4. frightened rabbit – midnight organ fight
3. the new frontiers – mending
2. wild sweet orange – we have cause to be uneasy
1. fleet foxes – self/titled

not the best year for music, but not a bad one necessarily. buy everyone of these albums and i promise you won’t be disapointed. the fleet foxes album was in a catagory of its own. i’m excited to see what 09 will bring. yes, i will be writing in this thing again in 09.

God bless and i hope that 08 was as blessed and stretching as mine was.

20?

yes, you heard it right. i, ronnie lynn frizzell jr am no longer a teenager. i am 20 years old as of friday. i had a great time hanging with the guys and celebrating. in the past, i’ve viewed this day as pretty much just another day. one that comes and goes, just like any other day. i mean, yea, i did have some great celebrations with family and friends previously. but this year, i decided this day could be just another day, or it could also signify something more than just blowing out a candle on a delicious carrot cake at j alexanders. which, by the way, if you have never had the pleasure of trying their carrot cake, get up. this post will still be here when you get back. find out the nearest location of the restaurant and experience life in it’s fullest form.

anyways, i was not even focused on having some type of life-altering thoughts or events that night. i envisioned a great night of fellowship, food, fires, and cigars. which, all occurred by the way. but i was not even ready for what God had planned. he spoke. through a good friend of mine. he said, “how do you feel about your life 20 years into it? and what is one thing you would like to do differently this next year? i sat there, stuffed with the pecan crusted trout i had just enjoyed, not even wanting to ponder anything that took an ounce of energy. i muffled a couple of words in my brain, but nothing of any value came out. i decided to postpone the answer by telling him i would have an answer for him by the end of the night.

as the night progressed, i realized a couple of things. one of which, i realized why i am in nashville. not solely because of the great education, or a cool job, but simply because i have found a community of guys to do life with. to converse with. to joke with. to have numerous “that’s what she said…” moments. to love. and to struggle with. i have richly been blessed by the community of believers that God has immersed my life in.

the next day i sat down in bongo java. opened my bible. i was directed to a passage that i believe the Lord had picked out for me on this specific day for a specific reason. if you ask me, God’s timing, however long it may take, proves his sovereignty and existence in His children’s lives. i found this in Hebrews 6…

“therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity…” (6:1)

i was absolutely floored by what paul stated. i was still and just listened. i began processing the question my friend had asked and it stirred within me. not the type of stir that pleasantly starts, but the one that racks your soul. the one that sickens your stomach to the point of the possibility of ending up with your head in a trashcan blowing chunks because you are so sickened by the thoughts racing through your brain.

i love these moments.

because at these moments are the times in my life where i find God showing up the most. i then realized why it had taken God so long to take His words, which i had read many times before, and have me turn them into action. God moved me to action. i realized my 20 years of existence up to this point had been fun, crappy, joyous, and inconsistent all at the same time. i realized that i have been in elementary school in my faith for the past 7 years of my life as i called myself a “Christ follower.” i realized that God wants more. i realized my life could amount to so much more, if i would just stop being a kid in my faith, and allow God to mature me. i realized that there have been days, weeks, and sometimes months where i kept my heart in the word, but then slowly attempted at doing life as a loner relying on my own wisdom, or lack thereof, and finally ended in a broken spirit clinging for God to reconstruct me. i am sick of being inconsistent.

i know this is a little later than i promised, but to finally answer my friends question. my life to this point, i wouldn’t change for the world. i have lived. learned. grieved. laughed. hurt. loved. etc. but now, i am ready to mature. i am ready allow Christ to continue in the work he started in my heart when i first called his name.

what will i do differently this next year? who knows. i would love to say that i will be in the word everyday and will never falter, but i think i would be setting myself for immediate failure in saying that. because i know this will not be the last time God breaks me and reconstructs me. i would love to mature in my walk with the Lord daily, because i know in doing this, i will truly have peace. i will truly have hope. and i will truly have life. i would encourage you to be still. because in the moments we are still. God is not.

i found this beautiful piece of art in the dining/devotional room at the orphanage i stayed at this past summer in Cameroon.

tonight

tonight i’m going to see sleeping at last. i’ve been waiting for this for about 3 or 4 years now. needless to say, i’m stoked. enjoy this video.

laughter.

i work at starbucks, which i love by the way. sometimes i work the drive-thru and occasionally when the planets align perfectly and the sun so majestically reflects off of me. my one eye-appealing characteristic that God has so richly blessed me with is revealed. my eyes.

funny story. the other day, a lady, kinda heavier set, drives up to the window and immediately says something about my eyes before i can even let her know that she is paying too much for her triple grande, non-fat, extra hot, vanilla latte. i like to have fun with the customers and so we start joking back and forth, but by the end of the conversation, she just comes out and says “well hell, if i wasn’t gay, i’d ask you on a date!” i can not even remember my response because all i could do was think about how much laughter my other partners and i were going to share after she pulled away. seriously, i think i was out of commission for about 5 minutes because of this.

anyways, i hope this brought some laughter to you today and i pray that God is speaking to you in amazing ways today.

insignificant? i think not.

so i’m taking a class called understanding the bible. i’m not doing that great in there, so i guess that means i really don’t understand the bible or something. anyways, we discussed the story of the prodigal son today, which is, by far, one of my favorite stories jesus tells. throughout the discussion, we sort of backtracked and talked about the other 2 parables jesus talks about in luke 15. they are the parable of the lost sheep and the parable of the lost coin.

i would definitely encourage you to read both of them. now. the part that really hit home with me occurs when jesus speaks of the pure joy one feels when they find that “lost sheep” or “lost coin.” then he goes on to say that “there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

i make this point because before i really dug into this passage and saw the beauty in it, i had the notion that we, as individuals, aren’t really that important to God. that we, as individuals, could never have been created and God would be okay. that we, as individuals, are insignificant. i always have been told that God could be completely fine without us, because he is God and that’s it. yes, i am a firm believer in the vastness of our God and i know that the moment i begin to wrap my head around who he is, he slaps me in the face and says, “bubba, you’ll never have it figured out.” and at the moment i am filled with fear and comforted at the same time.

i say all of this because i read the story about one person coming back to God and God being more ecstatic about that one individual than 99 others who are “righteous.” also, i say this to encourage. i am finding out more and more that as much as God is about communal worship, He is about individual worship more.

we are significant to God. we are on this earth for a purpose. we are here to be imitators of Christ.

the same God who created this beautiful earth for us to marvel at, created us. in his own image.

short and sweet.

so here it is. my blog. a chance for you to read about and view some of the experiences and circumstances i will face on my journey. i’ve been wanting to start one of these guys for about 8 months now. yea, i think we can all agree after reading that statement that i am not the most pro-active person. you will most undoubtedly find that out first hand right here. i don’t really know exactly how i will be organizing this guy, but i’ve never been a fan of organization anyways. you can easily draw that conclusion from one look at my cluttered room. for example, as i’m writing this from my bed, i peer over and see 4 loads of clean laundry scattered on my somewhat assembled futon. ambition? i keep telling myself, “it’ll show up tomorrow.” sorry mom.

i would love to make this a journey not only for myself, but for others (you) as well. to be interactive. sharing praises and needs. sharing personal incites and ideas. probing and questioning my thoughts. no, i’m not going to share my deepest darkest secrets with the entire world, but i would like to get deep. and i will be dark at times.

i know that Christ will show up here. i can see fruit in my life already being produced from this seed that is being scattered. i only pray that it will be deeply rooted and in good soil, which is firm and established. i know He is about to do some amazing things in my life. i can’t wait to share the events and experiences with you.

so that’s that. i hope you enjoy.

oh and ps. i’ll try to share an occasional photo or 2 or 345243 of something that i’ve taken or something beautiful that just catches my eye throughout the days and weeks.

passion2k7