I am a child of God; God is spiritually my Father (Romans 8:14-15, Galatians 3:26, John 1:12)

I am a new creation in Christ; old things have passed away and all things have become new (2 Corinthians 5:17)

I am in Christ (Ephesians 1:1-4, Galatians 3:26,28)

I am an heir with the Father and a joint heir with Christ (Galatians 4:6-7, Romans 8:17)

I am reconciled to God and am an ambassador of reconciliation for Him (2 Corinthians 5:18-19)

I am a saint (Ephesians 1:1, 1 Corinthians 1:2, Philippians 1:1, Colossians 1:2)

I am God’s workmanship, created in Christ for good works (Ephesians 2:10)

I am a citizen of heaven (Ephesians 2:19, Philippians 3:20)

I am a member of Christ’s body (1 Corinthians 12:27)

I am united to the Lord and am one spirit with Him (1 Corinthians 6:17)

I am the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19)

I am a friend of Christ (John 15:15)

I am a slave to righteousness (Romans 6:18)

I am the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21)

I am enslaved to God (Romans 6:22)

I am chosen and ordained by Christ to bear fruit (John 15:16)

I am a prisoner of Christ (Ephesians 3:1, 4:1)

I am righteous and holy (Ephesians 4:24)

I am hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3)

I am the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13)

I am the light of the world (Matthew 5:14)

I am part of the true vine (John 15:1-2)

I am filled with the divine nature of Christ and escape the corruption that is in the world through lust (2 Peter 1:4)

I am an expression of the life of Christ (Colossians 3:4)

I am chosen of God, holy and dearly loved (Colossians 3:12, 1 Thessalonians 1:4)

I am a child of light (1 Thessalonians 5:5)

I am a partaker of a heavenly calling (Hebrews 3:1)

I am more than a conqueror through Christ (Romans 8:37)

I am a partaker with Christ and share in His life (Hebrews 3:14)

I am one of God’s living stones, being built up in Christ as a spiritual house (1 Peter 2:5)

I am a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation (1 Peter 2:9)

I am the devil’s enemy (1 Peter 5:8)

I am born again by the Spirit of God (John 3:3-6)

I am a alien and stranger to this world (1 Peter 2:11)

I am a child of God who always triumphs in Christ and releases His fragrance in every place (2 Corinthians 2:14)

I am seated in heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 2:6)

I am saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8)

I am a recipient of every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ (Ephesians 1:3)

I am redeemed by the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 5:9)

I am part of the bride of Christ and am making myself ready for Him (Revelation 19:7)

I am a true worshipper who worships the Father in spirit and truth (John 4:24)

I heal the sick (Matthew 10:8, Luke 10:9, Mark 16:18, John 14:12)

I raise the dead (Matthew 10:8, John 14:12)

I cast out demons (Matthew 10:8, Mark 16:17, John 14:12)

The more I talk with Christians and non-Christians, the more I realize that it’s our view of the goodness of God that’s been undermined and distorted the most.

But we’re so desperate to see the goodness of God. We must see it. The poor must see it. The broken must see it. The prideful must see it. The ashamed must see it. The hopeless must see it.

Our confidence in His goodness brings in the Kingdom in power. Our faith in His goodness gives us access to the Kingdom. Why would you want to hope in, place your trust in, or wish for someone else, something that you don’t believe is truly good?

He and His Kingdom is good in the way that a child would recognize it immediately and be drawn to Him- his loving Father- the Kingdom of heaven belongs to them.

God is good- it’s not a phrase that we say to make us feel better- it’s not a last resort to our circumstances- He is very good. Our circumstances and reactions bow down and align themselves to this reality as we live with it as our highest reality. It’s His goodness that made King David dance, it’s His goodness that the man found in the treasure hidden in a field. It’s His goodness that brings us to repentance. It’s His goodness that fills our mouths with laughter. It’s His goodness that makes us dance. It’s His goodness that’s been the song of heaven, that they’re waiting on us to join in on.

The other night I went to a house church and the message given was focused on the friendship between David and Jonathan starting at 1 Samuel 20, it really had an impact on me and my outlook for this upcoming year–the message totally rocked my world (Shout out to Brigade!). The Lord has been speaking to me a lot about what love looks like and I believe that this story truly encompasses that. My first year of college has been about establishing identity, learning about family, and knowing God’s heart. However, what encompasses everything that I’m learning is that LOVE is vulnerable.

Letting someone really love you is letting yourself be vulnerable. I’ve learned that love actually means that someone is committed to me to tell me the truth–despite if it hurts–but at the same time, be able to say, “Hey, it’s OK.”

If you look at the story in 1 Samuel, David was in some serious trouble, I mean his best friend’s Dad wanted to kill him! But you see, David had to be vulnerable and honest to tell his best friend what was going on, he took that chance because he trusted in the Lord. I mean, Johnathan could have not believed David and could have left him to die. But, Johnathan had made a covenant with David and he wasn’t going to let him down. That’s what happens when you’re vulnerable, you’re allowing someone to speak life into you, to speak truth, and to give love. Johnathan wept with David, David trusted Johnathan with his life, and though Johnathan was in line for King, he had so much faith in David and the Lord, that he said “You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you” ( 1 Samuel 23:17). That’s love, to be able to say I will stand by you, because I believe in you so much and I know the destiny you have and I want you to go farther than I could ever go.

I am beginning to witness this in the spiritual family that we’ve been cultivating, by creating this culture of honor of love and respect. It’s been so scary to let all my walls go and expose myself in way that makes me feel like I’m nothing. But that’s when people like David and Johnathan come in, people to tell me the truth and to love on me. I’ve always had that fear that when I let my whole guard people wouldn’t love me anymore. I mean it’s a pride issue, I’m worried of how I will be perceived, how will people look at me, what reaction will they have? But that’s the Enemy telling me that I’m not worthy to be loved with all my baggage and that’s a LIE. Even though I’ve encountered this love with people, it’s only because it existed with a new relationship with Papa God.

You see, God is that comforter too. Yes, He wants us to have a relationship with others like David and Johnathan, but He desires that kind of relationship with us too! I always felt so awkward to talk to God, I mean…He already knew what I was thinking so was it necessary to talk about it–you know OUT LOUD? I’ve had so much freedom when crying out to God and literally saying, “You know what God, I can’t do this.” In my weakness, He is my strength, all I have to literally do is just give it up to Him, it’s so simple, but it’s the act to be vulnerable which makes it absolutely worth it. We reap more than what we sow. For a long time, God has been telling me that whatever I’m looking for…it’s always been Him and Him alone. But I need to take that big step and say, “Yeah, God. I just want You.” You see He’s already made promises to us, like David and Jonathan made a promise to each other; however, it takes a heart like David to say “Hey, I need you.” It’s our part to be vulnerable, to be honest, to let down our walls, and say “Hey, I need you.” God contends for us, intercedes, and loves us every minute, I mean for all of me He’s giving me all of Him, ALL. It takes that one step to be completely willing to give everything, to surrender, even if it’s scary, and even though you don’t know how to, it’s ok, because we’re not meant to do it alone. David had the Lord, I mean can’t you imagine how he must have felt trying to tell Johnathan the situation. Nervous, scared, confused, but he trusted in the plan that God had, the destiny he had for his life, and that’s all that matters. That’s love and it’s powerful beyond words.

In the end, Papa is what we need. When we encounter the love of the Father, we can be vulnerable to encounter that love with others and to give that love to others. The question then becomes not the matter of who will love me or who will accept me–the ME with all the baggage–but am I willing to be vulnerable and let go and trust in He who has created me, He who has already paid the price, He who knows my worth, He who will never leave, and He whose love is stronger than death

A new year, a new story, a new season of life. I must say, that my first year of college at UCSD (aka last year) was the craziest and best year of my life so far. It was full of firsts. The first time stepping out and praying for the injured and sick, first time seeing healings with my own eyes, first time experiencing what it means to “be the church”, first time having real and “rawthentic” relationships with spiritual family, and the first time truly encountering the never ending, ever pursuing, and unconditional love of the Father. It was a year full of breakthroughs—not just on campus, but in my own personal life—as walls broke down and we were all taken to new levels of His love and His presence. I found myself dumbfounded (and still do from time to time) that I was able to be where I was in such a time as this, to experience and see what God was doing all around.

I remember a word that my good friend Marc gave to my freshmen class last year. He talked about 2Kings 2 where Elisha asks for a double portion of what the prophet Elijah had to be upon him. Then when Elijah got taken up to heaven, Elisha retrieved the mantle of Elijah, thus receiving his double portion. Throughout his ministry, Elisha proceeded to do twice as many miracles of healings and victories than Elijah did. Marc (who was a 2nd year at the time), told our class that the mantle was waiting for us, and that we should grab a hold of it to receive our blessing of a double portion from those before us who have won victories and sown years and years of prayer for our campus. Because of their breakthroughs, we were able to see things that they never saw themselves.

Now, we say the same to you. May our breakthroughs be your breakthroughs. Our testimonies, your testimonies. Our ceiling, your floor. And the beauty of it is that all you have to do is receive it.  I’m convinced without a shadow of a doubt that God is going to do even crazier things this year and the years to come. People get ready!

Look, what I have with God, the relationship I have, is nothing more nor nothing less than what someone else has. It’s just DIFFERENT & UNIQUE—just like He made me to be, different and unique. It’s SPECIAL.

Just think about it. You can see in your own life that there are a few people you consider to have special and close relationships with; don’t you cherish those relationships? Don’t you think that you and your closest friends fit because you guys are unique and mesh together? Don’t you see couples, friendships, and relationships and wish you could have what “they” have—the intimacy, the closeness, the love?

I feel like God is standing right in front of us saying, STOP COMPARING, the thing that you want, need, desire, everything—it’s ME. Jesus is just waiting for us to want to hold his hand. The Father is looking at us with this intense love-gaze, He’s madly in love with us.

A lot of times I find myself comparing who I am to other people. I’ll be honest, I don’t do it sometimes—I do it a lot. I hear the stupid lies telling me, I have to pray more, fast more, manifest more, I’m not good enough, not “holy” enough, or not worthy. THOSE ARE STUPID. But sometimes I let them get to me, which sometimes leads me to believe that I should keep my insecurities inside. That these insecurities should be kept secret, because if I talk about them I’m burdening others, if I talk about them people won’t understand, if I talk about them people would condemn me. THOSE ARE LIES AND THEY’RE STUPID. It’s when we can walk in full-freedom and full-confidence of who we are then this spirit of comparison and competitiveness would be broken.

Stop comparing, if you’re in a relationship or friendship, don’t you want it to be so rare that it’s different from everyone else? We have this fundamental desire to be special, to be needed, to be wanted, and to be ACCEPTED. Guess what? There’s a God who desires to give you all that and MORE. Your creator made you, you’re his original masterpiece, made to give Him specific joy and pleasure that only you can give Him! Don’t you see that the way we compare and compete with one another is a disgrace? It’s honestly displeasing God, it’s like saying what you’ve given me and what you want to give me isn’t good enough.

There’s no race to win His heart, you ALREADY have it. I can’t even imagine and fathom this simple fact. STOP COMPARING. Look to the Father and ask Him what does your relationship mean to Him….I guarantee you that you won’t be disappointed. Because, what you have, the relationship that you’ve cultivated and made with Him is special, so distinct, so beautiful, that no other can come close.

Here’s what ran through my mind as I ate my dinner in 3 minutes at 8:45:

Crutches. I have crutches.

You know what I always tell people when I’m going to ask to pray for them? I usually ask what happened to them and they explain but wonder why I even care. I usually say something along the lines of:

“Well, I just noticed you have crutches, and crutches suck. I saw your bandage/boot/cast and thought, that must hurt. Pain sucks, and I just wanted to see you better.”

Not that I have some neatly rehearsed lines, but I do mean that when I say it. I think about how their armpits must be sore from crutching sometimes. I don’t like crutches. But I realized, while I chewed my pizza, that I have crutches. My crutches are things that I run to instead of running to God. The lesser pleasures that I replace God with. Things like Facebook, Tumblr, the internet, my friends, sleeping, reading about Jesus without connecting with him, all that stuff that is a replacement. These are my crutches, they bruise my armpits and keep the pressure off my pain, but don’t make me well. I feel like Jesus says, Crutches suck. Pain sucks. I want to see you better.

You know the one thing that will keep a person from getting better? The one thing that will every single time keep a person from getting healed? It is when they say, “It’s okay, I’m already getting better, I’ll be fine on my own”, trusting the strength of their own ability to recover.

Right now I am wondering if I crutching along and telling the Lord, “You know, God, you’re really nice but I don’t really need it right now. I’m totally fine on my own, I mean I’m already getting better. The pain isn’t THAT bad (but you know it really is).” And then I crutch away and refuse to let him heal me.

God, take my crutches. I want to walk with you.

Jesus comes to live through us, not because of revelation but because of relationship – salvation is a relational experience more so than a conceptual lesson because it happens in real life.

So how can we as Christians – or “little Christs” – lead others to Jesus without establishing and cultivating a meaningful relationship with others? the relationship sets the soil for knowledge to enrich and grow understanding and through it the true teaching and reflection of the kingdom of God is understood. We must show and not explain God’s qualities for someone to truly “get it”.

First you must pierce the heart if you hope to reach the brain. And its ordered precisely so for a reason.

So who penetrates the heart – friend or teacher? Whose words carry the greater power? When you put the teacher hat on, the dynamic of your interpersonal relationships also changes; your relationship with others becomes centered on knowledge rather than intimacy. How easy is it to be intimate with a teacher? In the same way, for others to see Christ in us, we must become an experiential reflection of his heart and character.

One may gain an intrinsic insight into love through discussion, but it is deeply understood when it is experienced. For this reason, loving is central to the two greatest commandments because it becomes the conduit by which we enjoy and connect to the father’s heart while also connecting others to Him.

Before we knew Him, we called Jesus teacher, but He called us beloved! Now we understand that He was always the lover of our soul – our bridegroom.

Relationship is central to the love that surpasses all knowledge. The kingdom is a fellowship, rather than a classroom understood relationally, not cognitively.