Garrett's EPIC Blog

So lately it seems like I've become a magnet for empty gas cans.

Seriously, like every other day there is SOMEONE coming up to me asking for enough gas money "just to get home". I liked it, and I always helped them out until I ran into a guy that needed gas, so I swiped my 76 card and filled him up, only to have him ask/beg/and then yell at me to buy him cigarettes.

After that I got all bitter and angry at the less fortunate people around me.

I know, that's horrible, but I felt cheated, I felt like I was wasting my money on people that were lying to me and that weren't really in need of anything more than a quick buzz from there addictions.

Well tonight I ran into Jimmy.

This was actually me and Jimmy's second time together. I saw him first in Mission Valley about 3 months ago. He said he was a self-employed painter that ran out of gas and just needed enough to get back home in Spring Valley. So I threw him a $20, showed him how to get to my church via pointing, then thought, "DANG I'm generous, how awesome am I?"

Well tonight, I ran into Jimmy again.

He had the same story, but this time I remembered him, and when he said "Sorry sir, but do you have any spare change? I just need enough to get back home." I answered, "Hey Jimmy, actually no, I don't have any this time."

I figured he was lying to me, I figured that he was just scamming people into getting some money, but this time it didn't matter...
this wasn't a coincidence, God had brought Jimmy to me again, and so I was going to bring Him to Jimmy.

He remembered me too actually, he said, "Oh yeah, you're the guy that told me to go to church!"
(Which didn't sound so "generous" and "awesome" anymore, now coming from him)
And so me and Jimmy talked... and talked. He said that he had three children, and that in the past he did some "really bad stuff" (he later told me it was gang related) and so now he can't get a job because of his past, so his family is poor and his children are hungry. He said it was stressful, and his littlest child was 4, and some nights he has to make her go to sleep through tears from an empty stomach.

That broke his heart, he said he can't handle the stress anymore, and that he had to do whatever he could to get money.

My time with Jimmy now was about more than gas money, so I told Jimmy about Jesus, that He loves him and his family, that He knew his stress, He knew his pain, and that He could fix more than his financial problems, He could save his life.

So I put my arm on his shoulder, and we prayed right there in the Rite-Aid parking lot. Me and Jimmy prayed that Jesus would forgive him of his past, save him and his family, and that as he followed and trusted in Him, Jimmy's problems and stresses would come off of his shoulders and into God's hands, and I thanked God for bringing Jimmy to me again so we could both pray together.

Jimmy shook my hand, thanked me and said, "I can't wait to see you again so we can pray more."

And I honestly pray that if Jimmy happens to "run out of gas" again, God will send me his way :)

-Garrett

I learned something powerful tonight, take a look at this word:


ex·cru·ci·at·ing
–adjective
extremely painful; causing intense suffering; unbearably distressing; torturing: an excruciating noise; excruciating pain.
Synonyms:
unbearable, insufferable, unendurable, agonizing.


I stub my toe a lot.

In the morning, I often don't wake up completely for a little while (I like to dream); unless, of course, I stub my toe on my bedroom door.
For me, there is nothing more painful or annoying than stubbing your toe. It happens to me way too often and when it does I freeze up, and all I can think about is my stupid toe.
But to call it excruciating?
Sure it really sucks to stub your toe, but to say that I am under "unendurable, extreme pain?" I don't think so...
Even if I stubbed my toe 30 times in a row everyday for a week straight, I know I'll live,
I guess what I mean is,
No one has ever died from the horrible pain of a stubbed toe.


Tonight I was listening to a sermon and was taught a little bit about this word "excruciating", it comes from the Latin word "Excruciatus", which was a word used for "the pain from the crucified one".
Literally it means, "out of the cross".

Our word for something that is "extremely painful", that causes "intense suffering, unbearable distress; torture" literally comes from the cross of Jesus.

Sometimes I forget what Jesus did for us.

That "For our sake He (God) made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." (2nd Corinthians 5:21)

That Jesus took upon Him, all of my sin, ALL SIN!
He took the penalty that I deserved from the sin that I committed.

For all murderers, He took their sin, and took the penalty of a murderer.
For all adulterers, he took their sin, and took the penalty of an adulterer.
For all lusters and perverts, gluttons and idolaters; He became that sin and took the penalty for it.

That He suffered the excruciating pain of the cross, and I nailed Him to it through my sin,
and through His death and resurrection, I have life.
I am the "righteousness of God."
That through Jesus, I take on HIS righteousness, HIS royalty, HIS power, by the shedding of HIS blood.

And to take it farther,
He didn't fight, He never complained and screamed and cried out that we weren't worth it, that we should die on the cross, not Him, that it was too painful, too horrible, too extreme, and just called the whole thing off, but Hebrews 12:2 tells us that it was "for the JOY that was set before him, He endured the cross".
That Jesus, out of JOY, out of LOVE, endured the excruciating torment and death of the cross, for me and for you.

And we forget...
There is no greater gift than this.
There is no greater story to tell than this.
There is nothing more important than this.
There is no greater love than this.

Thank you Jesus for suffering for me, for dying for me, for rising from death for me, and for bringing new and eternal life to me.
-Garrett

Featuring The Info-Pidocabears!
(Half pig, half dog, half cat, half bear... the Pidocabear! That's right... it's a mathematical mystery...)



That's right! This Sunday night, 6:00pm at EPIC, we are going to be playing Water Ball! Water Ball! Water Ball, Water Ball, YAY! (that now is the official way to say it.)

-Garrett and friends.

I absolutely had nothing to do with this.

In other news, we now have a Flickr account! Again! Anyways, check it out and you will probably see your beautiful mug there eventually. Tag it.

Yesterday, I had a very interesting day.

I was driving down into Mission Valley to go to the Borders by Chevy's to get another one of my BELOVED Moleskine Notebooks...
(I'm quite obsessed with them, and I had recently run out of pages in my last one, so I "NEEDED" to go and spend 15.99 for another notebook.)
But anyways, I can't tell you how many times I have driven down to Mission Valley, WE ALL HAVE, thousands of times.
And for the most part, maybe, we have all seen homeless people down their, with their signs at the street lights, and for the most part, we all stop at the red lights, see them, and then try to look busy until the light turns green.

I was stopped at the light, and there was a big guy that looked awkwardly creepy sitting there on a yellow plastic bucket, with a sign that read, "I Just Want Some Pizza".

I laughed, loudly... then immediately forgot about it, and thought, "I hope they have the red Moleskine notebooks at Borders, those are my favorite, and I can't write my deep and intellectual "Godly" thoughts on them unless they are red, because they look like the cover of "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan, and you know that's awesome..."

So I drove to Borders, went in to find my Moleskine notebook, and as I walked in, I felt God pulling on my heart telling me two things...

1. "Garrett, they're out of the red Moleskine notebooks." (and in fact, they were)

and

2. "Go get that homeless man some pizza!"

So I laughed, thought how hilarious I would look bringing a pizza to that homeless guy, but then grabbed the BLACK Moleskine Notebook, and waited in line to buy it.
But then God seriously like kicked me in the face and said "GET THAT GUY SOME PIZZA!"

So I listened...Which is something that honestly, I am NOT used to doing... and ran out, jumped in my car, and went and bought a Large Pepperoni Pizza.

I raced down the hill, found the homeless guy, prayed for courage, almost threatened God, thinking, "This better stinking go well..." took a deep breathe, and walked up to him.
And what I thought was going to be a simple 30 second "Exchange of Pizza for Jesus Brownie Points", turned into one of the most powerful 45 minutes of my life.

His name is Steve.
And as we both sat there on the corner of that busy intersection, enjoying the pepperoni pizza, he began to open up and tell me his story.

Steve was originally from Washington, he fell in love with a Filipino woman that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. She hated the weather in Washington, so one day they were watching the news and saw that the weather in San Diego was PERFECT, so in 1979, they decided to move down here.
Shortly after they moved to San Diego and got settled, the woman he loved cheated on him, and left him, which absolutely devastated him. Steve told me that he became extremely depressed, and became addicted to "some drugs", which made him lose his job, lose his house, and he'd been homeless ever since.
Steve has diabetes, and his legs are incredibly swollen. He told me that a couple weeks ago, he was able to save up enough to get a hotel for a night, and he could shower and rest. He said that sleeping on a bed felt "weird", and that he couldn't get used to it, even for a night.
So after we ate the pizza, with a couple slices left, I sat (while many people in their cars stopped and stared) and prayed with Steve, and told Him about Jesus.

Steve thanked me, and asked if I was an angel, which I kind of freaked out at the question, but I told him that i was definitely NOT an angel, but I knew that God had told me to hang out with him and bring him some food, which he then laughed a little, and thanked God for the pizza.

My challenge for you is this: All together, the pizza cost $12.00 and that took up 45 minutes of my day.

Can you think of ANYTHING that you can do in that time and with that amount of money that is more meaningful? I can't. I can't think of anything that would make me feel THAT good, that fulfilled, that EXCITED. So it was that simple, and i would pray that you would see how easy this was, how incredible this was, and you, in response, would DO SOMETHING to show your faith by what you DO.



This is Steve. Steve had a Teddy Bear, apparently named "Bobo"... I know, this picture is insanely creepy... He thought it was hilarious.. but I think that's half of the fun. -Garrett

This is an essay that I wrote for my class on "Pneumatology" which deals with the "Holy Spirit".

This might be confusing for you, I don't know. But being completely open and honest with you, "The Holy Spirit" through a good majority of my life has been something that has confused me a little but, scared me a little bit, worried me a little bit. I just read a book which basically listed and commentated on EVERY SINGLE VERSE OF THE BIBLE that spoke of, alluded to, or prophesied the "Holy Spirit". Not that I am some sort of expert on the subject, but my whole life I had just listened to what other people had told me about the power of the Holy Spirit. It honestly has felt like I've been walking back to Christ and restore my sight on things that have been untapped for most of my life. This essay ,for what it's worth, deals with two viewpoints of the Holy Spirit.

1. That the Baptism of Salvation through the empowering of the Holy Spirit (your salvation, your conversion) is the same as being Baptized in the Holy Spirit, there is no second baptism through speaking in tongues through the power of the Holy Spirit.

and the other view or side, that insists that

2. Your baptism of salvation and your baptism in the Holy Spirit are two different things, and that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is one that is described in the book of Acts.

Being even more honest with you, I was all ready to read the requires books, studied the required texts, and then write the required essay KNOWING that I was going to come out and PROVE opinion #1. But I was wrong. Very wrong actually. And can say that through this essay I have read more evidence for this 2nd viewpoint that I now am CONVINCED of. I don't know how helpful this Blog will be, but I was so excited about what I was learning and writing, and I hope that this, as always, helps. -Garrett



"The Holy Spirit"



In my NIV Bible, 1st Corinthians 12:13 says, “For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.” But the thing is, next to the word “by” in that verse, there is a footnote that says, “or [in] ”, so which one is it? By changing that little two-letter word, you change a lot about what Paul was saying about the Holy Spirit in Corinthians. Many Theologians and scholars have debated and studied the Holy Spirit, to argue or favor one another about the use of the Greek word “en” used here to mean either “by” or “in”. In many ways, I feel really inadequate and naive to think that I could make a decision about it’s meaning, but I will state the sides, state the reasons, and state the verses, in an effort to love God with all of my heart, with all my soul, and with all of my mind as I try to study the person of the Holy Spirit, His involvement in our lives, and ultimately, His baptism.

The first group of scholars insists that 1st Corinthians should be translated as “For we were all baptized in one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.” This minor alteration changes the text a great deal, and they say that with “in on Spirit”, that the text is talking about a baptism that is the same as Christ’s baptism of the believer into the Holy Spirit. The argument for this claim is that the Greek word “en” always means “in”, and this is true for the other six cases that compare John’s baptism with water and Jesus’ baptism of the Holy Spirit. But, what we need to see and remember here is that a believer should already be part of the spiritual body of Christ if water baptism is going to be a meaningful testimony. So with this in mind, the baptism into the body cannot be identified with the baptism stated here in 1st Corinthians 12:13. (From Horton, Chapter 9)

Which leads us to the second position of this verse. Many other scholars, along with Stanley M. Horton and the IST, state that 1st Corinthians 12:13 should read, ““For we were all baptized “by” one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.” There are many other places in the Bible where “en” is used with the Holy Spirit to mean “by the Holy Spirit”. Luke 4:1 says, “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led “by” the Spirit in the desert.” Mark 1:12 also confirms emphatically that the Spirit was indeed the agent, as expressed by the translation “by”. It reads, “At once the Spirit sent him out into the desert.” Luke 2:27 says that was are “moved by the Spirit”, and Ephesians 3:5 also says: “revealed by the Spirit.” Though there is still debate, with these verses and more prayer and examination of the whole passage of 1st Corinthians 12, you can see that there is a firm backing for the translation of the Greek “en” to mean “by” to mean that we were baptized “by one Spirit”, to show clearly that The Holy Spirit was the agent of baptism, representing and differentiating between the baptism of conversion, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit presented in the Book of Acts.

Matthew 3:11 says, "I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” Here, John the Baptizer talks first of his baptism of repentance, but then prophecies the coming of Jesus, who will baptize us with the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19 says, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”. Here, Jesus is calling us to make disciples, and with their conversion, baptize in the name of the trinity; “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit”. And finally, we can conclude that “1st Corinthians 12:13 says, “For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.” Meaning that the Holy Spirit’s baptism is for all, and the Holy Spirit baptizes us. It is so important to see the difference between these three baptisms presented in the Bible. John’s Baptism is one of repentance, Jesus’ baptism is one of salvation through the Holy Spirit, but the one presented in 1st Corinthians 12:13 is the Holy Spirit’s baptism, as seen in Acts.

Acts 8:14-17 and 19:1-7 also distinct between the two baptisms of conversion through, and of the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Acts 8:14-17 reads:

“When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.”

Here we see that the people of Jerusalem had already received the baptism of salvation through Jesus, but that they had not yet received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, so they prayed for them to then receive it. Acts 19:1-7 is an amazing story that gives more evidence between the distinctions of these two baptisms:

“While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit." So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you receive?" "John's baptism," they replied. Paul said, "John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus." On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all.”

Here we see that there were twelve men who had not heard of the Holy Spirit, and actually had only received John the Baptizer’s baptism of repentance. So first, they baptize the men in the name of the Lord Jesus, but they don’t stop there! After they baptize the men in a call to salvation, they then lay their hands on them and the Holy Spirit baptizes them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied! Here we can clearly see the difference between the baptism of salvation, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit!

AW Tozer said that, “Without a doubt, the mightiest thought the mind can entertain is the thought of God.” Reading, studying, praying, and being consumed with the power of the Holy Spirit through this class has set fire to my faith as I thirst for wisdom and knowledge in “Pneumatology”. I am so thankful for repentance, for salvation, and I am so in awe of the amazing gift of the Holy Spirit given in Acts, and is now available to us all.