Birthdays

Yesterday we celebrated Matt's Birthday, he turned 26. Matt also known as Matt Stafford, or Matthew Crawford, is from Carrollton, GA (like me) We meet within the first couple of weeks of being out here. Matt is a great guy, who loves God, but mistakenly loves Auburn too. I call him Matt Stafford, just to make him mad. He takes my humor really well and that's why we get along so well. I had class lastnight until 9. Chris, Travis, and Matt were eating at Wing Stop, a place we frequent very much. I drove all the way there and forgot my wallet in my book bag. Remembering how my Birthday was different being out here, different by lack of family members, I was hoping we would do something fun. I suggested ice cream and Travis suggested bowling. Matt's response was "both" We found a bowling lane close to the Walmart off of Hulen, and to our luck, they were offering $1 games from 9-close Monday through Thursday. We were in luck. We paid $20 and 4 of us got to bowl 3 games a piece and they got shoes. I wore my Toms, (love um) First game I bowled a 107 and got beat by Chris. I got upset, why? Oh yea I got that competitive thing still going. So the next game, I spared and striked every frame, and bowled a 192. I have not bowled that well since I was a kid. Furthermore, the last game, I bowled left handed, since I left my right arm in the 2nd game. Left handed I came away with a 75. I must admit, that it was really nice, to just get away with friends, and just bowl. So Happy Birthday Stafford, HA HA HA

Chapel

So I have been meaning to tell you all that you can watch or listen or both to our chapel services here at Southwestern. Chapel is every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. If you read this and click on the link. Please take sometime, probably an hour, to watch today's (March 27, 2008) message. It should be ready soon if not NOW. Please watch this message. It was totally amazing.

http://test.swbts.edu/events/chapel_archive.cfm

GOD BLESS

Good Friday

Yesterday was Friday, March 21st to some it was good Friday, to many it was March 22, 2008. For me, it was a day of firsts. My friend Chris Treece and I went down to the stock yards in downtown Fort Worth. The roads are paved with bricks and the streets are lines with stores and restaurants, (they even have bars too) The big thing down there is that everyday they run the cattle through main street, like the old days. We unfortunately missed that part of it. Another main attraction is the train that will carry you for a journey. The train and its horn was no big thing for Chris and I, taking one drives past our dorm every 30-45 minutes. When my family comes to visit, it will be one of the many stops for sure. I must admit, if I were to of grown up in Texas, I may even of worn my cowboy hat, wrangler jeans, buckle and even boots with spurs. Yes, there are many cowboys here ( I didn't see many cowgirls) Chris and I's next trip was to Beautiful Feet. Beautiful Feet is a inner city ministry that a friend of ours is apart of in down town Ft. Worth. It reminded me of my trip to Chicago last year where I was able to visit Jeff Garrett's former church. The church is doing what a lot of churches lack, street ministry. Their doors are open, they serve food and they target God's children. When I was in high school we would go to the streets of downtown Atlanta, and set up a table a serve hot breakfast, coffee, and clothes. We were doing it as a service project, not a witnessing opportunity. Once in college at Catawba we had to volunteer one night a year at the homeless shelter, also service project. Last night it was work for the kingdom of heaven, it being good Friday made it even more special. After a short worship service, we piled up in cars, vans, trucks and headed to the Presbyterian (Something) Homeless Shelter. Their was a group of high school kids from Louisiana in town and they held a worship service for the people. We had teams on the streets, as well as inside the shelter. We took along with us bibles, tracks, hot dogs, but most importantly we took the love of Christ with us. Immediately once we got there, people were everywhere outside, some walking, some talking, some laying, and some drinking. As I gazed upon God's children, my heart was heavy for their many burdens. What got me the most was when we went inside to see some 600 people laying a inch apart from one another on mattresses. We shared the gospel, laughed, joked, but most importantly we offered the greatest gift anyone can receive. I personal did not lead anyone to Christ, I talked to a lot of guys who claimed to follow Christ, and I honestly believe they do. Most of them, were almost say trained to the attempts of talking about them about Christ. I meet a gentleman by the name of Orlando. Orlando was sitting down from me while I was talking to some guys. Once I finished talking with them, Orlando grabbed me with is rough, big hands. He was wearing a flannel jacket, a ski cap, and with big, tired, eyes he said "Pray for me" I said absolutely. I asked his name, He said "Orlando" I said, great to meet you, I am Hefty. His first smile. I sat with him, for fifteen minutes or so and he asked me why I was here, I told him. He asked me where I lived, I told him GA, he said "me too." Orlando grew up in Macon Georgia. I told him that I grew up in Atlanta, and that I was going to bible school, his second smile. Orlando told me that he was wrapped up with the wrong woman, and that she and him had recently split, and he was forced to sleep in there. He works when he can he said, but mostly he hangs out. I grabbed his hands (thank you Africa, for breaking me of my fear of holding a man's hand) I said Orlando I just want to pray a prayer of blessing for you, his third smile. I sat there and I first asked him if he was sure about going to heaven, he said "Yes" I said how, he told me "because Jesus Christ is the son of God, born of a virgin, died on a cross" he even quoted John 3:16. I prayed for Orlando for ten minutes, he just would never let my hands go. I learned alot last night about God, first I learned that his people are living everywhere and in every condition. I learned that homeless people are God's children, they too need to feel love, and they also need encouraging like all Christians. I was humbled, that God would use me, to help deliver the message of salvation. My prayer is for the people that I spoke with, would truly stop and listen, because God is calling.

Tithing

Sunday was the first time that I have tithed in a very long time. First of all I wanted to be honest about that. Being a seminary student you constantly hear about how hard it is to balance school and work, and finances. I totally agree with that. My experience so far on campus, God has been bestowing in his grace. To even think of questioning is dumb, but I do. So there you have it, I am guilty of two sins so far and probably many more. I pray, do I pray enough? No. It says in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. That brings me to my third sin. Being joyful always. I am not trying to make this a confessional I am just trying to figure out what am I thinking. Back to my original thought, praying. I pray, almost everyday, but the word says to pray constantly, when I think of something being constant, the first thing that comes to mind, is breathing. We are constantly breathing, why is praying any different than that. (Guilty) Be joyful always, not even close, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.... WOW. I am sitting here feeling very ashamed. So you asking yourself, why did he title this message "tithing" I remember when I was very obedient in my tithing, I mean its all God's money anyways right? The bible tells us to give 10%, and for me right now, that is a huge number. This is my point that I am trying to get across, why tithing is important. Last week, I sat down and planned out my finances for the next three months. The income that I make at my job, I was going to be able to pay all my bills consistently until May. Once May came, I was going to have to find something to cover like $400.00. So I said to myself, its cool, school will be getting over, and I can find somewhere to work part time. A co-worker even suggested that I cut their grass. So God starting revealing to me how much in control he was. Also, last week and church we had a guy speak to us in our Sunday school class. He spoke about just surrendering everything to God and not worrying about it. So, I did what he told me, I prayed, I sat down and did some forecasting and I prayed again. The next few sentences are purely the work of our Father in Heaven, affirming my call to ministry. Last week around Tuesday I received a check for $600 from the Georgia Baptist Convention. I thought to myself, OK God, I'm sorry, please forgive my doubting. I sat and I cried, and had a hard time going back to work. My heart ached, my body was shaking and all my knees knew how to do was bend. An answered prayer. Sunday I wrote my tithe to my church and didn't think twice about it. Monday, I went to my PO box on campus and I received three envelopes. One was a cc offer (Cabala's, kind of hard to resist) the second was my bank statement, and the third was a letter from GA. I opened it first, cause the return address was for Battlefront Ministries, Inc. from Rome Ga. I have never heard about them, so I opened, thinking I got on a mailing list for being a seminary student from Georgia. It was a post card, and on the front was a picture and a description of their ministry. They specialize in marriage outings and other stuff. I was like, wow maybe someday?!!! I turned over the card and there was a little note from Sam, it read, Aaron, please accept this gift from a donor that requests to be unnamed, I thought, gift? where? I looked back in the envelope only to find a check that was folded. I instantly began to shake my head and just whisper, I hear ya God. I unfolded the check, and to my disbelief again, I began to weep. This unnamed donor from GA, sent me a check for $1000. As I write this my heart screams out to our Lord and humbly accepts his gifts. I have learned so much from being a seminary student, but the things that God is teaching me, no professor could ever compete with that. Knowing that I, this sinner, who was set free from the blood of Jesus Christ, is obediently following after God. That God, is taking care of me every step of the way. That makes me cry and realize, that he is up there, sitting on his throne, loving me. My desire for this blog is for you to see prayer in action, but also that God does answer prayers, so PRAY.

Sunday's at FBC Euless

Sunday's is becoming my favorite day of the week. My connection class at FBC Euless is designed for seminary students. We have an absolutely great class, and my close friends all are apart of it. Today Chris from Alabama taught and he taught on Nehemiah 6. See the cool part, is we have a brief study of what Pastor John is going to preach on in big church. Our class is unique as we are all seminary students, so we dive deeper into the material. I wanted to share a little of church today and also provide a link so you can see what our church is doing for Easter. We are in the book of Nehemiah, a book that is familiar to me, as my home church recently did a series over it. The sermon series is named the "The Power of One" today message was the power of one focus. Little background on Nehemiah is that he was cupbearer to the king, King Artaxeres. Nehemiah prayed a great prayer to God, a prayer that the walls of Jerusalem would be rebuilt. In chapter 2 we see that God does answer his prayer and the King, allows Nehemiah to travel with an armed escort to go to the city. Today's message Pastor John was focusing on distractions that we will face when we surrender to God and live pro-actively for him. The first of the four distractions is an Internal Distraction (5:1-2) Now there was a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers. For there were those who said, "We, our sons and our daughters are many; therefore let us get grain that we may eat and live." We see an outcry of hungry people, they have given up their lively hood, to go now they must pay double, they are forced into part-time slavery, just to get something to eat. What we can learn from this, is when a conflict presents itself, we must act immediately and deal or fix it. (See Acts 6) John used a great illustration here. He talked about a hurdler he watched at one of his sons football practice, the track team was practicing on the track. A hurdler goal is to get to the finish line first, and to be successful at this, you must not brake your stride. You must never take your eyes of the finish line, you must deal with individual obstacles as soon as they arise. The Second distraction was Good verse Great (6:1-4) Good is often the enemy of great. The walls were built, only gates were left off, it could of been done great, but it was only good. John used another example here of a missionary who was very successful at what he did. So successful that a company offered to double his salary if he would come, the missionaries response was, its not that the salary was to small, but the job itself was to small. Do not continue to do good, but get going on doing something GREAT. Remember that God, he will lead us to great things, it is up to us if we respond. The third distraction that we face in our lives is slander (6:5-9) in v.6 we see that you and the Jews are planning to rebel: this was a false and malicious statement that damages are reputation. Once you proclaim Christ, people will try to distract you. In v.6 we also see a personal attack, a fabricated story with great detail. In v.7 a threat to others and how it will be reported to the King. See Proverbs 10:18 He who conceal hatred has lying lips, And he who spreads slander is a fool. Psalm 101:5 Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will destroy; No one who has a haughty look and an arrogant heart will I endure. 1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. Look what I got from this, and yes I sat there in my seat feeling conviction, I am guilty of this, I admitted that to my Lord, and prayed he would forgive me. The fourth and last distraction that John shared with us was a safety and security distraction. (6:10-11) it reads... When I entered the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah, son of Mehetable, who was confined at home, he said, "Let us meet together in the house of God, within the temple, for they are coming to kill you, and they are coming to kill you at night." But I said, "Should a man like me flee? And could one such as I go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in." What I understood this to mean is that if we walk by faith, walk with God, we must do this towards him not in retreat. Should we be safe, or be obedient? When opposition presents itself, do not flea, but stand strong. When you read the book of Nehemiah you will not find pride attached to him. You will find a man who is faithful, obedient, and actively in pursuit of God. SAY YES TO GOD, no to distractions.

I wanted to share a link, on how our church plans to celebrate Easter... Its a short video... Enjoy

http://www.the-substitute.com/

Midnight

It is fastly approaching a very familiar time these days... MIDNIGHT. I just returned from eating downtown at Rasso's with some friends. Rasso's is a Cajun themed restaurant, but I ate a cheeseburger. I had a chance to hang out with a friend I meet the very first night I was in the dorm. His name is James, he's from Oklahoma, he to is pursuing his MDV (Master's of Divinity) There are people in this world that you meet, and you instantly hit it off, and James was one of them. James spent two years in Serbia doing the Journeymen program. Not sure exactly where God is calling James, but I am positive where ever, people will be blessed. (thanks James, for the biscuits you give me in the kitchen) This week has been one of firsts. Tuesday night was my first midterm in seminary. I had my Biblical Hermeneutics test, and I believe I did very well on it. Dr. Pierce gave us a study guide, and I have to admit, I studied it for days. Going in, I have never felt more prepared than I did on Tuesday. For you asking what is Biblical Hermeneutics? It is the study of how to acquire the message of the bible (interpretations) This task is both a science and an art. See I have this class one night a week from 6:15 to 9:00 every Tuesday. My first night in the class, I was pretty much horrified and shocked. Sitting there was the first time a thought of doubt creeped into my tiny little brain. Through prayer and petition to the great one, every class got better and better. One of the things that I am concerned about is my grammar and writing ablitites. (or lack there of) I know I mentioned that I wanted this to inform family and friends of the life of a seminary student, but most importantly I want to practice on transfering my thoughts to paper. So, my plea is that you bear with me at first, and just have fun. My prayer for you whoever is out there reading this, is that you stop and take a deep breathe in and know you are loved.

Welcome

Today is an exciting day today, I have begun my blog that I have talked about doing since my move to Texas. Today is the 7th day of March and I have officially been in Texas now for 61 days. I must admit that my time here has flown by. I am attending Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Forth Worth, Texas. Ever since I stepped foot onto campus, God has truly blessed me. I am living in Fort Worth Hall, the men's dormitory. I have an amazing room mate from South Korea (Tae Hoon Kim) we are both pursuing our Master's of Divinity degrees in International Church Planting. I will dedicate a blog entry to my classes, and will tell specific stories of them. My goal for this blog, is to keep my family and friends informed the best I can about my life in seminary, and how God truly is in control.