Its Been a while folks...

Been a few months since my last post, my aplogies to all my faithful readers out there(thatd be my mom).

Ill try to update fairly frequently now. Life is a little less complicated now that school is winding down and the summer is about to begin.

Heres a question Id like you to think about today:

Sam Childers is an American who loves Jesus, and has been in southern Sudan and in Northern Uganda for over 11 years rescuing children who have been abducted by the LRA and its leader Joseph Kony. He believes God has called him to rescue the "child soldiers" and ultimately kill Joseph Kony. Is this Biblical? What do you think?

Brandon Heath- "No Not One"

No better word than from your lips
No perfect life than what you lived
No greater gift, no not one

No brighter star has ever shined
No better hope for all mankind
No higher mind, no not one

No one has ever known
This kind of love you’ve shown

There has never been a greater love
Than your son
No. Not one
And there’ll never be a name above
No, Not one
With his life you have forgiven us
Hope has come
Hope has come
And there will never be a greater love
No, Not one

No image true or sweeter frame
No simple word can match your name
No greater fame
No not one

No one has ever seen
The depth of your majesty

Chorus

No greater call
You gave us all a reason to live
No greater love
You gave us all a reason to give
No greater life
You gave us all a reason to shine
No greater love
Forever mine

Beautiful Song!

Love

And this is Love:

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Remember this today, Valentines Day

Cave diving..

is awesome. Funnest thing I've done in ages.

Keith Green express

So I just want to give a shout out to Keith Green. His music is inspiring. He is flat out awesome. If you've never heard his story read this:

It will seriously change your life!

Please keep praying for our brothers in Haiti! Lord We believe Haiti will be restored, and will be a country that seeks you only!

Oh by the way Congrats to the New Orleans Saints! What a great victory for a great city!

Be Blessed

Passive minds....

So I'm reading this book right now called "Battlefield of the Mind" By Joyce Meyer.

Excellent book, the Lord has really been revealing allot of good stuff to me through it. So I thought I'd pass some of this knowledge along to you!

So this verse Romans 12:2 says "Do not be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that by testing you may be able to discern what the will of God is, what is good, acceptable and perfect."

I really love this verse, because it doesn't give us as Christians an excuse to live like the world. We are to be transformed! We are not to conform. Our world says, "be lazy, do it when you want to. Go ahead smoke that. Drink that. Watch that. It wont hurt you! What a lie this is. A lie I was caught up in for a long time! For those of you that know me, you know that I am anything but a passive person. So when I started reading this chapter I didn't really expect to get anything out of it. But oh how I was wrong.

Joyce in the chapter goes on to talk about how being passive, doesn't just necessarily mean not voicing your opinion it also goes hand in hand with laziness! She uses the example of physical exercise, and how she had to discipline her self to want to do it. She didn't start out wanting to exercise, she hated the idea. But she disciplined her self, and gradually the workouts became allot easier. I think allot of times we as Christians can get stuck in the same kind of passive rut. But when we do make the decision to change, the Lord will meet us and help us!!

Having the right frame of mind when trying to overcome passivity is essential. The most important thing! Speak out the word of God! Tell yourself, I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength! It wont be easy, but it can be done. Be positive! Think positively!

I cant even begin to do this book justice, so please read it for your self! Trust me the Lord will speak to you through it!

I also love this verse:

Colossians 3:1-2 "If then you have been raised with Christ( to a new life), aim and seek the treasures that are above, Where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God. And set your minds and keep them set on what is above, not on the things that are in the earth."

So if you want to be set free from passivity, you need to begin to live the life Jesus has given us!

Set your mind on things that are above!

I think there are allot of people who want to live courageously for Christ. But are to passive to do so! If we really want the life Jesus has given us we must be active, not passive. We have to choose right thinking, not negative thinking! Live the life Christ has provided you to the fullest, I'm pretty sure Jesus doesn't want his bride to only be half interested in him. NO!

Be passionate for Christ! Love others! Don't be passive!

Remember: "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength"

Where in the world.....

If Jesus was living on Earth today where do you think he would be?

Haiti?

Afghnistan?

The West Bank?

With the underground church in China?

Cambodia?

Central Africa?

Or on the United States Senate floor?

Haiti follow up

Just so everyone knows, my dad didn't end up going to Haiti. His flights were canceled ):

But JMM is planning a trip for sometime in February, so I will update on that when it happens! Please continue to pray for the people in Haiti. And if possible donate to the Red Cross (link on top right corner).

This week was long and cold. Its been snowing on and off for the past 3-4 days.

Ive been praying and seeking the Lord lately and He has shown me several awesome verses:

Matthew 6:26

1 Peter 5:6-8

Both verses are seemingly talking about not being anxious, and to cast all of our cares onto him!

Something we all need to remember daily!

I also heard this quote this morning at church:

"Preach the gospel at all times....when necessary use words"

-Thomas Aquinas

Very interesting! Show people Gods loves by acting it out! Be passionate!! Love people despite their faults, because we are all sinners too! Praise God we are redeemed through Grace!!

Be Blessed!

Haiti....

My Dad is going to Haiti tomorrow (Monday 25th) please please please be praying for him!! Hes going down wiht a team from JMM, and they are going to go to an orphanage/hospital Hand of Hope has built down there. The plan is going to be interviewing people on the ground, and trying to capture the overall scene thats playing out right now. I begged him to let me go, but im not ):

I might have to stow away in his luggage....

Anyways please keep the people in Haiti in your prayers!!! Pray that my Dad and the team he is going with, dont encounter any resistance, and that everything goes smoothely!! Thanks!!! I'll definetly post pictures of what he saw as soon as he gets back. Thanks!!!

Profile of the....

Im going to start something, it might ruffle some feathers. But thats the point right? These are taken from a chapter in "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan.

Profile of the Lukewarm-

Lukewarm people attend church regularly. It is what is expected of them, what they believe "good Christians" do, so they go.

Tell me what you think....

Mhmhmmm

Wow long week! God is SO Good!

So I was able to sign up for all the classes that I still need to take in order to fulfill my GE req's. Pretty stinking awesome considering I did it the day before classes closed for the Spring Semester! So I start Sociology tomorrow, American Lit. on Wednesday and Earth Science next Monday night. And I'm still praying about possibly taking Arabic too!

Hey while I'm thinking about it, I put up this cool "Donate to Haiti" app on the top right corner of the Blog. I really urge you guys to consider this! The people in Haiti need our help! What they really need, is Jesus! If you cant donate, PRAY. Pray that the people cry out to the Lord!

I hope everyone has a great week and in honor of the great MLK I'm gunna share this quote with yeah:

"I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word"

Powerful.

WHat the Heck just Happened??

WOW what a week! Have you ever had a week/month/year, when you look back and feel like it lasted 10 years?!!

Well I just did.

For those of you that don't already know, I am back in St. Louis. Surprised? So am I!

So let me tell you what happened...

A week ago Monday(January 4th) I arrived in Garden Valley Texas, prepared to start my year at the Teen Mania Honor Academy. Almost instantly upon arrival I didn't feel a peace about being there. Obviously I was nervous/anxious, but it was a different feeling, it was something deeper. So for the first few days I tried to work through the nervousness, and come to grips with the fact that I was going to be at the HA for the next year. By Thursday i felt a lot better. I had been praying and asking the Lord for confirmation about me being there, and i thought I had it, but I wasn't really sure. I went through several interviews, did well, apparently i impressed the right people. But something still didn't feel right. I wasn't at peace. And i didn't understand why.

Saturday was pretty much a free day, and our core (group of guys i was rooming with) decided to go into town, grab some real food (not cafeteria food) and get to know each other. All in all Saturday I started to feel more and more at peace. But not completely. Sunday morning I woke up, and didn't feel nervous or anxious, and I took this as a sign form the Lord, that this is where I was supposed to be.

Sunday night we had a session, the director of the Honor Academy Mr. Dave Hasz spoke about our commitment and what we were committing too.

Now by this point(Sunday night) we weren't considered "Interns" we hadn't been through the "commitment ceremony", which was going to take place on Tuesday( Jan. 12th). At this commitment ceremony, we were going to be committing to all the rules and provisions the HA had been rolling out to us over the previous week.

During the whole session, something in my heart wasn't right. Wasn't at peace. Honestly I didn't know what that was. After the session I called my home, and talked to my dad for a long time about what I had just been told during the session. He gave me some incredible advice he said " Son you need to know that you that you know, that this is where the LORD is calling you to be".

That floored me. Had I asked the Lord? I didn't know. Mistake.

After a pretty much sleepless night, I woke up restless and not feeling at peace about anything. We had an early quite time on Monday, And I just asked the Lord while I was praying if this is where He needed me to be. Sometimes its really hard to hear the Lords voice, but while I was praying I heard Him say very clearly: "John, you came to the Honor Academy out of emotion and not because it was where I wanted you to go".

Wow. Floored again!

Then everything just started making sense! Most of you that know me, know that I went on a life changing trip to Uganda this past summer. And when I came back I was pretty fired up for the Lord, and I wanted to be anywhere he was. So i just assumed that place was the Honor Academy. And I made the decison to go in January, without really seeking the Lord about it. Not a good idea.

So, for the rest of the day I prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed and prayed. I asked the Lord very specific questions such as: Lord I need to feel a peace in my heart that the Honor Academy is where you want me to be"that peace never came. So then I'd ask " OK, If you need me to return home I have to feel a peace about that" instantly Peace overwhelmed me.

So then I asked what i was supposed to do, if I returned home, and the Lord once again spoke to me so clearly I can still hear his voice "John, finish your degree so I can send you out to the nations".

Wow

So at this point in my day I'm pretty floored with everything the Lord had been speaking to me. So I call home again, told them everything the Lord had been revealing to me, and they were all floored too! (In a good way). So I made the decision to leave the HA, and return home. And ill tell you what, the Lord has just continued to confirm things to me, letting me know that I made the right decision. That I am now walking in acordance to his will. I knew making this decision was going to be extremely difficult for some people to understand, and quite embarrassing for me! But in my heart I knew that I knew that I knew, that leaving and finishing my degree is exactly what the Lord is calling me to do with my life right now.

If anyone has any questions, or is skeptical of my decision to leave the Honor Academy, please leave me a comment or email me at jmpipes@mac.com

A final thank you to everyone who was and still is praying for me!!

Love you All

And so it begins...

Well I'm here at the Honor Academy, its an adventure to say the least!! I really need a lot of prayer guys. Its very physically, emotionally, and mentally demanding. Your prayers are greatly appreciated!! I have yet to find out where I will be working, so please pray that the Lord plugs me into the right area of the ministry. I wont be able to update very often during the next few weeks ):

But i will as often as possible! The weather is freezing, 9 degrees right now. Not fun. Ive been waking up, at 5:30 everyday to go work out/run. Which is so much fun(sarcasm). And to top it off Ive been sitting in sessions all day long, learning what ill be doing during my Honor Academy year! I did find out that ill be receiving 25 credit hours through Sterling University, which is a total blessing. So when i leave the HA ill be considered a junior! Exciting!!

I really hope everyone is doing well. Family i miss you all!

Prov 3:5-6

-John

Some of my favorite albums of 2009

So here is what I listened to in 2009 in no specific order:

Matt Kearney, "City of Black and White"

Christ Tomlin, "Arriving" and "Hello Love"

David Crowder Band, "Church Music"

Jimmy Needham, "Not Without Love"

Jon Foreman, "Limbs and Branches" (fav album of 09)

Lecrae, "Rebel"

Phil Wickam, "Cannons"

Skillet, "Awake

Steben Curtis Chapman, "Beauty Will Rise"

Switchfoot, "Hello Hurricane"

Tenth Avenue North, "Over and Underneath"

Trip Lee, "20/20"

Sho Baraka, "Turn My Life Up"