But it's my space...

Well, no doubt I ruffled but a few feathers about what I think of myspace. Let me clarify and communicate in more depth as to what I am saying.

1) Is myspace the devil or sin? NO. Myspace is not the devil. Neither do I believe that it is a sin to have a myspace. What I do believe is that what you post on your myspace is subject to the scrutiny of the Bible. (and occasionally your pastor) And if you are professing to be a Christian then you should, without question, make that obvious in your "space". I do not think that you need to put crosses and pictures of the Passion movie all over your space. But you should make a concerted effort to filter what is said and what you say on your space.

(Note: I did not and will never go deliberately looking for flaws or mistakes in anyone's life. If I happen upon them I will overlook them, however in certain instances [like this one] the Holy Spirit may impress something upon my heart that needs to be mentioned in a message. The purpose is to bring holiness, purity and God's grace to areas where they are lacking. Where sin abounds grace much more abounds.)

2) Can I have a myspace and be a Christian? I certainly hope so! Let us not be drawn away or enticed to be something we are not. Let's be pure and let's show our generation that it's possible to remain pure and relevant (read: cool) in the midst of this crooked and perverse world.

3) Do you hate myspace? No. What I do not like is the facade of "friendship" it's purveying. Part of friendship is living life together, going and doing things, hanging out, etc. Talking online should only be a minimal part of a friendship. You should hang out face to face, it's what God desires of us and what He desires our relationships to be like.

I hope that this helps clear the air. If you have a myspace and it's questionable or you don't know if it's questionable ask yourself this question - if Pastor Casey or Paige were with me, would I have wrote that? Or put that picture up? Or if you're more spiritual - since the Holy Spirit dwells inside of me and is capable of being grieved, am I grieving (or offending) the Holy Spirit of God?

Real simple. Just how we like it at GC. And just how God intended life: lead the way, speak the truth, live life.

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PS If you have a question make a comment and I will answer it. If you have a photo from GC or of people from GC, email it and I will put it in the gallery.

PPS I did quote red vines + mr. pibb = crazy delish. It wasn't an original, but nonetheless brilliantly executed.

Magnification

Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together. Ps. 34:3

Did you ever get a magnifying glass, as a free gift? The purpose of said magnifying glass is to enlarge or amplify an object of your choice. For example, you could for instance hold your magnifying glass over an ant and in the direct path of the sun and allow that glass to amplify/ intensify the suns power and fry said ant. (You would only do this if you were a "sick-o", mind you). Or perhaps you wanted to see some fine print somewhere in a book or magazine, you need only hold that magnifying glass over the text and adjust it to the desired height so that you can read said fine print.

Fasting is like a magnifying glass. It intensifies and enlarges and amplifies our spirit (and on the bad side our flesh) so that we can detoxify ourselves. It allows us to see the "fine print" of the flesh. So that we can stop being ruled by King Stomach and instead place our time and focus directly on the Lord Jesus. The psalmist encourages us to do "this" together. To pray together, to fast together, to exalt His name together.

For the next 16 or so days join with us, The City Church/ GC, as we fast, pray, give and exalt His name together. You can fast (or give up, in non-christianese) many things. For me, I am doing a combo of many different fasts. I am totally fasting sugar (that's added sugar, so no soda, juice, white bread, etc) for the whole time as well as fasting entertainment (TV, movies, video games, etc.) and then two days a week I am totally liquid. That means I just get water. :( The idea behind this whole thing is found in Mark 9:29 which says "This kind comes out by nothing but prayer and fasting". We are believing that things are going to come out. Good things, breakthrough, healing, finances, intimacy with the Holy Spirit, our Generation, our city; all those things would come out!

If you have chose to fast with us, would you do me a favor and drop me a comment and let me know what you are fasting and praying for, briefly. So that we can join with you?

Let US exalt His name together!

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The New Year

It is official. The new year (2006 for those who just joined us via time-traveling Delorians, see Back to the Future for more info) has begun. Call it a year of more, call it a year of fulfillment or a year of prosperity; whatever you want to call it, it's still going to be a great year!

It's going to be a great year and I am really excited, so excited in fact I am going to offer up some prophecies for the new year!
What do you think about that? Ha. Well, here we go:

#1: Pastor Paige will welcome in 2006 and "technology" by having her own blog!
#2: Scott Fitzpatrick will get a haircut...by a professional.
#3: USC will win the college football championships and nobody in GC will care.
#4: Jake McKinney will grow 3 inches.
#5: The H20 Bar will actually be a "bar" and not a table with a drape over it.
#6: Emilie Schneider, traveler extraordinaire, will perform "Singin' in the Rain" (the entire musical) while Nic (her brother) will make the sounds of instruments using only a paper clip, shampoo and a cat. All this will take place at GC, and will signal the End of the World.
#7: Governor Schwarzenegger, will visit GC and lose an arm wrestling match with Jamie Medina. And everyone will call him a "girly man", and Jamie will be lauded as the girl who beat the girly man.
#8: As the magic of robotics progresses, Ben Kropatch will undergo test surgery to have the first robotic arm installed so that he can play the guitar for 1000 hours straight and never get tired.
#9: GC Camp will include the first ever GC Mud Bowl! (Which, to the chagrin of many, turns out to be just a bowl made out of clay.)
#10: That freaky Golden Owl, that we "give" away as the prize for the team that wins the most fake points at GC Camp, will be made the California State Bird replacing the CA Condor. And proving once and for all, that Owls just want to have fun.
#11: GC3 will grow to 150 college students.
And the final prophecy/ prediction is....
#12: GC will reach 300 and never look back, showing San Diego and SoCal that Jesus Christ is Lord to the Glory of God the Father!

Well I hope everyone of those come true (esp. #10). I will see you Thursday at Willow Court for a GC Breakout!

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