bill faris

"I believe the genius of the Jesus People movement was the empowerment of everyday people to take the ministry of Jesus to everyday places - from school campuses to coffeehouses. From private homes to rock concerts. From streetcorners to city parks. "Jesus Freaks" were always looking for opportunities to take the gospel to the places and environments where the people of their generation lived their daily lives. The whole world was their mission field . . ."

learn from myself.

i've decided to go back and read the "book" i wrote almost two years ago. i want to see how my heart has changed. i want to see how my writing style has changed. and i want to be reminded of the truths the Lord used so vibrantly at that time in my life to call me to trust Him.

what a faithful God we serve. a God WELL WORTH serving.

Psalm 48:1 . . . Great is the Lord, and most worthy of praise.




"Multifaceted. Adj. Having many faces or aspects.
Is that a word you use or hear used to describe the Lord? Often? It should be.
I habitually find myself forgetting how comprehensive my God is. And He is.
It is so easy to place our loving God in a box, is it not? It’s so easy to give Him limitations based off of our limited minds."
-bdtb, chapter 1.


"Our relationships with the Lord are different . . . This doesn’t change who our God is, but only how we experience Him. You may have known him well, ever since your childhood fifty years ago. But I was saved as a child and I have only truly known Him and experienced a relationship with Him for the past 4-5 years.
He may be a Father to you, because yours isn’t around. He may be your best friend because you struggle socially. He could be someone whose existence you struggle to admit to at times. A relationship with Him could be a chore, or something your parents, friends, or spouse has pushed, or even forced upon you.
Does this change who He is? No. We each experience a different relationship with Him. We all see different sides of Him, different characteristics.
Once again, this is not to say our God changes.
Malachi 3:6 . . . “For I am the Lord, I do not change.”
Instead, He has the power to be a Father to the fatherless [Psalm 68:5], a closer Friend than a brother [Proverbs 18:24], and a righteous Judge [2 Timothy 4:8]. He is still God." "
-bdtb, chapter 1.


"Control says God can’t.
Expectations limit His power."
-bdtb, chapter 1.


"There is a vastness to our Savior which is to be taken a hold of. A mystery, a wonder, which we are to embrace."
-bdtb, chapter 1


"Letting go of the control you think you have over your life is what you’re doing when you accept Christ. When you “become a Christian” are you not giving your life over to Him? Does it not mean you are no longer your own?
Giving up control, unfortunately, as we well know, doesn’t just happen when we say that precious prayer. Instead, surrender to the Lord is a lifelong, difficult, every-moment-of-every-day process which we will struggle with until the day we see Jesus face to face.
That does not mean we should give up. This battle is one we must choose to fight. If we are to love the Father, embrace His multifacetness, and live a life of intimacy with Him, a heart that gives up control is necessary."
-bdtb, chapter 1

the coolest thing i've realized recently.

is this.

God is sovereign. He has a sovereign plan for my future.
but more than than.
HE HAD A SOVEREIGN PLAN FOR MY PAST.

every little, and not so little thing that has happened to me.
every person i have come in contact with in the past, almost 21 years.
every time i've gotten in the car.
every time i've gone to church.
every day i've woken up healthy.
every day i've woken up with a headache.

HE PLANNED IT.

He planned ever word. every motion. every action. every interaction.

He has used each and every moment of my my life for His own glory.

and -i- get to be a part of it.

it's simply a blessing.
simply a joy.
and not so simply changing my life. the way i view Him. the way i view myself.

HE IS USING ME FOR HIS GLORY.
and.
HE HAS USED ME FOR HIS GLORY.



"Beautiful Lord
Awesome and mighty
I'm captured by this love I see
Beautiful Lord
Tender and holy
Your mercy brings me to my knees
It's Your mercy that has made me free
Beautiful Lord." -leeland

the rainbow in my hands.

it's cold. quite brisk. the hot chocolate and watered-down-coffee combination in my cup makes me smile. there's something acoustic playing in the background. i feel the color in my hands. i'm alone. so alone. so content. close your eyes. can you see it?

it's a rainbow.

what inspires you? what makes you want to be who you're going to be?
who inspires you?

nobody told me i couldn't be what i want to be. except me.

sitting there in that spinning chair
fa la la's in my ear
it's not the challenge, it's the fear.

he wants to feel to bomb drop, the earth stop.

don't let the earth stop.
you, stop.

Jesus is creative.
He inspires me.


why do i think of so many different things that will get me where i want to be?
why can't i simply focus on where He has me. growing me. changing me. preparing me.
using me.

i spilled that drink all over myself.
i washed the rainbow down the drain.
i turned the heat on.

things change. so simply.







"we can build through this destruction." -gavin degraw
...feeling like a disaster.

uh-oh.

something big is on it's way.

hahaaa!

i'm going to repeat myself, AGAIN.

"and I find peace when I'm confused.
i find hope when i'm let down.
not in me.
but in You." -switchfoot

i've just got to say, being confused is the BEST place.
YOU are the peace that surpasses all understanding, MY PRINCE of peace.

philippians 1:9-10 . . . and it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.


isaiah 61:1-2 . . . the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies.


philippians 1:27 . . . above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. then, whether i come and see you again or only hear about you, i will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News.


philippians 2:1-5 . . . is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? any comfort from His love? any fellowship together in the Spirit? are your hearts tender and compassionate? then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. you must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.


philippians 2:14-18 . . . do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. hold firmly to the Word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, i will be proud that i did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless. but i will rejoice even if i lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God. and i want all of you to share that joy. yes, you should rejoice, and i will share your joy.


psalm 72:4 . . . help Him to defend the poor, to rescue the children of the needy, and to crush their oppressors.


psalm 72:12-14 . . . He will rescue the poor when they cry to Him; He will help the oppressed, who have no one to defend them. He feels pity for the weak and the needy, and He will rescue them. He will redeem them from oppression and violence, for their lives are precious to Him.


psalm 72:18-19 . . . praise the Lord God, the God of Israel, Who alone does such wonderful things. praise His glorious name forever! let the whole earth be filled with His glory. amen and amen!