Ronnie Rasmussen

You Got To Risk It, To Get The Biscuit!

A while back I was talking with some junior high guy students... For those of you that have ever worked with junior high guys, I feel your pain. Only kidding, junior high guys are the bomb! So we were talking about the typical things junior high guys love to talk about: sex, girls, & well sex again. One of the students suggested that when it comes to getting girls you have to "Risk it, to get the biscuit". Of course everyone laughed because let's be honest that's hilarious, and if you're not laughing I'm sorry you don't have a sense of humor. I'll be praying for you. I began to think about it & how there could be two ways this could go, either straight to someone being a pervert or it being leveraged for Jesus. Most of us probably didn't choose the high road at first, saying "I'm going to risk it to get the biscuit for Jesus". And you know that's okay, I didn't, we're not perfect. Here's the deal, God began to speak to me about this & how it could be used for the kingdom. Get your seat belts on, here we go. We as "Christians" have to be willing to risk our: lives, popularity status, comfortable Christian lifestyle, jobs, relationships, ect... To get the biscuit: PEOPLE REACHED FOR JESUS! That's what it's all about gang, it's about giving up our selfish ways & desires so that other people can meet Jesus. Here are three questions I started to ask myself...

Am I caring about what people think?

-For those of you that struggle with insecurity this is a big deal, been there done that. We should only care about what God thinks not man. That's straight Galatians 1:10!

What is getting in the way of me & God?

-This could be anything: having sex before marriage with your girlfriend(be a man & treat her right, respect her!), Being obsessed with money, alcoholism, drug addictions, you get the point. Sin separates us from God, That's why there is Jesus & what he did on the cross! Whatever is getting in the way of you reaching a full life in Christ, get rid of it! You have freedom over it! I will use this verse a million times, Galatians 5:10 it never gets old! 

Would I give up EVERYTHING to live for Jesus?

-I'm SO serious about this! Sell your house! Actually give it away! Some of you are thinking would you really? ABSOLUTELY! If it meant someone getting saved or that's what I felt God was leading me to do, I would do it! Doing what God wants is far greater than what we want, & His plan is better than ours! Plain & simple. Let's use the story of the rich young ruler. (Mark 10:17-29) This guy wants to follow Jesus & Jesus straight up says in verse 21, "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." This guy walked away looking like someone just told him his pet dinosaur died. I'm sorry if Jesus was like go sell everything you have, I would do it in a heart beat. Fact of the matter is most of us wouldn't and that kills me. Do you really think your life here on earth is better than what God has for? It's not & if you do I'm sorry & I'm praying you have a true encounter with God.

You got to risk it, to get the biscuit. My translation: We need to be willing to abandon EVERYTHING to live for Jesus & to reach people for Jesus. Isn't that what being a Christian is all about? I Love you all! You're in my prayers!  

Yelling At Non-Christians For Acting Like They're Not A Christian...

So many times I've seen this happening in our churches, especially in youth ministry. "Christians" get mad at non-christians for acting the way they do. Ha! Go figure! How about instead of yelling at them for not acting like Jesus, you tell them about Jesus! Besides you sin too! I sin, you sin, we all sin. Stop putting yourself above other people. It's like pastor's who preach about sexual purity but yet they can't keep it in their pants. HELLO?!

 Matthew 7:3-5 3"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

If "Christians" worried about their own sins & not everybody elses I truly believe that we would see more people running to the church, not from the church. Don't get me wrong nobody is perfect, but if you can't handle a situation where you might fall into sin, then don't put yourself in that situation! What would be your motives in "calling out" somebody's sins who isn't saved...  Here are four questions to help you figure that out...

-Do I want to catch them?

-Am I trying to control them?

-Am I trying to crush them?

-Do I want to cover them?

I would say if you answered yes to any of these questions you probably are doing it to make yourself feel better because of an insecurity. I would reccomend you read THIS!!! Our motives should never be to catch somebody, control anybody, crush them, or to be a cover for them. We should always point them to Jesus! In fact isn't he a professional at saving souls, healing hearts, & changing lives.  

Let's be Christians who: Walk in grace(God gives never-ending grace, shouldn't we?), Love like Jesus loves, & live passionately for him! Examine your heart, find your struggles & overcome them through Chrsit. Kill your sin! Love you all!

Religion Is Like A Diaper Filled With Burnt Indian Food.

In fact pharisees were about religion & last time I checked Jesus wasn't the pharisee's biggest fan. Jesus is about a true authentic relationship where there is no condemnation, no hate, just love. If I could sum up what Jesus is all about in one word it would simply be love. Religion can't save you(sorry to disappoint) but Jesus can. It's sad to think that Christianity is suppose to be about being like Christ but we get caught up in the religious crap that doesn't work! Let's see what Jesus says about religious people... Matthew 23 has some awesome example!

 Matthew 23:13 say's that because of the religious life the pharisees were living they shut the kingdom of Heaven in people's faces & they aren't going to enter. Sucks for them! I don't know about you but I don't want to be like the pharisees.

Matthew 23:15 Jesus calls the religious hypocrites & sons of hell! Ouch!

Matthew 23:33 He hits it out of the park with this one! He calls them a brood of vipers!

Let's strive to be about Jesus not religion! The more ministries I observe that are just straight Jesus there are so many more lives being saved & hearts being changed. In other words God is doing HUGE things when it's Jesus centered! I look at the lives of the disciples & they were all about Jesus. Look at Peter at the end of Acts 2 he preached about Jesus' story & 3000 people were saved! That gets me SO jacked! So I leave you with this question... If Jesus hungout at your ministry would he be calling you & your leadership the things he called the religious in Matthew 23?

Love you all! Religion sucks! Shaba!   

Greatest Story Ever.

True Love by Phil Wickham from Steve V on Vimeo.

Yard Gnomes & Narwhals.

They are stupid. Now that I got your attention...

2 Corinthians 10:5 says 5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

I'm absolutely crazy about this verse & it has been rocking my world! There are two main things I take from it.

1) I need to know what God's word says! 

-So when the enemy is trying to attack me with lies of who I am, pain from past relationships, sins that have been forgiven, & every other piece of garbage he throws at me as a believer, I can speak scriptures over my life that don't line up with what God says! Satan runs from the word of God! Look at Jesus when he was tempted by satan himself, he always responded with scripture.

-Meditate on scripture

-Ask God to reveal something new to you before you read.

-Memorize it, I always remember growing up in a Christian home & my parents always stressing the importance of memorizing scripture. I used to think it was annoying, now I thank God they made me spend time everyday.

2) Just like it says, every thought needs to line up with the word!

-This is huge for my life! I believe when we focus our thoughts on God we have incredible victory over the sin in our life!

-Pray for God to take your thoughts.

-Beg God to open up Heaven on your life & that you would walk, talk, & act out of the Spirit.

Stay Classy, Love you all! Kill your sin.

01 Awakening

 

Do You Need Heart Surgery?

Psalm 51:10-12  10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

This has been my prayer the past few days for my life & the lives of those around me. That I would walk in purity as a man of God, that I would always walk/act out of the spirit & not the flesh, that God would continue to unleash his spirit on my life in an incredibe way, & that he would be my joy. These verses freakin pump me up! When I read these verse I feel like I could do 5 triathlons & wrestle a bear(and win of course) all in one day! It's so important as men & woman of God to walk in purity & not be involved in sexual sin. In 1 Corinthians 6:18 Paul tells us to flee from sexual sin, I know this is a HUGE issue for most people(grade school, junior high, high school, college, EVERYONE) I heard a pastor say that 99% of men have struggled with sexual sin at one point in their life, the other 1% struggle with lying! I will rip you apart inside, it will haunt you. Is one night of sex(out of marriage) worth a lifetime of pain & hurt? No, absolutely not! There is hope to be free from these struggles, that freedom is in Jesus. (Romans 8:2) It's interesting that it says in verse 18 "all other sins man commits are outside his body" I think it's important to notice that it's a heart issue here. In Psalm 51 at the end of that chapter David begins to say "You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings." He is saying this because it's not about sacrificing a goat or bull its about the heart. God wants your heart more than anything else! Give it to him & let him do heart surgery on you! Get accountability, beg God to change your heart. That's my prayer for you! Love you all! Be Blessed!

Your Love Never Fails.

This song has just been speaking to me like no other the past few days. I can't stop listening to it. It's such an incredible reminder of how good God's love is. Be blessed, know that he loves you!

1 Corinthians 13

Something Better Than The Mullet?

Have you ever been tired of the life you're living? Feeling like you're spinning your tires? or like you're hitting a wall that you can't get through? I know I have & it sucks but guess what... It doesn't have to be that way & God doesn't want it to be that way! He is calling you to live a life of excellence! You're probably wondering why the title is "Something Better Than The Mullet?" You'll know, hopefully. By the way anyone that has a mullet needs to get punched in the throat. Can I get an amen? Colossians 3:1-5

 1Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 5Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.

Like the mullet, our sin needs to be put to death. Some of us need to shave our mullets(sins) and run from them! Give them to God don't let the sin in your life have control over your destiny! There is freedom in Christ! (Luke 4:18, 2 Corinthians 3:17) Give your desires to God, invite Him in, ask Him to take your lusts away, give Him everything you have! Let go of the things from your past life! (2 Corinthians 5:17) A life with Christ is better than a life with a mullet(sin) I leave you with these questions...

-Is the life you're living, worthy of the death Jesus died?

-Are you living the life that Christ died to give you?

Kill your mullet(sin). Love you all.

Are You Burnt Out?

The past couple weeks I have been feeling SO "burnt out" spritiually, mentally, & physically which by the way is NOT good if you are in some sort of leadership. God doesn't want us that way hence the "sabbath", there hasn't been one of those in my life for the past two months. That is nobody's fault except my own. If I'm not a 100% in my life I cant be a 100% for other people, and I can't stand not giving people my best. The world can go without you & I for a day and I'm so glad it's like that!!!

Let's use the story about the baker... A baker is always running around getting ingredients, preparing the food, & giving it to people. Right? So he gets so busy doing all of that stuff to help other people but he forgets about himself. What happens? The baker dies because he wasn't feeding himself or taking care of himself. He was too busy taking care of everybody else he forgot about why he's doing it. Let's NOT be like the baker!

A good leader doesn't do that, a good leader makes time for him/her self to get "fed". It's okay to tell people no! It's okay to be selfish when making time for you & God. If you don't you're going to be "burnt out" & useless to other people. I don't know about you but that's not the kind of leader I want to be known as. I want to be able to give everyone my best! Jesus would go to a quiet place & pray quite often.(Mark 1:35, Luke 5:16 )  I believe that he does that so he can recharge his batteries & give us an example that we need to find our quiet place & be alone with God so wedon't get "burnt out". If he did it so should we.

 I pray that if this is you that your eyes would be open & your heart would be soft to do this if you are "dead" spiritualy, mentally, or physically. Love you guys! I leave you with this verse.

Matthew 11:28-30 28"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

 

 

 

A Movement

This morning I was listening to "God Is Moving" from Hillsong United's first CD. There are a few lines that get me SO PUMPED! It goes like this: "There's a stirring in the Spirit,There's an urgency in this hour, We as children must obey, Can you hear the footsteps of God?" These lyrics just bring so many emotions to me to name a few:

1) Overwhelmed with joy because I see students, parents, grandparents, ect... running to Jesus to take away the wounds in their hearts. I'm so jacked right now I could run a marthon & do 10 backflips! God is SO good!

2) Burdened with tears because I see so many Junior Highers & High Schoolers feeling hopeless, broken, & lost yet they continue to conform to what soceity says is "cool". Let me tell you that drinking alcohol, doing drugs, & having sex(out of marriage) isn't cool at all actually it's a waste of time. I get so ticked off when I hear girls saying that they're not beautiful or that they are "fat". Girls you are beautiful because God says you are! Society says you have to have big boobs, the perfect face, great hair, & so on but that's not what God says! Just remember God thinks you're beautiful & so do I! It's time for change in this generation & I see it on the rise... A generation that answers the call to a higher standard & lives by what God says! It kills me when I hear these kids say that they drink, do drugs, or have sex to take away pain, my heart cries for them! Parents if you're reading this WAKE UP! This kind of stuff is really going on! If you are in junior high or high school & you're reading this know that I am for you, I believe that you can be the change, that I'm praying for you & that I Love you!

3) God is waiting to unleash a HUGE out pouring on this generation. That gets me FREAKIN JACKED!!! He's waiting for you to answer the call, to step up to the plate, the ball is in your court it's the fourth quarter make your move! Press into Jesus. He can fulfill any desire, want, hurt, pain, ect... in your life! He WANTS you to run to him! What do you have to lose?

Ask God to do BIG things(I can't say that enough), I'm praying that he will in each & everyone of your lives! Let's be the change the world needs, let's live as Jesus did with love & compassion! Love you all!