OK, so, I’m getting a little bit better at this writing bit. You’ll have to check out my Yahoo! 360 page. It’s pretty much the same thing, but a lot of things are combined. It makes it kind of easy for people to find out things about you. (I’m not sure if like that part of it or not.) You can restrict public viewers though which is nice. Anyway, times are going slowly here, but they are going. God is still working in tremendous ways! He is so faithful and true to us. There is one phrase of a song that has been going through my head that has been an encouragement to me. I know that the song is not directly about the Christian’s struggles, but the answer is still the same. The song is called Enter In. It is sung by Steve Green and here are the lyrics:

“Nothing chills the heart of man like passing through death’s gate, Yet to him who enters daily, death’s a glorious fate. Dearly beloved we have gathered here to be a holy bride And to daily cross death’s threshold to the holy life inside.

Enter in, enter in Surrender to the Spirit’s call to die and enter in. Enter in, find peace within, The holy life awaits you, enter in.

The conflict still continues, raging deep within my soul, The Spirit wars against my flesh in a struggle for control. My only hope is full surrender, so with each borrowed breath, I inhale the Spirit’s will for me to die a deeper death.

If mourners should lament, then let them weep for those alive, For only when self-will is killed can my soul survive.

Enter in, enter in, Surrender to the Spirit’s call to die and enter in. Enter in, find peace within, The holy life awaits you, abundant life is waiting for you, The holy life awaits you,– Enter in, enter in.”

The part of the song that I’m referring to is the part that says:

The conflict still continues, raging deep within my soul, The Spirit wars against my flesh in a struggle for control. My only hope is full surrender, so with each borrowed breath, I inhale the Spirit’s will for me to die a deeper death.

Our best hope is to completely surrender to the sovereign will of the almighty Creator and Predestinator of life. What a blessing that is! It is incredible to know that this life is not run by us, but God in His omniscience is controlling things in a way so that everything will be worked out for His ultimate glory. It is also awesome to know that God in His indelible mercy and grace is so forgiving and works our sins out for His and our good. This is exactly what Paul is saying in Romans 8:28-30:

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

My brother is the one that has got me to think about this passage lately. My pastor preached an incredible message on this one time and it really gave me an awesome outlook on the passage. If we look at the first verse mentioned, it would be easy to take it and run. But, if you look at it in perspective of the following verses, you will notice that the things that work together for good are things that will make us and conform us to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. Why? Well, the following verse states the answer clearly. The verse states, “in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” Some people (like me) have in the past had a hard time understanding what exactly “firstborn” means. From looking the word up in the Greek (don’t worry, I’m not a scholar or anything, Mr. Keltner) and from what my pastor (who is a scholar) has said, the word gives the impression of supremacy and highest ranked. It gives the picture of being placed in a high place of honor. That is the place that He wishes to have and will have when everything is said and done. That is the ultimate end of these things that go on in our lives.

I’ve also been reading in John 17. I finally got e-sword installed on my computer after I had to swipe my hard drive. Since I’ve been reading John 17, I really wanted to know what commentaries have to say about the passage. Well, one of the commentators referred me to a passage in Matthew 11 where Jesus speaks once again to His Father and says that He is glad that the Father has not revealed these things to babes and that the Father has delivered these things to the Son. The commentator makes the observation that the Father has not revealed these things to the Son, but delivered them to Him. For me, I thought of what an incredible example that Jesus’ act gives to us. He being as infinite as the Father limited Himself of ultimate power and waited for the Father to give it to Him even though Jesus already could have complete possession. Then after this, Jesus turns to His disciples and says, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” What an incredible, loving response!

Anyway, there are lots of things that you can probably find in these passages. These are a couple things that I’ve been thinking about.

I think the latest major event that has occurred for me was that I dropped an 8′ fresh cut pine log on my big toe. Yeah, now I have a nice big black spot there. It hurt and still does, but hey, what’s pain for? My sister comes home from her month stay in Chengdu, China teaching English in a university. That’s pretty exciting too! In a couple days, my girlfriend and I will have been dating for 7 months. God has been so good! Anyway, life goes on…..I’ll let you know down the road how it’s going.

Surrendered,
Josh

Well, time goes on. For those that were devastated about my hair, don’t worry. It’s growing back. Work has been slowing down a bit. Some customers are still irate, like the one that was cussing at me this morning. Overall, it is getting better. I was here at work the other day and a bunch of bitter people called. It was quite disturbing. It’s not as hard sometimes when I understand that I’m just doing my job. It’s not that bad of a job though. It teaches one character and as my mom would say, it’s either going to make me or break me.

I know that the other day I wrote on the church supplying the needs of the people through teaching. I have been getting kinda frustrated with the modern day church. I understand that the Bible teaches that there needs to be qualifications, but do degrees and college and all that stuff truly matter. Can’t the church seem to teach the people in the body, or will they get bored? It seems that even today in the conservative circle that we try to entertain people in their conservative way so that the people don’t get bored. Is boredom even a question? I suggest that it is not. Yes, some people can be monotone (as I am), but for those that are truly born again, we should constantly be thrilled with the Savior and His deep love for us! Is that something to grow bored about?!? I know that no one will find the “perfect church.” I know that some churches are growing, and some growing to the point where they do teach doctrine to their body. The ones I’m speaking about are the ones that I have not just mentioned. I go to a church in MI when I go to school and they teach me more in Sunday School than I learned in most of my classes put together. It’s not impossible. You think that people aren’t hungry, check out my friend’s, Rob, blog in my favorites page. There are people growing up in this next generation that will be seeking deep truth. They…we want doctrine. We also don’t feel that it is right to wait for college, because we feel that college should not be like the birds and the bees talk where it is mentioned just once and then you should know. These doctrines should be known and grown in through the younger years to the older.

Anyway, this has been a very eventful summer. Things are crazy around here sometimes. Work has begun to slow down, and the callers aren’t as hostile. My girlfriend is doing well. It is the most amazing thing in the world to see her grow as much as she is. God is really just working in her life and doing tremendous things. God is an amazing God! The biggest thing that I’m learning now is patience. Sometimes it seems like the hardest thing in the world. Right now I’m having a hard time with my vehicle situation because the one I drive is one that is my brother’s but it has been wrecked and has one headlight that moves to the sky if you hit a bump. Seeing how it is practically useless, it makes it really hard to travel at night. Also because of it’s wrecks it is also a gas hog. I am praying that God would give me a reliable truck that I could take up north with me to school. Sometimes I think that it is too much. I really want to get into one of these online businesses, so I have a way to earn money while at school. With these types of things, I’m learning a LOT of faith and discipline. It’s rough sometimes, but I know that God is doing all this to conform me to the image of His beloved Son. Together, God is working in my relationship with my girlfriend and I. Even tonight, we had a long, but needed talk. We talked about a lot of things and what it boiled down to is that we both have a ton to learn and a lot to grow in. God is good though, and what would life be if we had no purpose to glorify Him. God is doing a lot and has done a lot. The things that lie ahead aren’t necessarily happy, or joyful in all, but they are exciting. Through it all, I hope that we don’t let our circumstances determine our joy.

Anyway, these are just a couple more thoughts.

Glorying in my Redeemer,

Josh Blaha

Well, I believe that I did a little better the time with my writing. It’s not THAT far apart. Times get tough though, but God in His gracious sovereignty is still so good to the unworthy. I realize more and more every day how unworthy I am of His indelible grace. I read a book by C.J Mahaney called “The Cross-Centered Life.” I don’t think that any book outside the Bible has completely thrown my focus back on track than that book. It cleared up things that I’ve wondered since I was a child like, “Why are the angels going to be singing in eternity about something He did for humans?” or “What are all those stories in the Old Testament for, because I know them all?” (or at least I thought I did). These things all vanished in site of God’s splendid price that He paid for my atonement. The only other thing that this book did was brought me back to the understanding of the wretch that I am and that we all are as humans. We need a Savior. That is who Christ is. I know that most of you are saying, “uh, duh.” (Those that aren’t, I appreciate your understanding.) The realization is so much more than anything that I have known in my entire life. I am one who was saved at the age of four. I believe with all my heart that I was saved then. The question has haunted me for years though…Am I really saved? This is common for anyone saved at an early age. For someone who has grown and is growing in the depth of our precious Lord and Savior, this question will arise. “Was I saved before the truth hit me?” I don’t believe I’ll have the answer to that question till glory. All I know is that I have been drawn by the Spirit and I praise Him for it.
Another chapter has turned in the life of Josh Blaha. My girlfriend came down for the summer and had been planning on finding a job down here and then going to school. Things didn’t work out as our human minds thought they would. Through many circumstances, the Lord directed my girlfriend back to MI where she lives, and He directed me to stay home from college this semester (so far). I drove 13.5 hours Sunday from MI to my house. You learn a lot of things when you are alone for that long. I find that I’m learning that is in complete control and I never was. That is a problem with us guys. I don’t it is so much a problem that we desire that because God has placed men in an area of responsibility. Our problem is when we try to take things over so much that we try to butt into the driver’s seat. Again the balance between God’s complete sovereignty, and our gift of discernment-and-action (known to some as “free will”) tugs at our souls. Anyway, I’m also learning that some things are very painful in life, but those things may be the hotter fire that refine and define us most. In regards to this, I have been hearing the question a lot lately, “What happened to your hair?” My response – “what hair?” For those that know me best, or at least know me better than to know that I cut it for the fun of it, I will now tell you. There are two things that come to my mind. First, read your Bible. The shaving of the head was a sign of shame or lament. In my case, it is a sign of shame. Eph 6:1, 2 comes back to haunt me. The second reason is because people these days seem to have an infatuation with beauty. I’m sure that it is nothing new. More people seem to love my hair more than I love my hair. People tell me all the time, “your hair is so thick!” You think I don’t know that. It is thick and dark dark brown. It looks jet black when it is wet. When it gets longer and damp, it gets wavy. True love for another human (of the opposite sex) is a rare thing. When you part with that loved one, it is a very sorrowful thing. For those that see me, my hair, or lack thereof, is a reminder that it hurts when that beauty is seared from you. I’m my case, my hair is just a symbol of the hurt that feel leaving the one girl I love. I know that I went longer on the second explanation than the first, but to tell you the truth, it is a mixture of both equally. If you know what I’m talking about in the first reason that I gave, then you will also understand why I choose not to expound on it. For those that have no idea, what I am talking about and re saying “hair…love…shame…seared….what?” here is what my head looks like now. Don’t start squinting already, just click on the picture, your eyes will be ok soon. Anyway, these are a couple things that have been highlighting my week for all those wondering. Well, my advice to my readers, seek God’s glory in all things and love those dear to you and those you are dear to. We live in a very self centered world. A lot of times you will hear that you should love those people that mean the most to you. What about those people that you mean to the world to? Anyway, just a couple more thoughts from this guy. Seek Him first!!!

Glorying only in the Cross,

Josh Blaha