thoughts about God
03.22.12 09:28 by Jeffrey Dean
You probably know a lot about your best friend, don’t you? His/her likes, dislikes, what makes him/her tick, and what ticks him/her off. Why is it that you know so much about this person? You know all about this person because you have made it a priority to spend time together. The same is true when it comes to your relationship with God. How much time do you spend with God each day? You can never truly know Him without spending time with Him. Making God a priority in your life takes time, discipline, and commitment. Doing so will be one of the greatest choices you will ever make.
Is God in your life? If not, why not? He can be with these steps: Realize you need Him and are lost without Him. Next, ask Him to forgive you of all your past mistakes. Then, believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that He died for you and defeated death. Lastly, ask Jesus Christ to take over your life.
Look what God says in Jeremiah 29:11: “I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out–plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.” Does God say that He has plans for you unless you have made a mistake? Does He say he has plans for you as long as you have lived a perfect life? No, He says I have plans for you – period! God has a plan for your life. It is far greater than any thing this world will ever offer you. The very best thing the world will ever offer you is TRASH and WORTHLESS compared to what God has in store for you. But you must make the choice to let Him lead you to it.
You can have all the right things by the standards of this world: The right look, the right grades, the right GPA, the right degree, the right job, the right girlfriend (boyfriend), the right money, the right house on the right side of town, the right car…the right everything. But if you have the wrong relationship with your Creator, then nothing else matters.
You grow in your relationship with Him by spending time with Him. This is why I talk a lot about getting into goTandem. If you haven’t, I hope you will! goTandem will help you grow in your walk with God everyday…and it’s free!
Why not take some time today and talk with God about whatever is on your mind? Ask questions. Work on talking to Him like you talk to your best friend. I know, it may be a little weird at first if you have never spent genuine time with Him. But, the more you do it, the more it becomes natural to you. And, the more you want to do it! Look at this promise – - “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” – 1 John 5:14-15
Remember this – - The world changes, seasons of life change, cultures change, and convictions change. But this one thing will always remain:
God is the ONE absolute truth. He always has been, always will be. “I the LORD do not change.” – Malachi 3:6
facebook.com/iamjeffreydean
02.24.12 15:07 by Jeffrey Dean
You may be aware by now that I no longer have a Facebook personal page. I had to convert my Facebook personal page to a Fan Page (I am not a fan of Fan Pages) because I maxed out the # of friends Faecbook will allow on a personal page. So, though kicking and screaming, I converted. Unfortunately, this means I can no longer receive private Facebook messages (Facebook doesn’t allow this on Fan Pages). You can still message me at jeffrey@jeffreydean.com to talk. Check out the new Fan Page today at http://facebook.com/iamjeffreydean.com
be like kelley
12:23 by Jeffrey Dean
Every now and then I post messages/emails that I receive from students. I want to share this email with you from Kelley (name changed), a 12th grader, who wrote this week to say:
“I’ve honestly never written “fan mail” before, because it’s just not in my character (so rest assured I am not one of the screaming girls in the front row of a Justin Beiber concert.) I felt like I should write this. I read your book This is Me when I was in 7th grade. Struggling with my lack of true Christian friends, it reignited my fire for life and challenged me to grow in my faith. The things you wrote about continue to stay with me and challenge me to this day…five years later! And, I want to thank you. Your passion for God is inspiring, and I just bought several of your guys books, Watch This, for my boyfriend (and some of my few friends). He’s been struggling lately with feeling distant from God. God now used me, as He has used you, to impact my friends.”
The last two sentences of Kelley’s letter are what I want you to focus on. If you have heard me speak before, then you know that one of my desires is to empower you to be confident and fearless in your walk with Christ – to live out your go, as commanded by Christ to all Christ-followers in Matthew 28. Jesus said this atop a mountain in Matthew 28:18-20 (MSG), “God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.”
Verse 19 in the NIV says, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…”. The words make disciples is derived from the greek word matheteuo [mah they TYOO oh]. This word occurs over 250 times in the gospels and Acts. Matheteuo means to be in instructed. Kelley put hands and feet to this idea of instructing by pushing her boyfriend (and friends) to know God more. This should be inspiration for us all to encourage, motivate and lift-up those within our circle(s) of influence to never stop learning and growing in their walk with the Lord. Kelley allowed God to work on her heart and grow her in Him. But, she realized that wasn’t the end of it all. She understood that the commission from God required action: GO! – - a necessary prerequisite to fulfilling His command.
God desires that you not stop at the grow. You must continue with the go. Not merely to know Him, but to be empowered by Him and apply a little matheteuo by sharing Him with the world – your world. Think of those you know who may need a lift, an encouragement or just a random call from you to say, “How are you? How can I pray for you?” Buy a friend a Starbucks, a lunch or a book. Live out Matthew 28 by letting God show you those in your life who need you to be like Kelley.
the supernatural at springhill
01.25.12 17:18 by Jeffrey Dean
I just received this email from a girl who heard me speak a few days ago. Thought I would share it – God is in the business of the supernatural!
Hi! I’m not sure if this is the email address i send this to but here it goes…
I saw you while you were at Springhill. I wasn’t really expecting anything major to happen to me or my friends but it did, and you helped that. I rededicated my life to God and am extremely glad. Even though it’s only been two days since we left Springhill there has been a huge difference in me. I used to be the shiest girl and now I talk with everyone! My friend lost her dad when we were ten (we’re fourteen now) and she hasn’t ever really gotten over it until a few days ago after hearing you speak. She fell asleep crying on Saturday night and on Sunday after Session and hearing you speak, she told me she saw her dad smiling and laughing in Heaven and meeting her grandpa. She tried to create another image like it but couldn’t. That’s when she knew it was from God. She was crying tears of joy instead of sadness. I’ve never seen her so happy. Something Miraculous happened at Springhill and everyone I’ve talked to who was there has been changed in one way or another. So thank you for helping us through whatever was stopping us from being where God wanted us to be. Thank you so much.
2012 jdm prayer partner eNews
01.12.12 15:18 by Jeffrey Dean
NOTE: I usually do not post our monthly Prayer Partner eNews letter to my blog. However, I realize some of you do not receive our monthly eNews. Therefore, I am posting it here hoping you will take the time to read and pray for JDM in 2012.
Dear Friend,
I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas with your family. Once I finished our last event of 2011 on December 4th in California, I was home in Nashville for the remainder of the month and enjoyed spending time with Amy and the girls. December is a month of outreach for our family, as we open our home by hosting several parties for our church, our friends, our daughter’s friends, and for those who live in our neighborhood. It has become an annual opportunity for us to visit with friends, make new friends, and to share the love of Jesus with those in our community.
19th Year Of Ministry
2012 begins my 19th year of ministry! This weekend is our first event of 2012 and the first of 17 events we presently have scheduled over the next 3 months. This first event is at Deep Freeze at Covenant Harbor Camp in Wisconsin, which is also our first event with this organization. Pray for God’s favor as we begin this ministry year and a new partnership with Covenant Harbor.
Post-Event Partnerships
You’ve probably heard me say before how important follow-up is to us. Our partnerships with both Back To The Bible Ministries (BTTB) and the Dawson McAllister Association enable us to remain on the forefront of post-event outreach and follow-up by offering teen’s daily support and discipleship. I am meeting with our friends at BTTB to discuss ways that will position us to reach even more teens in 2012 with goTandem. As you know, this is the most accessible and relevant post-event tool we have ever offered teens.
In late fall of 2011, I was in the studio recording 2-minute devotionals for Fenex, the new Internet radio station of the Dawson McAllister Association launching in 2012. I will be back in the studio with them again in a few weeks. You are aware that we already partner with Dawson’s ministry to offer post-event follow-up to teens via the Hopeline. Please pray:
- both of these partnerships remain strong in 2012;
- for creativity as I continue to write and record for Fenex;
- for the counselors and encouragers at the Hopeline and goTandem; and that
- teens find help, hope and salvation through the Hopeline and goTandem.
New Ministry Development Director
You may be aware that in November, Kimberly Klaver, our Ministry Development Director, stepped down after 6 years of ministry with JDM. Kimberly was a huge asset to JDM. She helped us develop many strong relationships with churches, organizations, schools and JDM supporters. We are sad to see her go and we will miss her! But, I am thrilled to tell you that we have a new member of our team. Rich Blackburn joined the JDM family last month. He has extensive experience in sales and is a 20+ year veteran of youth outreach as a pastor and teacher. Rich is a longtime friend of the ministry and of me personally. Please pray:
- for God’s favor as Rich talks with prospective churches, schools, camps and conference sponsors about partnering with JDM;
- for God’s protection on Rich’s office, family, finances and health.
Pray For JDM In 2012
Psalm 27:11 NIV says, “…lead me in a straight path”. I am praying that God will lead me and JDM on a straight path throughout 2012 as I stand before teens everywhere and proclaim His love and truth. Please pray:
- as we have each year, that God will give us the opportunity to proclaim the message of Jesus Christ to more people than we ever have in previous years;
- God continues to open the door to take us to new places and bring new partnerships;
- for God’s favor on JDM financially;
- for new and continued support from JDM partners. The online and post-event outreach we do isn’t funded by our speaking engagements alone. We rely heavily on the generosity of our supporters;
- that our books and resources continue to impact lives;
- that God immensely blesses those who bless us financially; and that
- God uses our podcast, blogs, Twitter and Facebook to reach teens everywhere!
Additionally, our new website has launched! Check it out at Jeffreydean.com I have also just completed writing a new book for graduating seniors: The Graduate Handbook and am working to finish a new 40-day teen devotional. More to come on both of these books soon!
Thank you for praying for Jeffrey Dean Ministries. It’s going to be another great year of ministry,
Jeffrey
salt lake city, ut 01.29.12
01.5.12 10:33 by Jeffrey Dean
