Cross The Line

Tue, 3 Feb 2009 13:19:06 -0500

Follow the leader, stay in the lines
What will people think of what you've done this time?

Go with the crowd, surely somebody knows
Why we're all wearing the emperor's clothes
Play it safe, play by the rules
Or don't play at all - what if you lose?
That's not the secret, but I know what is:
Everybody dies but not everyone lives

I'm gonna ride like I've got the cops on my tail
I'm gonna live my life like I'm out on bail

I'm gonna be out front, gonna blaze a trail
I'm gonna cross that line

Everybody freeze - don't step over the line
Don't stand up, they'll shoot down the first one who tries
Try to change the world, they'll think you're out of your mind
Revolutions start when someone crosses the line
They want us to lie down, give into the lie
Nothing has to change, and no one has to die
That's not the secret, but I know what is:
Everybody dies, but not everyone lives

"FEAR"

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 17:07:41 -0500

Check out this video that some of my friends made! They are going to change the world because they have big dreams of using their gifts for God!

Prosperity Gospel

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 23:05:48 -0500

Sorry I have not written a blog in a while. I am in the process of working on a new project and I will be changing wheresdaniel.com a little bit. I realized the 1 year that wheresdaniel.com has been around has been good but it is just the beginning of what God wants to do. My heart is for all of you who read my blog to begin to interact with the blog and also each other. I want to create a platform where people who want to advance the Kingdom of God can connect with each other and begin to build synergy across racial, political, denominational, and social boundaries. We can do more together for the Kingdom than we can do alone. Please be in prayer with me concerning this “Global Village” of people who can unite as “One Tribe” to bring hope to the hopeless and be a voice for the voiceless. The video below really challenged me today....

#1 Enemy of Gospel?

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 11:10:18 -0500

I was reading the world news today on Google and it seems as if there is no hope in the world.

-Thousands fleeing for their lives in the Congo and Darfur
-90% of children are not going to school in Zimbabwe
-Mumbai has just experienced a horrific chain of events over the past few days
-My little brother is stuck in China because protesters have shut down both the airports in Thailand
-Palestinians and Israelis continue fighting after centuries of conflict
-Pirates off the coast of Somalia continue to steal vessels loaded with goods and kill those who stand in their way
-Sri Lankan government forces and Tamil Tiger Rebels continue to fight each other mercilessly
-Of course we have the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
-And lastly the global financial crisis that threatens to be worst the “Great Depression”

Why is all of this going on in the world that we live in? Where is the hope? Will things ever get better or are we on a downward spiral?

I have been thinking a lot about this lately I think it all comes down to racism.

Dictionary.com defines Racism: “The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.”

I have realized a lot of racism in my heart over the past nine months that I never knew was there. Sometimes I think we do not even acknowledge that we have things like racism in our heart. I found myself in several situations over the past nine months during my travels realizing that my perceptions of people do not always line up with reality. The perceptions that we have of people are a reality to us until that perception is confronted with the reality of the situation.

The only thing that challenges our perceptions is truth. When truth is revealed light is shined on the darkness of our thinking. In the Bible Peter had this happen to him and I think we should learn from his example.

He walks into a house full of Gentiles and says “ "You know, I'm sure that this is highly irregular. Jews just don't do this—visit and relax with people of another race. But God has just shown me that no race is better than any other. So the minute I was sent for, I came, no questions asked...” Acts 10:27

I have found that we naturally do not hang out with people that are different from us. I guess the old saying “Birds of a feather flock together” still rings true today.
What are we missing by not flying with the birds that are different from us? The world is getting smaller through the technology and means of travel we have available to us today and that means that we increasingly be in contact with those who are different than us.

We must deal with the racism in our hearts if we are going to see Kingdom of God become a reality on this planet. We will not have to deal with racism when we hang out with people from every nation, tribe, and tongue for eternity. Now is the time to deal with it in our hearts.

Peter said he does not usually “visit and relax” with people from other races but the moment he was sent for he came. God has sent us into the world to share the gospel may we not allow racism to hinder what God has sent us to do.

Is racism the #1 enemy of the Gospel?

I want to live!

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 21:45:32 -0500

It has been almost two months since my last blog entry! And I wrote in BIG BOLD letters on my site that I would be doing more blogs and I have actually done less. And so many of you who have faithfully checked in my site to see the “New Blogs” have been disappointed and have voiced it! ha ha!

The past two months have been really busy looking at the past, evaluating my present situation and planning for the future. I leave at 6 AM for Indonesia and I just got back from my second trip to Vietnam which was back to back with my first trip to East Malaysia. I get back and then December is one of the busiest months I have faced the whole time I have been in Asia. Thanksgiving and Christmas are in there somewhere and its going to be my first time celebrating the holidays in 95 degree weather.

Last night I was watching WALL-E and right before the DVD messed up (still have not finished the movie) there was a scene that made me think about the entire human race. So much has been going on from the financial crisis, the US Presidential elections, to countless conflicts worldwide and it is almost overwhelming at times. I was watching this scene where the grossly overweight captain of this gigantic ship that feeds, entertains, and probably even helps the other grossly overweight inhabitants go to the bathroom has a choice to return to earth or stay in outer space. He wants to return to earth but the ships computer says if you do not return to earth you will be safe and comfortable but he yells “I WANT TO LIVE!” Those words have been blasting through my brain over and over lately as I have been thinking about all that is going on worldwide.

How many of us get comfortable as our minds float around in outer space and we just go through life being fed and entertained without truly living? Are you alive? Do you wake up in the morning and get excited about what the day holds in store for you? Do you lay awake at night dreaming about all that God has for you? Do you want to live and not just exist?

A friend of mine has emailed me more than anyone else since my journey began in February and God is doing so much in his heart concerning existing and living and seeing beyond his own need. I want to share an excerpt from an email he sent me this week.

“...I have been reading over the last several days about the violence in the Congo that is going on now and I have thought about you. I have heard a lot about Africa over the years from Darfur to the ethnic civil wars like what are transpiring now in the Congo. I have never cried about it until this morning. The sad part is...I have learned NOTHING new by reading the news articles the last few days. I have only read what I already knew – just in current events form. Why? Why Daniel have I lived my entire adult life with red, white, and blue scales on my eyes acting like “they” only got what they apparently brought on themselves?...”

What scales do we have on our eyes? Are those scales keeping us from truly living and being fulfilled in life? Are they keeping us floating around in outer space and denying us true life that is not easy but worth it?

I have to admit that the scales and perceptions that I have allowed to remain in my life have held me back from all that God has for me. My prayer is that we like Paul will allow the light of God to blind us temporarily so that we may see what is really important in life.

“Healer” Fraud?

Tue, 9 Sep 2008 22:51:34 -0400

The Hillsong album “This is Our God” that ranked #4 on the Itunes TOP DOWNLOADED albums when it was released contained an amazing song called healer. Recently the news came out that Michael Guglielmucci who wrote and composed the song wearing oxygen on stage was faking his sickness. Hillsong has recently decided to pull the song from the album while allowing other songs that were co-written by Michael to remain.

“On August 21, 2008, Michael Guglielmucci, the composer of the track "Healer" a song about his cancer struggle admitted he had lied about ever having cancer in the first place. [1]. The track "Healer" , has since then been removed from the track listing in future releases of the album.[2]” - WikiPedia
I am so glad that the Psalms King David wrote in the worst times of his life were not taken out of the Bible. How many people have received encouragement and strength from a guy who grew his beard out, crawled around on the ground, and went crazy in Gath. I am glad that God is honest enough with us to help us understand that people do stupid things. And I am glad that all of the stupid things I have done since becoming a christian have not been plastered all over the TV and YouTube. I am not excusing Michael Guglielmucci’s act but I do know that everything happens for a reason. He had been struggling with pornography since he was twelve years old and when I hear the song healer I know it is a cry from his heart for God to heal him. He might not have been crying out for healing from his “mystery cancer” ...maybe that just happened to be his fig leaf covering the real sickness of private sin.

As you listen to this song and watch this video I challenge you to be honest with yourself for the next few moments as you allow God to reveal what needs to be healed in your life. Lets look past the toothpick in our brothers eye for a moment as we deal with the tree trunk in our own eyes.

8 years!

Sun, 7 Sep 2008 09:26:49 -0400

As I am speeding down a small road at over sixty miles an hour I look behind me and see blue lights. I knew I had nowhere to go so I fought the urge to put the pedal to the metal and try to run for it. Plus I was only on my way to pick up drugs I didn’t have any on me at the moment so I decided it was best to just take the ticket and be on my way. The officer takes my license and then returns back to his car. He appears again very quickly and I heard the words that no one likes to hear, “Mr. Ross you are going to have to come with me.” It seems that my license had been suspended due to another speeding incident and the failure to pay the fine. It was four o’clock in the morning when I finally started walking home from jail later that night eight years ago today and that is when my life was forever changed. I had an undeniable experience with Jesus in the middle of the road. I was set free from the addiction to drugs and alcohol, greed, and a loose lifestyle. Everything was great except for one thing. I had no job education or job experience due to the fact that my whole life revolved around the drug scene. What was I going to do? I was worried but God wasn’t and He had a plan. That plan coupled with the Holy Spirit empowering me led to me graduating high school, becoming a youth pastor, going to Bible school, buying a house, and starting a business. And in November of 2007 I resigned from the church that I was working for, sold my house (received full asking price when the market was horrible), sold everything in my house (including my dog ), and moved to Southeast Asia with all of my belongings in a backpack. So far I have been to 8 countries (Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, Myanmar, India, Kazakhstan) preaching the gospel, training leaders, helping cyclone survivors, visiting underground churches, bringing hope to persecuted believers, and focusing on exposing people to the Kingdom of God.
But the more that I do for God the more I am realizing that it is not about doing at all. I am falling in love with Jesus more than ever and all of our doing must be focused on relationship with others and bringing them into relationship with God. I have a mission because God wanted to be back in relationship with His creation so He did what any good father would do and was willing to die for His children. Eight years ago I would have never imagined that I would be living in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia with a roommate from South Africa and one form Kenya. I have friends and disciples from all over the world now and its all because on a road in Spartanburg South Carolina eight years ago Jesus finally got my attention and His love broke through the defenses of my heart and we became one. That oneness has been and is the best thing that ever happened and is happening to me. I am grateful for the God who did whatever it took so that I would be able to know Him once more.

4 Nations Thank You!

Wed, 3 Sep 2008 09:03:07 -0400

Ramadan call-2-prayer

Mon, 1 Sep 2008 08:59:32 -0400

TOP TEN!!!

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 12:22:37 -0400