God Loves Screw-up's I Know Because I Am One

Table of Contents

Return

Chapter 1-Comeback

Chapter 2-Change

Chapter 3-Change is Messy

Chapter 4-Jesus takes time

Chapter 5-God demonstrates

Chapter 6-Friendship and Fear

Chapter 7-what is your life

Chapter 8-Jesus wept

Chapter 9-Feeling bad

Chapter 10-Life Worship

Chapter 11-Just a glimpse

Chapter 12-throw-off

Chapter 13-Jesus

Chapter 14-Psalms24:1

Chapter 15-Clearing off space

Chapter 16-Hunger and thirst

Chapter 17-God is Holy

Chapter 18-Don't give up

Chapter 19-God is so big

Chapter 20-HE purposed

Chapter 21- We will not bow down

Chapter 22-Stephen

Chapter 23-Our jobs

Chapter 24-James

Chapter 25-Blind

Chapter 26-Phillip

Screwups

Chapter 27-Racism

Chapter 28-Lack of faith

Chapter 29-Father's

Chapter 30-Love

Chapter 31-Faith

Chapter 32-Heartache

Chapter 33-Good day

Chapter 34-Letting screw ups stop you

Chapter 35-Forgiveness

Chapter 36-Secrets and Living Alone

Chapter 37-Sadness

Chapter 38-America

Chapter 39-The Church

Chapter 40-God's love

Chapter 41-Advice of Famous

Chapter 42- Psalms 139

Chapter 43-Baseball

Chapter 44-Idols

Chapter 45-Piper

Chapter 46-Creasy&Moments

Chapter 47-Zeppelin

Chapter 48-Samson Thing

Chapter 49 -119-a

Chapter 50-Tracey Allison

Chapter 51-Mom

Chapter 52-Nascar and family

Chapter 53-Biggest Screw-up

Chapter 54-Late in Life

Chapter 55-Rivals

Chapter 56-Love your rival

Chapter 57-Respect

Chapter 58-Be kind

Chapter 59 -Enjoy

Chapter 60- Minister

Chapter 61-Share Jesus

Chapter 62-Be friends

Chapter 63-Study

Chapter 64-Don't let

Chapter 65-Take off

Chapter 66-Ruin

Chapter 67-Admit

Chapter 68-Beware

Chapter 69 -Be for

Chapter 70-Congratulate

Chapter 71-Use being

Chapter 72-Witness

Chapter 73-Jokes

Chapter 74-Your fandom

Chapter 75-Fight

Chapter 76-Serve

Chapter 77- We

Chapter 78 Don’t Hate

Foreword

I hope this book will encourage you. In all 3 sections I hope you see I have placed the emphasis on reading the scripture. I hope this is the art that comes out of me. My ambition is that you would know Jesus. I want my life the good and the bad be a encouragement for you to know how great Jesus is. I am not including a picture of me and there will be no praise of me. I want Him to be famous. I must decrease He must increase. If you want to hear some of these ramblings in my own voice try godlovesscrew-ups.com you may also be able to find it in the i -tunes podcast store for free type in god loves screw-ups and it should come up. To close let me say you are Awesome and Incredible. Read Psalms 139 it says it way better than I ever could.

Return

My idea for this book will be split into three sections. The first part is a devotional I have written I call Return. The second part is some of the things I am screwed up about. The third part is a devotional reading plan around the idea of Rivals. Return I wrote it in the same style of the very first devotional I ever read. It has a verse and a small story. How do you Return to God? The very best place to start is with God. it takes God to move for us to move toward Him. You can not change on your own. If you are heading toward God trust me He is helping you. It is not just that God does the work it Iis that He continues to care for me and I don’t deserve it. The bad part is that if I want to return, I need to change directions. I hear God telling me to be different but I want to run my life too much. If you are like me you need to ask God to forgive you and help you return. Thank God for how He is like the Father who runs after the prodigal son. We also deserve to be working with the swine. My desire and ambition is that maybe something God has been teaching me can be a encouragement to you. I call it return because I want to be closer to God. If their has been a time in your life when you were closer to God then you need to return. The scripture I use is for you to study. Their are places I only pick a few verses study it in context of the entire package. I am just giving you a starting place. My words are just meant to encourage so if you get lost in the scripture that is excellent. Get alone and make a commitment to spend time daily with God. Find a solitary place like Jesus in Mark 1:35. Jesus is our standard and who we want to follow. I also believe if you are trying to return to God you need to be in church that preaches the truth about His story. Sit under good preaching and fellowship with other believers. Return always starts with God so ask him to help you to return to the joy of His salvation.

Chapter 1-Comeback

You Can Comeback Today

Luke 15:1-31

In the first part of Luke 15 it is Jesus speaking this parable. He says that if you had one hundred sheep would you not go after one lost sheep? Jesus answers this question all the way to the cross. He paints a picture of His love like a shepherd. He also says that in heaven there is the same kind of rejoicing over one sinner who repents and returns. Don’t ever be fooled that you don’t matter to Jesus. He would search you out and leave the 99 to rescue one screw-up. While praying what to write God led me to this subject. God is love which I hope you know and have heard before. His love is a action (verb). I believe God proves His love by how He welcomes us. If you are closer than ever before or far away. We need Him. Love in action. The next set of verses are similar about a lost coin. The same will be true in rejoicing over redemption. Verse 11-31 close out the chapter on the Lost son. I know everyone preaches about the prodigal son and you may think it is covered territory. Please study these scriptures. We all want to live our lives the way we want. We all try it our way. It will always end in failure of the pig pen variety. Don’t miss the last part about the father. When we are ready to acknowledge our way does not work God our father is waiting on us to return. He is saying something about himself in this passage. You have not gone too far if you still are alive. God loved the world that still are alive. God loved the world that he gave his son that whosever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. Today is the day of return if you are His child. Today can be the day of salvation if you don’t know Him as your Savior. Your way is never going to work. Cry out to Him in this morning ask Him to forgive you. Beg him to step out of heaven and live in you. If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe that God raised him from the grave then you will be saved. MY way never works and I have screwed up my life to works and I have screwed up my life to the point I felt like I was living in a pig pen. Jesus loves and it is not too late yet. It is never wise to wait because none of us are promised tomorrow. Come and find a love in action.

Chapter 2 Change

Psalms 1, 2nd Corinthians 5:17

To have gotten to the place that change is so hard you have probably spent a lot of time forming a bad habit. Maybe you are stuck in a wrong way of living and not sure how to change? God believes in change and He is the way to change. To obey is better than sacrifice. He wants a broken and contrite heart not sacrifices. To truly return to the Lord we must change. This morning I heard a preacher talking about a way of success being to meditate on His word. This made me think of Psalms 1 (don’t take advice from the wicked or unwise). It is a whole lot easier to say I will change than to actually attempt it. The reason is simple Change is difficult. Somewhere in my journey I decided to meditate on the unwise (i linger watching too much TV. and movies). I started writing this book because I needed change. The song says change my heart of God make it ever true. Mold me and make me. He is the potter we are the clay. This is what I pray for us both. I am someone who says I know God and I am a new creation. It is easy to slip into a pattern of sin. Before you know it your heart can be hard toward God. You can make Idols of things that start off good. When you give anything more high esteem than God it is a Idol and sin. If you want change a good place to start is to delight in His word day and night.I know if you are in a huge hole or bad place you are thinking I can’t read anything right now. You need to read the scripture. How can a young man keep His way pure? By living according to your word. At my lowest point I struggle to read a psalm and a proverb. God will help you. Even in discipline it is him helping you when your strength is gone. The way to prosper and return is to meditate on his word day and night. Sin is not worth a broken relationship with God. Right now if your struggling I know you have no peace. Peace comes when you are walking in step with God. It also for me is proof I can’t do it on my own. When I took this picture I was in the process of confessing some of my sins to God. I realized that I was holding on so tight to idols and sin. I was choosing less than what God has for me. I love this thing a student says " don’t eat the doughnuts, when the God has the greatest cake waiting for you and it is so much better. God’s way is right. The church is criticized often for giving list of do’s and don’ts. The truth is God gave the 10 commandments (exodus 20) to protect people. It is better for us to not lust after our neighbors whatever. It is better to not commit adultery and kill people. No good comes from this only hurt and pain. God wants the best for His people. Life is easier when I follow. All of us fall short of the Glory of God. We all sin and screw-up. He made a way for us to be forgiven and a chance to return. The way is Jesus. if you confess He is faithful and just to forgive you. God is not forgetful He no longer holds your sin against you when Jesus has taken your place. He is the only offering that could pay our debt. Jesus is our everything.

Chapter 3 Change Is Messy

Luke 15:11-27

The mess in our lives makes it hard for us to go home or ever show our face again. You may even be struggling to go back to church because you blew it so bad. That is a lie church is for screw-ups. for the sick, sinful and needy. Read the story of the prodigal son. Like the prodigal son I have wanted what I want. I have ran away. I have screwed-up and sinned. The mess of blowing can feel like being in a pig pen. If you have never sinned like this my writing may not be a help to you. Sin ,disobedience have equaled mess in my life. I know the feeling of messing up your life. The biggest consequence of sin is a broken relationship with our Father God. We also hurt people along the way when we don’t return to God. I have flame-thrown my life more than once. Can you imagine the stories that got back to the prodigals father? Because no matter how smart or sneaky we think we are our parents seem to know. Even worse is the mess he created in his own life. He wanted to live on his on and get his way. He wanted his inheritance now and he went a blew it all. Our ways create mess. He wound up fighting pigs for their slop. Change is messy because of the destruction our disobedience creates.