Mountain Top Experience

I just returned from Montana and I had a blast meeting new people and experiencing God's presence in the services. There were many that testified of God's goodness. A student wrote me and this with me. The person will remain nameless:

Tony, This week at SnowBlast has been amazing!

Within the past two weeks God has been speaking to me. One night he gave me a vision. He told me that He was coming soon, whether we were ready or not. One morning He revealed something to me for Fine Arts. I thought that it was going to lead up to something...

It did. It lead up to SnowBlast, everything that God showed me had been in the services. And in what I had heard people say throughout these days of SnowBlast.

I was shocked when you said that we would never have this day and these seconds again. I had never thought of anything like that before. I am now trying to live everyday to my fullest.

I realize that certain people won't like you. I've spent way too much time trying to find a way to get all these different people to like me. Now that I think about it, I don't know if I would want to be gothic just to get a gothic person to like me. God told me something that was in between me and Him was my vanity. I'm WAY TOO CONCERNED about how I look just like I said, so that people will like me. People don't have to like me. I'm a child of God and He loves me no matter what I look like..."

I am so grateful for thoughts like this. This is a growing concern for many. 'Will people like me' or 'what will so and so think'. I have reached a point in my life where I realize no matter how hard I try some people just won't like me. If they didn't like Jesus, they surely wont all like me! Let God like you.

Spurgeon said it best:
A good character is the best tombstone. Those who loved you, and were helped by you, will remember you when forget-me-nots are withered. Carve your name on hearts, and not on marble. ~C. H. Spurgeon

Keep carving,
Tony

Tony Montana (Prepare to LIVE)

I am preparing to head out to Montana tomorrow and am looking forward to a great event. I am doing a district youth retreat and look forward to impacting students for the furtherance of Christ our Lord. A friend of mine, Chilly Chilton, quoted someone recently on his great blog that I wanted to elaborate on and here it is:

"God does not give us everything we want, but He does fulfill His promises...leading us along the best and straightest paths to Himself."
- Deitrich Bonhoeffer

I am looking at church in America as we know it today and it frustrates me how many churches are trying so hard to please people and yet so willing to displease our Lord. I see alot on TV with the ministers that forget about sin and the repercussions of dabbling in it and treat God as a Deistic Santa Claus and forget that He is sovereign and ruler over all. We can pray bu as believers we have to trust that He knows what's best. I believe as much as the next guy that we must pray and believe, not just pray. I do also believe that we are the servants and not the master.We are to reach for Him not man. Each of us will come to an account for our very own lives one day and bow before the KING of kings and the LORD of lords. Make no mistake, He is Jesus. Today, prepare yourself to live! not just exist.

Psalm 68:20 NIV "Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign LORD comes escape from death."

He is who He says He is, trust Him today!

~Tony

Bit by snake

Tony Cruz, Bit by snake

Pray..... :)
What was Tony doing hanging out near such a deadly snake?

I'm Gonna be a daddy...again!

We are excited to report that Elisha is pregnant with our second child. This is truly a blessing and we are excited to share in this with all our family and friends. Drop a comment if you want. I would love to hear from you. Watch out, another Cruzer is on the way!

Mondays can be good too - MYTH?

I have always insisted that I didnt hate Mondays but rather Mondays hated me :) To some extent I still hold to that. However, sometimes Mondays are a blessing because I love reflecting on things God did over the weekend. I was away doing a great retreat for some friends in NJ and God really touched students. I am honored to pour into lives. It gets tiresome at times with the travel portion but this one wasn't a bad one. 1hr 45 was all it took and I was blessed to see over 150+ students yesterday flooding the altars asking God to use them to minister to their friends, family and to make a daily decision for Christ. The theme: MYTHBUSTERS and we did just that.

Myth #1. God always takes, He never gives = BUSTED
Myth #2. I can do this on my own, I dont need help = BUSTED
Myth #3. It doesnt bother God when I compromise a little = BUSTED

Sometimes we have a problem believing God wants to use us. But following Him requires faith. Many of us pray enough to be forgiven but not enough to make a difference.

Chew on that today and see what comes out.

~Tony

What are you bringing to the table?

“The measure of a life, after all, is not its duration, but its donation.”
— Corrie ten Boom