Do we know who we Truly are?

I don't want this to sound insensitive, but do we really know the answer to this question? Yes I know my name and where I was born and my parents, but who was I born to be?
I just love the movie Gladiator, I love it for one reason, then main character knows exactly who he is! I am just going to paraphrase this scene for you. Caesar comes down to meet him and asks for his name, to which he replies, "I am Gladiator." He then turns his back and walks away. To this the Caesar yells, "Who are you to turn you back to me slave!?" The man turns, removing his masking helmet and says, "I am Maximus Desimus Meridius, Leader of the armies of the North, Commander of the Felix legions, Servant of the true Caesar Marcus Orilius! Father to a murdered son, Husband to a murdered wife, and I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next!"
WOAH! This guy know exactly who he is and what his mission is!
So I ask again, "Do you, YOU, know who YOU are?" "Who are YOU?"
I have just recently found out who I was created to be and it is one of the best feelings in the world! I was created for a purpose, just as Maximus had a purpose. And we need to all find out what our purpose in life is! And this purpose cannot be known, until you know who you are.
I am a Child of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, I am an heir to the Thrown of Heaven through the Grace and Power of Jesus Christ my Savior! Can you say that about yourself? If you can wonderful, if not, please, please consider looking into just who Jesus Christ is, if you need some help, let me know!
Through this knowledge I have also come to know what truly makes me come alive, I mean doing something that is so much fun that I don't ever want to stop, it just keeps on giving me energy. This, for me, is talking with people about who God is and what He says in His Word, the Bible! I love mentoring people on this subject and I love meeting with other men to find out how God has created us and what He has created us to be and do!
I now know my mission in life! I don't know how to get there, but that is the Adventure that is life. I am excited to jump on the path and start walking, jogging, running, what ever it takes. But I know my mission in life, to Glorify Jesus Christ through helping others come to know who they are and what God has to say in His Word!
My prayer is that this could help even one person to find out who they are and what God is calling them to be and do!
If you read this please let me know how or if it affected you.
Peace and Love through Jesus Christ our Lord, who Lives Yes He Lives and Reigns Forever. Amen!
His Humble servant,
David J. Blissett

Narnia, not just a kids book!

So last night I was reading in Romans. I came across this wonderful passage, Romans 7:13-20, "Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. Fore we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, IN MY FLESH. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.
This is so very liberating, I am not a slave to sin! I am a new man or as Switchfoot puts it, "I am the second man now." Christ has bought me with His precious blood. My heart is pure. God has made His dwelling place there, it is the Holy of Holies!
So then the question arises, "If my heart is pure, why do I still sin?"
Well, this is the very question Paul was addressing above! The two bold lines above give the answer to this question! Nothing good is in my flesh, and that is where the sin dwells. My body therefore is a war zone! A spiritual war is being waged on the battle field of my body. 24/7 this battle is raging on. This reminds me of a childrens story I once read!
The Chronicles of Narnia! C.S. Lewis
I don't remember which book it was or what the characters names were, but here is what I remember!
The prince of Narnia was kidnapped by a witch who lived underground. She put this prince under a spell that made him believe that he was her grateful slave, and he was allowed to wander around her underground kingdom. However there was one hour everyday that the spell would where off, but then the witch would have the prince chained to a chair so that he couldn't move.
Do you see it in there! When we sin, we sort of forget who we are. We forget that we are the Children of God, we are the Sons and Daughters of the King of Kings! We wonder around in darkness. Even though we are still pure! The prince didn't loose his identity as the prince, and we certainly don't loose our inheritance into the Kingdom of Heaven!
So we need to see sin for what it really is, SIN, detestable in the eyes of the Lord! We need to strap on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18) and prepare for War! When we see sin or even the thought of sin, we must take it captive and bring it before the judge, Jesus Christ! We must fight! One of the greatest lies I see in the world today is that the powers of darkness don't exist. We are on the battle field, and there is a battle going on all around us. If we don't fight we will be cut down, but, If we do fight, we can't loose. We have the greatest General ever, we have the greatest warrior fighting on our side, we have Jesus Christ! So, fight the good Fight!
I hope to see you fighting by my side!
A proud warrior of the King of Kings!
Dave

Something old, Yet so very New!

I believe as many people I think would agree with, that the central symbol of the Christian Faith is the Cross. The Cross is a depiction of what Christ had to go through to be a sin offering for the whole world, it was and still is very powerful. We also speak of the finished work of the Cross. Christ's suffering and sacrifice for us was 100% complete. But all to often that is right where we stop, we don't continue with the story. 3 days later, Jesus was raised from the dead, He was victorious over death! We often say that Christ died for me, but we forget that He is still alive and lives for us as well! I have been reading through Romans, mostly chapter 1 (that is what the Bible Study I attend is going over tomorrow!) and also reading John Eldredge's "Waking the Dead", and this topic of Christ's resurrection has been brought to the front of my mind. For as long as I can remember I have always believed that Christ was raised from the dead, but I never lived like it. At camp we would run through the grounds on Friday mornings yelling, "He is Risen, He is Risen." yet I don't think that that fact has really sunk in until now!
Paul's mission statement is laid before us in Romans 1:16 "For I am NOT ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." Gospel means Good News, and the Good News that Paul was not ashamed of was that Jesus Christ had died for the sins of the entire world, but more than that, descended into hell, defeated satan, was raised from the dead and is seated at the right hand of God the Father!
When we give our lives to Christ and follow Him, we are forgiven of all our sins. We become dead to the wants and desires of this world and are made alive through the resurrection of Christ! Yes, we are still going to sin, Paul says again, "All have sinned, and fall short of the Glory of God." But we are forgiven because we believe, we have Faith that what Christ said and did is Truth!
I guess what I am trying to say, is that Christ is Alive! We should live our lives accordingly. This is what the apostles preached, they all taught about the miracles that Christ performed, and what greater miracle than rising from the grave in Power and Glory!

In the Beginning!

So, this is my first blog. My good friend Ken, who has recently moved to NYC started his own a month ago, y'all should check it out! kenvsthecity.blogspot.com Ken has a wonderful gift, he can write about anything and make it interesting! Well, anyway Ken has inspired me to write about my thoughts, and it could become a tool for the most wonderful and amazing person alive today, My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I think for this first one I will start with my testimony.
I was born and raised in New London, WI. It is about 20 min north west of Appleton and about 40 south west of Green Bay. My parents Thomas H. Blissett and Patricia A. Blissett brought me up in the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synode. As a teen I had a very strong mental knowledge of the Christian Faith, but that is all that it was, knowledge. I was not "walking the walk" so to speak. In High School I was a good student and was involved in many extra-coricular activities including; Band, Jazz Band, Pep Band, Choir, Show Choir (singing and dancing), School Musicals (Arvide Aderly in Guys and Dolls, The Captian in Show Boat, and the Lion in The Wizard of Oz), I was also the #1 on the Male Tennis Team as a Sophomore (the team was cut after that year). My mother, sister, a few friends, and I also started a wonderful musical group at our church that expanded into many things including; Choir, Brass Band, and Bell Choir. After High School I went to the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point (UWSP). I chose Music Performance as a Major and did extreemly well. I made concert choir as a freshman and that same year was selected to be the understudy for Figaro in The Marriage of Figaro, a role that I never got to perform, however I did play one night as Antonio which was a lot of fun! Halfway through the next year I gave my life to Jesus Christ. Even though I had seen sucsess in life, I just knew that there was something I was missing! At this point I was a Community Advisor, and one of my residents came up to me the very next day and invited me to a Bible Study, which I promtly turn Him down. But God was not giving up on me so easily. A few days later another friend invited me to the same Bible Study, again I promptly turned Him down. It wasn't untill 3 months later that I finally accepted an invetation to the Bible Study. That summer I worked at a Christian Camp and learned a lot about the very personal relation ship that I could have with Jesus. I went back to school and met a man who works for Campus Crusade for Christ named Glen. He has tought me a lot about God and just exactly what it means to be a Christian, a Follower of Christ! Thanks Glen! Glen became my discipler and also a roomie! That year I went to TCX (Twin Cities Experiance) a Christmas conferance in Minniapolis! It was amazing! After that I got involved with leadership on my campus and was involved in leading Bible Studies and different teams with Campus Crusade for Christ.
Part-way through my Senior year I got a job as a Youth Minister a Church in Rothschild, which is near Wausau, WI. I worked their to develope a youth program for about 9 months, when they couldn't afford to have that position any longer. Then I got a job as a salesman with SprintPCS in Stevens Point. This was a wonderful job, but very difficult to not compromise my beliefs. I was transfered to the Wausau store and worked at Sprint for a total of 6 months. I left to go back to school full-time and to go on staff with Campus Crusade. I did not end up graduating that year (even though I did walk the stage). I went back to work at Sprint as a salesman and have switched to the inventory side since. This past year has been a tremendous boost for my faith. I have had to depend upon God more than I can ever remember! I am now involve with a Bible Study based out of Woodlands Ev. Free Church in Plover (just south of Stevens Point) and a good friend that I met at that study Matt Hebbe and I lead a mens group that is based out of that study.
That pretty much is right up untill now! This is just the tip of the iceberg and I could have expand this, but that might take all night! I just thank God for bringing me into His family and I am happy that I can serve Him in any way!
If you have any questions about why I believe that Jesus Christ is God and Lord over everthing, I would be more than happy to answer! Also some wonderful resources; walkintheword.com, everystudentschoice.com, and christianitytoday.com.
Always <>< and Forever!
God Bless
David Blissett