Monday Messages: Secrets & Regrets "(Don't) Let It Go"

I'm back! After a couple months off of doing Monday Messages, I'm glad to finally bring them back! I am starting a new series today called Secrets and Regrets where I'm gonna tell you my 4 biggest secrets or regrets and give you ways to avoid it. As always, I hope this will help you. So here goes nothing!

Have you ever let someone out of your life because they were dragging you down or wasn't helping in your walk with God? Well I did that a few years ago and to date it is one of my biggest regrets. We will get to that story a little later because right now it is time for a little bible time.

Today we are going to be reading Proverbs 3:1-8 in the NLT version
My child,[a] never forget the things I have taught you. Store my commands in your heart. 2 If you do this, you will live many years, and your life will be satisfying. 3 Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart. 4 Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will earn a good reputation. 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. 7 Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil. 8 Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones.

So here it goes. A couple years ago, I was best friends with this girl and she was a Christian turned very strong atheist. The way she talked, the way she acted brought me down and really was not helping in my walk with the Lord. So out of the blue I just told her I couldn't be friends with her anymore. She literally said nothing to me and I sent that message. Mind you again, we had some history (not as a couple) but that added in the factor. I should have let the past in the past. Now that I preach and am a youth coach on Saturdays and Sundays I realize how wrong of me it was to do that. When you are a Christian ESPECIALLY a wanna be pastor, you have to be the light in the darkness and not let the dark take over your light.

Now how do you avoid this? Instead of letting them go, keep praying for them. Keep telling them about Jesus. Keep inviting them to church. If they stop being friends with you, keep praying for them. Maybe one day in the future they will become a Christian and you have to know that you played a HUGE part in that.

I'm currently trying to become friends with her again and will keep you guys updated.

Until Next Time, Alex

5 Bands/Artists To Watch For In 2016

I have decided to make my "Artists to Watch" feature on this blog an annual thing so here we go!

1.) Blondfire

Blondfire is the now solo project of Erica Driscoll. Let me start off by saying her second album "Young Heart" is a Dreamy Summery Indie Pop masterpiece. In fact, the song "Where the Kids Are" from that album is regularly played in Taco Bell. So often, that I have heard it the last 3 times that I have eaten in-store. Now that it's 2016, she is releasing her new EP "True Confessions" which is more of a rock feel than anything on Young Heart. But it is still amazing and you should definitely check them/her out.

2.) Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats

Man, I hope you have heard of this band. They are going to revive Rock-N-Roll. If Elvis made a song about drinking called "S.O.B." it might as well be The Night Sweats song of the same name. Not even kidding, their style sounds like Elvis and Nathaniel himself could be Elvis with his voice. "Son of a bitch! Get me a drink!" because this could be a great band to drink to.



3. State Champs 

Pop Punk is back! Whether or not you want to admit it, 5 Seconds of Summer is a big reason why it is. State Champs is on the rise in the Pop Punk scene and they are headlining several tours. Their 2nd album "Around The World And Back" just came out and trust me when I say it is one of the best Pop Punk releases in recent history. The same goes for their 2013 debut "The Finer Things" Get into it.



4. Chase Huglin

My boy Chase! Man if you are a fan of Ed Sheeran, I really suggest checking him out. He is getting pretty big selling out all the cassette tapes and hats he had. If you get his EP "Glow" on vinyl, it makes it that much better. Chase has a full band record due out this year and if its any bit as good as his acoustic stuff, it will kick some ass.



5.) The Wonder Years 

Last one for 2016 of course has to be a Pop Punk artist. The Wonder Years are from Philadelphia. They just released their 5th studio album "No Closer To Heaven." It is an extremely sad concept record about losing someone close to you. It's really relatable for me as I lost my grandfather just over 6 years ago and it still hurts. If you like Pop Punk, I suggest checking them out.




Well there it is! My list of artists to watch this year! Let me know if you have checked any of the bands out. Also let me know if you know any bands that should be on this list.

Until Next Time, Alex

Monday Messages UPDATE!

Just realized it has been over a month since I have posted anything on here! I'm first gonna let you all know that I am alive and way better than ever! If you are wondering what happened to my Monday Messages, they are on a little break as I started preaching in Youth Out Loud! From one blessing into another, I am baptizing one of my students next week (whaaaaat). They had a choice to be baptized by the pastor or their coach and my student chose me over the pastor. I got emotional because that means that God is using my life which is so far from perfect to speak to a 6th grader. Honestly I could die happy and know that I am going to heaven because I have changed a life. Before I go, Let me leave you with James 1:2-17 because It's really resonated with how last year compares to this year.

2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. 5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. 6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do. 9 Believers who are poor have something to boast about, for God has honored them. 10 And those who are rich should boast that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the field. 11 The hot sun rises and the grass withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements. 12 God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. 13 And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. 14 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. 15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. 16 So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. 18 He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.

Also, keep an eye out for the return of Monday Messages next week. ;)

Until Next Time, Alex

Monday Messages: All New "99 Problems"

Hey everyone! Happy Monday! :) I hope you had a great week. Like I said last week, every year comes new problems. You have to deal with taxes, a new semester of school, filling out fafsa for the next 2 semesters at school, the list just goes on and on. Those problems lead to the stress that I talked about last week. How can you get rid of those problems? No, not drinking or getting high. That'll only make you feel worse.

Today's reading is going to come from Luke 4:1-13

Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness,[a] 2 where he was tempted by the devil for forty days. Jesus ate nothing all that time and became very hungry. 3 Then the devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.” 4 But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone.’[b]” 5 Then the devil took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 “I will give you the glory of these kingdoms and authority over them,” the devil said, “because they are mine to give to anyone I please. 7 I will give it all to you if you will worship me.” 8 Jesus replied, “The Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’[c]” 9 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! 10 For the Scriptures say, ‘He will order his angels to protect and guard you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’[d]” 12 Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’[e]” 13 When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came.

When you have problems or stress, you don't have to result to drugs, drinking or sex. Everyone has been tempted. And I literally mean EVERYONE who has ever taken a step on planet Earth. You may be asking "Well Alex. What about Jesus?" Yes, even Jesus was tempted. The Devil tempted Jesus when He was in the desert. You may say "Hey. I live in the desert. It isn't THAT bad is it?" No, living in the desert may not be too bad. But imagine living in the desert without food. You couldn't survive. Satan tempted Him for 40 days. He gave Him ways to make food. (Can we be honest though? He Jesus. He could have made anything and knew this was going to happen).

My main point I wanna focus on is don't give into temptation just because you're a little stressed out due to problems. The verse I want to focus on is 2. It talks about Jesus being tempted for 40 days. Yes, it may be harder for you to turn away temptation. But it comes a lot easier when you have Jesus. I challenge you, this week. Instead of giving into temptation, pray. Read a bible verse. Go to church. I promise it'll help you.

Until Next Time, Alex

Monday Messages: All New "Stressed Out"

Welcome to week 10 of Monday Messages! Yes, I am in week 10! Thank you to everyone who read this each and every week. You are truly loved and I thank you. With each new year brings new problems, new relationships, new stresses, new problems. In this new 4-week series I'm gonna highlight each one of those and how to approach them in a godly manner.

Like many people (including me), you have probably made a new year's resolution. Let's be honest, you will not do it and you will make the same one(s) in a year. I am the same way. I think it makes people feel better about themselves in the moment but in the end it just leaves them feeling stressed on making a decision whether to keep at it or give up. That leads us right into the Bible passage for today which comes from Leviticus 26:1-17.

‘You shall not make idols for yourselves; neither a carved image nor a sacred pillar shall you rear up for yourselves; nor shall you set up an engraved stone in your land, to bow down to it; for I am the Lord your God. 2 You shall keep My Sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary: I am the Lord. 3 ‘If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, 4 then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. 5 Your threshing shall last till the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last till the time of sowing; you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. 6 I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none will make you afraid; I will rid the land of evil beasts, and the sword will not go through your land. 7 You will chase your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword before you. 8 Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight; your enemies shall fall by the sword before you. 9 ‘For I will look on you favorably and make you fruitful, multiply you and confirm My covenant with you. 10 You shall eat the old harvest, and clear out the old because of the new. 11 I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you. 12 I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people. 13 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves; I have broken the bands of your yoke and made you walk upright. 14 ‘But if you do not obey Me, and do not observe all these commandments, 15 and if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant, 16 I also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. 17 I will set My face against you, and you shall be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you shall reign over you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you.

Sorry that was so long but every word of those verses is going to go along with today's message but before I relate the verse to the message, there is a song I would like to also use as an example for the message today. The song is called "Stressed Out" and it is by the experimental indie band twenty one pilots. The song talks about going back to the good old days when our mama sang us to sleep. Now that many of us are adults, we find it stressful, especially us 20-somethings who are going to college, getting jobs, moving out, etc. We all have regrets and stuff we would like to take back. The song is from the album "Blurryface." Its a concept album where Blurryface is a character that wants you to hate yourself, to the point of death. He wants you to regret everything. He wants you to be stressed out. He wants you dead. So simply, Blurryface is a version of Satan. He doesn't want you to have a good 2016. But God does.

The verse that I would like to focus on today is verse 10. It's saying that God provides you a new harvest. In this case, let's pretend the new harvest is actually the new year. 2015 is in the past. God provided you with yet another year. Isn't it crazy to think 2012 was supposed to be the end? Boy, did God ever prove them wrong. Not even Jesus knows when He is coming. So neither do we. So until then, we will keep having new years. So, my main point here is don't let Blurryface rule your 2016. Let God take it over and it will be an amazing year.

Until Next Time, Alex

PS, here is the video for the song if you want to listen :)

Monday Messages: "Reflection On the Past Year"

Today's Monday messages is number 9, but it is also (obviously) going to be the last one of 2015. I'm gonna be doing this one a little bit differently. I'm gonna reflect on my year as well as find ways I can improve for 2016 and ways you can also relate it to the upcoming 366-day leap year. Oh, and of course a Bible passage too :)

2015 has been one of the best years of my life. At the same time, it has been a very sad and depressing year, too. Also been a year of growing in the Lord. I'm going to talk about that all in this post, but before I get to any of that, I'm gonna kick it all off with a Bible passage!

Today's reading comes from Luke 16:1-13

1 He also said to His disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. 2 So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward." 3 “Then the steward said within himself, ‘What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’ 5 “So he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ So he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’8 So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light. 9 “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. 10 He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. 11 Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own? 13 “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

This year, I struggled a lot with finding myself in God and keeping my faith. Whether it was a bad rejection or being unemployed for 9 months, it was a test to keep my faith in 2015. The biggest struggle with my faith was trusting God had a girl out there for me somewhere. Even though I was only rejected twice this year, it still sucked sitting on the sidelines while my friends were getting engaged, having a first kiss, going on dates, having babies, etc., though. I was a mess about a week and a half ago in this part of of my faith. Then, surprisingly enough, God used an Atheist (WHAT!) to show me that I don't need a relationship to be happy. She basically said that her boyfriend lost love for her and if being lead on or rejected hurts, I couldn't even imagine how much it would suck to have some that you have been in love with for awhile just say "I don't love you anymore." So I just thought about that and it totally changed me and now I don't mind waiting on the sideline because when it's my time, I will be on deck to bat!

At the same time of it being a depressing year, there were parts that made it not so bad. I mean, I got to see Switchfoot and needtobreathe on the Beach, saw Taylor Swift  put on the best 2-hour show that I have ever seen and even turned down a job at Disneyland! Wait what did I do? I have told this story on Monday Messages before. But, for you who haven't read that, I was offered a position at Disneyland in September and had a week to accept it. In translation, I had a week to pray about it. So I did and turned down the job. That same week, I started as a youth leader at my church's Middle School ministry. I have now been with the ministry almost 4 months and it has blessed my life a lot. Also, a few weeks after that, I was offered about 5 interviews. I was even hired at Domino's with no interview. I have been there for a month and a half and I can truly say I enjoy the job and have already made friends.

So how can we make 2016 a depressed-free year? Yes, WE not just ME! For one, it is going to start with God. There is no way anyone can have a good year without God. You have to trust Him with everything. Which FINALLY brings me to relating the Bible passage haha. I would like to mainly focus on verses 10-12. It talks about being faithful, which is what the main point of this message is about. If you're faithful with little, you will get little, but if you are faithful with much, you will get much. That's not saying expect something for being faithful. Expect nothing and you will be way more blessed than if you expected anything. Here's my challenge to you. Keep God at the center of 2016 and it will be the best year yet!

Thanks for another great year on this blog! Here's to 2016 and maybe reaching 10k views on here :)

Until Next Year, Alex

Monday Messages: All I Want For Christmas Is... "Mas Christ"

I hope you guys are enjoying this series! This series has been all about keeping the true meaning of Christmas around, obviously. In Spanish, the word "mas" means "more." Seriously, the more Christ that we are gonna have in Christmas, the better. Today's message is going to be all about spreading the love of Christ by serving others.

During this season, there are probably 100 different things that you could do to serve others. Some of those are going to a local homeless shelter (seriously they are everywhere), helping at a community cupboard, buy a homeless person a lunch, or as I mentioned before, buy the car behind you's food or drink at Starbucks or Taco Bell in the drive thru. This leads us right into our bible reading for this week.

Today's reading is going to come from Matthew 25:37-46.

37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ 41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink;43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ 44 “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

This entire package talks about serving others. Did you know that whatever you did got even the lowest of people, you did for Jesus? The main verse I want to focus on, though, is 40. Jesus assures us that no matter who we help, we helped Him. God/Jesus created each and every one of us very uniquely. Even identical twins! So no matter what mistakes that you have made, Jesus is still very much a part of you and a part of Him is with you. You can never change that no matter how hard you try. My main point is, you can't make a mistake big enough for God to leave you because you're a part of Him and you can always serve Him.

So as I close out this message and this 3-week mini-series, I challenge you, just like I have before. Go out, spend an hour at the senior center or homeless shelter. Tell them about Christmas. Tell them about Jesus. Make sure you walk out of there with changing a life. Just like with the candy canes, it will bless you and others! :)

Until Next Time, Alex