Good afternoon people. I am on vacation for the rest of this week. Please pray for me as I really take some time out to refresh myself after a long school year and “other stuff.” I am praying for time of joy, rest, peace, revelation, healing, and whatever else the Lord has in store for me while I am in San Diego. I won’t be updating the site until Monday of next week. Thanks for the prayers and support.

Neal

The last couple of weeks the Lord has given me some extreme favor in one area of my life that has really blown my mind and has really encouraged me as I can clearly see the Lord moving in big, big ways. Sometimes you ask for something like in this case and favor comes quickly. But sometimes you ask for or pray about something and it takes years if it happens at all. This is where recently I have become super frustrated and it really started to affect me more than I would like to admit.

A couple of posts ago I mentioned I was bit mentally and emotionally burned out but as usual in the midst of my anxiousness the Lord showed up right on time. Sometimes I have trouble turning over everything in my life to God as I WANT TO DO IT MY WAY AND RIGHT NOW of course. That is why I said in the title of this post “I am the biggest sinner” because once I decide to do it my way or stop trusting in his plan and rely on my plan that is when sin starts to creep in, in a big way.

So Friday night I turned off everything and just laid on the ground and said Lord just speak to me. Let me hear your audible voice. I sat there quietly and heard nothing. I prayed for a bit and heard nothing. I have been praying for clear direction for a while now in a couple areas of my life and have heard nothing. But then last night I just randomly opened my Bible to Psalm 22 and 23 and began to read. Click here to read Psalm 22 and 23 now. In Psalm 22 it says, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far away when I groan(oh that was me) for help? Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer. Every night you hear my voice, but I find no relief.” Of course Psalm 23 says, “The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He let’s me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength.”

So I thought in that moment well yes Lord those verses are good for this moment that I am in but I want “specific” clear direction not comfort lol. Otherwise I wanted more. So that brings me to Saturday night. I decided not to go to a revival meeting Friday night because “I was mad at God” so I decided to go to Saddleback Church instead and of course God was waiting for me there. I sat down and after 5 minutes of sitting there a got a text message that immediately answered a prayer I had been complaining about for the last couple of weeks. I was immediately humbled and looked up and smiled. Then I opened up the handout and guess what the title of the teaching was? Of course it was “When You Feel Like Giving Up.” I was cracking up and immediately sent a text to Chester Delagneau so he could laugh with me as he along with my buddy Rob have recently been praying about all this.

For those of you who know me well I NEVER GIVE UP AND ALWAYS PERSEVERE but sometimes I might complain a little bit and get frustrated along the way knowing God will deliver WHEN HE IS READY. But, I know the title was meant to teach me something and it did in a big way. To keep this part short Pastor Rick covered Hebrews 11:35-12:4 and the main bullet points were remember that heaven is watching me(this one hit me heavy), eliminate what doesn’t matter, run God’s race for me, not others race, focus on Jesus not my circumstances, minimize the pain and maximize the profit, and lastly remember what Jesus did for me.

Needless to say, God spoke to me clearly with what’s going on with me and I encourage you all to go to Saddleback today as there are services at 9am, 11:15am, and 5pm or watch in online live or when it’s archived this week. You can also printout the notes as well so you can follow along. Pastor Rick also had a lot of good stories that will really speak to you. Click here to watch live or the archived video later.

One more thing I forgot to mention was the music. The words were piercing my heart such as “strength will rise as we WAIT UPON THE LORD” and “my heart will sing no other name, Jesus, Jesus.”

Sometimes I forget that God owes me nothing and I owe Him everything. Please pray for me. I will be praying for you. For those of you who do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ please click here. I have no idea how I made it through my first 22 years of life without Jesus in my heart. Let me know if you make this decision. It is the most important CHOICE you will ever make in your life.

Neal

In my post from June 11, I said I was pretty mentally and emotionally exhausted because of what had been going on in the last couple weeks. Thanks for all of your prayers they mean a lot. At the end of the post I mentioned a friend of mine Jared Hall who is on fire for Christ, who works for the Orange County Fellowship Of Christian Athletes and leads what are called “huddles” on many high schools in Orange County during their lunch period and puts on different camps throughout the summer. FCA Camp click here, Power Camp-OCC click here.

The day after Ashton Sweet’s funeral(read my post from May 31, June 2, June 11) I went to the huddle that Jared Hall was leading at Northwood high school. That is the high school that all of my students go to when they graduate from the middle school I teach at. I knew there would be a huge number of students their after Ashton’s death and I wanted to go up and pray over the school and just be there for support. There were at least 500-600 students there that day and I was truly amazed and very encouraged to see some many high schoolers either on fire for Christ or just searching and wanting to check out what Fellowship Of Christian Athletes is all about and learn about who this Jesus guy is.

I got there early and was able to see many of my x students before the huddle started and as soon as the lunch bell rang it was like a herd coming into the gym and it was awesome to see so many of my x students who love Jesus. One of the girls who was in the accident was also there and I was praying like crazy for the Holy Spirit to really touch her heart. Jared Hall told a story about his past where a drunk driver had killed a person he had known at his high school that changed his life forever and brought him so close to the Lord. Jared’s story was very emotional for everyone there as a drunk driver had just taken Ashton’s life a few days earlier. I know that during tragedy peoples hearts are wide open to come to know Christ Jesus and I know that after Jared told his story many people came to know Christ in that moment and more will come to know Him in the near future. Jesus always brings good out of bad. He always brings healing, peace, and joy out of heartache if we allow Him to. Please keep praying for the all the families in the accident.

With all of that said I am hoping you will all support Jared Hall and his ministry through prayer and through monthly support. I know in these tough economic times money is tight but in my life when things get tough I give even more money knowing I have full faith in the Lord’s storehouses that never run dry and are never empty. I challenge you to do the same.

Jared has been praying for 13 people to donate $50 per month for his fundraising needs. If you are able to become an AMP (automatic monthly partner) please visit this link: http://ocfca.org/donate. You can also do a one time gift by clicking on the same link. I encourage you to sow into the harvest of the youth in Orange County. I have been supporting Jared for a while now and I encourage you to give as well. I hope to have his video testimony up sometime this summer.

To support Jared click here.
FCA camps click here.
Read the Irvine Valley FCA blog click here.

If you have any prayer requests or needs please let me know.

Neal

I had an awesome time with my best friend Chester Delagneau last night at Outback Steakhouse celebrating him finishing his 2nd Master’s Degree. It’s nice to have someone who can listen to you, not judge you, and keep you ACCOUNTABLE at the same time and then at the end of the dinner pray over you with power and authority. Thanks Chester, that was a powerful time of prayer last night and I know the Holy Spirit is moving.

Please pray for Chester as he is studying for the GRE test. The test is on September 30 and once he aces that test he wants to get into a PHD program at Rice University under David Cook. Please pray for favor and God’s direction over this. To watch Chester’s testimony and see more of his teachings click here.

Below is a little nugget Chester wrote after one of my x students was asking me some questions about Christianity and Islam and sent me a youtube debate which I forwarded to Chester.

Have an awesome day. YOU ARE ALL PRAYED UP! See where Jesus is working and join in.
Neal

Jesus Did Not Have to Die For Our Sins?
It’s becoming more apparent to me the more I watch Christian-Muslim debates that there is no small misunderstanding re the biblical notion of God’s justice in conjunction with His mercy. Muslims scoff at the idea that God the Father had to sacrifice His Son in order to atone for sin. “If God is merciful, why couldn’t He just forgive sin, and that way He wouldn’t have to allow His Son to be brutally executed?” This question, as sincere as it may be, misses the point re the (aforementioned) divine attributes: God is just, and thus He must punish sin, period! To simply forgive sin w/o punishment is to trivialize sin and its consequences. Another way of putting this is to say that God is limited by His nature. This may be a surprise to you, but, yes, God cannot break His promise; God cannot create a square circle; and God cannot not be a righteous and wrathful judge. (I would like to point out that Allah is not limited by His nature in any way: He can break his promise if he chooses; He can create a square circle; and, he whitewashes sin. This may be the crux of the argument when Christians and Muslims disagree about the issue of why God had to sacrifice His Son.) However, because God is also merciful and loving, He sought to reconcile man to Himself by the cross of Golgotha. So by slaying His Son (the ultimate fulfillment of the story of Abraham’s attempted sacrifice of Isaac), God exercised His mercy on us and His wrath on Jesus. In other words, the cross of Christ is where we see God’s justice and mercy perfectly intertwined.

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Good Friday evening to you all. I want to introduce you guys to an x-student of mine by the name of Shayna Allen. She is a young lady who is on fire for Christ and you can see it in what she says and does in her life. She is definitely a leader and and excellent example to many. She has alot going on in her life so please pray for her and her family. Please leave a comment below for Shayna or shoot me an email and I will forward it to her. I know Shayna would love to hear from you.

After listening to her testimony, if you want to start a personal relationship with Jesus Christ please click here and scroll down and say the Salvation Prayer. If you make that decision today or in the future please let me know so I can pray for you and answer any questions you may have.

Neal

The last week has been very tough mentally and emotionally on me but I can clearly see God moving in a HUGE way in peoples lives. As you know 4 of my x student’s who are now freshmen in high school were hit by a drunk driver and one, Ashton Sweet was killed. I went to Ashton’s funeral on Monday night and it was an amazing time of celebrating her life. 1,000 friends and family were there and her friends and family told amazing stories about how special Ashton was.

I went to the funeral 2 hours early so I could pray before the service and just hang out with my x students and just be there for them in this tough time. I was also able to speak with many parents as well and there was a heavy presence of the Holy Spirit.

During the service we sang worship songs and some of the family read verses from the Bible which was really uplifting. I know a lot of people who do not know Jesus got a nice blast of the King to their hearts and I know very soon they will give their lives to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

After the service everyone went out to the grass area and we all just hung out and talked. As I have said in prior posts, since the minute I heard about this terrible tragedy I have felt an urgent need to pray and pray without ceasing. Especially for the youth in Irvine. It’s a feeling I have never felt before. All day long I pray, pray, pray, and pray some more. I know breakthrough is happening and people’s lives are being changed.

In the coming weeks I am going to meet with many of my x students so please pray for favor on my words and pray for their hearts to be open to Christ Jesus. Please continue to pray for healing and peace for Ashton’s family and please continue to pray for Parisa, Michael, Ali, and Krista and their families as they heal and move forward with their lives. Pray for the Lord to really reveal himself to them all during this tough time.

On Tuesday, the day after the funeral I was able to go what’s called a “huddle” led by my friend Jared Hall of the Fellowship Of Christian Athletes at Northwood High School. These huddles are held at lunchtime at many high schools throughout Orange County. I knew the crowd of students would be huge because of Ashton’s tragedy and I wanted to be there to support my x student’s and support my friend Jared.

In my next post I will explain to you more about what happened that day at the huddle and I want to re-introduce you to Jared Hall as he is a mighty man of God selling out 100% for Christ and leading the youth to Christ.

Again, as I always say please send in any prayer requests or needs you might have. I am ready to lift up the needs to the King and watch Him do work! Let’s do this!

Neal

Good evening Neal To The Cross readers. It’s been a long week mentally and emotionally and as we speak I am writing a couple new blog posts that should be up tomorrow evening or over the weekend. I try not to post a new update until I feel a prompt from the Holy Spirit so nothing is forced. God is really moving and I feel very encouraged.

If you are reading this right now you are all prayed up for Friday. If you are reading this in the future you are all prayed up as well and expect God to be moving in your life.

Neal

I just had an amazing time with the Lord. Yes people He is real and He is the Savior of the world. He can change your life right now if you are willing. I was having a quiet time where I was reading the Bible(Psalms, Proverbs, Acts) and praying and then all of the sudden I felt the Lord prompt me to put on my facebook page “who needs prayer right now.” The prayer requests starting pouring in and the Lord was moving in a mighty way. I felt a heavy presence of the Holy Spirit. I know many other people on facebook read the quote but where to afraid to message me or just don’t believe at all. Not to worry I prayed for those people to and I know the Lord is going to open their eyes and ears to what the King is all about.

This past week I have felt a burning so deep for Christ and I know He is about to reveal himself to Orange County and the world in unbelievable ways where we can’t deny he is King. Again if you have any prayer requests please leave a comment below or email me.

To start a personal relationship with Christ click here.

Neal

ORGAN DONATION! Good evening guys. Ashton Sweet the girl who was killed over the weekend by a drunk driver donated her organs and her mom said today Ashtons organs have saved 6 peoples lives. Truly amazing and will help in the healing process. Please keep praying for the other 3 girls Parisa, Ali, Krista and their families. God is good even in times of sadness.

Neal