It doesn’t take long to realize any time you start to do something for God adversity will be right around the corner. It is disheartening many times when it seems no matter how much good you try to do there is always something trying to foil your plans. No one understood this better than the disciples. They were constantly fighting opposition in the name of Christ and many times against their own people.

“1 At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed.2 But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.3 So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.4 The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles.5 There was a plot afoot among both Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them.6 But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country,7 where they continued to preach the gospel.” Acts 14:1-7

The reality of life is that the bigger your ministry the more difficulties you are bound to face. “But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” Luke 12:48

The key here is to recognize that it is not our fight. Opposition will never go away BUT we hold the victory from the start as children of God.

There is a simple solution to victory: RELATIONSHIP.

I have found that the vast majority of times I feel beat up and discouraged in ministry is because I am putting value in things that don’t really matter. It is easy to feel overwhelmed when finances are tight or when you feel you don’t know the next step to take but we can not put our faith in physical things.

The equation is simple. If you put your faith in finances then when they aren’t there you have no hope BUT if you put your faith in Christ the Bible says that he will never leave you and never forsake you. BOOM! Victory.

As Christians we all understand the importance of keeping our eyes on Christ but it is still crucial to check ourselves constantly to ensure that our natural tendencies do not supersede what we know to be the truth spiritually.

Stay in the word of God always because he is our strength and our hope! Build your relationship daily. When you are weak he is strong.

Always remember that God loves you and we love you!

-Justin- (Driven Cure)

God has been dealing with me a great deal about how we as Christians should interact on the web. It is a very common thing to get bombarded with negativity everyday from Facebook, Twitter, and the rest if the content we see on the web. Most of the time we don’t even give a second thought about the depressing post of our peers or even the negativity that tends to spew from our own statuses as Christians. Being a light shouldn’t end once you hit Facebook!

Life without Christ is a hard enough road as it is but imagine the unsaved; surrounded in a sea of negativity and hopelessness from the sources we spend hours a day using. Our words are powerful and that doesn’t end solely with what comes from our mouths but also the words we use in the digital domain. I would urge you as a believer and follower of Christ to be nothing but positive on the internet. It is most certainly a tall order for some of us but imagine how Jesus’ “wall” would look if they had used Facebook 2000 years ago. How would Christ’s timeline appear as you scrolled through his tweets?

Every time you as a Christian post an encouraging, positive, or edifying status you are directly combating the darkness out there on the internet. Focus on spending your time speaking the word over the internet rather than complaining about the line at the drive-thru. Take the time to write something encouraging on someone’s wall rather than contributing to the negativity of those around you. You can be the light of Christ even in the digital realm! We have to get over the inhibitions of sharing Jesus because of the fear of what people will think. If we are not telling people about the love of Jesus then they are not hearing about it!

I believe that God will use the internet to reach people if we just allow him to do so. Make the effort to glorify God even over the web. Social networks are simply tools waiting for Christians to step up to the plate and use for the kingdom of God. We can make such a difference if we make the conscious decision to take over the internet for the Lord! As a Christian everything that comes from our mouths should be in love and said with the aim of building up our brothers and sisters in Christ. Everything we say should glorify our savior and king, Jesus Christ. ”Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” -Ephesians 4:29

Begin to think of your computer, smart phone, iPad and all the other gadgets we use as tools for building the kingdom of God. Abandon the negativity that is so prevalent today and bring light to the darkness. There are a great deal of people who could use a healthy dose of Christ’s love in their timeline. Many people actually feel the depression that they share so willingly on the internet. If we can effectively share the love of Jesus on the web then we can change the entire emotional landscape of those who battle feeling worthless, lost, and unloved. It is all too easy sometimes to let it slide but when you see someone is down reach out to them and make it a point to let them know that they are loved. All of the actions that we know to be right when we are face-to-face with someone should still be observed in your digital life.

The awesome thing is that as you begin to take a stand and be positive that attitude will permeate into the rest of your life. The words we speak have the power to destroy those around us but also build others up! Proverbs 18:21 tells us, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” We should strive to make a loving and uplifting attitude a part of us daily because when it is in our hearts it will show through our words and actions. How incredible is it to know that you can change someone’s life just by the words you speak?! “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” -Luke 6:45

I am so excited by the things that I see God doing and the lives I see being changed! God is doing marvelous things and he wants to use us. Just as in Isaiah chapter 6, God is still looking for those who will stand up and say “Here I am Lord, send me!”. Allow God to use you and the gifts that he has placed inside of you. Daily personify the love of Christ.

I understand that no one is perfect but I would ask you to join me as I attempt to fight the good fight on the web. This is something God has been really dealing with personally about. If this blog ministers to no one else, I have been ministered to writing it. I pray that we can band together as brothers and sisters in unity and make a difference!

Always remember that God loves you and we love you!

-Justin- (Driven Cure)

p.s. If you would like more scriptures on the power of our words here is a fantastic link for you: http://www.openbible.info/topics/power_of_words

I love seeing the effect that our band has on people as we spend time and minister. Of course, it has nothing to do with us but it has to do with Christ through us! People put a very large emphasis on being humble and in an effort to stay humble we as Christians and leaders often lose the ability to stand confidently and inspire our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. At all times we should be building up the family of God and we have all been given special and unique gifts to do so.

To me there is nothing more incredible than to see someone become inspired by the Christ that they see in you and decide to step up to the things that God has called them to! I love seeing people begin to realize the power they have in Christ and the calling that he has on their lives. It is so powerful when the lightbulb finally comes on and they begin to wake up spiritually because when the awakening happens, things begin to change: people begin to be saved, lives get restored, and Jesus gets glorified.

God has not called us to build up ourselves but to build up each other. We need to be proactive in building others up in word and in deed. When we see our brother or sister fall we must consider it personal responsibility to pick them up. We have been called to love one another! We are a family and we are the body of Christ. We must renew our minds daily with the word and remember that this world has nothing to offer us.

We are on the winning team! We have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus! “‘No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me,’ declares the Lord.” Isaiah 54:17.

I encourage you to be strong in Christ because nothing in the world is worth the cost of your eternal soul. God loves you more than you can fathom. No matter who you are you have a purpose, you are special, and you have a future in the body of Christ.

p.s. ”David said about him: ’I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in hope, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, you will not let your holy one see decay. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.’” Acts 2:25-28

God Bless,

-Justin- (Driven Cure)

In the middle of the night on our way to Oklahoma from Tennessee we stopped at a truck stop somewhere in Arkansas for gas. As we all dragged ourselves inside we found an isle full of hats in all shapes and sizes. Without wasting any time the manager of the truck stop began trying to sell us the hats which apparently had been sitting on the shelf a while. Not taking it very seriously we started to negotiate prices on the hats thinking that if we could buy them cheaply enough it could be a funny story and something new to add to our merch booth. To our surprise the manager was very quick to make a deal so we went ahead a bought the hats. ALL 80 HATS! We left the truck stop giggling to ourselves thinking about how stupid it was that we just bought 80 hats from a truck stop. However, little did we know that God had a bigger plan for those hats than we did.

When we arrived in Oklahoma we found out that one of the dates we were supposed to play was cancelled. Not having any place to be we decided to take our merch booth to the local drug store in town. The store is owned by a friend of ours and they were happy to have us set up and sell our merch. We put everything up and immediately the hats were a hit. It wasn’t long before a woman came into the store looking for all the hats she had been hearing about.

The woman, we’ll call her Jane, began trying on all the hats and grabbing hats for all of her friends. Buzzing around with something like seven hats in-hand she made her final selection and approached our booth. While she paid for her hats we began to talk with her about who we are and what we do and as we did we began to feel the urge to pray with her. She quickly agreed and began to open up to us about the battles she was facing. As it turned out Jane was diagnosed with breast cancer and was having a tough time dealing with it emotionally and spiritually. Her husband had died unexpectedly a few years prior leaving her to raise her 8-year-old son alone. With tears streaming down her cheeks she told us that the only thing she wanted was to raise her son.

We prayed for Jane right there in the middle of the drug store and it was amazing to see God intervene in her situation. She gave us all a giant hug and kiss and thanked us for being there to pray with her. She told us how she had been feeling alone but now she felt that she had hope! At the truck stop in Arkansas we thought a hat was just a hat but to God that hat was an opportunity for ministry. God wanted to do a special work for a woman in Oklahoma and because we were willing he used us to do it. It seemed so ridiculous to buy an isle full of hats but by the end of that day it seemed to be one of the most wonderful decisions we could have made. We were able to make an impact in someone’s life and bring hope to someone feeling hopeless!

You never know how God wants to work. We try to figure it all out and in doing so we put God in a box. Sometimes God uses signs and wonders, other times he uses a hat.

-Justin- (Driven Cure)

The month of April marked one year since we took a leap of faith and left our jobs in the pursuit of ministry; and what a blessing it has been. In that year we have faced many adversities and had many triumphs. However, the one thing that has remained a constant is the importance of faith and the knowledge that God ALWAYS has our best interest at heart. It is incredible to see how God works when you just allow him to step in and be the leader. Our flesh makes it is so difficult to just let go and be lead rather than take control and lean on our own understanding. I have come to the understanding that we spend way too much time worrying about how it will all work out or how we will make ends meet when in the end all it takes for God is the blink of an eye to meet our needs. If the last year has taught us anything it is that God WILL provide a way regardless of circumstance. In the natural it seems like the most foolish thing in the world to leave your jobs for the insecurity of music ministry but, nevertheless, we stand here a year later telling you that God has provided!

We take it as our personal responsibilities to inspire peoples hearts and minds everywhere we go. Maybe it is not your calling to leave your job and become a touring musician but we ALL have a purpose and are tested accordingly. No matter what your struggle I would urge you to seek refuge in Christ. We have learned through many hopeless experiences that when all seems lost that is when God will show himself strong. Always remain planted in the fact that God’s plan is perfect. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

As a final word I would just like to add how important it is to surround yourself with Christ like friends, family, and mentors. The Driven Cure family is far more than just the guys you see on stage but we are a team that branches far beyond the four of us. God has blessed us with many wonderful supporters who have made the last year possible. Without them we would not be here today carrying out the work of the lord. “Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.” (Proverbs 11:14)

Remember that God loves you and we love you!

-Justin- (Driven Cure)