United Action Sports

Getting There (Oswald Chambers)

2011-06-13T09:40:00.001-04:00

. . . come, follow Me —Luke 18:22

Where our individual desire dies and sanctified surrender lives. One of the greatest hindrances in coming to Jesus is the excuse of our own individual temperament. We make our temperament and our natural desires barriers to coming to Jesus. Yet the first thing we realize when we do come to Jesus is that He pays no attention whatsoever to our natural desires. We have the idea that we can dedicate our gifts to God. However, you cannot dedicate what is not yours. There is actually only one thing you can dedicate to God, and that is your right to yourself (see Romans 12:1). If you will give God your right to yourself, He will make a holy experiment out of you— and His experiments always succeed. The one true mark of a saint of God is the inner creativity that flows from being totally surrendered to Jesus Christ. In the life of a saint there is this amazing Well, which is a continual Source of original life. The Spirit of God is a Well of water springing up perpetually fresh. A saint realizes that it is God who engineers his circumstances; consequently there are no complaints, only unrestrained surrender to Jesus. Never try to make your experience a principle for others, but allow God to be as creative and original with others as He is with you.

If you abandon everything to Jesus, and come when He says, “Come,” then He will continue to say, “Come,” through you. You will go out into the world reproducing the echo of Christ’s “Come.” That is the result in every soul who has abandoned all and come to Jesus.

Have I come to Him? Will I come now?

The Greatest Source of Power (Oswald Chambers)

2011-06-07T09:08:00.003-04:00

Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do . . . —John 14:13

Am I fulfilling this ministry of intercession deep within the hidden recesses of my life? There is no trap nor any danger at all of being deceived or of showing pride in true intercession. It is a hidden ministry that brings forth fruit through which the Father is glorified. Am I allowing my spiritual life to waste away, or am I focused, bringing everything to one central point— the atonement of my Lord? Is Jesus Christ more and more dominating every interest of my life? If the central point, or the most powerful influence, of my life is the atonement of the Lord, then every aspect of my life will bear fruit for Him.

However, I must take the time to realize what this central point of power is. Am I willing to give one minute out of every hour to concentrate on it? “If you abide in Me . . . “— that is, if you continue to act, and think, and work from that central point— “you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you” (John 15:7). Am I abiding? Am I taking the time to abide? What is the greatest source of power in my life? Is it my work, service, and sacrifice for others, or is it my striving to work for God? It should be none of these— what ought to exert the greatest power in my life is the atonement of the Lord. It is not on what we spend the greatest amount of time that molds us the most, but whatever exerts the most power over us. We must make a determination to limit and concentrate our desires and interests on the atonement by the Cross of Christ.

“Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do . . . .” The disciple who abides in Jesus is the will of God, and what appears to be his free choices are actually God’s foreordained decrees. Is this mysterious? Does it appear to contradict sound logic or seem totally absurd? Yes, but what a glorious truth it is to a saint of God.

(Daily Devotions by Oswald Chambers)

God's Assurance

2011-06-05T11:37:00.001-04:00

He Himself has said . . . . So we may boldly say . . . —Hebrews 13:5-6

My assurance is to be built upon God’s assurance to me. God says, “I will never leave you,” so that then I “may boldly say, ’The Lord is my helper; I will not fear’ ” (Hebrews 13:5-6). In other words, I will not be obsessed with apprehension. This does not mean that I will not be tempted to fear, but I will remember God’s words of assurance. I will be full of courage, like a child who strives to reach the standard his father has set for him. The faith of many people begins to falter when apprehensions enter their thinking, and they forget the meaning of God’s assurance— they forget to take a deep spiritual breath. The only way to remove the fear from our lives is to listen to God’s assurance to us.

What are you fearing? Whatever it may be, you are not a coward about it— you are determined to face it, yet you still have a feeling of fear. When it seems that there is nothing and no one to help you, say to yourself, “But ’The Lord is my helper’ this very moment, even in my present circumstance.” Are you learning to listen to God before you speak, or are you saying things and then trying to make God’s Word fit what you have said? Take hold of the Father’s assurance, and then say with strong courage, “I will not fear.” It does not matter what evil or wrong may be in our way, because “He Himself has said, ’I will never leave you . . . .’ “
Human frailty is another thing that gets between God’s words of assurance and our own words and thoughts. When we realize how feeble we are in facing difficulties, the difficulties become like giants, we become like grasshoppers, and God seems to be nonexistent. But remember God’s assurance to us— “I will never. . . forsake you.” Have we learned to sing after hearing God’s keynote? Are we continually filled with enough courage to say, “The Lord is my helper,” or are we yielding to fear?

The Never-forsaking God

2011-06-04T08:56:00.002-04:00

He Himself has said, ’I will never leave you nor forsake you’ —Hebrews 13:5

What line of thinking do my thoughts take? Do I turn to what God says or to my own fears? Am I simply repeating what God says, or am I learning to truly hear Him and then to respond after I have heard what He says? “For He Himself has said, ’I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say: ’The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’ ” (Hebrews 13:5-6).

“I will never leave you . . .”— not for any reason; not my sin, selfishness, stubbornness, nor waywardness. Have I really let God say to me that He will never leave me? If I have not truly heard this assurance of God, then let me listen again.

“I will never . . . forsake you.” Sometimes it is not the difficulty of life but the drudgery of it that makes me think God will forsake me. When there is no major difficulty to overcome, no vision from God, nothing wonderful or beautiful— just the everyday activities of life— do I hear God’s assurance even in these?

We have the idea that God is going to do some exceptional thing— that He is preparing and equipping us for some extraordinary work in the future. But as we grow in His grace we find that God is glorifying Himself here and now, at this very moment. If we have God’s assurance behind us, the most amazing strength becomes ours, and we learn to sing, glorifying Him even in the ordinary days and ways of life.

The Secret of the Lord (Oswald Chambers)

2011-06-03T12:45:00.002-04:00

The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him . . . —Psalm 25:14

What is the sign of a friend? Is it that he tells you his secret sorrows? No, it is that he tells you his secret joys. Many people will confide their secret sorrows to you, but the final mark of intimacy is when they share their secret joys with you. Have we ever let God tell us any of His joys? Or are we continually telling God our secrets, leaving Him no time to talk to us? At the beginning of our Christian life we are full of requests to God. But then we find that God wants to get us into an intimate relationship with Himself— to get us in touch with His purposes. Are we so intimately united to Jesus Christ’s idea of prayer— “Your will be done” (Matthew 6:10)— that we catch the secrets of God?
What makes God so dear to us is not so much His big blessings to us, but the tiny things, because they show His amazing intimacy with us— He knows every detail of each of our individual lives.

“Him shall He teach in the way He chooses” (Psalm 25:12). At first, we want the awareness of being guided by God. But then as we grow spiritually, we live so fully aware of God that we do not even need to ask what His will is, because the thought of choosing another way will never occur to us. If we are saved and sanctified, God guides us by our everyday choices. And if we are about to choose what He does not want, He will give us a sense of doubt or restraint, which we must heed. Whenever there is doubt, stop at once. Never try to reason it out, saying, “I wonder why I shouldn’t do this?” God instructs us in what we choose; that is, He actually guides our common sense. And when we yield to His teachings and guidance, we no longer hinder His Spirit by continually asking, “Now, Lord, what is Your will?”

Are you obsessed by something?

2011-06-02T10:35:00.003-04:00

Who is the man that fears the Lord? —Psalm 25:12

Are you obsessed by something? You will probably say, “No, by nothing,” but all of us are obsessed by something— usually by ourselves, or, if we are Christians, by our own experience of the Christian life. But the psalmist says that we are to be obsessed by God. The abiding awareness of the Christian life is to be God Himself, not just thoughts about Him. The total being of our life inside and out is to be absolutely obsessed by the presence of God. A child’s awareness is so absorbed in his mother that although he is not consciously thinking of her, when a problem arises, the abiding relationship is that with the mother. In that same way, we are to “live and move and have our being” in God (Acts 17:28), looking at everything in relation to Him, because our abiding awareness of Him continually pushes itself to the forefront of our lives.

If we are obsessed by God, nothing else can get into our lives— not concerns, nor tribulation, nor worries. And now we understand why our Lord so emphasized the sin of worrying. How can we dare to be so absolutely unbelieving when God totally surrounds us? To be obsessed by God is to have an effective barricade against all the assaults of the enemy.
“He himself shall dwell in prosperity . . .” (Psalm 25:13). God will cause us to “dwell in prosperity,” keeping us at ease, even in the midst of tribulation, misunderstanding, and slander, if our “life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). We rob ourselves of the miraculous, revealed truth of this abiding companionship with God. “God is our refuge . . .” (Psalm 46:1). Nothing can break through His shelter of protection.

The Staggering Question (Oswald Chambers)

2011-06-01T12:21:00.002-04:00

He said to me, ’Son of man, can these bones live?’ —Ezekiel 37:3

Can a sinner be turned into a saint? Can a twisted life be made right? There is only one appropriate answer— “O Lord God, You know” (Ezekiel 37:3). Never forge ahead with your religious common sense and say, “Oh, yes, with just a little more Bible reading, devotional time, and prayer, I see how it can be done.”

It is much easier to do something than to trust in God; we see the activity and mistake panic for inspiration. That is why we see so few fellow workers with God, yet so many people working for God. We would much rather work for God than believe in Him. Do I really believe that God will do in me what I cannot do? The degree of hopelessness I have for others comes from never realizing that God has done anything for me. Is my own personal experience such a wonderful realization of God’s power and might that I can never have a sense of hopelessness for anyone else I see? Has any spiritual work been accomplished in me at all? The degree of panic activity in my life is equal to the degree of my lack of personal spiritual experience.

“Behold, O My people, I will open your graves . . .” (Ezekiel 37:12). When God wants to show you what human nature is like separated from Himself, He shows it to you in yourself. If the Spirit of God has ever given you a vision of what you are apart from the grace of God (and He will only do this when His Spirit is at work in you), then you know that in reality there is no criminal half as bad as you yourself could be without His grace. My “grave” has been opened by God and “I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells” (Romans 7:18). God’s Spirit continually reveals to His children what human nature is like apart from His grace.

Put God First (Oswald Chambers)

2011-05-31T09:47:00.002-04:00

Jesus did not commit Himself to them . . .for He knew what was in man —John 2:24-25

Put Trust in God First. Our Lord never put His trust in any person. Yet He was never suspicious, never bitter, and never lost hope for anyone, because He put His trust in God first. He trusted absolutely in what God’s grace could do for others. If I put my trust in human beings first, the end result will be my despair and hopelessness toward everyone. I will become bitter because I have insisted that people be what no person can ever be— absolutely perfect and right. Never trust anything in yourself or in anyone else, except the grace of God.

Put God’s Will First. “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God” (Hebrews 10:9).
A person’s obedience is to what he sees to be a need— our Lord’s obedience was to the will of His Father. The rallying cry today is, “We must get to work! The heathen are dying without God. We must go and tell them about Him.” But we must first make sure that God’s “needs” and His will in us personally are being met. Jesus said, “. . . tarry . . . until you are endued with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). The purpose of our Christian training is to get us into the right relationship to the “needs” of God and His will. Once God’s “needs” in us have been met, He will open the way for us to accomplish His will, meeting His “needs” elsewhere.

Put God’s Son First. “Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me” (Matthew 18:5).
God came as a baby, giving and entrusting Himself to me. He expects my personal life to be a “Bethlehem.” Am I allowing my natural life to be slowly transformed by the indwelling life of the Son of God? God’s ultimate purpose is that His Son might be exhibited in me.

(Daily Devotions by Oswald Chambers)

Lucas and Project Zambia

2011-05-30T19:02:00.000-04:00

United wants to show support and love to a close friend and has been part of the United family with us for a long time as he is in the bush in Africa right now, sharing Christ's love with the people there. God is doing amazing things!

We ask you to pray for him and the team he is with!

post a comment if you would like to know more, learn how you can help support! we will get back to you!

Unquestion Revelation (Oswald Chambers)

2011-05-28T22:04:00.003-04:00

In that day you will ask Me nothing —John 16:23

When is “that day”? It is when the ascended Lord makes you one with the Father. “In that day” you will be one with the Father just as Jesus is, and He said, “In that day you will ask Me nothing.” Until the resurrection life of Jesus is fully exhibited in you, you have questions about many things. Then after a while you find that all your questions are gone— you don’t seem to have any left to ask. You have come to the point of total reliance on the resurrection life of Jesus, which brings you into complete oneness with the purpose of God. Are you living that life now? If not, why aren’t you?

“In that day” there may be any number of things still hidden to your understanding, but they will not come between your heart and God. “In that day you will ask Me nothing”— you will not need to ask, because you will be certain that God will reveal things in accordance with His will. The faith and peace of John 14:1 has become the real attitude of your heart, and there are no more questions to be asked. If anything is a mystery to you and is coming between you and God, never look for the explanation in your mind, but look for it in your spirit, your true inner nature— that is where the problem is. Once your inner spiritual nature is willing to submit to the life of Jesus, your understanding will be perfectly clear, and you will come to the place where there is no distance between the Father and you, His child, because the Lord has made you one. “In that day you will ask Me nothing.”

(Daily Devotions by Oswald Chambers)

The Life to Know Him (Oswald Chambers)

2011-05-27T02:48:00.001-04:00

. . . tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high —Luke 24:49

The disciples had to tarry, staying in Jerusalem until the day of Pentecost, not only for their own preparation but because they had to wait until the Lord was actually glorified. And as soon as He was glorified, what happened? “Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear” (Acts 2:33). The statement in John 7:39 — “. . . for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified”— does not pertain to us. The Holy Spirit has been given; the Lord is glorified— our waiting is not dependent on the providence of God, but on our own spiritual fitness.

The Holy Spirit’s influence and power were at work before Pentecost, but He was not here. Once our Lord was glorified in His ascension, the Holy Spirit came into the world, and He has been here ever since. We have to receive the revealed truth that He is here. The attitude of receiving and welcoming the Holy Spirit into our lives is to be the continual attitude of a believer. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we receive reviving life from our ascended Lord.

It is not the baptism of the Holy Spirit that changes people, but the power of the ascended Christ coming into their lives through the Holy Spirit. We all too often separate things that the New Testament never separates. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is not an experience apart from Jesus Christ— it is the evidence of the ascended Christ.

The baptism of the Holy Spirit does not make you think of time or eternity— it is one amazing glorious now. “This is eternal life, that they may know You . . .” (John 17:3). Begin to know Him now, and never finish.

(Daily Devotions by Oswald Chambers)

Thinking of Prayer as Jesus taught (Oswald Chambers)

2011-05-26T11:14:00.002-04:00

Pray without ceasing . . . —1 Thessalonians 5:17

Our thinking about prayer, whether right or wrong, is based on our own mental conception of it. The correct concept is to think of prayer as the breath in our lungs and the blood from our hearts. Our blood flows and our breathing continues “without ceasing”; we are not even conscious of it, but it never stops. And we are not always conscious of Jesus keeping us in perfect oneness with God, but if we are obeying Him, He always is. Prayer is not an exercise, it is the life of the saint. Beware of anything that stops the offering up of prayer. “Pray without ceasing . . .”— maintain the childlike habit of offering up prayer in your heart to God all the time.

Jesus never mentioned unanswered prayer. He had the unlimited certainty of knowing that prayer is always answered. Do we have through the Spirit of God that inexpressible certainty that Jesus had about prayer, or do we think of the times when it seemed that God did not answer our prayer? Jesus said, “. . . everyone who asks receives . . .” (Matthew 7:8). Yet we say, “But . . . , but . . . .” God answers prayer in the best way— not just sometimes, but every time. However, the evidence of the answer in the area we want it may not always immediately follow. Do we expect God to answer prayer?

The danger we have is that we want to water down what Jesus said to make it mean something that aligns with our common sense. But if it were only common sense, what He said would not even be worthwhile. The things Jesus taught about prayer are supernatural truths He reveals to us.

(Daily Devotions by Oswald Chambers)

The Good or The Best (Oswald Chambers)

2011-05-25T09:51:00.002-04:00

If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left —Genesis 13:9

As soon as you begin to live the life of faith in God, fascinating and physically gratifying possibilities will open up before you. These things are yours by right, but if you are living the life of faith you will exercise your right to waive your rights, and let God make your choice for you. God sometimes allows you to get into a place of testing where your own welfare would be the appropriate thing to consider, if you were not living the life of faith. But if you are, you will joyfully waive your right and allow God to make your choice for you. This is the discipline God uses to transform the natural into the spiritual through obedience to His voice.

Whenever our right becomes the guiding factor of our lives, it dulls our spiritual insight. The greatest enemy of the life of faith in God is not sin, but good choices which are not quite good enough. The good is always the enemy of the best. In this passage, it would seem that the wisest thing in the world for Abram to do would be to choose. It was his right, and the people around him would consider him to be a fool for not choosing.

Many of us do not continue to grow spiritually because we prefer to choose on the basis of our rights, instead of relying on God to make the choice for us. We have to learn to walk according to the standard which has its eyes focused on God. And God says to us, as He did to Abram, “. . . walk before Me. . .” (Genesis 17:1).

(Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers)

Our Careful Unbelief (Oswald Chambers)

2011-05-24T13:28:00.004-04:00

. . . do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on —Matthew 6:25

Jesus summed up commonsense carefulness in the life of a disciple as unbelief. If we have received the Spirit of God, He will squeeze right through our lives, as if to ask, “Now where do I come into this relationship, this vacation you have planned, or these new books you want to read?” And He always presses the point until we learn to make Him our first consideration. Whenever we put other things first, there is confusion.

“. . . do not worry about your life . . . .” Don’t take the pressure of your provision upon yourself. It is not only wrong to worry, it is unbelief; worrying means we do not believe that God can look after the practical details of our lives, and it is never anything but those details that worry us. Have you ever noticed what Jesus said would choke the Word He puts in us? Is it the devil? No— “the cares of this world” (Matthew 13:22). It is always our little worries. We say, “I will not trust when I cannot see”— and that is where unbelief begins. The only cure for unbelief is obedience to the Spirit.

The greatest word of Jesus to His disciples is abandon.

(Daily Devotionals By Oswald Chambers)

Alt Games San Diego California

2011-05-23T18:29:00.000-04:00

Thanks to the help of my good friend and awesome dad, I got to train hard before heading out west to San Diego, California for the College Nationals of Wakeboarding, otherwise known as the Alt Games. The competition was stiff this year as I was second off the dock. I made it out of quarter finals and on to semi finals. Semi finals were very tough and it came down to the importance of each trick... I ended up falling on my last trick of my pass and had I landed that I would have continued on to finals.

I was very pleased to have made it that far and I ended up coming in 7th over all! I know now what I have before me for next year and what I have to learn this year!

Wakeboarding was a huge part of the trip but while we were there dad and I took the opportunity to experience Southern California/ almost Mexico! It was amazing, the weather was incredible, and no bugs.

Here are a few pictures from what we saw...

The Rockie Mtns

The event Site

Rattle Snake and a bunny

Shamu Show

And nothing quite like a west coast sunset.

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Psalm 19:1

till next time
-Devin

Shaun Murray's Story

2011-05-23T16:52:00.001-04:00

Thanks to This iz My Story Ministries

Friends

2011-05-23T15:34:00.002-04:00

Devin's Wake School

Adam's Wakeboard School

Snowboarders for Christ

Southtown Riders

Liberty Mountain Snowflex Centre

This iz My Story Ministries

Promo Video

2011-05-22T16:52:00.002-04:00

What's Near You?

2011-05-22T16:49:00.003-04:00

coming soon

What's Near You?

2011-05-22T16:48:00.002-04:00

coming soon

Skate United

2011-05-22T16:26:00.001-04:00

Skate United was created with the sole purpose of uniting riders with the love of Christ, encouraging one another in our riding, and using the abilities he has given us to be a beacon of light in today’s world. Skate United wants riders who for one just love to ride and who also are great examples of what it is like to be a Christian.

Snow United

2011-05-22T16:20:00.001-04:00

Snow United was created with the sole purpose of uniting riders with the love of Christ, encouraging one another in our riding, and using the abilities he has given us to be a beacon of light in today’s world. Snow United wants riders who for one just love to ride (whether that be ski or snowboard) and who also are great examples of what it is like to be a Christian.

Myles Stark

2011-05-20T12:54:00.003-04:00

I'm a sophmore at Liberty University majoring in Criminal Justice. I've lived in Vermont the past 19 years of my life, but now I live in Lynchburg Virginia. I started skiing when I was about 6 years old and then switched to snowboarding at around age 10. Snowboarding is a huge part of my life and thanks to LU Snowflex Center I'm able to ride during spring, summer, and fall.

I want to thank God, Liberty University, LU Snowflex Center, Keir Dillon, and family and friends that have supported me.

Kevin Manguiob

2011-05-20T12:43:00.001-04:00

Name: Kevin Manguiob
DOB: 03/15/1989
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 160lb.
Hometown: NEW YORK CITY
Town of Current Residence: Lynchburg, VA
Local Resort: Wyndham Mt., NY
Board: 152 Capita Indoor Survival FK
Bindings: Ride Delta MVMNT - (front+16 deg.)(Back -15deg.)

I grew up in a strong Christian household. Which meant that I was taught all the Christian "fundamentals" and Bible stories. I knew about the Gospel and about Salvation growing up as a kid, but it wasn't until one night during summer camp when I realized that

Christianity wasn't a religion or a stamp that we put on ourselves. It's all about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, believing that you're a sinner and that without Jesus and His sacrifice, we would be nothing.Lost. There's a certain peace and indescribable joy

that comes from that intimate relationship with God. It took me a while to finally find out that there is nothing that we can do or even buy that can replace that peace and joy. I would honestly be lost if it weren't for God, and for my amazing family and

friends that He blessed me with.

My dad first put me on skis when I was probably around 8 or 9 years old. Skiing was a blast until I tried snowboarding one day with my friends. After that one day, there was no turning back. I quickly fell in love with snowboarding and its culture, and I am blessed to be

able to go to the only University in America with a year round resort. It's been awesome being able to ride with friends who are on a whole different level than me, pushing me to get better and better. It's been great so far being able to ride for Liberty University's first

freestyle team, and to be able to be a part of United and its growing ministries. I'm excited to see how God will use United to help reach out to the action sports industry.

Brent Blakeney

2011-05-19T09:20:00.003-04:00

Greetings! How are you? I am fine thanks for asking. Well to be

completely honest I am a tad narcissistic so I will definitely enjoy

the fact that people are visiting and reading an entire web page

devoted to me.

Well, to begin, my name is Brent Blakeney. I am 6 feet, 7 inches tall

and enjoy many of the finer things in life. Two of those being

wakeboarding and Jesus.

I came to know Christ when I was 11 years old by the wonderful

teachings of the staff at Camp Willow Run, which I later had a chance

to serve on myself. I continued to follow him all the way through

college where i earned my Bachelors of Arts in Biblical Studies from

Southeastern College. After that, and currently, I am persuing my

masters of Arts in Religion with a focus in Theology and Apologetics.

Sounds fancy and difficult but it isn't. I hope to continue on with my

education and become Dr. Blakeney one day while teaching at a

university somewhere and (Lord willing) continuing this Ministry we

have created.

Wakeboarding is a completely different story. I started riding about 4

years ago after struggeling for about two years just to stand up on

the dag gone thing. After that I was hooked though. I try to ride

every chance I get although with school and a job that is much less

frequent than i would like. I spend most of my water tim either with

the guys from Wake N Skate on SMith mountain, or with friends on Lake

Gaston in North Carolina.

Gotta show some love to my family cause without them I wouldn't be

here. To my United crew, some of the coolest dudes on the planet. And

of course to God, because without Him none of this would be possible.

One Love.