I have a dream where Christianity is restored to what God intended...Denominations will be no more and we can come together as the body of Christ...people won't split up based on their theories and traditions but yet they will unite based on the facts of the Bible....A church will be a place where everyone is accepted and welcomed and people will know that they have a family in Christ....
I have a dream where Christianity solves world hunger and poverty, where war will end and Christians are willing to give up everything for Jesus....where the Church is brought back to the point of loving God and others and not paying pastors too much and spending millions on fancy buildings....
I have a dream where the divorce rate will cease to exist and the porn industry will be no more....where people know that marriage is forever and won't throw it away....Kids will grow up will two loving parents who spend time with them and not spend all their time working for things that don't last....Prisons will not be needed and the crime rate will cease...people will put everyone else before themselves and their selfish desires will be abolished....
Friday, February 22, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
You Are Loved
Wow....The last couple months I wasn't really grasping the fact that I am Loved...I knew my friends cared about me, but I had no idea how beautiful that fact is, I took it for granted....I learn this last weekend what true love is....I learned the most powerful lesson a person can learn....I saw Jesus love me through total strangers, complete strangers who knew nothing about me and through my best friends who know me so well. I couldn't possibly fathom this life without the existance of God and the Love he gives each person the ability to express.
God is Love, his Love is so powerful and I have really tried to grasp how great that Love is and I don't think it is possible. The problem with humans is they have no idea how much they are truely Loved, even if it is by people they don't even know. Jesus teaches a way of Agape Love in which Love is unconditional and to everyone. How amazing is that? Words cannot describe the feeling of beauty you get inside of your heart when you truely understand how many people love you. I know when I felt that I couldn't keep from crying.....
True Agape Love brings you to your knees in tears and makes you wonder why you are so beautifully blessed. You cannot understand Love, science will never be able to explain it. Love is a choice, no matter what you are Loved it is whether you choose to accept that Love that makes you whole. Whether you are on the high point in life or going through the roughest times you should know that you are truely Loved and that alone will bring you strength. How can anything that preaches this amazing and beautiful message be wrong? I just couldn't possibly imaging living a life without the true Love and grace of God and my brothers and sisters in Christ.
After this weekend I understand that I am Loved and with that Love I have to spill it out to others...it's like a kid who gets a new toy and he wants to show all of his friends...I just want to tell the world about how beautiful this feeling is......So let me end with this, it's not a challenge, it's a simple fact....The Gospel in one word is Love...You are Loved by me and by the one who gave his life for you, the precious Jesus.....
--Agape--
God is Love, his Love is so powerful and I have really tried to grasp how great that Love is and I don't think it is possible. The problem with humans is they have no idea how much they are truely Loved, even if it is by people they don't even know. Jesus teaches a way of Agape Love in which Love is unconditional and to everyone. How amazing is that? Words cannot describe the feeling of beauty you get inside of your heart when you truely understand how many people love you. I know when I felt that I couldn't keep from crying.....
True Agape Love brings you to your knees in tears and makes you wonder why you are so beautifully blessed. You cannot understand Love, science will never be able to explain it. Love is a choice, no matter what you are Loved it is whether you choose to accept that Love that makes you whole. Whether you are on the high point in life or going through the roughest times you should know that you are truely Loved and that alone will bring you strength. How can anything that preaches this amazing and beautiful message be wrong? I just couldn't possibly imaging living a life without the true Love and grace of God and my brothers and sisters in Christ.
After this weekend I understand that I am Loved and with that Love I have to spill it out to others...it's like a kid who gets a new toy and he wants to show all of his friends...I just want to tell the world about how beautiful this feeling is......So let me end with this, it's not a challenge, it's a simple fact....The Gospel in one word is Love...You are Loved by me and by the one who gave his life for you, the precious Jesus.....
--Agape--
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Something Beautiful
Isn't God amazing how he creates things so beautiful and perfect. He created each human so unique and each of us has the capability to love.
We are all seeking love in our own ways, some people search for it in material things. They think people will love them more if they have certain clothes or cars or shoes. Some people search for it in their talents, they think if they are good at sports or strong or look good people will like them. And one of the ways people search for love that breaks my heart is when guys and girls feel this pressure to look good for the opposite sex.
Our culture pushes sex so much, just go into any popular clothing store....and it seems to be working too because those stores are thriving. It's sad we have degraded ourselves to use sex to sell things. I read an article a couple months back that interviewed the CEO of Abercrombie (not criticizing you if you guy stuff from there but I would like to share what the article said) this is just a little exert from it.....
For example, when I ask him how important sex and sexual attraction are in what he calls the "emotional experience" he creates for his customers, he says, "It's almost everything. That's why we hire good-looking people in our stores. Because good-looking people attract other good-looking people, and we want to market to cool, good-looking people. We don't market to anyone other than that."
As far as Jeffries is concerned, America's unattractive, overweight or otherwise undesirable teens can shop elsewhere. "In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids," he says. "Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don't belong [in our clothes], and they can't belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely. Those companies that are in trouble are trying to target everybody: young, old, fat, skinny. But then you become totally vanilla. You don't alienate anybody, but you don't excite anybody, either."
Wow, it hurts to read that our culture is saying ugly people shouldn't be accepted....Our culture is shallow. I believe everyone is beautiful and this is what Jesus teaches us. God created every single person and loves us all equally. When we take something God created so beautifully such as a human being and degrade them to the point where they aren't accepted by the cool people. How can we say one human is better than another? We are all human beings, we all have thoughts and feelings and have the capacity to love people and show compassion. That in itself is beautiful.
God only creates beautiful things, go to the beach sometime and tell me it's not beautiful, go to the grand canyon, look at the stars at night, look at how the sun lights up the earth, look at the trees and plants and everything God created and how wonderful and perfect it is. God's view of perfection is different than ours because God isn't shallow. He knows he created everyone beautiful because he reads peoples hearts. He knows we are all capable of loving each other and love is beautiful.
I believe there is something so beautiful about a girl who respects herself and dresses modestly. I think when a girl can believe in her heart that someone will love her for who she is she won't have to try so hard to fit into the culture and be someone she isn't. I used to be pretty shallow when it came to girls, I am not going to lie about it. But how stupid I was by doing that because I always ended up with people who weren't right for me.
Now when I look around I see girls who try so hard and I start to see how desperate they are to be loved. They just need someone to go up to them and tell them that they are loved no matter what. I really like Dusty's quote in chapel a few weeks ago....
If God is love, it is maddening when we are running from God and yet searching for love.
We are all searching for love, we are all looking to be handsome and beautiful, it's sad to see this is what we have been searching for for so long and Jesus was sitting right next to us the whole time telling us how beautiful we are and how he loves us. He answers what we are searching for, we don't need to find love in the wrong places anymore.
I love the Newsboys song "Something Beautiful" and that's what inspired this note....
IT’S A VOICE THAT WHISPERS MY NAME
IT’S A KISS WITHOUT ANY SHAME
SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL
LIKE A SONG THAT STIRS IN MY HEAD
SINGING LOVE WILL TAKE US WHERE
SOMETHING'S BEAUTIFUL
What God created is beautiful and everyone deserves that feeling of being loved. When people realize they are loved then they no longer have to search for it in the ways of the world. Love goes beyond what this world has to offer, so if we are searching for it within the things of this world, it will never be found.
I'll be honest, there is something so much more beautiful about a girl who respects themselves, dresses modestly, has a compassionate heart, and is happy with who God made them. They are happy people who are grateful with what God gave them because God gave it to them.
My challenge for this note would be to realize you are beautifully and wonderfully made and are loved by God. Don't throw away to the dogs what is beautiful. If satan ever tells you you aren't good enough or not smart enough or not good looking enough, know that you are made by God and nothing you do can make you not good enough in any way.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
We are all seeking love in our own ways, some people search for it in material things. They think people will love them more if they have certain clothes or cars or shoes. Some people search for it in their talents, they think if they are good at sports or strong or look good people will like them. And one of the ways people search for love that breaks my heart is when guys and girls feel this pressure to look good for the opposite sex.
Our culture pushes sex so much, just go into any popular clothing store....and it seems to be working too because those stores are thriving. It's sad we have degraded ourselves to use sex to sell things. I read an article a couple months back that interviewed the CEO of Abercrombie (not criticizing you if you guy stuff from there but I would like to share what the article said) this is just a little exert from it.....
For example, when I ask him how important sex and sexual attraction are in what he calls the "emotional experience" he creates for his customers, he says, "It's almost everything. That's why we hire good-looking people in our stores. Because good-looking people attract other good-looking people, and we want to market to cool, good-looking people. We don't market to anyone other than that."
As far as Jeffries is concerned, America's unattractive, overweight or otherwise undesirable teens can shop elsewhere. "In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids," he says. "Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don't belong [in our clothes], and they can't belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely. Those companies that are in trouble are trying to target everybody: young, old, fat, skinny. But then you become totally vanilla. You don't alienate anybody, but you don't excite anybody, either."
Wow, it hurts to read that our culture is saying ugly people shouldn't be accepted....Our culture is shallow. I believe everyone is beautiful and this is what Jesus teaches us. God created every single person and loves us all equally. When we take something God created so beautifully such as a human being and degrade them to the point where they aren't accepted by the cool people. How can we say one human is better than another? We are all human beings, we all have thoughts and feelings and have the capacity to love people and show compassion. That in itself is beautiful.
God only creates beautiful things, go to the beach sometime and tell me it's not beautiful, go to the grand canyon, look at the stars at night, look at how the sun lights up the earth, look at the trees and plants and everything God created and how wonderful and perfect it is. God's view of perfection is different than ours because God isn't shallow. He knows he created everyone beautiful because he reads peoples hearts. He knows we are all capable of loving each other and love is beautiful.
I believe there is something so beautiful about a girl who respects herself and dresses modestly. I think when a girl can believe in her heart that someone will love her for who she is she won't have to try so hard to fit into the culture and be someone she isn't. I used to be pretty shallow when it came to girls, I am not going to lie about it. But how stupid I was by doing that because I always ended up with people who weren't right for me.
Now when I look around I see girls who try so hard and I start to see how desperate they are to be loved. They just need someone to go up to them and tell them that they are loved no matter what. I really like Dusty's quote in chapel a few weeks ago....
If God is love, it is maddening when we are running from God and yet searching for love.
We are all searching for love, we are all looking to be handsome and beautiful, it's sad to see this is what we have been searching for for so long and Jesus was sitting right next to us the whole time telling us how beautiful we are and how he loves us. He answers what we are searching for, we don't need to find love in the wrong places anymore.
I love the Newsboys song "Something Beautiful" and that's what inspired this note....
IT’S A VOICE THAT WHISPERS MY NAME
IT’S A KISS WITHOUT ANY SHAME
SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL
LIKE A SONG THAT STIRS IN MY HEAD
SINGING LOVE WILL TAKE US WHERE
SOMETHING'S BEAUTIFUL
What God created is beautiful and everyone deserves that feeling of being loved. When people realize they are loved then they no longer have to search for it in the ways of the world. Love goes beyond what this world has to offer, so if we are searching for it within the things of this world, it will never be found.
I'll be honest, there is something so much more beautiful about a girl who respects themselves, dresses modestly, has a compassionate heart, and is happy with who God made them. They are happy people who are grateful with what God gave them because God gave it to them.
My challenge for this note would be to realize you are beautifully and wonderfully made and are loved by God. Don't throw away to the dogs what is beautiful. If satan ever tells you you aren't good enough or not smart enough or not good looking enough, know that you are made by God and nothing you do can make you not good enough in any way.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
God
God doesn't care if we know the Bible cover to cover and can prove he exists beyond a shadow of a doubt, God knows he exists, that's like going up to your best friend and being like "I can prove you exist" just merely being able to prove he exists doesn't make you best friends. God wants a relationship. God wants you to know he is always there for you whenever you need him.
When you are sitting alone in your room depressed and broken about what your life is about, you start to have this conversation inside your head. God is that voice talking to you when no one else is around, that voice that says you can do amazing things with your life if you just trust in him.
I heard this verse in Romans 1 today that stuck out to me pretty deeply. its verse 19
Since what may be know about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
Many Christians spend their whole lives studying and being skeptics of something that God made so clear. These people think they know everything about God and how he works, but really they have no idea. God is not understandable by the logic we have as humans. We don't know why God does things, because we don't have the capacity to think like him.
In verse 22 it says "Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchaged the glory of an immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles."
How perfect does this describe the way a lot of Christians think. God says "Hey guys I have made it plain and clear to you that I exist, just open your eyes and look outside" but we as humans are like "I believe you exist but not I am going to prove it with this theory and that theory"
The greatest proof that God has given us is the fact that everything that we see came from nothing, has a human ever been able to create something from nothing? No...
It's simple, God knows he exists, we should know that too. When it talks about exchanging the glory of an immortal God with images made to look like mortal man and bird and animal and reptiles, he is saying that we have this picture of God that he thinks like humans or even worse animals, when God is an immortal being.
We will never EVER understand the complexity of God and how he works, but he is there, I know he is there because I have seen him in the lives of so many. I have seen him answer prays that I thought were impossible, I have seen him strip things away from me that I believed I needed. I have seen God's work and love in my life and that's all I need to truely believe. God didn't show me he existed through facts and theories, God showed me he existed when I showed him that I was willing to truely give him a chance.
95% of Americans believe in God as of the year 2000. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/polls/wat/archive/wat042400.htm
Just because you think that God exists doesn't get you anywhere. Just like if we were to walk up to a friend and tell him "you exist" he's going to be like "wow you are an idiot, how much time did you waste on that that we could have spent being friends and getting to know each other?" This is what we do with God.
Nazarene, Baptist, Catholics...etc... We all have our theories on who God is and we are ALL wrong within our doctrines. God doesn't care if we believe in predestination, free will, once saved always saved, or pergatory..... These are all just merely theories and deep in our hearts we really have no idea how God really worked out the details.
I don't want to be defined by my theories, I think if you were to ask God about predestination he would be like "Who cares" When is the Bible did Jesus say you should spend your whole life proving he exists. Jesus spend his time talking about important things like love, and serventhood. If he thought it was important to know I think he would have made it a little more clear in the Bible.....
So well my challenge is to think about what God desires from us....God thinks far beyond the capacity of our minds, but yet puts it plain and simple for us. Simply don't be dumb in the way we think about God, he loves us and will always be there for us whenever we go beyond proving and start loving.....
When you are sitting alone in your room depressed and broken about what your life is about, you start to have this conversation inside your head. God is that voice talking to you when no one else is around, that voice that says you can do amazing things with your life if you just trust in him.
I heard this verse in Romans 1 today that stuck out to me pretty deeply. its verse 19
Since what may be know about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
Many Christians spend their whole lives studying and being skeptics of something that God made so clear. These people think they know everything about God and how he works, but really they have no idea. God is not understandable by the logic we have as humans. We don't know why God does things, because we don't have the capacity to think like him.
In verse 22 it says "Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchaged the glory of an immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles."
How perfect does this describe the way a lot of Christians think. God says "Hey guys I have made it plain and clear to you that I exist, just open your eyes and look outside" but we as humans are like "I believe you exist but not I am going to prove it with this theory and that theory"
The greatest proof that God has given us is the fact that everything that we see came from nothing, has a human ever been able to create something from nothing? No...
It's simple, God knows he exists, we should know that too. When it talks about exchanging the glory of an immortal God with images made to look like mortal man and bird and animal and reptiles, he is saying that we have this picture of God that he thinks like humans or even worse animals, when God is an immortal being.
We will never EVER understand the complexity of God and how he works, but he is there, I know he is there because I have seen him in the lives of so many. I have seen him answer prays that I thought were impossible, I have seen him strip things away from me that I believed I needed. I have seen God's work and love in my life and that's all I need to truely believe. God didn't show me he existed through facts and theories, God showed me he existed when I showed him that I was willing to truely give him a chance.
95% of Americans believe in God as of the year 2000. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/polls/wat/archive/wat042400.htm
Just because you think that God exists doesn't get you anywhere. Just like if we were to walk up to a friend and tell him "you exist" he's going to be like "wow you are an idiot, how much time did you waste on that that we could have spent being friends and getting to know each other?" This is what we do with God.
Nazarene, Baptist, Catholics...etc... We all have our theories on who God is and we are ALL wrong within our doctrines. God doesn't care if we believe in predestination, free will, once saved always saved, or pergatory..... These are all just merely theories and deep in our hearts we really have no idea how God really worked out the details.
I don't want to be defined by my theories, I think if you were to ask God about predestination he would be like "Who cares" When is the Bible did Jesus say you should spend your whole life proving he exists. Jesus spend his time talking about important things like love, and serventhood. If he thought it was important to know I think he would have made it a little more clear in the Bible.....
So well my challenge is to think about what God desires from us....God thinks far beyond the capacity of our minds, but yet puts it plain and simple for us. Simply don't be dumb in the way we think about God, he loves us and will always be there for us whenever we go beyond proving and start loving.....
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Me
A year ago I had my life together, I knew what I wanted out of it and I was determined to get it. I was going to be successful and live the American Dream, I am an Accounting Major and my plans were pretty well set.....then Jesus came in and screwed it all up....I have no idea where I'm going to be in 10 years, my calling is not to be a normal American that sits in an office working my life away for material things that do not matter. One of my personal favorite stories in the Bible is the story of the rich man going up to Jesus and asking him "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?"
Jesus replies "If you want to be perfect, sell your possesions and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me"
I have pondered this story for years, the next part is what really gets me is when he says "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven"
I've wondered why Jesus says that it is hard but not impossible. Why is it hard for a rich man to enter heaven, but it is possible still. Obviously if you want to be perfect you have to give up everything, but what if you want to remain rich and still enter heaven?
I think the reason he says it is so difficult for the rich to enter heaven is summed up at the end of the story when he quotes "But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first" This didn't fit into the story until I read it a couple times.
Many times with rich people, they hide behind their money. Their security often comes in their nice cars and expesive clothes. Jesus says you cannot love both God and money. If you security lies behind these things then how little faith do you have in God. I would much rather have my security in something eternal than something I can't take with me when I die.
A year ago I admit I defined myself by these things. I'm not boasting because I hate that I did this. I was obsessed with hiding behind these unimportant things. I can't believe I was so insecure with myself that I actually these things would make me happier. O how wrong I was.
It wasn't until I worked at a salvation army camp that I came to terms with the reality that all I was doing was trying to make myself better than everyone which is the opposite of what Jesus taught us. We were told to bring old clothes because they would get ruined. I spent the whole summer wearing my awesome thrift store shirts and if I ruined them I didn't care. They didn't define who I was anymore, my security wasn't gone when I messed it up...
The most important thing I learned was no longer did my clothes get in the way of loving people, no longer did the things I had get in the way of loving people. I'm not saying that I just went out and threw away all of my stuff, I just try everyday that nothing I own gets in the way of loving people. Jesus calls us to be servants to man. This how I have challenged myself...it's not easy but Jesus never said it was. My future used to seem so certain, but now I realize that nothing is certain in this world. I just know that everyday I have to wake up and begin the Journey of that day. Take this walk step by step and seeing where God will lead me.
When you truely just take it day by day then tomorrow will never be a worry for you. It scares me to think about graduating and what I am going to do with my life because my biggest fear is having only one life to live and not living it to the absolute best I can. I know that this life is not going to be easy and Jesus never said it would....look at his followers, most ended up dieing for what they believed, but how great is their reward for that? It's when we believe something with such a passion that we are willing to die before we would renounce God that people start to ask questions. Take this world, just give me Jesus...
This is just part of my battle, part of my story, part of who I am and try to be, and maybe by sharing it someone else can learn faster than I did...
Jesus replies "If you want to be perfect, sell your possesions and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me"
I have pondered this story for years, the next part is what really gets me is when he says "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven"
I've wondered why Jesus says that it is hard but not impossible. Why is it hard for a rich man to enter heaven, but it is possible still. Obviously if you want to be perfect you have to give up everything, but what if you want to remain rich and still enter heaven?
I think the reason he says it is so difficult for the rich to enter heaven is summed up at the end of the story when he quotes "But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first" This didn't fit into the story until I read it a couple times.
Many times with rich people, they hide behind their money. Their security often comes in their nice cars and expesive clothes. Jesus says you cannot love both God and money. If you security lies behind these things then how little faith do you have in God. I would much rather have my security in something eternal than something I can't take with me when I die.
A year ago I admit I defined myself by these things. I'm not boasting because I hate that I did this. I was obsessed with hiding behind these unimportant things. I can't believe I was so insecure with myself that I actually these things would make me happier. O how wrong I was.
It wasn't until I worked at a salvation army camp that I came to terms with the reality that all I was doing was trying to make myself better than everyone which is the opposite of what Jesus taught us. We were told to bring old clothes because they would get ruined. I spent the whole summer wearing my awesome thrift store shirts and if I ruined them I didn't care. They didn't define who I was anymore, my security wasn't gone when I messed it up...
The most important thing I learned was no longer did my clothes get in the way of loving people, no longer did the things I had get in the way of loving people. I'm not saying that I just went out and threw away all of my stuff, I just try everyday that nothing I own gets in the way of loving people. Jesus calls us to be servants to man. This how I have challenged myself...it's not easy but Jesus never said it was. My future used to seem so certain, but now I realize that nothing is certain in this world. I just know that everyday I have to wake up and begin the Journey of that day. Take this walk step by step and seeing where God will lead me.
When you truely just take it day by day then tomorrow will never be a worry for you. It scares me to think about graduating and what I am going to do with my life because my biggest fear is having only one life to live and not living it to the absolute best I can. I know that this life is not going to be easy and Jesus never said it would....look at his followers, most ended up dieing for what they believed, but how great is their reward for that? It's when we believe something with such a passion that we are willing to die before we would renounce God that people start to ask questions. Take this world, just give me Jesus...
This is just part of my battle, part of my story, part of who I am and try to be, and maybe by sharing it someone else can learn faster than I did...
Friday, February 1, 2008
1 Corinthians 13
I have probably read and heard 1 Corinthians 13 more times than any other verse in the Bible and yet I still go back to it often. I believe that Love is something that cannot be expressed with words but yet only felt with the heart. If there is ever something that comes close though it is this chapter in the Bible...
As I was reading the Bible last night I decided to flip though to this to read before I go to bed as a refresher on what Christianity is all about....Love. I noticed something within the chapter that I have never noticed before. I had this practically memorized, but I memorized it slightly wrong.
It starts out...
And now I will show you the most excellent way.
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels but have not LOVE.
When I memorized it I always thought it said "Loved" like a past tense word that happens at least once in your life...so the way I memorized it as "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels and have not Loved" do you see how much different this is? He says it repeatedly as the words "and you have not love"
He is reffering to something we can have, not just once or twice but something we have for everyone. This is something that is deep inside our hearts that everyone is capable of.
We can aquire this Agape type of love for everyone if we poor our hearts out to them and desire to love as Christ loved the world. Not one person, not just our friends, but everyone....yes EVERYONE, I struggle with this and so do a lot of people I know. If there is one point that is emphasized more than any other in the Bible it is that though. The Bible is a message of a different way, a way of doing things that people aren't used to.
Humans are used to hanging out with their friends, the people they have something in common with, they aren't used to having love in their hearts for everyone. We rarely see people from different social classes speak to each other often. The jocks chill with jocks, the smart people chill with smart people, the people who aren't as cool hang with people just like them and so on.
This is a horrible, shallow way to live...how much more can we learn from people completely different from us that people who live the same exact lives. Look around in Chapel on Monday and it will show you exactly how Christians act. This isn't having love in our hearts at all. You can learn to appreciate people for who they are, instead of walking by and thinking in your mind "I am glad I'm not them, they are weird"
Everyone has done that at some point in their life, but to be honest I feel bad for the people who think those thoughts in their head because they have no real compassion in their hearts. They don't realize that God made that person beautiful even know people have been telling them their whole life they aren't....
So my challenge will be the same as Paul's in 1 Corinthians 13....Have Love in your hearts....he says at the end of the chapter that these three remain: faith, hope, and love and the greatest of these is Love
As I was reading the Bible last night I decided to flip though to this to read before I go to bed as a refresher on what Christianity is all about....Love. I noticed something within the chapter that I have never noticed before. I had this practically memorized, but I memorized it slightly wrong.
It starts out...
And now I will show you the most excellent way.
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels but have not LOVE.
When I memorized it I always thought it said "Loved" like a past tense word that happens at least once in your life...so the way I memorized it as "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels and have not Loved" do you see how much different this is? He says it repeatedly as the words "and you have not love"
He is reffering to something we can have, not just once or twice but something we have for everyone. This is something that is deep inside our hearts that everyone is capable of.
We can aquire this Agape type of love for everyone if we poor our hearts out to them and desire to love as Christ loved the world. Not one person, not just our friends, but everyone....yes EVERYONE, I struggle with this and so do a lot of people I know. If there is one point that is emphasized more than any other in the Bible it is that though. The Bible is a message of a different way, a way of doing things that people aren't used to.
Humans are used to hanging out with their friends, the people they have something in common with, they aren't used to having love in their hearts for everyone. We rarely see people from different social classes speak to each other often. The jocks chill with jocks, the smart people chill with smart people, the people who aren't as cool hang with people just like them and so on.
This is a horrible, shallow way to live...how much more can we learn from people completely different from us that people who live the same exact lives. Look around in Chapel on Monday and it will show you exactly how Christians act. This isn't having love in our hearts at all. You can learn to appreciate people for who they are, instead of walking by and thinking in your mind "I am glad I'm not them, they are weird"
Everyone has done that at some point in their life, but to be honest I feel bad for the people who think those thoughts in their head because they have no real compassion in their hearts. They don't realize that God made that person beautiful even know people have been telling them their whole life they aren't....
So my challenge will be the same as Paul's in 1 Corinthians 13....Have Love in your hearts....he says at the end of the chapter that these three remain: faith, hope, and love and the greatest of these is Love
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Sacrifice
I'm just wondering why we have forgotten this within the church. When was the last time we have been challenged to sacrifice something? Growing up in a culture where we are as spoiled as we are, where is the point where the church says it's not healthy to get everything we want? Jesus taught about sacrifice many times. When he asked who gave more the poor lady or the rich man. He wasn't referring to how much money did they give, but yet how much did they sacrifice for the glory of God. Cedarville had scheduled Shane Claiborne (Author of Irresistible Revolution) to speak at their school months ago. When word got out that about it parents started to complain as well as students. They didn't like the idea of a radical passivist Christian speaking at their school. They act like there is something wrong with a person who sacrifices a consumeristic way of life for something much more simple. It is sad that we as a church body refuse a person like that from speaking. I know we still have him on the schedule for Mount Vernon as of now. I'm not saying everyone has to be radicals, but is it wrong to have someone challenge who we are? How is it not Christ like to give up everything to follow God and teach people love? Is this really what the church has come to? I'll be honest, I'm not the best example of sacrifice. I've been struggling with it but it isn't an easy thing to do when you've been raised in society to fend for yourself and becoming successful is all about how many cars you have in the drive way and how big your house is. I'm not saying that Shane Claiborne is some perfect person or anything but is it wrong for a person to challenge who we are? Is it wrong for a person to challenge our motives and challenge how we love? I think the church is scared of people like this because we might have to feel uncomfortable. Christianity isn't about just going to church on Sunday or going to Chapel 3 times a week. We try to sprinkle a little Jesus in by going on a few mission trips and stuff like that, but are we really sacrificing that much? Are we really giving up our day to day lives? Christianity is about every moment, not just once a week or an hour a day. The leaders of the church in the Bible are a lot like our leaders today. They know the Bible from cover to cover and every line in between but they don't know the true meaning behind it. Jesus, a person who was ugly, poor, and lived a very simple life, came to earth to show us a new meaning of sacrifice. He didn't just sacrifice the way that normal humans lived, he gave his life for us. What more could he have possibly done? Jesus told his disciples to leave everything and follow him....they left normal jobs such as being a fisherman or a tax collector to tell people the good news. They missed the point so many times and even after years of following Jesus they weren't perfect. But Jesus instilled in them a sense of sacrifice. The phrase "this world has nothing for me" really showed in the way they lived. So being the first day of lent I guess my challenge would be to be challenged. Sacrificing is a challenge. If you give up something for lent, do it in secret so no one knows. Step outside your comfort zone never be content with your walk with God, always strive for more.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)