1 Year

I began this blog a year ago. In one year, my life has changed in more ways than I could imagine and the blessings I have had are unimaginable. Here are my biggest changes/accomplishments in 2011.

1. I got an awesome roommates and a wonderful apartment 

2. I have challenged my faith a lot more. Learning to question traditional Christianity, not taking things at face value, finding the truth in what we've created to be just another "religion" and strengthening my faith in the process. 

3. I have cut ties with people who were not a good influence 

4. I spent another wonderful summer with some of the best kids on this earth and I feel as if I have a better grasp on my influence on other people.

5. I have found myself in a mature relationship.
6. I have learned that sometimes you have to trust people to do things for you. It may not be done exactly the way you want, but you can't do it all yourself.
7. I have strengthened the friendships that really matter (even if I don't see those people very often).
8. I have learned to trust God with more aspects of my life. My trusting Him is still not perfect, but He has prevailed in being faithful every time, so my goal for 2012 is to fully trust Him.
9. I have learned more scripture in the past year that I ever have in past years.
10. I have maintained a blog that I have been told it is an encouragement. If it isn't to anyone else, it surely is a way for me to release my feelings and ideas and put them into words. Also, my blog is currently being read by people in 15 countries! Exciting! 

Not a Fan

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." -Galatians 2:20

I am not a fan of Jesus...yes...you read that right. I. am. not. a. fan.

While stumbling around in Books-A-Million today I came across an interesting title in the Christian literature section. It was simply titled, "Not a Fan." I read the back of the book, and was going to buy it until I cracked it open and read a few different spots of it. While reading I realized that I already had all the knowledge that this book had to offer, so I set it back on the shelf. However, the book got me thinking. It got me thinking about how we (both Christians and those raised-in-a-Christian-nation/home-and-claim-to-be-Christians) have become fans of Jesus.

A fan is defined as "a person who has a strong interest or admiration for something." Having strong interest in Jesus is good, admiring Him is better, but a fan is not what Jesus is looking for. He doesn't want your admiration, He doesn't want your curiosity...He wants your life. He doesn't want fans; He wants disciples. In Matthew 16:24, Jesus says to His disciples "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself take up his cross and follow me." If you are willing to make the same sacrifice for Him that He made for you, then you will have what He wants from you. You must pursue Him, you must leave your selfishness out of the picture, and you must follow. Follow Him into the unknowns, follow Him into the valleys, follow Him wherever He may lead. It won't be easy, but it will be worth it.

Challenge:  Be a follower, not a fan.

Facebook Prayers

"But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." -Matthew 6:6

So I have had a lot of mixed feelings on my mind this morning. For those of you who did not hear, a City of Aiken police officer was shot last night and died in the hospital. The situation is extremely unfortunate especially around this time of year; however, that is not what I am addressing in this blog. Here's what this blog is about...it is about why we wait until the bad things happen to pray, it is about using Facebook as the new "prayer request board" (aka gossip column), it is about making intimate prayer a public action.

First subject of discussion. It is short and simple. Why do we wait until the atrocities happen to start praying? 1 Thessalonians 5:17 calls us to "pray without ceasing." I am just as guilty as the next person on this one. I cannot do not try hard enough to have a continuously prayerful mindset. Anyways, that's the end of that. Challenge #1-Don't just pray when things get hard. Pray continuously.

This may be a bit controversial, but I have a problem with seeing "praying" or "thoughts and prayers," etc. on Facebook over a certain subject. For example, my news feed this morning was crammed with notifications about the police officer in Aiken. Every single one (no exaggeration) had the word "pray" in it somewhere. Do I have a problem with prayer? Of course not! It is the strongest tool we have a Christians. Here's what I do have a problem with...how many of those people considered that Facebook status their "prayer" for that family? Just for clarification, Facebook statuses do not equal prayer and a news feed is not a prayer request board. I have a feeling that God could really care less about Facebook. He knows what we post, but He doesn't sit around reading it all day like we do. If the point of prayer is talking to God, Facebook is taking the wrong route anyways. We didn't have it 10 years ago, and we got along just fine in our prayers. Lastly, I have a feeling that if people were actually praying every time they put that "praying" as their status, this world would be a very different place. Prayer can produce results, and the results speak for themselves. If you ever notice, very few "prayer warriors" go around flaunting the fact that they are praying. They may tell the person they are praying for but that's about it. The results of their prayers are enough for people to know that they were, in fact, praying.

Third is the idea of prayer is a very personal thing that can be done in groups, but is often much more intimate if the talking is just between you and God. There is no need to let the whole world to know what  you are doing. Just do it. The verse at the top is in contrast to the religious leaders of Jesus's day. They would pray out on the street corners so all could hear. Facebook has become our street corner. Instead Jesus said "go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen." Prayer is between you and God and needs no intermediate of Facebook. Does this mean that if something happens to me that I do not want people writing "praying for you" on my wall??? Yes...yes it does mean that. No need to tell me, if prayer is actually being done, the results will be apparent.

Now for a gutsy challenge that many of you will not do simply because you want the world to know your every move...I challenge you to not post on Facebook that you are praying, instead, go do it!

*Sorry if I sound very anti-prayer (or anti-Facebook). By no means is that the case, and I do understand that social networks can be a tool of information and can be used for good. Just consider everything you write before you hit post. In addition, this is not just brought on by the cop being shot in Aiken, it has been on my mind for a while. God Bless and Merry Christmas.

The Bigger They Are, The Harder They Fall...

"That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, it is then that I am strong." -2 Corinthians 12:10

The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Yep, that's right, I'm talking about haughtiness, pride, and boasting. Where do these things get you in life. Nowhere. I can be a very confident person. I usually know what I want, I will do what needed to get it, and I will do it in the most efficient manner; however, when the fine line between confidence and pride and conceit is crossed, destruction follows. Proverbs 16:18 attests to the same thing saying, "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before the fall." The most disastrous thing a person can do is to rely on their own strengths, their own thoughts, and their own works. For it is often found that a life of self-reliance soon crumbles leaving nothing but hopelessness and sorrow. 

Now on to a touchy subject...weaknesses. We all have them; we all try to cover them up. But imagine a world where we all owned up to our weaknesses. Yes, we would be vulnerable, but so would everyone else. Although others may beg to differ, I find that weaknesses and difficulties can be a wonderful thing. It is in our vulnerable spots that we find His strength, it is in our weaknesses that we see His greatness shining through. So why wouldn't we want to see this side of God everyday? We beef ourselves up and put on the "I can handle anything" mask only to cowardly hide behind a facade everyday. Why not own up to those weaknesses and watch God show His mighty power? Why not stand up and say "My name is ________, and I struggle with ________"? I have come to find that great burdens are lifted, tensions are released, and true strength is found when you let God take on the hardest parts of life with you. That is why we should "delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when we are weak, it is then that we are strong." If you are already on your knees worshiping the one and only God, then you have a very little distance to fall when the times get hard. He will stand to protect you, and it will be in His strength that your life prospers in even the darkest of times. 

I challenge you to own up to your weaknesses. Trust that God will give you more strength than you will ever need if you only humble yourself and welcome the hard times with God by your side. 

Changes

♪Everything it changed overnight. This dying world You brought it back to life and, deep inside, I felt things shifting, everything was melting away. And You gave us the most beautiful of days♫ -Relient K "In Like A Lion (Always Winter)"

Changes. They are inevitable. Eventually, almost everything changes. Schools change, people change, preferences change, life changes. However, there is always an exception to the rule. Hebrews 13:8 has the exception to this certain rule. It reads "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His love never changes, His standards never change, He never changes. Thank goodness! Can you imagine serving a wishy-washy God?? One of the best things about God is that He is a solid rock, firm in all He does. Psalm 18:2 says, "The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer. My God is my rock in whom I take refuge."

Now this blog entry was not originally to write about how God never changes, but rather what He changed.  Around 2000 years ago, He changed everything. He sent us the greatest Christmas gift we could ever ask for, a savior. Jesus Christ came as a man to save mankind. We have made a horrible world out of the perfection that God initially gave us, and everyday we choose to sin, we choose to disobey God, we choose to separate ourselves from Him. We need Him to save us from ourselves. Just like the lyrics above read, "This dying world You brought it back to life and deep inside I felt things shifting, everything was melting away." There is good news! Just like the angel said to the shepherds so many nights ago "I bring you glad tidings of great joy!!!" We too have glad tidings of great joy from God. He can make all things new. He restores each season, and breathes life into all living things, so what makes you think that He cannot change your heart? Anyone who has had an experience with God can relate to the feeling of things shifting, feeling renewed and transformed, and feeling their old self melting away. Ephesians 2:5 says, "Even though we were dead in our sins, together with Christ we are made alive-it is by grace that we have been saved." 

The last part of these lyrics is my favorite part. He bring us the most beautiful of days. We have future hope because of the choice that God made to send His son for us. It is in Christ that we find eternal joy, eternal beauty, and eternal life. He is the wind at our backs and the sun on our face, promising that the best days are ahead if we walk with Him by our side. I challenge you to stay focused on how God changes things in your life, and to testify how He works in your life. 

*I apologize if this blog seems a bit scatterbrained...its late, but I felt like writing. Merry Christmas!! 

Intellectual Christianity

"That this ignores most of the rest of Scripture, and also makes a fine distorted case for tearing all the wisdom books out of the Bible, eludes far too many people. In the end, Christianity never calls anyone to turn off his mind. To insist it does, only results in the kind of brain-dead emotionalism that leads to error. Hoisting godly wisdom by its own petard makes the Church look vacant in the cranium." -Dan Edelen

Intellectual Christianity...is it an oxymoron? No.

Not much makes me feel more embarrassed than when a Christian sounds ignorant trying to defend the faith and can only repeat what they have been told.  In this, there is no satiation, there are no personal feelings. It is a recorded message played over and over again, and when innocent theological questions arise, the Christian defenses automatically go up and they can get snappy.  To accurately handle the Word of Truth (2 Tim. 2:15), you must study it. You must know it, and you must be able to defend it without sounding foolish. 

I once heard a pastor say that it is okay to be narrow and closed-minded, although I have a lot of respect for this man, I must humbly decline this idea. The Bible says, "narrow is the way that leads to life, and only few will find it" (Matt. 7:14).  Matthew is trying to explain that the road is narrow, not the mind. Unless you are able to see all the roads from an open-minded point of view, you have nothing to compare it to to know that the narrow way is in fact, narrow.  I am not saying that you should test out every road, but what I am saying is that you need to know your surroundings in order to be able to defend why you choose the narrow path.  To do this, you cannot be narrow-minded.  You must act and think intellectually.  Narrow-mindedness says "I chose this path because it's the right path, because it's the one I was told to take, it's the one that leads to life."  You must have your reasoning for it though. Intellectual Christianity and open-mindedness says, "I considered my options, I looked at what each road had to offer, this one does not look easy, but I choose the narrow path because I choose Jesus."

Okay so here's a 180 on the topic of intellectual Christianity, don't get dizzy...different subject, same topic.

God is the only one that can really change people's hearts, but He uses us as a vessel. To do this, you must get on their level. I find this to be ever so true when I work at Camp Longridge.  While talking to a third grader, you cannot condemn them to hell, you can't expect them to comprehend the Trinity, you have to speak in terms of things that they understand. What can they understand? They can understand right and wrong; they can understand love; they can understand hope and peace. Now the same is true with an atheist college professor. When you speak Christianity strictly in the terms of right, wrong, love, hope, and peace, they hear "love, peace, flowers, and rainbows" (...not meant to sound blasphemous, that's just what a lot of them are thinking). You have to take it up a notch. You have to know your Bible, you have to be able to defend the faith. 2 Timothy 2:15 says, "Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman who does not need to be ashamed. Accurately telling the Word of Truth."  They are more likely to hear you out if you are on their level, if they feel like they are having an educated conversation and just not hearing a repetitive tape.  For example, if it comes to evolution, there are scientific explanations out there for almost everything that jives with the Bible in some way or another.  Know these things. They may not be in the Bible, but what good is only using Bible verses to someone who doesn't believe it?  You have to be on their level and speak in their terminology.  Know what other people believe and know why they believe it.  To understand their point of view is to understand their misconceptions; to understand their misconceptions is to better understand how to minister to them.  Don't let other religions or people who have different ideas scare you off, rather view them as a chance to change their world and possibly the world.  There are some mysteries of God that we will never understand or be able to explain (see 1 Cor. 2:6-8, 10-15), but for heaven's sake do not let that be your cop out on everything.  He leaves so many questions unanswered, but He gives us so much about His love, character, and plan.  Know what He gives us, and search for more. You never know what He might reveal to you. 

I challenge you to be open-minded when choosing the narrow path.  I am guilty of doing all these things and being closed/narrow-minded at one time or another, but it is something I am working on. I challenge you to do the same.  Know what you are talking about and then find the faith to stand up for it.