Hopefully if you're reading this you caught that the title should be sung to the song "I could sing of Your love forever." I thought it was clever haha. Anyways, this maybe short but it is something that has been on my mind a lot lately.
We can all talk about and sing about God's love to no end. And we can talk about all the things God is doing and going to do even more! We love talking about it all because talking alone makes us feel excited, we are enthralled that God is revealing this vision to us of what His love and will is. But in the end that feeling of excitement is worthless if we don't do anything with it. Scripture says,
"what good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."
-James 2:14-17
Many people upon reading this verse will cringe and probably have some sort of theology to back up why they don't like it. Many contemporary Christians, or they might call themselves Christ followers, would argue that deeds are not what God is looking for, we are set free by Christ after all! Right they would be but not completely. We are given love freely now we should do something with it. If we don't pour out the love we are given then we are just as selfish as the next person.
So how does that verse above translate to what I am talking about? Well I'll reiterate what I said before, we love to talk about God's love and what He can do, very much like the man saying "Go, I wish you well", we will say "God can save this school or this city." Bringing that into todays struggle, we love to say, "let me pray for you" or "I'll be praying for you" but we don't recognize the actually physical needs of the person. Or again we will get together and have these meetings about how we think God wants to change a school or a community or a city and the meeting will make us feel great cause we prayed a lot for all of that to happen but then we just go about our lives as usual and don't do anything about changing the school, community, or city. What are we waiting for? To often now a days we say to ourselves, "it's in Gods hands, He is in control" which is true but we let that truth mean that we are off the hook. We neglect to recognize that God will often orchestrate the change He wishes to see in a place through people. And thus we choose the easy road which is just talking and praying about change instead of actually being the change.
All in all, we need to do something, sure talk and pray about the way God is moving but then get up and be a part of the movement. Don't be satisfied with just the excitement of talking about change, bring about the change yourself. Do it people! God might me asking you to lead that change and not just talk to other Christians about it.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
The Next American Idol: Worship
We are all well aware of the "bad" things we can worship, we hear about these almost every week whether it be sunday morning, youth group, or bible study. The "bad" things of course the usual sex, drugs, rock and roll. But what about things that are good in our eyes? Like food, we worship that and we become gluttons. Or our friends, we worship them and then when they let us down it only breaks our hearts more. And what about worship? Is it possible to worship worship? I would argue yes. We worship worship when we think we are the only ones that do it right. We think our worship is the most "spirit lead" you can find. It becomes our only connection to God, if we go week to week and the one night of worship is the only thing that connects us to God then we are probably on the road to worshipping worship.
This may seem nit picky because it is so hard to determine what the motivations of ones heart is but that is the very reason it is so important, it is the motivation of our hearts we are dealing with here. What is so scary about our hearts coming from the wrong place of motivation as we go to worship is that if we are worshiping worship then we are just worshiping ourselves. We are worshiping what we can bring to God and thus worshiping our works. When are works are worth nothing, we cannot worship our way to the Lord loving us. He loves us if we never utter a song of praise. We love the hope the book of Isaiah gives us for when Christ comes back but we easily forget what the author says near the end of the book, "all our righteous acts are like filthy rags." (Isaiah 64:6)
So be critical of your heart, scripture says "the heart is deceitful above all things" (Jer. 17:9) aswell as "the wellspring of life." Ps. 4:23) It would appear that the heart is a tricky thing and knowing the motivation of our heart is paramount. Don't take your heart lightly, it's a part of you!
This may seem nit picky because it is so hard to determine what the motivations of ones heart is but that is the very reason it is so important, it is the motivation of our hearts we are dealing with here. What is so scary about our hearts coming from the wrong place of motivation as we go to worship is that if we are worshiping worship then we are just worshiping ourselves. We are worshiping what we can bring to God and thus worshiping our works. When are works are worth nothing, we cannot worship our way to the Lord loving us. He loves us if we never utter a song of praise. We love the hope the book of Isaiah gives us for when Christ comes back but we easily forget what the author says near the end of the book, "all our righteous acts are like filthy rags." (Isaiah 64:6)
So be critical of your heart, scripture says "the heart is deceitful above all things" (Jer. 17:9) aswell as "the wellspring of life." Ps. 4:23) It would appear that the heart is a tricky thing and knowing the motivation of our heart is paramount. Don't take your heart lightly, it's a part of you!
Monday, June 14, 2010
Nation Mourns as National Hero Falls
What makes a hero? Is there a job description for such a thing? Can one claim their past our current occupation as "hero"? A hero is one of the intangible mysteries which no one has put an adequate definition too. I would argue that the term "hero" is thrown around to flippantly in today's culture. One day we hear the story of a man rescuing four kittens from a drainage pipe and they are a hero but the next we are faced with the heart breaking story of person laying down their life for the well being of others. Who is the true hero? Who is more "heroey"?
My definition of hero would be one that always puts others first, never complains about the trying task ahead, always puts one hundred percent into their efforts, and of course is willing to lay their life down for another. Being a hero may mean more than these things but it certainly does not mean less. And if these characteristics are good enough to define a hero than a hero died last week... my 1992 Jeep Cherokee Limited.
Some say the best death is one in the field of duty and the Jeep had just that. It was like any other day of difficult roads to maneuver and pot holes to dodge when all of the sudden the life left the Jeep. It was unexpected to say the least for no one thought the Jeep could die. It's nick name was even "Leviathan", after the mythical creature that only the God of the Bible could kill. (Psalm 74:14) But it would seem that God looked down on the Jeep with proud eyes and knew that it was time that it leave this world. So with a soft hand the life was taken out of the body of the Jeep and taken to Jeep heaven, where millions of Jeeps live and they drive on rugged terrain all day without fear of being hurt. And of course all the faithful Jeep owners are there to see their Jeep and change its oil just like old times. It is in this place which I believe my Jeep resides today.
While there may be no funeral procession or twenty one gun salute to honor you, you will be remembered for your service Jeep. You will be remembered for the way you served me for six trying years and pressed on to pass the two hundred thousand mile mark. Any fine young lady car would say you aged well despite your off-road lifestyle. But that is probably because you had the engine of a lion. I for one know your engine beats on in the hearts of many and you will not be forgotten. Rest in peace noble companion and may your spirit be with us.
My definition of hero would be one that always puts others first, never complains about the trying task ahead, always puts one hundred percent into their efforts, and of course is willing to lay their life down for another. Being a hero may mean more than these things but it certainly does not mean less. And if these characteristics are good enough to define a hero than a hero died last week... my 1992 Jeep Cherokee Limited.
Some say the best death is one in the field of duty and the Jeep had just that. It was like any other day of difficult roads to maneuver and pot holes to dodge when all of the sudden the life left the Jeep. It was unexpected to say the least for no one thought the Jeep could die. It's nick name was even "Leviathan", after the mythical creature that only the God of the Bible could kill. (Psalm 74:14) But it would seem that God looked down on the Jeep with proud eyes and knew that it was time that it leave this world. So with a soft hand the life was taken out of the body of the Jeep and taken to Jeep heaven, where millions of Jeeps live and they drive on rugged terrain all day without fear of being hurt. And of course all the faithful Jeep owners are there to see their Jeep and change its oil just like old times. It is in this place which I believe my Jeep resides today.
While there may be no funeral procession or twenty one gun salute to honor you, you will be remembered for your service Jeep. You will be remembered for the way you served me for six trying years and pressed on to pass the two hundred thousand mile mark. Any fine young lady car would say you aged well despite your off-road lifestyle. But that is probably because you had the engine of a lion. I for one know your engine beats on in the hearts of many and you will not be forgotten. Rest in peace noble companion and may your spirit be with us.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Dangerous Comfort
We love control. We want to be in control because it is then that we feel like everything will go as we planned. We never want outside influences to come in and disrupt our control cause then we lose it. We even put God under our control complex sometimes. We can see this when we make up things about the character of God to make us feel better about whats happening in our lives.
Hailey recently sent me an email with this quote from Rick Warren's "Purpose Driven Life":
"In order to build your faith, God will give you a dream; then he'll urge you to make a decision; but then he'll allow a delay, because in the delay he matures you and prepares you for what is to come."
I have a bit of a problem with this passage because I feel like we constantly take a little bit of God and then expand Him to fit what we need and also we try and explain God. So in this case with Rick Warren we see a formula is put on God. He gives a dream, then delays, then matures, then provides. But this is crap! One could just as easily say "God gives you a dream and in faith you should follow it now without delay." And you can justify it! After the quote given above Warren goes on to talk about how the people of Israel had to go through that time of delay in the dessert and thus his statement is justified. Well, I'll use the same book, in Exodus Moses meets God in the form of a burning bush and God gives Moses the new path that his life will go on. But does Moses go through the same period of delay like Warren said people will? No, Moses and Aaron go to Egypt right away, with no delay to mature in faith, even though Moses just heard a bush of fire talk to him he has no time to "mature in faith" over the bush. And now my statement above is justified. Using the same book, same Bible, just I took what I wanted out of the Bible the same way Warren did.
What is also interesting about all this is we don't need for us to have ownership over the control for us to feel comfortable. So in both statements made above by Warren and myself, God is still very much the one on control, we were not given the power of control, but since both statements put a formula on God we feel comfortable because we know the formula. So we don't even need to be in control we just want to know what's going to happen and how. And from that we get our sense of control. It's all a mind game we play with ourselves. We will make up anything to make ourselves feel better even if that means making a formula for God to function under.
So how does God work? I don't know. Not fully. No one knows fully, we can only get little glimpses of how God might work. It's supposed to be that way. If we can figure out how God works than He ceases to be in control and thus ceases to be God! Look at Job. He thinks he figured out how God works and determines that all the hardships he has suffered he did not deserve, and from our perspective he probably didn't, at least we can't figure out why he would deserve such torture. But what does God say when he speaks to Job? "Well done figuring this out Job, you did not deserve all this, I was testing you." No! He rocks his world by saying "Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it?"
You see we don't know how this all works. We do not go through some formula outlined in a book. All we have is Salvation in Christ and that is enough. His grace is sufficient. Seek comfort in that, not in weak justifications that make you feel better for a moment. Like most things it will leave you empty with only a space Christ can fill.
Hailey recently sent me an email with this quote from Rick Warren's "Purpose Driven Life":
"In order to build your faith, God will give you a dream; then he'll urge you to make a decision; but then he'll allow a delay, because in the delay he matures you and prepares you for what is to come."
I have a bit of a problem with this passage because I feel like we constantly take a little bit of God and then expand Him to fit what we need and also we try and explain God. So in this case with Rick Warren we see a formula is put on God. He gives a dream, then delays, then matures, then provides. But this is crap! One could just as easily say "God gives you a dream and in faith you should follow it now without delay." And you can justify it! After the quote given above Warren goes on to talk about how the people of Israel had to go through that time of delay in the dessert and thus his statement is justified. Well, I'll use the same book, in Exodus Moses meets God in the form of a burning bush and God gives Moses the new path that his life will go on. But does Moses go through the same period of delay like Warren said people will? No, Moses and Aaron go to Egypt right away, with no delay to mature in faith, even though Moses just heard a bush of fire talk to him he has no time to "mature in faith" over the bush. And now my statement above is justified. Using the same book, same Bible, just I took what I wanted out of the Bible the same way Warren did.
What is also interesting about all this is we don't need for us to have ownership over the control for us to feel comfortable. So in both statements made above by Warren and myself, God is still very much the one on control, we were not given the power of control, but since both statements put a formula on God we feel comfortable because we know the formula. So we don't even need to be in control we just want to know what's going to happen and how. And from that we get our sense of control. It's all a mind game we play with ourselves. We will make up anything to make ourselves feel better even if that means making a formula for God to function under.
So how does God work? I don't know. Not fully. No one knows fully, we can only get little glimpses of how God might work. It's supposed to be that way. If we can figure out how God works than He ceases to be in control and thus ceases to be God! Look at Job. He thinks he figured out how God works and determines that all the hardships he has suffered he did not deserve, and from our perspective he probably didn't, at least we can't figure out why he would deserve such torture. But what does God say when he speaks to Job? "Well done figuring this out Job, you did not deserve all this, I was testing you." No! He rocks his world by saying "Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it?"
You see we don't know how this all works. We do not go through some formula outlined in a book. All we have is Salvation in Christ and that is enough. His grace is sufficient. Seek comfort in that, not in weak justifications that make you feel better for a moment. Like most things it will leave you empty with only a space Christ can fill.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
superNATURAL
The great thing about walking with Christ is how faith becomes so dynamic as you learn and walk more. Thus every year is far different from the last because my faith is always developing. These past two years I have gotten to know more and more about the supernatural side of our God. When speaking of the supernatural it often means one of two things, either the Holy Spirit or the supernatural things capable through Christ, such as healing. Either way I see them as some what similar or at least intimately tied to each other.
Because of learning more and more about this topic I have been getting to know more and more people who are very connected to the Holy Spirit or at least seem to be very connected. People who believe that the dreams they have are prophecy or that they have the power to heal. I have no problem with this, I too want to be in a place with the Spirit someday where I am capable of these things. But here is my concern, it is short and simple; I think we can easily get enthralled by the supernatural side of Christ and neglect His natural side. In other words we are attracted to Christ by His wonders and not by His purpose. There is a reason why Christ constantly told people to not spread word of what they have seen Him do, such as healings. He did not want to draw the attention of people only seeking out a miraculous sign, He wanted those who would believe in Him without ever seeing the lame walk and the blind see. I would argue that the banner over Christ is His love and not His works. Yet it is my fear that we will become so focused on His supernatural works that we will forget about His natural character. Because honestly the supernatural ways of Christ are worthless in us without the natural side of Him first, that natural side being His love.
"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing."
-1 Corinthians 13:1-3
You see before Christ was a miracle worker, a healer, a prophet or anything else, He was and is love. So what good is it to do are be in touch with all the supernatural stuff without first knowing Christ and His love? Sure you can see the future or move mountains but Paul seems to deem you as "no good" if you don't have love.
So lets quit playing these games and getting distracted. We must be wise enough to know that we can become distracted by even godly things, for example, there is nothing wrong with giving sight to the blind but if you seek that over seeking Christ alone than it is a deadly distraction. Seek Christ, that's it!
Because of learning more and more about this topic I have been getting to know more and more people who are very connected to the Holy Spirit or at least seem to be very connected. People who believe that the dreams they have are prophecy or that they have the power to heal. I have no problem with this, I too want to be in a place with the Spirit someday where I am capable of these things. But here is my concern, it is short and simple; I think we can easily get enthralled by the supernatural side of Christ and neglect His natural side. In other words we are attracted to Christ by His wonders and not by His purpose. There is a reason why Christ constantly told people to not spread word of what they have seen Him do, such as healings. He did not want to draw the attention of people only seeking out a miraculous sign, He wanted those who would believe in Him without ever seeing the lame walk and the blind see. I would argue that the banner over Christ is His love and not His works. Yet it is my fear that we will become so focused on His supernatural works that we will forget about His natural character. Because honestly the supernatural ways of Christ are worthless in us without the natural side of Him first, that natural side being His love.
"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing."
-1 Corinthians 13:1-3
You see before Christ was a miracle worker, a healer, a prophet or anything else, He was and is love. So what good is it to do are be in touch with all the supernatural stuff without first knowing Christ and His love? Sure you can see the future or move mountains but Paul seems to deem you as "no good" if you don't have love.
So lets quit playing these games and getting distracted. We must be wise enough to know that we can become distracted by even godly things, for example, there is nothing wrong with giving sight to the blind but if you seek that over seeking Christ alone than it is a deadly distraction. Seek Christ, that's it!
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Called...to what?
I'll start by saying there are a few terms and phrases thrown around Christian circles that I have a hard time hearing and try to never say myself. Some of them being: "I'm gonna spend some time with Jesus.", "We are courting not dating.", and finally, "Do you feel called?", or, "It's my calling." In this particular instance I will focus on the idea of God's "calling" on our lives.
What is "calling"? Better yet, does God have one path for our lives and what is it? Logically, no. If God had one specific plan or "calling" for our lives we would not have the freedom to choose Him in the first place. So then let's follow the path of someone who does choose to live with God in their life. Were they made to be "slaves of righteousness" or is it "for freedom that Christ has set us free?" Scripture says both. Because of God's great love for us we have the free will to choose Him, but now after we choose Him do we not still have that free will in His love to determine our path according to God's will?
Now let's follow the path of someone who chooses to live without God. If God "holds all things together" and "all things were created by Him and for Him" than even the most radical atheist is still created by God and for God. So then is this person fulfilling God's will without even seeking it out? Do they have a "calling" and that is to not know God and preach against those who do?
What I'm trying to get at is we so often limit out own freedom in Christ and then end up limiting God's will. Sometimes I think we need to have a wake up call like Job got, after arguing with friends Job thought that he knew God well enough to say to Him that he didn't deserve the torture he went through. God does not respond with compassion, He says "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand." Basically, "You don't know me! Step off Job!" The moment we think we have a grasp on God is when we put Him in a box. The same thing happens when we think we are "called" to one thing. Many people today are feeling "called" to mission work in Africa. But those who believe that that is the sole thing God has intended them to do have now put chains on God. God's will is so much better than the little things we dream up! If you feel God has called you to missions in Africa, He probably wants you to do missions in Europe too, even southeast Asia, or maybe (gasp!) America!
So bottom line is, maybe we feel "called" to certain things but don't get your heart set on it cause God has something better for you. God's will does not stop at "being called" if anything, you are called, then led, then tested, then humbled, then lifted up. So don't think your "calling" is your destination. In Scripture the only thing Christ calls us to, is to follow Him. There is no mention of "calling" or :being called". The occupation we are "called" to is to follow Christ.
What is "calling"? Better yet, does God have one path for our lives and what is it? Logically, no. If God had one specific plan or "calling" for our lives we would not have the freedom to choose Him in the first place. So then let's follow the path of someone who does choose to live with God in their life. Were they made to be "slaves of righteousness" or is it "for freedom that Christ has set us free?" Scripture says both. Because of God's great love for us we have the free will to choose Him, but now after we choose Him do we not still have that free will in His love to determine our path according to God's will?
Now let's follow the path of someone who chooses to live without God. If God "holds all things together" and "all things were created by Him and for Him" than even the most radical atheist is still created by God and for God. So then is this person fulfilling God's will without even seeking it out? Do they have a "calling" and that is to not know God and preach against those who do?
What I'm trying to get at is we so often limit out own freedom in Christ and then end up limiting God's will. Sometimes I think we need to have a wake up call like Job got, after arguing with friends Job thought that he knew God well enough to say to Him that he didn't deserve the torture he went through. God does not respond with compassion, He says "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand." Basically, "You don't know me! Step off Job!" The moment we think we have a grasp on God is when we put Him in a box. The same thing happens when we think we are "called" to one thing. Many people today are feeling "called" to mission work in Africa. But those who believe that that is the sole thing God has intended them to do have now put chains on God. God's will is so much better than the little things we dream up! If you feel God has called you to missions in Africa, He probably wants you to do missions in Europe too, even southeast Asia, or maybe (gasp!) America!
So bottom line is, maybe we feel "called" to certain things but don't get your heart set on it cause God has something better for you. God's will does not stop at "being called" if anything, you are called, then led, then tested, then humbled, then lifted up. So don't think your "calling" is your destination. In Scripture the only thing Christ calls us to, is to follow Him. There is no mention of "calling" or :being called". The occupation we are "called" to is to follow Christ.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
The Death of Commitment: Based on a True Story
It is a widely known fact that the divorce rate in America is right around 50%. And what surprises most people is that the same is true for marriages with members affiliated with the church. So it would appear that faith can offer little to nothing to a dying marriage. One could reason that with a 50% divorce rate in marriage there is then also a 50% commitment rate, meaning that only 50% of marriages are truly founded on an ideal of commitment. And from there marriages have a 50% success rate. What I would like to argue is that this statistic has not only measured our commitment to marriage but it also echoes greatly our commitment to anything. Whether it be a book club, a knitting group, or a wine tasting group. I have noticed it myself in the fellowship sphere, people are only partially committed to Bible studies, going to church, or fellowship groups.
This not only eventually destroys the very groups or things we halfheartedly committed ourselves to but it also gives testimony to our still selfish hearts. We are all victim to our own sense of entitlement. We always think we deserve the best and that everything around us should have that in mind. We create a world and persona more centered around "me" than we usually realize. Even us followers of Christ still fall victim to this. We look for what youth group we will like the best, who plays the music I like the most, which has the people I like to be around. In essence we go shopping for the fellowship we will like the most. Now this is not a problem in the beginning of the search, I myself searched for the on campus organizations that suited me best. And of course we all should search for a group whose doctrine lines up with ours. It is further down the line that our entitlement rears its ugly head. Here's a real life example: You start going to a fellowship (Younglife, Campus Crusade, Navigators, or a church fellowship) and you love it. You love the people, the talks, the music, everything! It satisfies your desires. If you are truly a part of that fellowship then you become connected. You become friends with people older than you and you look up to them and you yourself are looked up to by those younger then you. You are an important part of that fellowship.
But then something happens. Excuses run the spectrum from "I'm just too busy" to "I'm not being fed in this environment" But the root of both of these is ourselves. We regain that sense of entitlement only this time it forces us to break the ties we have made with fellowship groups. Now some of us maybe saying "well I really am too busy". I respectfully say, "No you're not" Somehow when you joined the group you were not too busy and a commitment to any kind of fellowship averages around two hours a week and even if your the leader of a group it's no more than 5 hours a week. What are you filling the other 163 hours with that makes you so busy? The other common excuse is that the fellowship just isn't helping you grow anymore, your faith is not aided by this fellowship. Aside from this excuse usually coming after the person has stopped going to any of the fellowship functions it is also a weak excuse. If the fellowship is not feeding you spiritually change it!! If the group discussions are not deep enough for you, bring up a better discussion topic; if the worship is not long enough for you, ask to make it longer, or get some other people that want to worship and do it outside of the usual fellowship time. You are allowed to make things your own, especially if you have been committed to the group in the past, why would they not listen to your input? Instead of going of and finding a new group or creating your own, try changing the one you're in. This is precisely why there are a new churches popping up left and right, all of them have the best worship and the most relevant teachings and the coolest t-shirts. People lose the will to change the old to new. You know full well that Christ changed the old to the new, He didn't create the new and then just push the old to the side. The new was birthed out of the old. So I urge you to do the same. Don't give up and give into your own sense of entitlement, rather stand up for what you believe.
This not only eventually destroys the very groups or things we halfheartedly committed ourselves to but it also gives testimony to our still selfish hearts. We are all victim to our own sense of entitlement. We always think we deserve the best and that everything around us should have that in mind. We create a world and persona more centered around "me" than we usually realize. Even us followers of Christ still fall victim to this. We look for what youth group we will like the best, who plays the music I like the most, which has the people I like to be around. In essence we go shopping for the fellowship we will like the most. Now this is not a problem in the beginning of the search, I myself searched for the on campus organizations that suited me best. And of course we all should search for a group whose doctrine lines up with ours. It is further down the line that our entitlement rears its ugly head. Here's a real life example: You start going to a fellowship (Younglife, Campus Crusade, Navigators, or a church fellowship) and you love it. You love the people, the talks, the music, everything! It satisfies your desires. If you are truly a part of that fellowship then you become connected. You become friends with people older than you and you look up to them and you yourself are looked up to by those younger then you. You are an important part of that fellowship.
But then something happens. Excuses run the spectrum from "I'm just too busy" to "I'm not being fed in this environment" But the root of both of these is ourselves. We regain that sense of entitlement only this time it forces us to break the ties we have made with fellowship groups. Now some of us maybe saying "well I really am too busy". I respectfully say, "No you're not" Somehow when you joined the group you were not too busy and a commitment to any kind of fellowship averages around two hours a week and even if your the leader of a group it's no more than 5 hours a week. What are you filling the other 163 hours with that makes you so busy? The other common excuse is that the fellowship just isn't helping you grow anymore, your faith is not aided by this fellowship. Aside from this excuse usually coming after the person has stopped going to any of the fellowship functions it is also a weak excuse. If the fellowship is not feeding you spiritually change it!! If the group discussions are not deep enough for you, bring up a better discussion topic; if the worship is not long enough for you, ask to make it longer, or get some other people that want to worship and do it outside of the usual fellowship time. You are allowed to make things your own, especially if you have been committed to the group in the past, why would they not listen to your input? Instead of going of and finding a new group or creating your own, try changing the one you're in. This is precisely why there are a new churches popping up left and right, all of them have the best worship and the most relevant teachings and the coolest t-shirts. People lose the will to change the old to new. You know full well that Christ changed the old to the new, He didn't create the new and then just push the old to the side. The new was birthed out of the old. So I urge you to do the same. Don't give up and give into your own sense of entitlement, rather stand up for what you believe.
Friday, January 29, 2010
We Support Causes Like We Buy Jeans
It has been brought to my attention that we are as materialistic in our best intentions as we are in our everyday consumerism. What I mean by this is that we love to be on any kind of social band wagon as long as it is beneficial to us social for at least some time. The materialistic example of this would be fads. In elementary school it was Pokemon cards and yo yos. Junior high was Axe body spray. High school was Doc Martens and Vera Bradley. In college it has been neon colored anything and wolf t-shirts. While these things are cool we love to be a part of the fad but anywhere from a few weeks to a couple months down the line we realize that being a part of the fad is not gaining us any social success anymore and we drop the fad and later joke about how we naively took part in it in the first place.
I feel like this sort of mentality is not only seen in material fads but also in larger social settings like what causes we support. The most recent example being the surge of support for Haiti. Before I continue let me be clear that I am all for aiding these people who have been struck by devastation. What I am not for is helping people only when it is most convenient.
I noticed today that the number one song being purchased on iTunes is a song called Hallelujah by Justine Timberlake which is a part of a "Help for Haiti Now" album. Just weeks ago before the earthquake in Haiti the number one song was Tik Tok. Do you see how this is wrong on multiple levels? First, notice how two weeks ago Justin Timberlake (and I do like him) and the other artist on the album had no songs that even loosely referred to God or anything Godly. But all of the sudden when the market changed and people looked to God for answers musicians met the demand by flippantly recording Christian oriented songs. And the sad part about it all is that we fell for it and we fall victim to the same "caught up in the moment" spirituality. It can almost be sickening to see how we reduce Christian theology and God to just another fad. The last time we saw something similar to this was the tsunami that ravaged Indonesia and later Hurricane Katrina. We often jump on the most popular social justice band wagon around at the given time.
So how do I feel about the response to Haiti and are our fad like responses to tragedy that bad? First, I am glad that the body of Christ takes action so quickly to aid those in Haiti. My problem with it all though is that we only serve for how long it is convenient and cool. In a few weeks we will hear little to nothing about Haiti in the news, the number one song will be back to some bump and grind Kesha song and we will comfortably go back to our self centered daily lives with the feeling that we helped the world for a month by giving time and money. When in actuality our lives should be about changing the world. Showing Christ love is not a fad and if we make it that then it's not love at all. It's more like Christ's infatuation. On the positive side though, since America and other countries who pledge to aid disaster stricken countries are so wealthy even if we only care about helping the country for a month or two, we all give enough money that the people in the hurt countries do get to built new homes, businesses, and roads. So maybe it's not that bad after all.
I guess what my point is in the end is that we should make helping others our lifestyle not what's in style. There are still homeless people all over our country and around the world. People live in poverty and conditions like that of those after the earthquake everyday of their lives but we seldom hear those cries for help. So to wrap up, while the tragedy in Haiti is horrible, the people there are not the only ones suffering and the people there will be suffering for much longer than a month. So let's really be like Christ and not just get them back on their feet but get them walking again.
I feel like this sort of mentality is not only seen in material fads but also in larger social settings like what causes we support. The most recent example being the surge of support for Haiti. Before I continue let me be clear that I am all for aiding these people who have been struck by devastation. What I am not for is helping people only when it is most convenient.
I noticed today that the number one song being purchased on iTunes is a song called Hallelujah by Justine Timberlake which is a part of a "Help for Haiti Now" album. Just weeks ago before the earthquake in Haiti the number one song was Tik Tok. Do you see how this is wrong on multiple levels? First, notice how two weeks ago Justin Timberlake (and I do like him) and the other artist on the album had no songs that even loosely referred to God or anything Godly. But all of the sudden when the market changed and people looked to God for answers musicians met the demand by flippantly recording Christian oriented songs. And the sad part about it all is that we fell for it and we fall victim to the same "caught up in the moment" spirituality. It can almost be sickening to see how we reduce Christian theology and God to just another fad. The last time we saw something similar to this was the tsunami that ravaged Indonesia and later Hurricane Katrina. We often jump on the most popular social justice band wagon around at the given time.
So how do I feel about the response to Haiti and are our fad like responses to tragedy that bad? First, I am glad that the body of Christ takes action so quickly to aid those in Haiti. My problem with it all though is that we only serve for how long it is convenient and cool. In a few weeks we will hear little to nothing about Haiti in the news, the number one song will be back to some bump and grind Kesha song and we will comfortably go back to our self centered daily lives with the feeling that we helped the world for a month by giving time and money. When in actuality our lives should be about changing the world. Showing Christ love is not a fad and if we make it that then it's not love at all. It's more like Christ's infatuation. On the positive side though, since America and other countries who pledge to aid disaster stricken countries are so wealthy even if we only care about helping the country for a month or two, we all give enough money that the people in the hurt countries do get to built new homes, businesses, and roads. So maybe it's not that bad after all.
I guess what my point is in the end is that we should make helping others our lifestyle not what's in style. There are still homeless people all over our country and around the world. People live in poverty and conditions like that of those after the earthquake everyday of their lives but we seldom hear those cries for help. So to wrap up, while the tragedy in Haiti is horrible, the people there are not the only ones suffering and the people there will be suffering for much longer than a month. So let's really be like Christ and not just get them back on their feet but get them walking again.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Why Men Cheat Themselves
I have been noticing a surge of articles online and in magazine outlining why men cheat on their significant others or wives. I'm sure the recent increase in articles is due to Tiger Woods but I noticed articles titled something like "9 Reasons Why Men Cheat" long before Tiger was in the spotlight. Before I go off on how stupid and appalling these articles are I would like to list the reasons men cheat, or so the articles say:
1. She's not what she used to be. Talking about how women may gain weight and the husband is less attracted to her
2. A nagging wife
3. She just doesn't "get" me. Speaking of how men feel like their wife doesn't understand them.
4. The Trill. Some men like the risk involved in cheating.
5. Blame it on the "hunter". In other words, our ancestors were hunters and so are we, so we hunt for more women.
6. Biology. We are naturally wired to cheat
7. It's just sex. For a lot of guys sex and love are separate things.
8. Men want more sex than women do.
9. Because we can. Some men think that since it is so easy to cheat, why not?
Ok, so I'm sure we all feel now that men cheating is completely justified, wrong! But the sad thing is is that it would appear that women are actually buying into these excuses. More and more women are making themselves be okay with their boyfriend or husband cheating on them. They toss it up to one of the nine reasons above. "Oh I was just too nagging, I need to give him space." "I need to understand him better so I can meet his needs." "It's natural for men to seek a variety of sexual partners, I just need to be better in bed to keep him around." "I let my body go so he wasn't as attracted to me, but I'm back in the gym now." Are you ladies serious? have you no dignity? A guy cheats because he is a sleeze bag, that's the only excuse. I want to be fair here and say that yes women can do things that make it easier for men to cheat. Women can not love their husband well or they can spend too much time at work and not enough at home. But it is him in the end that makes the decision to take action. And also, while the articles all talk about guys cheating, women cheat as well and there is also no excuse for that.
When it comes to men looking for different sexual partners here is the secret to having the best sex of your life. Have sex with your wife and your wife only once you are married. You are then guaranteed to have the best sex you will have ever experience. Do you see that when God cammands us to wait until married to have sex it is not just because He want to put another rule over us, or He doesn't want us to have fun. It is actually because He knows what is best for us. He knows that sex with your wife and only your wife is the best you will ever have. After all He did create it!
Now when men say that "she just isn't what she used to be", one they are incredibly shallow and they probably just married their wife because she was smokin' hot that first time they met naked in that pool at that house party. And not you realize you didn't marry because of love at all.
Others say it's because their wife nags on them too much or she doesn't know them well enough. Well, have you tried talking about it? You are allowed to talk to your wife and ask her to stop nagging or give you more space, and if she doesn't "get" you well fix it. Do things so she "gets" you. Go out on a date night and try and learn something new about the person. Even if you have been married for 50 years there is something you can learn.
Some men say it is because a long time ago we roamed the plains as hunters and that instinct is just coming out again. This is very similar to them saying it is biological for men to look for other mates. This is probably the most immature excuse of all of these. Apparently these men also have no free will or reason. We are humans, we are evolved beyond living strictly by instinct. We can make choices.
And as for the men that think sex and love are totally separated from each other, well they don't even know their own hearts. Have you ever wondered why we kiss? It does serve any survival function, it doesn't make babies. But for some reason when you are with someone you love you are drawn into them which initially starts as a kiss. This then should culminate as sex in marriage. And have you ever wondered why sex is enjoyable? Why would the means of reproduction be enjoyable if it were not supposed to be shared with the one you love?
Anyways, I know my responses to the nine excuses are short but I just get so hyped up on how stupid these are that I think more things than I can write. All in all, men and women who cheat are only cheating themselves and they are cowards. You ask "how am I a coward? what am I afraid of?" You're afraid of trying to fix your relationship. You are running away and taking the easy way out and then covering up your cowardice with a lame excuse. It's truly pathetic that people think infidelity in any manner is permissible. And again, God did not command us to be faithful to our spouses because He wants yet another rule to enforce, it's because He knows that being faithful is just a better way to live. So many of us do not wish the best for ourselves and we don't realize that God is wishing the best for us everyday.
1. She's not what she used to be. Talking about how women may gain weight and the husband is less attracted to her
2. A nagging wife
3. She just doesn't "get" me. Speaking of how men feel like their wife doesn't understand them.
4. The Trill. Some men like the risk involved in cheating.
5. Blame it on the "hunter". In other words, our ancestors were hunters and so are we, so we hunt for more women.
6. Biology. We are naturally wired to cheat
7. It's just sex. For a lot of guys sex and love are separate things.
8. Men want more sex than women do.
9. Because we can. Some men think that since it is so easy to cheat, why not?
Ok, so I'm sure we all feel now that men cheating is completely justified, wrong! But the sad thing is is that it would appear that women are actually buying into these excuses. More and more women are making themselves be okay with their boyfriend or husband cheating on them. They toss it up to one of the nine reasons above. "Oh I was just too nagging, I need to give him space." "I need to understand him better so I can meet his needs." "It's natural for men to seek a variety of sexual partners, I just need to be better in bed to keep him around." "I let my body go so he wasn't as attracted to me, but I'm back in the gym now." Are you ladies serious? have you no dignity? A guy cheats because he is a sleeze bag, that's the only excuse. I want to be fair here and say that yes women can do things that make it easier for men to cheat. Women can not love their husband well or they can spend too much time at work and not enough at home. But it is him in the end that makes the decision to take action. And also, while the articles all talk about guys cheating, women cheat as well and there is also no excuse for that.
When it comes to men looking for different sexual partners here is the secret to having the best sex of your life. Have sex with your wife and your wife only once you are married. You are then guaranteed to have the best sex you will have ever experience. Do you see that when God cammands us to wait until married to have sex it is not just because He want to put another rule over us, or He doesn't want us to have fun. It is actually because He knows what is best for us. He knows that sex with your wife and only your wife is the best you will ever have. After all He did create it!
Now when men say that "she just isn't what she used to be", one they are incredibly shallow and they probably just married their wife because she was smokin' hot that first time they met naked in that pool at that house party. And not you realize you didn't marry because of love at all.
Others say it's because their wife nags on them too much or she doesn't know them well enough. Well, have you tried talking about it? You are allowed to talk to your wife and ask her to stop nagging or give you more space, and if she doesn't "get" you well fix it. Do things so she "gets" you. Go out on a date night and try and learn something new about the person. Even if you have been married for 50 years there is something you can learn.
Some men say it is because a long time ago we roamed the plains as hunters and that instinct is just coming out again. This is very similar to them saying it is biological for men to look for other mates. This is probably the most immature excuse of all of these. Apparently these men also have no free will or reason. We are humans, we are evolved beyond living strictly by instinct. We can make choices.
And as for the men that think sex and love are totally separated from each other, well they don't even know their own hearts. Have you ever wondered why we kiss? It does serve any survival function, it doesn't make babies. But for some reason when you are with someone you love you are drawn into them which initially starts as a kiss. This then should culminate as sex in marriage. And have you ever wondered why sex is enjoyable? Why would the means of reproduction be enjoyable if it were not supposed to be shared with the one you love?
Anyways, I know my responses to the nine excuses are short but I just get so hyped up on how stupid these are that I think more things than I can write. All in all, men and women who cheat are only cheating themselves and they are cowards. You ask "how am I a coward? what am I afraid of?" You're afraid of trying to fix your relationship. You are running away and taking the easy way out and then covering up your cowardice with a lame excuse. It's truly pathetic that people think infidelity in any manner is permissible. And again, God did not command us to be faithful to our spouses because He wants yet another rule to enforce, it's because He knows that being faithful is just a better way to live. So many of us do not wish the best for ourselves and we don't realize that God is wishing the best for us everyday.
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