Snakes and Stones

Starting on January 10, 2012, this blog will become increasingly more active. With an easier schedule, I will be much more able to post this semester. I haven't posted in almost two months, and it's been killing me that I've abandoned the posts. I will be doing a minimum of two posts each week, coming out on Tuesdays and Fridays. Tuesday posts will look much like the Bug's posts have always looked: basically a mini-message, in written form. Friday posts, of which this is the first, will be based off the lessons I teach in my Bible study. Currently, we are reading through Matthew, and this week's lesson is from Matthew 7:9-11.

9 What man among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! -Matthew 7:7-11, HCSB

Imagine that someone is drowning in a river, screaming out for help. A sense of desperation is in their voice. They cannot swim, and they need help to survive. They look to you, and call out your name. You have a lifejacket, which they can attach to themselves and survive, or a rock, with which you can toss in their direction and hope for the best. Which one would you give them?

Of course, you'd give them the lifejacket. Why would you give someone that is so desperately in trouble something that is only going to make them sink faster? Yet, if you'd be willing to do save them, how much more capable and willing is God to help us?

You see, often times it's us that is drowning. We're stuck in the rivers of life, drowning in our troubles. We can't get out of our sucky situations, and so we cry out to God for help. We have a God who is all-powerful and all-loving. Will He not help us out?

God always works for the good of His people (Romans 8:28). We may not understand when we are drowning, and God doesn't just come over in His boat and get us. Sometimes, He tosses a lifejacket nearby, and we have to stretch a bit to grab it, and then dog paddle to safety. We want everything to come easy to us, and usually it doesn't. God lets us go through hard stuff for a reason, and we just have to put our faith in Him to get us out of the river. He is a refuge for those in trouble (Nahum 1:7); He's working for our good!

We have an amazing God. I urge you to watch the video below, and spend a few minutes gazing upon how beautiful and breathtaking His Creation is. Then, remember that the God that made all of that is looking out for you, and will save you from the river. Worship Him now. Praise Him.

If You Can?!

OK, so I know that I said that I was starting a series. I said that I'd post every week. And Tuesdays are supposed to be the days that I post. However, I'm feeling a bit like James Dean this week, and I have put off the JESUS Film series for a week. Maybe I'll write Part Two on Tuesday. MAYBE.

This week, however, we will look at a verse that seems to define our lives, either in one extreme or the other. The section we will be looking at Mark 9:22-27, which reads:

"22 And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us." 23 And Jesus said to him, "'If you can'! All things are possible for one who believes." 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said,"I believe; help my unbelief!" 25 And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again." 26 And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, "He is dead." 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose." -Mark 9:22-27, ESV

How many of us are like the father in this episode? We have a desire to see God work in our lives, but we are not willing to put the faith in Him to do His work. This is a massive problem in churches. We have processed and processed and processed the modern church and worship service like the insides of a chicken nugget (that is a lot of processing). We have timed everything out and put Jesus in a box. And why is that, one may ask? We keep saying what the dad here said: "But if you can do anything, have compassion and help us." IF?! What do you mean IF?!

It's really easy for us to look at the father here and say, "he clearly doesn't believe in an all-powerful God that can do whatever the crap He wants." Yet, think about it: do you REALLY live like God can help you in anything? Do you think that Jesus Christ is right beside you, watching over you, or do you tend to be a bit headstrong? Do you tend to want to take control of the situation, and pull God out of the equation?

If you answered no, you probably are lying or you fit into extreme number two: you expect God to do everything. This involves a refusal to take control of anything, and you just sit idly by, waiting for God to bring His work to you AND do it for you. Too bad Scripture says; "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men" (Colossians 3:23). Working heartily for the Lord doesn't seem to allow room for letting the Lord work for you.

We must find the balance between these two in our lives. It is a struggle, but well worth it. We are made to depend on God's strength and leadership, but we also are expected to carry our portion. Let's try to find a happy medium, and rely on God do His part while we gladly do our part. And how do we do this?

"This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting." -Mark 9:29, HCSB

I challenge you: pray and fast before God, asking Him to reveal the areas in your life that you need to let Him work, and also to reveal where you need to step up and do it yourself.

JESUS Film Series, Part One: Jesus Is Your Friend

It has been a while since I last did a series, as I usually just write free-standing blog posts. Starting today, and going for the next four weeks, though, I'll be doing a four-part series on Jesus and what He is really like. I'll be basing this series off of four videos made by Vintage21 Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. Each post will feature one of these videos, and then we will look at what the video is displaying about Jesus, and how it isn't a Biblical version of Him.

DISCLAIMER: This video is not meant to be offensive. It is a satirical look at how Jesus is usually portrayed. No disrespect is intended by this video.



Ok, so, let's look into this. Peter is a bit bummed out because Jesus is apparently too busy for him. Jesus doesn't have time for Peter's silly games, and is indifferent to Peter's problems. Another guy is bugging Jesus with what he wants for Christmas. He claims to be Peter's friend, He just doesn't have time for him.

According to this view of Jesus, He is an incredibly important and busy heavenly Being that is far too concerned with running the world and "heavenly things" to worry about being Peter's friend. Let's look at this.

Yes, Jesus is an incredibly important heavenly Being. In fact, He is the most important Being in the universe. He is the Alpha and Omega (Rev. 1:8, 2213), Head over everything (Eph. 1:22), and the Judge of the living and the dead (Acts 10:42). Those are some pretty important titles, and it only scrapes the surface. Jesus is the Son of God (Mt. 4:3), the Savior of the world (John 4:42). He is holy, God of the universe (2 Peter 1:1). It doesn't get more important than Jesus.

Yet, there is another title that is found in the Bible, and it seems to stick out. Look with me at this curious verse.

"19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'" -Matthew 11:19, HCSB

The Son of Man, another title of Jesus (Mt. 8:20), is a friend of tax collectors and sinners. Jesus is a friend of people who sin. Guess what? That's everyone. You, me, your neighbor, Uncle Timmy: all sinners. Yet Jesus says that He is your friend. But does He have time for you?

The overwhelming answer is: yes. Proof that God (who Jesus is) has time for us is all over the Bible.

-He listens to us (Jer. 29:12)

-He watches over us (Ps. 33:18)

-He protects us (Ps. 23)

-He loves us (Ps. 36:7)

-He wants to hear your problems (1 Pt. 5:7)

No, He is not the cosmic vending machine that you pray for your Christmas list to. But Jesus cares deeply about you, and has more than enough time for you. After all, He's God. There are no limits on Him. He can love you and be the best friend that you can have because He alone is capable of unfailing love.

Will you remember that you have a friend in Jesus, or will you continue to think that you are a bother? Approach Him today as the friend that He wants to be for you.

How Do You Pray?

FINALLY a day has come that I'm not too busy to write a blog post. Today's post is all about prayer. This a topic that is very dear to my heart, and one that I continue to pursue knowledge in.

Prayer can be tricky. In theory, it's a brilliant thought. Who doesn't want to talk to God? The problem arises for many, myself included, arises when God doesn't talk back. We pray and pray and pray and we receive a dial tone on the other end. This can be frustrating, and lead people to have difficulty in finding a purpose for prayer.

I personally found prayer particularly difficult and troublesome for many years, and still struggle to pray as I should. If everyone as an Achilles heel on the Christian journey, prayer may likely be one of mine. And that is a problem, because prayer is vitally important, and truthfully, indispensable.

I was recently asked by someone "how do you pray?" This question seems simple enough, but it really is a legitimately difficult question. How does one pray? Does it need to be aloud, or internally? Big words or not? Long or short? Must you gather together with others and hold hands, or do you have to kneel beside your bed? The four-letter question I was asked is really a massive, loaded question!

To start, let's look at what Christ says about prayer when He says "you should pray like this."

"9 "Therefore, you should pray like this:

Our Father in heaven,
Your name be honored as holy.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And do not bring us into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.
[For Yours is the kingdom and the power
and the glory forever. Amen.]"

-Matthew 6:9-13

OK, that's loaded. There's a lot of information in that prayer. Let's break it down a bit, because really this prayer can be cut into a few sections that are easily applicable to our lives.

V. 9: This prayer starts out by honoring God, coming humbly before Him. We are to acknowledge that God is holy, and because of His holiness, we should worship Him.

V. 10: Now we see Christ praying that God's kingdom would come and that His will would be done. God's kingdom has already come; He runs the universe. Everything from galaxies to atoms are in His kingdom. Instead, we are to pray that His kingdom to come more and more complete as we near the end times, when everything in His kingdom will be made perfect and untarnished again. Praying that His will would be done shows that we are following into His plan for His kingdom, and causes us to humbly follow Him.

V. 11: By asking for our daily bread, Christ means that we ask God for our needs. God will provide for us. Every day we should feel comfortable asking Him to sustain us and provide our needs for us.

V. 12: We ask for forgiveness. We sin constantly, like we are producing sin on an assembly line. We need to confess that sin to God and ask for Him to forgive us. The verse goes on to say that we ask for forgiveness, just like we forgive others. If we expect God to forgive us, it is only logical that we forgive others in the same way.

V. 13: We pray for God to keep us safe from temptation. We sin constantly, like I said above. We need to lean heavily on God to avoid falling deeper and deeper into sin and sinning more and more. Only God can help us overcome Satan and his temptations; we must rely on God to protect us from him.

Tell God He is awesome. Be excited about His plan for the world. Ask for what we need. Ask for forgiveness. Ask for protection. Those are some pretty straight-forward prayers to go after. But is that all?

-Matthew 6:5-7 says not to pray like a show-off. Long, lengthy, "babbling" prayers are not biblical and not what God wants. He wants gut-level honest prayers. Keep that long-winded, hypocritical, show-offy stuff outta here. God isn't impressed when you use big words (unless you naturally talk with big words. Then use them all over your prayers). Instead, we should just pray with whatever is on our hearts, alone if possible.

-The books of Job and Habakkuk have some prayers that are borderline crazy. These two guys got upset with God, and went off on Him. Guess what: you can too. If you feel like God has abandoned you, left you, and forgotten about you, tell Him that. Tell Him you're mad. He can handle it.

-1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 says to pray constantly. Pray all the time. In the bed, in the shower, in the bathroom, in the car, and in your football game. Pray at work, school, and home. Think of it as texting God. You don't usually send long texts, do you? Just quick little prayers like "thank you God," "help me God," or "you're awesome God" are fair game. Short and sweet works.

These are all things that have helped me in my prayer life, and I hope they help you, as well. Let's all try to follow these tips from God on how to talk to God. He wants to hear from us; don't leave Him waiting by the phone.

When God Looks Like Cousin Itt

Recently, I listened to a message by Won Kwak, lead pastor at Maranatha Grace Fort Lee in Fort Lee, New Jersey. In the message, he was talking about the part of the Trinity that we often forget: the Holy Spirit. As he was discussing the Spirit, he said that we often look at the Spirit as an "it" instead of what the Spirit of God is. Specifically, he said we think of the Spirit as Cousin Itt, and I love this analogy. So, let's watch Cousin Itt real quick, and then look into how we wrongfully view the Spirit as such (This is a 10-minute video, so feel free to watch from 2:26-4:52 just to get an idea of Itt).



Ok, so let's look at how Cousin Itt is like the Holy Spirit. First, we look at the Holy Spirit as an "it." We tend to think of the Spirit as a mystical wind that blows around and messes up our hair. Much like Cousin Itt, we don't know exactly what the Spirit is, really. We just look and stare, afraid to go near and discover the truth.

"19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" -Matthew 28:19, HCSB

Here in Matthew, we see Jesus, the Son of God and part of the Trinity of God, referring to the Spirit as equal with the Father and Son. If the Father and Son are both God, and the Spirit is equal to them, then the logical conclusion is that they are all three God. The Spirit is not an it, but a He. He is as much God as the Father and Son. That makes a huge difference. No longer is the Spirit a tool of God, but He is God. That gives Him ultimate power and makes Him deserving of ultimate respect.

Second, the Spirit is heard as gibberish to the outsider, much like we can't understand Cousin Itt. Until you learn to speak the language of the Spirit, you cannot understand it. How do you learn the language of the Spirit? Just like Cousin Itt: you're part of His family.

The Sciptures are inspired by the Spirit (2 Peter 1:21), so therefore they are the Spirit's words, written by man. The only way that the Scriptures can be seen as the living, applicable life-changing Word of God is through the Spirit revealing the Truth to us (2 Corinthians 2:10-13). And who does the Spirit work through?

"14 All those who are led by God's Spirit are God's sons." -Romans 8:14, HCSB

Those who have the Spirit leading them are the family of God. Just like Cousin Itt, the family of God understands the Spirit through the Spirit helping us understand.

Finally, we view the Spirit as a moody visitor like Cousin Itt: sometimes helpful, sometimes complaining; sometimes here, sometimes gone. This couldn't be any different.

"19 God is not a man who lies, or a son of man who changes His mind. Does He speak and not act, or promise and not fulfill?" -Numbers 23:19, HCSB

God is never changing, and the same applies to the Spirit. Once the Spirit is guiding you, you have a permanent guide. He will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5), and the Spirit will even live IN you (1 Corinthians 3:16). He won't change His mind about you. He won't just come for a visit. Once you have the Spirit of God, you always have Him.

Will you remember that, or just think of the Spirit as a foreign gust that doesn't consistently blow the same way?

For more on the Spirit and His awesomeness, check out Forgotten God by Francis Chan.

New Blog Announcement!

Hello everyone, and happy Saturday! This post is a bit different than normal ones on here, as you can see by the title. I did a post like this once upon a time, but for different reasons. Allow me to explain.

About ten months ago, I started this blog. I had a previous blog, but due to the radical changes in my life that God was imposing, I felt led to entirely make a new blog with a new focus. This morning, I have been lead again to start a new blog, but it is not at the demise of this one.

Instead, I will continue to write periodically on here, as I have been doing for quite some time now. In addition, I have started a new blog, which can be found at www.lttchurch.blogspot.com. The purpose of my new blog, entitled "Letters to the Church," is to write a series of letters to churches in different places, much like the apostle Paul did with the churches of Galatia, Ephesus, etc.

These letters, the first of which was just written a few minutes ago, will be posted a bit more often than my "Lightning Bug" posts, as they are shorter and require much less work to write. I was inspired by my recent purchase of the book "Operation World," a book which tells of prayer needs in every country in the world. It also encourages you to pray for churches (or parts of the Church) in that nation. Therefore, I will be praying for different nations all the time, and will be writing short letters of encouragement to these parts of the body of Christ. I hope you will look into these posts and also pray for the churches. Many believers in foreign countries have it much worse than we Americans do, and I pray that we keep their troubles and triumphs in our hearts.

Have a great weekend, and keep those most affected by 9/11 in your prayers this weekend. A post on this will come on this blog tonight.

By the way: Happy Birthday Michael! My little brother has turned 18 today. :)

The Day of Adversity

A couple of years ago, my spiritual life looked quite different than it does today. I had been dealing with some depression, stuff at work wasn't going how I liked it, and our church was struggling with conflict. This, along with random other things, caused me to seriously doubt the presence of an all-powerful, loving God. In fact, I was quite sure that the God I had learned about my entire life, the Christian God, was not the real God. I didn't know who the real God was, but I wasn't even sure I cared. I'd been doing the Christian thing for quite sometime, and the only reason I was concerned about the God I assumed was there was so I'd have a bit of fire insurance in case Hell was a real place. As far as my life was concerned, though, God didn't seem to care much about me, and the feeling was going to be returned.

How often in the darker times of our life do we feel like God isn't there, or that He doesn't care? I mean, crappy stuff happens to us, and we don't like it. If we don't like it, then why would God let it happen to us? Does He enjoy our suffering?

God does not enjoy human suffering. We were not made for that. Suffering didn't come into the world until humanity screwed up and rebelled against our Ruler. It's ultimately our fault for anything bad that happens to us. Anything good and perfect, though, comes from God (James 1:17). So why does suffering happen? Look at Ecclesiastes 7:14 with me.

"14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider: without question, God has made the one as well as the other." -Ecclesiastes 7:14, HCSB

Just like we doubt God's being around when bad stuff is happening, we are quick to praise God when good stuff is happening. We can recognize that God causes good things, but is it possible that He sends bad stuff our way sometimes? Every day we live on earth is from God, good or bad. Yes, bad stuff is ultimately our fault. Our sin causes it to exist. But perhaps God uses that bad stuff to work in our hearts? Perhaps God is still around, watching over the whole thing, using everything good or bad to glorify Himself?

After I had been in a pit of despair, relying on myself to get through life, I realized that I had done nothing to fix my life on my own. In fact, my life was getting worse without God. I began reaching back to Him, realizing that, in the dark moments, He might still be there. Guess what?! He is.

Deuteronomy 31:8 says that God will not leave you. He will not ditch you. When bad things are happening, don't turn away from God. Those bad times may be teaching you something. I was a proud, arrogant teenager that thought I could run my life as well as God can. I needed to learn to depend on God to run my life, and realize that He is in charge, not me. I learned more about the love and passion of God during that stretch of my life than I ever did before. God is constantly working to form you to be more like Him.

To make a car, you cannot take a block of metal and simply mold it into the shape of a car. You have to melt it and pour it into a mold and let it cool and harden and pull it out of the mold. It's a process. God will not mold you into perfection in a day, a week or a century. It's a process, and in order for the process to work, you must participate. Instead of running from hard times, embrace them. Let God mold you in the rough times. If you will run to Him in the hard times, you'll come out closer to the finished product than if you want just the good of God.

So will you let God work in your life in the bad times, or will you reject Him in times of need? Will you be formed by Him?

Refresh

I want to start out by thanking Rachel Rummell again for being a guest blogger last week. I have been in contact with several others since, so hopefully this blog will have other new voices join mine from time to time. Today, however, you have me again.

Have you ever heard the saying, "what goes around, comes around?" This theme is all over the world. Buddhists believe in karma, and that doing good things will cause good things to happen to you. It's the boomerang effect, right? Today, I'll show that while the Bible doesn't necessarily line up with Buddhism, there is a theme that is quite similar. Let's look at Proverbs 11:25.

"25 A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed." -Proverbs 11:25, NIV

It says that if you will give, you will be given. I'm not saying that doing good automatically makes you eligible for material possessions (See: Avoiding the Feel Good Fever). The Bible is instead saying that to those who give generously, God will bless them generously. It may very well be material blessing. It may be interior blessing. Regardless, you will never give generously out of faithfulness to God and receive no compensation for it. I've experienced this myself; the more you're willing to give, the more God will bless you.

Some of you may think I'm talking only about money. Sure, money is an option. But that's not all we have to give. We also have time, passion, energy, and other things that are less tangible than money, but equally as giveable. Look at the end of that verse: "whoever refreshes others will be refreshed." You can simply refresh someone: send them a nice note or text, smile at them, or buy them a Coke. It doesn't have to be something big. Most people can be refreshed by simple things. And that's not all: refreshing them also refreshes you!

When you make someone smile, you smile too. When someone is having a bad day and you can lift them up, it lifts you up, too. It's a cycle that can never end, if kept up. Do you know of anyone that needs refreshing today? Or perhaps you need refreshing. It only takes one person to start the refreshment cycle. Will it be you today?

Below is a video that just screams this principle. It's a commercial that shows exactly what I'm saying.

Guest Blog: God Won't Leave You

Rachel Rummell is a friend of mine that I met in Atlanta this past January at the Passion 2011 conference. We have stayed in touch since that time, and I have been asking her about being a guest writer for this blog for almost the whole time. She is an English major at Mount Vernon Nazarene University in Mount Vernon, Ohio.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” – John 10:10

As I was preparing for the summer, deciding what to do with my three months off, I applied for jobs anywhere I could that offered security. I knew I could always return to the research firm I was at last summer, but I wanted a new, exciting experience as my last summer before entering the “real world.” I had applied for and gotten a job at a camp I visited last year but something just didn’t feel right. I felt there was more out there than just being a camp counselor yet again. I had received an application for an internship in Kansas City, Missouri, but they could never in a million years pick me. So I settled for Music and Ministry with my college for another summer.

I knew it would be a blast, having six guys and two girls, almost just like the last summer I had participated in the traveling worship team. Now that was a job I knew I’d love and enjoy! After the first meeting, we had all signed the contract and were ready to go shopping for our new outfits!

However, God had a different plan for my life. Driving home from college for Easter Break, I received a phone call from a new number. It was the Nazarene Publishing House, calling to offer me one of the internships I had applied for! Of course I said yes!

The only major problem I faced is that I did not own a car that I knew could make it out to western Missouri. Summer was only a few weeks away and there was no way I could find a reliable car in my very low price range to get out there safely! I was at a loss. A week and a half before finals, my mom called me, however, with news of a car for sale. Of course, loving yard sales, my mom was at a yard sale that fateful Friday where a beautiful bright red 2001 Chevy Cavalier was perched in the yard with a price tag almost low enough for me to purchase. My parents both looked at it that night and determined it was to be mine. So they bought the car, for which I would pay them back. Thus, Raphael joined my family, named after the super awesome Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. He has since gained a Superman steering wheel cover and seat cover, as well as a bumper sticker that says, “I break for SUPER POWERS!!!” He is epic.

With transportation taken care of, I had to determine where to live. I received phone numbers for living with an employee for the 8 weeks so as I looked into that, I called Darl, who seemed like a nice woman with cheap rent. I went ahead with it and was ready to leave!

Since I could decide when to start, we picked June 13 as a good starting Monday and I headed out. I drove 9 hours that first day with my mom, stayed near St. Louis, MO, and got to check out St. Louis for a morning before we drove the next 5 hours to Kansas City!! This is where things started getting iffy for me.

Darl was an older woman that I honestly didn’t feel comfortable with. She is a sweetheart, don’t get me wrong, but it just didn’t feel right at all. As my mom was standing in the airport, headed for home, I just hugged her and cried, so unsure, so scared, and feeling more alone than I think I’ve ever felt in my life. But I stuck through it and went to work the next day. There, I met Kim, who was to be my boss for the next 8 weeks. God couldn’t have picked a better boss for me! Easy-going, 29 years old, and full of adventure, Kim has just been a great person to work with and work for. When she learned who I was living with, she looked me right in the eye and said, “I have room in my basement if you want to live with me and carpool every day with me.” Joy filled my heart as I drove home to Darl’s, packed up, and moved to Kim’s townhouse in Overland Park, Kansas. That night, I slept infinitely better with a heart full of peace that God was truly taking care of me, and He hadn’t left me in the dark with a strange old woman I didn’t feel right about.

Living with Kim has made everything all the better. Now I have someone I can talk to, someone that can drive me to work almost every day that understands poor college students, and someone that can plan awesome weekends and help me sightsee and get the most out of my stay here in Kansas/Missouri. But life isn’t always full of rainbows and butterflies.

See, God knows how I work and what I need to function and have a successful time here. However, Satan knows what elements I don’t need for work, but what I need to survive in life. Living on a college campus, I am always within 5 minutes of a friend whenever I want to do something. Living 13 hours from home and being placed in a city I’ve never seen makes seeing said friends slightly challenging. I assumed I would get involved in a church college group and make friends like I would anywhere else. But things get in the way of those original plans. Not only have I yet to attend a college group in the two weeks I’ve been here, I have yet to make a friend outside of work. Yes, Kim is great. But we all have those days when we just wanna go out and see friends we haven’t seen in awhile or meet up with someone for coffee. That’s difficult when I live and work with the same person every day and who I hang out with on the weekends as well.

Satan knows I want to get out and make friends. He has arranged to make it nearly impossible. He has instilled a slight fear of driving in the city and getting lost or in an accident with these crazy drivers. He has given me a long 8 hours of work every day that I am not used to yet. He has placed me a half hour from the one church that I found a college group and was interested in attending. He has placed fatigue in me to want to stay at home every night and try to sleep, even when a fellow co-worker has invited me out. And he has placed many of my close friends in great positions where they are doing great and making money, but unable to really talk to me. In doing this, Satan has delved deep into my soul and filled it with a feeling of loneliness it seems no human can fill. He has made my 8 weeks here more difficult than I imagined.

The story doesn’t end here, though. Satan, though he thinks himself a genius, forgets that I still have God to turn to, God to talk to, God to just love on and feel His love. Yes, I feel super lonely and I feel like I’m the only one in the world who feels this negative. Yes, I feel like these 8 weeks could be miserable and just look forward to each weekend and wait for my time to go home. But I refuse. God did not bring me 13 hours from my home, away from my friends, and out of my comfort zone to make me miserable for two months. God has a bigger plan than that. God wants to take me out of my comfort zone so I can grow and feel the stretching and the molding that is taking place. In my comfort zone, I can never truly transform into the woman He has created me to be. Yet in this scary, new, and not-always-inviting place, God can change my heart and change me for a new and brighter future. It is here, in this place, that I am truly His to do what He will.

In taking me away from my friends, He is forcing me to re-evaluate some of my friendships, as well as really take to heart what being a true friend means. He is trying to erase all traces of selfishness I hide in my heart, to make me the best friend I can be to anyone who needs a friend. In taking me away from my family, He is showing me how much my family cares. When I come home on breaks from school, it is so easy to want to be around them for a few days and then get tired of it. But out here, I really see how much I truly miss them. When they are no longer 2 hours away, a simple drive, when they are at long last 13 hours away, I find I miss them more, or so it seems.

The things God can do with us when we open up to Him is incredible, how God can truly change us and mold us into who He created us to be when we let Him. What’s more amazing is how Satan tries so desperately to turn us away from God and to allow ourselves to get wrapped up in sin and lies, yet God’s love will always come back for us. He never really does leave us or forsake us. He really is always there. We may not see Him. It may take a crazy adventure to remind us that there is One who is greater than the madness of this mortal world. But when it all comes down to it, God really is always there for us and He looks out for us. We just have to be patient and learn to look for the sun on a cloudy day. Just as the sun is still there when it’s covered by clouds to bring rain, God is still there, covered by Satan and the lies that he breathes to rain on our parade. But with the sun comes a rainbow, and with God comes a way out.

Rachel has since survived Kansas City, being blessed with all that she has learned, as we read above. If you want to contact Rachel, her email is frk4jcandchocolate@yahoo.com or follow her on Twitter: @Rummellstiltskn. Hopefully her writing has shared what God has been doing in her life, and we hope to hear from her again soon.

If you are interested in being a guest blogger, contact me at thefreedbug@aol.com or via Facebook or Twitter. I'd love to hear from you and share what you have to say!

Being Bold In Faith...Even When It's Dangerous

Ever said something and wished you could take it back, even if it were true? I know that I have. It may have been something that was mean. It may have been something that was arrogant. It may have just been a bit bolder than I might have wanted to say. Regardless, all it takes is a few seconds for us to say something too quickly, and all of a sudden we have a problem.

Ezra, a priest of Israel, had one of these moments. The Israelites had been under Babylonian control for quite some time, and then the Persians took over Babylon. The Persian kings had let some Israelites go back through the years, and Ezra wanted to take another group back to the home land. King Artaxerxes didn't have a problem with this, and even would have been willing to send along soldiers and horsemen to protect them on their journey from modern-day Iraq to Israel. Here's where Ezra had his mouth before his head. Let's look:

"For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, "The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him." -Ezra 8:22, ESV

Whoops. Ezra told the king that God would put His wrath on the enemies of God and Israel. That's a pretty bold statement to make before heading out on a journey through enemy territory, particularly before you had the promise of Persian protection. And now Ezra couldn't really ask for protection, considering he already said that God would handle that. What was Ezra to do?

He had two options: take the "safe" route and ask the king for protection, thus making his claims about God appear weaker, or he could put his life in God's hands (maybe even literally) and have faith that God would protect them. It was a pretty clear cut decision. Fortunately, we know that Ezra's faith was strong enough to back up his mouth.

Ezra led the group to Israel, praying and fasting, asking God to protect them as He had promised. As always, God did what He said. Do you have the faith to make bold statements like Ezra did, and expect that God will do what God does? Or will you break and put your faith in the "safe" bets of earth?

What is Your Legacy?

In life, everyone leaves a legacy. Sometimes, it's a a legacy that everyone notices, good or bad. Michael Jordan's legacy is that he is the greatest basketball player in history. Thomas Edison's legacy is that he invented the modern light bulb. Harriet Tubman's legacy is that she led many slaves to freedom on the Underground Railroad, often risking her life. Al Capone's legacy is that he was a mobster, and Osama Bin Laden's legacy is that he was a terrorist.

Some people don't have such impacting legacies. Everyday, many people die as little known, blue-collar workers that just had average lives and average deaths. In fact, most of us have and will have average legacies.

While reading in 2 Chronicles the other day, I stumbled upon the legacy of a man that made me really think about my legacy. Let's look at it:

"Then Jehu looked for Ahaziah, and Jehu's soldiers captured him (he was hiding in Samaria). Then they brought him to Jehu, and they killed him. They buried him, for they said, 'He is the grandson of Jehoshaphat who sought the LORD with all his heart.' So the house of Ahaziah had no one to exercise power over the kingdom." -2 Chronicles 22:9, HCSB

Did you catch that? When referring to King Ahaziah of Judah at his funeral, they referred to him as the "grandson of Jehoshaphat who sought the LORD with all his heart." Wow! What a legacy Jehoshaphat had! This is not his funeral, but his grandson's. Ahaziah was a king, too. It's not as if Ahaziah had no legacy at all. Sure, he only reigned in Jerusalem for one year and was a sorry king that helped turn Judah away from God, but still. Jehoshaphat's reputation for loving and chasing after God was so strong, his legacy was so powerful, that he was mentioned at his grandson's funeral. In fact, it could be argued that the best thing said about Ahaziah at the funeral was that he was Jehoshaphat's grandson.

Isn't that something we should all strive for? To be known for generations to come as someone "who's sought the Lord with all our heart?" How amazing of a legacy that would be!

What is your legacy? Will you be remembered for your love for God, or do you have something else, something lesser, defining your legacy?

Avoiding the Feel Good Fever

Ever had a big decision to be faced, and you didn't know how to figure out what to do? We all do at some point. It comes with the territory when you are a finite, trapped-within-time-and-space being. We cannot see the future, and have no idea how things will play out, so we stress out about what to do. This is a problem that has occurred since the beginning of time, and happens throughout the Bible. Today, we will be looking at 1 Kings 22, and the dilemma that was facing Ahab, the king of Israel.

Now, Ahab made a deal with the king of Aram not to fight, and there had been peace between Israel and Aram for three years. But Aram had some of Israel's towns under their control, and that bothered Ahab. Those were supposed to be his lands, and he wanted them back! So when the king of Judah (the Israelite nation was split into two nations: Israel, led by Ahab, and Judah, led by Jehoshaphat) came to town for a visit, Ahab asked Jehoshaphat if they could team up and take back these towns.

Something about getting support just makes us bolder, doesn't it? Ahab wasn't into the idea of going alone against an army he probably could have defeated (Israel routed Aram in 1 Kings 20). He was scared. But if he had some help, he felt better about his chances. Jehoshaphat had a different focus of support, though.

Jehoshaphat said he would help his Israelite brother, but one thing needed to happen first: they needed to consult God on the matter. Jehoshaphat's daddy, King Asa, had been a long-ruling king of Judah, and had taught Jehoshaphat all about following the Lord. The king of Judah knew that if God didn't approve of going to war, both armies could be destroyed.

Do you look for God's approval in decisions? Are you concerned about His opinion on the matter?

Ahab agreed to find out what God thought, so he called up 400 prophets to tell him what God said on the matter. They all said that Ahab would be victorious, for God would be with him. They filled the room, shouting that God wanted nothing but good for Ahab, that God certainly would give over those lands to Ahab.

Of course, Ahab was thrilled to hear it. But here's the thing: these weren't prophets of God. They had no authority from above; they were former idol-worshippers that were brought in to make the king feel like he was hearing from God.

Do these men sound familiar? Let me go further.

These are men that were catering to man's feelings, and not to God. These were men saying things about God that pleased man to hear, whether it was true or not. They weren't concerned about staying true to God; they just wanted man to "be the best you could be." They want man "to reach their full potential" and "live their best life now." Nothing more than motivational speakers in preacher's clothes.

These men exist now. They are everywhere, and people are all about them.

Men like this will tell you that God wants you to be rich and wealthy, if you just follow Him. If you just follow God, he will give you the desires of your heart. He wants you to be happy, all the time, no matter what. Whatever you want is what God wants. This, my friends, is a lie.

Books like Love Wins will willingly leave out words from Scripture, or twist it to mean what they want it to sound like. Does God really send people to Hell? How could a loving God do that? There's no way this could be... Let me tell you, it is. Anyone who tells you that Scripture could be inaccurate is lying to you, and is speaking not from God, but from the adversary, the devil himself.

I'm not saying God doesn't want you to be happy. Of course he wants you to be happy. The Psalms and Proverbs are fulling of verses that say that He wants us happy (Ps. 68:3, Pro. 17:22 for example). But it also says that He wants us to rejoice in Him (Ps. 118:24, Phil. 4:4). This is how God wants to give us the desires of our heart (Ps. 37:4). This oft-misquoted verse says,

"4 Take delight in the LORD, and He will give you your heart's desires." -Psalm 37:4, HCSB

Prosperity gospel preachers will say that this verse is meaning that delighting in the Lord will give you everything you want. That is NOT what this verse is saying. If you are taking delight in the Lord, He will be the desire of your heart! Sure, He may choose to bless you with material wealth, but He may not. Life doesn't always turn out with rainbows and butterflies for people that follow Jesus. Look at the 12 disciples. Jesus leaves and they start the church. 11 of them are killed, and the other is left stranded on an island to rot. Do you think they were delighting in the Lord? Where's their wealth? Where is their perfect life?

What about the apostle Paul? He wrote 13 books of the New Testament. He started many churches. He traveled all over, proclaiming Jesus as Lord and Savior. He was killed after spending years in multiple prisons. He spent his life with a "thorn in his side," which is believed to be some sort of physical pain for him. Do you think he was delighting in the Lord? Was his pain and confinement taken away because of it?

Or what about our Christian brothers and sisters in countries like Nigeria, China, and India, where Christians are being tortured, burned alive, raped, and killed for loving Jesus. Do you think they are delighting in the Lord? Did that make them rich?

My readers, false prophets are everywhere. They are idol worshippers in God-loving disguise. No, they aren't sacrificing to a god on a hill like Ahab's prophets. They are sacrificing to a much more subtle idol: themselves. Following these pastors and speakers feels good, because they say things that make themselves and other people feel good. But God's Word isn't just a warm hug on a cold day. It is the Truth, the written words of an almighty God.

So, do as Jehoshaphat did in verse 5, where he asked if there were any real prophets of God. He knew these "feel-good" preachers weren't speaking from God. How do we know?

Look for Scripture. If the speaker is leaving out words of Scripture, or just throwing it in at the end to give weight to his message, red flags should go up. All preaching and teaching about God should come directly from Scripture. It may not always make you feel good (this is why Ahab hadn't called on the only real prophet around, as we see in verse 8). The truth hurts sometimes. But we must be willing to listen for what God is saying through His Word, not what a glorified motivational speaker is saying through his charisma and smile.

Are you willing to look for the truth from God, even when it doesn't always make you feel good? Are you willing to look for speakers grounded in the authority of Scripture, or will you be content to be fed lies about "becoming a better you?"

Go Crazy in Worship

How often have you been in church and felt like the worship service was stuffy? I know that I have: everyone is dressed up and still, repeating words off a screen or out of a book, without any real passion or heartfelt worship going on. While I am not innocent of this kind of "worship," it is something that troubles me deeply, and is blatantly unbiblical.

We have a God worthy of praise (Psalm 18:3), a God who deserves our utmost worship (Psalm 96:1-13), a God that is completely in charge of everything He made (Isaiah 40:28). He is the King of the Universe, the Lord of Lords, and has defeated both sin and death. Is not this kind of God one who is worthy and deserving of our worship? Doesn't He deserve everything we can throw at Him, all to exalt Him above everything?

King David got this concept in 2 Samuel 6:16. Let's look here:

"When she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord..." -2 Samuel 6:16b, NIV

When the ark of the covenant was brought into Jerusalem for the first time, David was so pumped about Jesus that he was literally leaping and dancing in the streets praising God, much like a little kid on Christmas. He was so thrilled about God and His glory and that His throne was coming to the capital city that he couldn't contain himself.

Meanwhile, in the same verse, we see his wife Michal had a different attitude. The end of verse 16 says that "she despised him in her heart" when she saw him acting a fool for God. She didn't understand the idea of making yourself look like an idiot to show your love and passion for God. She was a restrained worshipper of God, and looked down on David for his actions.

Have you ever felt this way in worship? I feel like most of us probably have: we see that person raising their hands, dancing, etc. before God, and we act like they are being "holier than thou." While that may be the case, it could be that they are enjoying God to the fullest. They are simply pouring their heart out before God, and your are judging them for doing exactly what you should be doing.

We see later in chapter 6 that Michal and David have a chat about Dave's worship practices. Michal tells him that he is a "vulgar fellow," and pretty much tells him that he should get his act together. I mean, what would people think?! David is the king of Israel; he should be a reserved leader. But David tells her that he would continue to make a fool of himself for God, and that anyone with God's interests at heart would do the same.

Are you willing to act a fool for God and go all out in your praise and worship of Him? I challenge you this week in your service to actually read the words of the songs you are singing. Think about what you are saying in those songs, and then sing them like you mean it. I'm not saying you have to break dance down the center aisle; I'm saying we should all put some thought and heart into our worship. Let's quit being robotic towards our God, and get passionate.

The Difference Between Good and God's

Ever feel like God is asking you to do one thing, and in order to do it, you'll have to miss out on something else that could glorify Him? It happens all the time- you simply cannot do everything. You may be wanting to go with the youth out to a baseball game on Friday, but God may be asking you to stay home instead and meet with a friend for some discipleship. You may be wanting to start a new Bible study on Wednesday nights, but God is asking you to get involved with the children's ministry instead. We often don't understand the reasoning at the moment, but it happens all the time in this busy world. The problem with finding what God is asking for happened in the Bible, too. Let's look in 1 Samuel.

In the book of 1 Samuel, King Saul of Israel has been told by God through the prophet Samuel to attack the Amalekites. The Amalekites are a group of nomads that roamed into Israel's land and caused problems for the locals. God tells Saul to lead the troops against the Amalekites, and destroy them. No one is to be left alive, and no stuff is to be kept.

Saul leads the men into battle, and they follow God's orders... for the most part. They kill all but one person, the king, and then they destroy all the enemy people's stuff except their best livestock.

Samuel learns that Saul didn't follow directions, and confronts him. Saul says that the reason the animals were kept for sacrifice for God, and is confused as to why Samuel is calling him out for sacrificing. That's when Samuel says this:

"22 Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king." -1 Samuel 15:22-23, NIV

Samuel doesn't say that the sacrifices were bad things to do. He says that sacrifices become bad and sinful when they go against what God tells you to do. When you do something that is against what God tells you to do, you are sinning and rebelling against the God of the universe. You are being arrogant enough to tell God that you know better what He wants you to do for Him than He does. That doesn't even make good sense, and it is often costly. Look at Saul: due to his rebellion and arrogance, he became rejected by God as the king of Israel. In the next chapter, Samuel would anoint David as king, and Saul's reign would deteriorate until his death in the ensuing years.

You see, you can think that you are doing something that God wants you to do, but if that something gets in the way of doing something that you know God wants you to do, the price can be costly.

Are you willing to listen to what God wants you to do, no matter what that may keep you from doing? Even if it keeps you from doing something that is a good thing, and perhaps even a godly thing?

For more on obedience when two good things present themselves, check out David Platt's new book, Radical Together.

Go All Out

I have recently been reading through the book Think Orange by Reggie Joiner. It's a pretty good book; I will give a final verdict on it when I finish. The book is about meshing the church and family together, to help kids learn the best that they can about God. A passage that gets a lot of attention in the book is Deuteronomy 6:4-9, which I happen to also have read recently in my quiet time in God's Word. I'll share the passage with you, and then we will look at it a bit and see how this applies to our lives.

"4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." -Deuteronomy 6:4-9, NKJV

Let's start at the beginning. Verse 4 says "the LORD our God, the LORD is one!" Observe that LORD is in all caps; Moses (the author of Deuteronomy) isn't screaming the word "Lord" at us. No, the word is in all caps to show that this use of the word "Lord" is in the Hebrew word "Yahweh." The word "Yahweh" is the Hebrew word for "personal God." He is in everything: our lives, their lives, everything. He exists, and is all over the place. Now, we see that Moses is saying that this personal, deeply-entwined-in-our-lives God is one. He is the only God. There is no other. This distinction and reminder to Israel (Moses's audience in this speech) is for a specific purpose: to remind them that God is everywhere, and involved in everything. The fact that He is so deep within everything in the world makes Him kind of a big deal. In fact, He's the biggest deal ever. Moses wants this idea of God first to preface everything that he would say next. This applies to us, too. As we look at the next verses, let's remember that God is everywhere, and He is the only God.

Ok, so now Moses has established that God is the only God, and He's all over the place. I think I made that clear above. So then Moses says, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength." Ok, so once we remember how awesome God is, Moses says to love this awesome God with all of our heart, soul and strength. I could go further into the Hebrew meanings of those three entities, but I'll sum it up by saying that Moses is saying to love God with your entire being. Every. Little. Bit. Of. You.

These words may sound familiar to any of you who have grown up in church, or been in church really at all. Jesus would repeat this statement in His ministry, saying that the greatest commandment is to love God with all of our being (Matt. 22:37). So, if the Savior of the world says that this is the greatest commandment, then it must be important, right? Eternally so.

Observe that Jesus called it the greatest "commandment." A command is something you must follow, right? We are being ordered to love God. That's not an idea Jesus introduced; look at the verse above from Moses. It states "you shall..." By saying that we shall do anything, it means that it is to be a certainty that it occurs. This is a huge, ginormous statement!

We have a God, who is personal, within our lives and everyone and everything else's lives, who is in control of the entire universe. This very same God is commanding that we love Him; in fact, it is His biggest command. The most important thing, if we can't get anything else right, is that we love Him. Ladies and gentlemen, please don't miss this. We are ordered to love God with all of our being. This is our ordered task.

Ok, Bryan, you may say. I get that the all-over, amazing God has commanded me to love Him with my entire being. But what does this look like? Glad you asked. Moses has the answer as we look further into this passage.

"And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."

Moses says that if we love God, these are the things that we shall do when loving God. We will keep those words in our hearts, memorizing them and applying them to everything. We will teach our children to love God(the part Think Orange focuses on). We will talk about our love for God when we sit in our house. We will talk about our love for God when we are out and about. We will talk about our love for God as we laying down to go to sleep. We will talk about our love for God as we get up in the morning. We will make the love of our God known by every aspect of our life. It will be so obvious that we love God that we might as well have "I LOVE GOD" written on our hands and heads and on our doors and the gates of our house.

Every single part of your life is to scream "I LOVE GOD!" People are to look at you, and see how much you love Him. Everywhere we go, we are to talk about the God that created the world, the God that we have rebelled against, the God that didn't smite us all the first time we sinned, the God that sent His Son (and Himself) to die both for His glory and our salvation from our rebellion. The God that defeated death and rose again. The God that is everywhere, at all times. The God that will reign from a throne, and all will bow before Him.

Do you love this God? Is it obvious in everything you do? Do people look at you and say, "Wow, they love God!" or do they see just another person that disobeys the greatest commandment we have been given?

Persecution Spotlight: India

DISCLAIMER: This video is intense at times. If you aren't prepared to handle a video that YouTube makes sure you're 18 to watch, don't watch this.



This video was shared with me by my friend Daniela in Florida, and goes hand-in-hand with what I saw at David Platt's Secret Church service last Friday.

In India, Hindu extremists have been violently attacking Muslims for centuries. These two religious groups have been at it since 711 A.D., which is a really long time for those of you keeping score. If you want to see a good example of how that conflict has been playing out, watch the first 30 minutes of Slumdog Millionaire. However, in recent years, the Hindu extremists have turned some of the attention to the growing Christian minority.

Despite "having a freedom of religion" law in their governmental system, the Hindu majority has a tight grip on the nation and is giving more and more pressure on Christian groups.

Christian brothers and sisters, this goes right along with what I discussed in my latest post, which can be found below. The passion that the early church had for Christ isn't dead; it's alive in India. It's alive in places where the church is being beaten, burned, tourtured and killed. It's alive, and we need to do three things:

A) Learn from them. They are passionate about Christ, to the point of death. Would you be willing to die for Christ? Would we be Christians if it were illegal to be so? These are questions that need to be asked of ourselves (myself included).

B) Be thankful for what we have. In the Western world, we have carpeted churches, Christian bookstores, and worship CDs all over the place. These Christians are lucky to keep their lives, and maybe a Bible (or even part of one). We need to thank God daily for the blessings we have.

C) Pray for them. This is the biggest one. We need to pray for their effectiveness in spreading the Gospel. We need to pray for them to have strength. We need to pray for them to build each other up. We need to pray that they continue living for Christ, and that they never bend to the adversary that is Satan.

For more information on persecution in India, please go to: http://www.persecution.net/india.htm

At the Bottom of Your Receipt

I work at Kroger, as I may have mentioned on here before. It can be a joyful experience at times; others, it's a nightmare. The public can drive a man to madness, it's true. And as a member of the retail business, I am assigned a number of seemingly meaningless tasks that I must perform when bagging groceries, running a cash register, or working the customer service desk. One such task is the pushing of the Kroger 1-2-3 Rewards Mastercard.

This card is a credit card offered to Kroger Plus members after they have shopped at their friendly Kroger store a certain, and unknown, number of times. A prompt will pop up on the screen of the cashier's keyboard, reminding the cashier to prompt the customer about this offer. Information about the card is on the bottom of the customer's receipt. There are two ways to present this information:

-Option A: Excited. Passionate. On fire. "By the way, customer, you happen to qualify for a new Kroger 1-2-3 Rewards Mastercard. In addition to having your Kroger card on the back, this card will help you out with your shopping. It allows for an additional five cents off of each gallon when filling up at our Kroger fuel station, which we all need now that gas prices are going up and up, huh? Also, in addition to your normal savings, you can save even more money at Kroger. After accumulating a certain number of points, you will be sent cash voucher checks with rebates of five, ten, even twenty dollars to use in store. After you collect a few of these, which takes very little time, you can bring them into the store and use them to save money on your groceries. Any more information is available at the bottom of your receipt, including how to easily sign up for this card. Thank you for shopping with us here at Kroger, and we hope to see you again."

-Option B: Listless. Uncaring. Forced. "Hey, there's some info about a Kroger Mastercard at the bottom of your receipt. If you're interested, and I'm sure you aren't, it's down there. Thanks."

This forked road of options is one that all cashiers must come to multiple times a shift: do we care enough about this card and this company to legitimatelly try to sell this card, or will we halfway do it? Usually, the latter option is the preferred method of attack. It's easier. It shows less devotion, but more devotion would be weird; who wants to be a Kroger freak? Unfortunately, this very attitude is often carried over to our feelings and methods of sharing God's truth with others.

Think about it: we as Christians typically will take the easy road out when it comes to sharing His Gospel with others. Sometimes that means saying as little as possible to make our conscience feel like we "shared the Gospel." Sometimes it means saying nothing. This is a troubling attitude that many, if not all, Christians must face at some point. Do we really care about His message? Are we too worried about saving face and not being a "God freak" to say anything? Not to mention, it takes work to share! We have to find a way to express our faith in a conversation, make it creative enough to resonate with the person, and find a way to not go overboard. I'm tired thinking about it. Does God really expect us to try as hard as we can to spread His good news?

After Christ drove out demons from him, a man in Luke 8 went crazy for Christ:

"And off he went, proclaiming throughout the town all that Jesus had done for him." -Luke 8:39b, HCSB

This kind of reaction was not uncommon of people who Christ touched. Often times, Christ even had to make sure they didn't tell people what He had done, just so a riot or something wouldn't begin. The disciples of Christ took things even further in Acts:

Pretty soon after Christ's death and resurrection, the local religious leaders in Jerusalem made it illegal to speak of the good news of Christ. This did not deter the disciples; it only made them go stronger. Peter and John were arrested after "provoking the people" with the word of Christ. In the time before they got arrested, many people came to know Christ (Acts 4:4). In Acts 13, we see that the disciples were facing persecution in Antioch (Ant-E-ock) and yet they still shared the Gospel until they were run out of town. So then, in chapter 14, we see them going to Iconium (have fun saying that) and getting run out of town for speaking "in such a way that a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed (Acts 14:1)."

You see, the early Christians were completely enthralled in Christ. He was their life. Everything they did revolved around him. Look at the early church as described in Acts 4:32, where it says "they held everything in common." Clearly, this isn't saying that they have literally everything in common: Peter was a fisherman redneck, and Matthew was a number-cruncher. Guarantee they didn't have the same interests in pastimes. Yet, they had everything in common because Christ was their everything. Everything in their world revolved around Christ and His mission for their lives. If everything in your life revolves around Christ, you have everything in common with another who is equalled as obsessed with Christ. This is a level of passion I desire to obtain. That's the kind of Christ follower I wish so badly to be, and I would venture to say that should be how you want to be, also.

Are you so passionate about Christ that you refuse to take the easy way out of His plan for your life? Are you willing to talk to anyone about the greatness of the Savior of the world, or will you talk about Him as if he were nothing to you? Do you genuinely care about the advancement of the Gospel, or do you genuinely care about the advancement of your coolness?

Radical Together

This is the "trailer" for David Platt's new book, Radical Together. If the book is as intense as this video...wow.

unChristian, Part Six: Judgmental

Luke have several friends who are, well, colorful. Luke has met these people at various places: work, college, high school. They may have multi-colored hair, tattoos, facial piercings, or other "different" physical features. They may be a bit rough around the edges, with some less desirable habits and less desirable language. They may not be interested in "cool" things or dress how "everyone else" does. Yet, they are his friends. He cares about them. They talk, hang out, whatever. Yet, Luke is not super stoked about inviting them to a church with him, be it his own or another one.

This lack of interest isn't that Luke thinks they would turn him down; they might, but that isn't holding him back. Instead, it is the attitude of people in churches that scares him. If he were to bring his friend with blue, streaky hair or his friend with a nose ring or that plays computer games eighteen hours a day or his friend with tats all over their arms, would the church members accept them? Would the church welcome them with open arms, or be appalled at their miserable fashion sense? Would the mohawked kid be a new friend, or a freak to gossip about? Sadly, this is a legitimate set of questions. Church, we have a problem.

Luke is not real, as in I am not sharing a direct story. Instead, Luke represents many young Christians in the United States, and around the world, who are concerned about the attitudes of the Church. Not that young people are perfect; in fact, youth groups can be the most intense shark tanks of vicious judgmentalism in the churches. Churches in general, though, are seen as places full of judgmental people, and I can't say that I disagree.


Think about it: if a person different from you came to your church, would you welcome them? What about all of Luke's friends I listed earlier? What about a person who is wealthier than you? Poorer? A different race than you? An individual with different political views? What about the girl that is pregnant out of wedlock, or the gangsta drug dealer? Are these people going to be met from you at the door, or will you turn your back?

These are hard questions. We do not naturally gravitate to people who are vastly different than us. There's a reason we have the friends that we have; we have things in common with them. Yet, we have a lot more in common with those different than us than we may think. We are all sinners. We all live in a fallen world full of temptations. We all have regrets. We all have no ability to save ourselves. We all need the grace and love of Christ to survive the punishment we deserve for our rebellion against the Father.

"23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." -Romans 3:23, HCSB


Observe: Paul said "all." He did not say anything about "only some" have fallen short. We all did.

"19 Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 20 Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age." -Matthew 28:19-20, The Message Bible

Observe: Jesus said "everyone you meet." Other versions say "all nations." He doesn't say anything about "the people you meet who have things in common with you" or "the nations that are like you." He said to tell everyone about Jesus.

"6 God opposes arrogant people, but he is kind to humble people.” -James 4:6, God's Word Translation

Observe: you ain't too cool to befriend anyone. James is quoting a passage from Proverbs, saying that God doesn't like arrogant people. Fact is, you aren't too cool for anything.


This is the final unChristian post, and it is really a wrap-up of sorts. We are supposed to love everyone, and not judge them. It's God's job to judge the world, not ours. The fact is that Christ came to Earth in order to save us from our screw-ups. We are rebellious people. We go against God, but out of His love we have been offered the chance to fulfill our purpose in life: to worship and praise God through everything we do. One of the best ways we can do that is by loving the people He made, and welcoming them into His Church. This love of others, if done to it's full potential, will allow us to overcome all of these unChristian attitudes.

Hypocritical? No more. Conversion-obsessed? Gone. Antihomosexual? Not here. Sheltered? No way Jose. Too political? Nah. Judgmental? Least of all.

Who are we, Christians, to be any of these things? It's by grace that we got to come to Christ; who are we to act like we're special because of it?! I say let's open the doors to all those people that no one else accepts. Let's be the refuge for the weak, the poor, the outcast. Let's be the ones that, when all else fails, will love anyone. Will you join me in this passion to love every human on earth?

We often get caught up in correcting their sins, and not loving them. Yes, we need to tell them where they are headed the wrong way, but that should be done out of our love, not out of our superiority. There's a way to help people with their sins and still not be unChristian. It's called love.

I leave you with the last verse of Todd Agnew's song, My Jesus. If this doesn't make you think, nothing will.

Cause my Jesus would never be accepted in my church
The blood and dirt on His feet might stain the carpet
But He reaches for the hurting and despises the proud
I think He'd prefer Beale St. to the stained glass crowd
And I know that He can hear me if I cry out loud

unChristian, Part Five: Too Political

Hello, my name is Bryan Watts. I am a follower of Christ, and I get my news from CNN and NPR. Consider the minds of the far right blown.

Now, I also get my news from Fox News at times, but to be honest, that particular channel irritates me. Why is that? They are so unbelievably biased, I have come to the conclusion that they quit trying to seem "fair and balanced." Is CNN fair? No. Is NPR balanced? No. However, I feel that CNN does the most even job of reporting, if one must pick a favorite.

Why have I gone into this? I began discussing news channels because today's topic is all about politics, particularly Christians and their supposed right-wing extremism. Now, I'm not going to go into detail of my political opinions, although I am well-informed on the issues and I try to research each candidate that is running for a major office. This, I believe, is the duty of all men and women that vote. If you don't know what the candidate stands for, how can you expect them to represent you? I will say now that, if I had a label, they would probably call me "independent" or "moderately conservative." I, however, do not campaign for any one party or politician (with the exception of when my close friend from high school ran for city council. That was cool.).

The fact is that churches, if one can call them churches, like Westboro Baptist Church (yes, this is two mentions of them in this series) and other extremists have given Christians a bad name in the arena of politics. Also, the presence of professing Christians like George W. Bush, Mike Hucabee, and others have given the GOP a strong "Christian vote."

Christians are viewed as a people obsessed with getting their chosen leaders into the office, in order to "save the country." While I will not say whether or not the US needs saving, I will say that it is good for Christians to have a healthy involvement in politics. Yes, Christians should vote for someone who has Bibical principles. Yes, Christians should be well informed on the candidates. Yes, Christians should vote. Some big differences loom, however:

- Politically reliant v Spiritually reliant: I cannot tell you how many people have told me how doomed the United States is now that Barack Obama is president. Many people, lots being professing Christians, have told me that the country will be a socialist nation, and soon. The entire world may collapse now that Dub-yah isn't president, and a Democrat is holding down the Oval Office. Here's the thing: the world doesn't revolve around the Oval Office; it revolves around our Lord.

"21 Haven’t you heard? Don’t you understand? Are you deaf to the words of God— the words He gave before the world began? Are you so ignorant? 22 God sits above the circle of the earth. The people below seem like grasshoppers to him! He spreads out the heavens like a curtain and makes his tent from them." -Isaiah 40:21-22, NLT

To God, Barack Obama is a grasshopper. George Bush is a grasshopper. You, me: we're all grasshoppers. God sits above the Earth, and spreads the heavens out like a curtain. And we are worried because a certain party controls the White House... who cares?! God is in control. He runs this show, and the world is doomed when He lets it happen, not because of a man's election to office.

- Poor loser v Great lover: For some reason, when a person one disagrees with takes office, one gets downright hateful. I have heard some terrible things said about George Bush and Barack Obama. No one from "the other side" seems to have any respect for the winner from "the enemy." This runs completely against what we are told by Christ, to love our neighbor as ourself. Also:

"The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially for 2 rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. 3 This is the way our Savior God wants us to live." -1 Timothy 2:1-3, MSG

Clearly, Paul wants us to pray for our governement. I don't see any place in this chapter, or in the Bible, where Paul says, "Pray for those people you agree with them on abortion and the Iraq War; curse the other one and hope for their bitter end." Negative, homie. Instead, we are urged, encouraged, and all but commanded to pray for our leaders. This was written to Timothy while Timothy was in Ephesus. Do you think the church in Ephesus agreed with the leaders of the local government? No! Christians across the globe were being persecuted for their faith! Dying, jail, you name it. These government leaders probably treated the church like second-class citizens, and yet Paul says to pray for them. It's insane, but that's exactly what Christian love is supposed to be. Insane. Crazy. Out there, unrated, off-the-charts love. Even for political opponents.

It's not bad to know about politics. In fact, it's good that Christians are involved; how else will the maximum amount of Godly influence reach the world, if the leaders aren't God-loving and God-fearing men? Politics become an issue when we allow them to outshine God in our lives. Are you more known for your passion towards Christ and His glory, or the GOP and its glory?

I mirror Paul in his plea: pray for our leaders. Pray for the president. Pray for the vice president. Pray for the Senate, the House, the Supreme Court, the military, the president's Cabinet, the mayor of your town, and even the local school superintendant. Our world's leaders cannot do their jobs to the best possible way if they don't have God's guidance. Let us as a group not be known as hardcore politicans, and instead for a group known for being on our knees, praying that God guides our leaders.

unChristian, Part Four: Sheltered

"Christians enjoy being in their own community. The more they seclude themselves, the less they can function in the real world. So many Christians are caught in the Christian 'bubble.'" -Jonathan, age 22 (from unChristian)

I normally open an unChristian post with a life experience or something, but to be honest, Jonathan summed this viewpoint up perfectly. Christians seem to be stuck in this concept that "huddling up" is the correct way to live the Christian life. They go to church a few times a week, listen to Christian music, go to lunch with their Christian friends, go to Christian schools, and all around do anything to "avoid temptation." This viewpoint is dangerous, and quite common.

The fact is that we are not called to huddle. The disciples, after Jesus ascended in the first part of Acts 1, they spent a time where they were huddled. They stayed together, not sure what to do from there. So they just stayed up together. Then, in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit paid the guys a visit, and perceived craziness ensued. The disciples all of a sudden were able to speak all kinds of different languages, Peter (the guy who denied Christ, remember?) preaches a sermon, and:

"41 So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about 3,000 people were added to them." -Acts 2:41, HCSB

WHAT?! THREE THOUSAND?! Can I point out that a group of twelve huddlers, within a day, became a mission-minded mega church? Does anyone else find this to be incredibly amazing?

Now, the response some may have is: "Bryan, the disciples were overcome with the Holy Spirit, and they started speaking different languages." Guess what? If you are a Christian, the Spirit is within you already!

"11 And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then He who raised Christ from the dead will also bring your mortal bodies to life through His Spirit who lives in you." -Romans 8:11, HCSB

But does the bringing of our mortal bodies to life through the Spirit make us speak languages? No. However, we are not without our own gifts. The Spirit equips us with ways to do amazing things for Christ.

"7 To each person the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the benefit of all. 8 For one person is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, and another the message of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another performance of miracles, to another prophecy, and to another discernment of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 It is one and the same Spirit, distributing as he decides to each person, who produces all these things." -1 Corinthians 12:7-11, NET

We each get our own set of gifts, made custom to accompany our personality to make us most affective to reach people with the Truth of Christ. As we are told by Christ to go to everyone with the good news (Matthew 28:18b-20), we must stop being huddled. But the disciples aren't the best example of not being huddled.

"9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ: although He was rich, for your sake He became poor, so that by His poverty you might become rich." -2 Corinthians 8:9, HCSB

I was told that verse yesterday, and it couldn't fit better. Jesus could have stayed huddled in Heaven. He was without any temptation there, hanging out with the Father and the Spirit. Yet, instead of remaining there, He came to Earth. Why? The same reason we must refuse to huddle up and go; He came to spread the news of how to come to a saving relationship with God, and that is the message we are commissioned to take to the masses.

Are you willing to follow Christ and the disciples and take the good news of Christ to the world, or are you afraid to act? Will you be challenged to move, or remain huddled up like a coward? I know that is a really blunt way to ask that, but I really want you to think: are you scared, or will you go?