What do you want to be known for? When people think of you, what do you want them to think of? How fashionable you are or how you were always up to date on the coolest movies, TV shows, and music or how you could always afford nice things? I know that I want people to think of me a little differently. I want to be thought of as someone who could make anyone laugh even if they were having a horrible day or someone who took care of those who couldn’t take care of themselves or someone who always spoke kindly of others, even those that frustrated and annoyed him. When the author of 1st John, who was a close friend of Jesus, spoke about what the Son of God’s followers would be known for, He gave one simple word: love. John didn't say that people would know we were Christ's followers by: how many Christian t-shirts that we own or how many hours of Bible study and meditation that we log or how many worship songs we know or even how many people we invite to church or how many service projects or acts of service we commit. Although many of those things are forms of expressing love towards God and others (okay, maybe not the t-shirt thing), the word of God explains that Christians will be recognized by the way that we love each other.
So, how are you doing at loving others? I think most of us would say that we do a pretty good job of loving those who we like and enjoy being around, but what about the people who annoy and frustrate you? It’s often hard to identify the difference between those whose habits and actions get on our nerves or anger us, and those who we actually hate. It’s easy to look at people like Hitler, Saddam Hussein, and murderers as those who we need to be careful of hating; however, sometimes our enemies and those that we hate are actually those who we allow to frustrate us to the point that we are disgusted by them or we can’t stand to be around them. If you find yourself unable to think or speak about a person without becoming angry or saying a hurtful comment, you probably hate that person. Whenever they come around you choose to get away from them, not because it’s healthier for you to be removed from their presence, but because you want to show your disgust for them. If every time they speak you look at it as an opportunity to demean or humiliate them, then you probably hate this person. Christ didn’t call us to merely tolerate our enemies, but to love as He loved us.
Now I’m not saying that people can’t annoy you or that it’s a sin to not enjoy someone’s company. In fact, the evil actions of someone should infuriate you, but you should still be able to approach that person with love. As you read the four gospels of Jesus, it’s impossible to miss the fact that He was often frustrated with religious leaders, and we see him reprimand them for the actions. However, you never read an occasion where Jesus sees a religious leader among Him, and He says, “guys, let’s go over here. Those nerds, the Pharisees, are back.” Jesus always corrected sinful behavior, but He always did it in love and in a way that wouldn’t demean the person. In fact, there are many occasions where His own disciples frustrate Him, yet Jesus never kicks them out, even when they betray Him. This is what set Jesus apart from the religious teachers of His day, His ability to love everyone. Not because He was hip or current, but because He loved everyone, even those who hated Him. That’s what Jesus intended for His followers. That we would be set apart from the world, not by our modern worship services or how hip we are, but that we would be different in the way that we loved. That everyone who came in contact with a Christian would feel the love of the God who saves.
So, how are you doing at loving others? Love is patient: do you take time out of your schedule for others or are you just focused on what you want? Love is kind: are you known for your words of encouragement and acts of kindness? Love does not envy or boast: are you able to rejoice when others succeed, instead of being so focused on your own accomplishments to the point that you let it bother you? Love is not proud: do you humble yourself daily, and make yourself a servant to everyone? Love is not rude or self-seeking: do you lift others up, instead of pushing them aside in search of what you desire? Love is not easily angered: do you refuse to let the little, inconsequential things that others do cause you to get angry with them? Love keeps no record of wrongdoings: are you able to set aside self-serving grudges, in order to extend bridges of love and forgiveness to others. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth: are you known as someone who weeps when evil actions go unanswered, yet celebrates when good triumphs? Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres, and love never fails.
Do these statements reflect your life? What would the world think of Christians, if this was true of every church? If the church was a place where everyone who was outcast by society or treated as unworthy by the world was lifted up in the church, would the world see us differently? Jesus calls us to love our neighbor as ourselves, and to love our enemies, is that true of you? It’s time for the church to reflect the image and love of its Savior. The writer of 1st John explains that “if we love one another, God lives in us, and His love is made complete in us”. Are you working to make the love of the Father complete or are you tearing it down?
Experience This
Spend time in prayer with God, thanking Him for His love, and repenting for the times that you have not extended that love to others.
Discuss This
What steps do you need to take, in order to begin loving those that you have a hard time loving?
Apply This
Do at least one loving thing for someone that is hard this week.
Forgiven
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Imagine that you and your friends have been isolated and harassed by a certain group of people for no particular reason other than the fact they chose you. Every day you are continuously oppressed and harassed by this group, and there's nothing you can do to stop them. Suddenly, one of your friends chooses to suck up to the oppressors, and begins to receive special treatment from them in return for his/her cooperation in harassing you and your friends. Now imagine that person was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he. This scene is the backdrop for the story of Zaccheaus in the Bible (you might recognize the name from the previously referenced children's song). Zaccheaus was a tax collector, a traitor to his people who were being oppressed by the ruling Roman government, and he was known for being a cheat and for stealing from his own nation. Due to the four steps that we discussed on Sunday, Zaccheaus was able to fully experience the forgiveness of God, and proves himself as an example for all Christ-followers.
If you've grown up in the church, or even if you haven't, you probably know the story of Zacchaeus. Most of us were taught the story of Zacchaeus through a song, that I'm sure someone, somewhere is humming right now. However, the most relevant part of the story, at least for our purposes here, is what happens after the song ends. The song ends with Jesus declaring that He will be coming to Zacchaeus' house, but this is not the end for the story of Zaccheaus; on the contrary, it is the beginning of the story of when grace and forgiveness came to Zacchaeus' house. Jesus knew who Zacchaeus was, probably due to Zacchaeus' reputation or simply because Jesus created Zacchaeus, and knew his entire past and the things he had done. Even the people in the crowd knew of Zaccheaus' history, and they were astonished that Jesus would be associated with such a sinner and traitor (Luke 19:6-7). Although it's not written in the text, I think it's safe to assume that when faced with the love and mercy of his Creator and Messiah, Zaccheaus had a decision to make: admit his sin and confess it to Jesus or make excuses and try to cover up his fault.
The first step for us to take in order to experience the grace and forgiveness of God is to acknowledge our sin. Zaccheaus could have chosen to make excuses or shift the blame to someone else. He could have said, "Jesus, the Romans are really tough on me, and they force me to take more" or "You just don't understand what it's like to be me", but he doesn't. Zaccheaus admits his sin, and makes a promise to correct his sin. Once again, we never see Zacchaeus say any of this explicitly, but we can assume that through spending time with the love of God, which he experienced through Jesus, Zacchaeus begins to understand the depths of his sin and sympathize with those he wounded. Before we can ever truly repent, which means to put our sin to death, we have to understand and feel what our sin does to God. I would believe that Zaccheaus understood the pain he had caused others, but it wasn't until he met Jesus that he began to feel the pain he had caused his Heavenly Father. Ultimately, it was the grace, love, and forgiveness, embodied in Jesus Christ, which was the catalyst for Zaccheaus to stop running from his sin, and finally admit his sin.
This leads us to the final step, which is to promise to put our sin to death. Zaccheaus does this in the end of the story by promising to repay all of those he had cheated four times what he owed them, and to give half of his possessions to the poor. Because Zaccheaus understood that in order to ever truly repent of sin, you must be willing to put it to death. Zaccheaus chose to put his greed to death, and to prove his conviction, he chose to be extravagant with his compensations. Jesus responds by saying, "today salvation has come to this household" (Luke 19:9a). Due to Zacchaeus' experience with grace and forgiveness, he chose not to just enjoy his freedom and continue sinning, but to live as a changed man, living in the love and grace of his Savior.
So, what is it that you need to truly repent of? What is it that keeps you from truly experiencing the grace and forgiveness of the one who died for your salvation? Is it that you need to acknowledge your sin? Or do you need the resolve to actually put your sin to death? When is it that you are going to stop running? When are you going to repent, so that grace, forgiveness, and salvation can come to your house?
Experience This
Spend time praising your Savior, through songs or prayer or whatever means you choose. Praise Him for the grace that He has extended to you, and the freedom you get to experience due to it.
Discuss This
Speak to someone in your small group about what it is that holds you back from taking the next step in experiencing God's amazing grace.
Apply This
Take whatever necessary actions, so that you can move forward in experience God's grace.
If you've grown up in the church, or even if you haven't, you probably know the story of Zacchaeus. Most of us were taught the story of Zacchaeus through a song, that I'm sure someone, somewhere is humming right now. However, the most relevant part of the story, at least for our purposes here, is what happens after the song ends. The song ends with Jesus declaring that He will be coming to Zacchaeus' house, but this is not the end for the story of Zaccheaus; on the contrary, it is the beginning of the story of when grace and forgiveness came to Zacchaeus' house. Jesus knew who Zacchaeus was, probably due to Zacchaeus' reputation or simply because Jesus created Zacchaeus, and knew his entire past and the things he had done. Even the people in the crowd knew of Zaccheaus' history, and they were astonished that Jesus would be associated with such a sinner and traitor (Luke 19:6-7). Although it's not written in the text, I think it's safe to assume that when faced with the love and mercy of his Creator and Messiah, Zaccheaus had a decision to make: admit his sin and confess it to Jesus or make excuses and try to cover up his fault.
The first step for us to take in order to experience the grace and forgiveness of God is to acknowledge our sin. Zaccheaus could have chosen to make excuses or shift the blame to someone else. He could have said, "Jesus, the Romans are really tough on me, and they force me to take more" or "You just don't understand what it's like to be me", but he doesn't. Zaccheaus admits his sin, and makes a promise to correct his sin. Once again, we never see Zacchaeus say any of this explicitly, but we can assume that through spending time with the love of God, which he experienced through Jesus, Zacchaeus begins to understand the depths of his sin and sympathize with those he wounded. Before we can ever truly repent, which means to put our sin to death, we have to understand and feel what our sin does to God. I would believe that Zaccheaus understood the pain he had caused others, but it wasn't until he met Jesus that he began to feel the pain he had caused his Heavenly Father. Ultimately, it was the grace, love, and forgiveness, embodied in Jesus Christ, which was the catalyst for Zaccheaus to stop running from his sin, and finally admit his sin.
This leads us to the final step, which is to promise to put our sin to death. Zaccheaus does this in the end of the story by promising to repay all of those he had cheated four times what he owed them, and to give half of his possessions to the poor. Because Zaccheaus understood that in order to ever truly repent of sin, you must be willing to put it to death. Zaccheaus chose to put his greed to death, and to prove his conviction, he chose to be extravagant with his compensations. Jesus responds by saying, "today salvation has come to this household" (Luke 19:9a). Due to Zacchaeus' experience with grace and forgiveness, he chose not to just enjoy his freedom and continue sinning, but to live as a changed man, living in the love and grace of his Savior.
So, what is it that you need to truly repent of? What is it that keeps you from truly experiencing the grace and forgiveness of the one who died for your salvation? Is it that you need to acknowledge your sin? Or do you need the resolve to actually put your sin to death? When is it that you are going to stop running? When are you going to repent, so that grace, forgiveness, and salvation can come to your house?
Experience This
Spend time praising your Savior, through songs or prayer or whatever means you choose. Praise Him for the grace that He has extended to you, and the freedom you get to experience due to it.
Discuss This
Speak to someone in your small group about what it is that holds you back from taking the next step in experiencing God's amazing grace.
Apply This
Take whatever necessary actions, so that you can move forward in experience God's grace.
I Owe Everything to You
Friday, May 7, 2010
Recently I've found myself taking notice of many companies' advertising slogans, and I've found that many of them focus on a similar theme: that you deserve to get exactly what you want. For years Burger King has been telling customers that you can "Have it Your Way", and people respond to this because deep down they believe that they deserve to have things their way. In recent years the L'Oreal company has convinced women to spend a little more money to buy their products, by playing with the ego of their customers with the company's slogan "Because You're Worth It". Bruster's Ice Cream uses wordplay to entice consumers to "Treat Yourself", because advertiser's understand that, with very little prompting, the mass public will believe that they deserve to treat themselves. After some research I learned that this mindset isn't a new development at all. In the early 70s, McDonald's Corporation revealed a new advertising slogan which proclaimed to the general public that "You deserve a break today". Now I'm not trying to say that there's anything wrong with taking a break or treating yourself or even having things the way you like them occasionally, but what we must examine is this sense of entitlement or deserving mentality that most people clearly have.
If God desires for His children to be grateful people who place their value and identity in how He views them instead of their own self-esteem, then this "I deserve to have things my way" attitude is out of place in the heart of a Christian. It's impossible to be truly grateful for anything, when you believe that you deserve everything; gratitude has no place when you receive what you are owed. The same principle applies to self-esteem. Since we know that God wants us to consider others better than ourselves (Philippians 2:3), and that we should find our value in the knowledge that even though we were covered in sin, God loved us so much that He was willing to die for us. Based on that knowledge, we should never feel that we deserve to get things our way, and we should be grateful for everything we get. However, I bet if we pay attention to the things we complain about and the things we find ourselves arguing with others about, we would learn that we all have a slight deserving attitude. So how can we become grateful? How can we kill self-esteem, and develop God-esteem? The first thing you have to do is understand who God is and who you are.
The Bible makes it evident that everything-me, you, Ke$ha, the forests, the stars in the sky, the air that you breathe- was created to reveal the glory of God. I think many people misunderstand why the universe was created. Maybe you think that God was bored or lonely or just curious, but the truth is the universe was created to showcase the glory of God. When God created the world it was just a form of Him saying, "Hey, by the way, I'm awesome!". We know that it's not arrogant when God proclaims His glory, because He's getting what He deserves. When I say I'm awesome, it's completely arrogant, because I am not awesome. I may convince myself that I'm great, but compared to the standard of greatness, God, I fall so short that it's not even worth comparing. Culture tells us over and over again that life is about making the most of our experience here and looking out for ourselves, but as we learn from the Bible, our life is about making the most out of our time, so that we can maximize the glory of God on earth. Our role in the universe is nothing more than a supporting character for God; in other words, our lives are about highlighting the glory of God. You have to understand, the story of the universe, is God's story. He's the author and the star of His own story, and we're just the supporting characters in His story. It's not arrogant at all, because He is glorious and He is awesome.
This is where gratitude begins. This is where the grateful heart is formed, and self-esteem dies to God-esteem. It begins when you kneel at the foot of a blood-stained cross and stare at the glory that is the Son of God, and you say, "everything I am and everything I could ever do, amounts to nothing more than a teardrop in the ocean that is everything you've done for me!". God-esteem stems from when you realize that He is glorious, and in His glory He is working in you to make you glorious, because He loves you SO much. Gratitude begins when you understand everything you have comes from God, and nothing comes from yourself. The fact that you're even breathing is a gift, the fact that you have the ability to work and learn, and the mere gift that you are living in the most privileged country in the world is nothing that you deserve, but a gift from a God who values and loves you more than you could ever know. To ever refuse to use the gifts He's given you to reveal His glory, is such a waste of your time.
The only response when faced with the glory of God is to say: "Everything that I have is yours. Although I know nothing I could ever give could begin to amount to what you've given me, I give you what I have, because it's all I have to give". So, when God asks you to give time or money to His kingdom, you do so with gratitude, because it's just a small portion of the love He's given you. When God calls you to back off a little on one relationship and pour into another, you give to Him without thought for yourself. The amazing thing about our God is that even though He is so glorious and so amazing, He values us so highly that He was willing to die for us, and that is where we find our worth. Even though it's the last thing we deserved, it's the first place we should go to define ourselves, and definitely something to be grateful for.
Pray
Lift praise up to the God who is so glorious, that the whole earth gives Him praise.
If God desires for His children to be grateful people who place their value and identity in how He views them instead of their own self-esteem, then this "I deserve to have things my way" attitude is out of place in the heart of a Christian. It's impossible to be truly grateful for anything, when you believe that you deserve everything; gratitude has no place when you receive what you are owed. The same principle applies to self-esteem. Since we know that God wants us to consider others better than ourselves (Philippians 2:3), and that we should find our value in the knowledge that even though we were covered in sin, God loved us so much that He was willing to die for us. Based on that knowledge, we should never feel that we deserve to get things our way, and we should be grateful for everything we get. However, I bet if we pay attention to the things we complain about and the things we find ourselves arguing with others about, we would learn that we all have a slight deserving attitude. So how can we become grateful? How can we kill self-esteem, and develop God-esteem? The first thing you have to do is understand who God is and who you are.
The Bible makes it evident that everything-me, you, Ke$ha, the forests, the stars in the sky, the air that you breathe- was created to reveal the glory of God. I think many people misunderstand why the universe was created. Maybe you think that God was bored or lonely or just curious, but the truth is the universe was created to showcase the glory of God. When God created the world it was just a form of Him saying, "Hey, by the way, I'm awesome!". We know that it's not arrogant when God proclaims His glory, because He's getting what He deserves. When I say I'm awesome, it's completely arrogant, because I am not awesome. I may convince myself that I'm great, but compared to the standard of greatness, God, I fall so short that it's not even worth comparing. Culture tells us over and over again that life is about making the most of our experience here and looking out for ourselves, but as we learn from the Bible, our life is about making the most out of our time, so that we can maximize the glory of God on earth. Our role in the universe is nothing more than a supporting character for God; in other words, our lives are about highlighting the glory of God. You have to understand, the story of the universe, is God's story. He's the author and the star of His own story, and we're just the supporting characters in His story. It's not arrogant at all, because He is glorious and He is awesome.
This is where gratitude begins. This is where the grateful heart is formed, and self-esteem dies to God-esteem. It begins when you kneel at the foot of a blood-stained cross and stare at the glory that is the Son of God, and you say, "everything I am and everything I could ever do, amounts to nothing more than a teardrop in the ocean that is everything you've done for me!". God-esteem stems from when you realize that He is glorious, and in His glory He is working in you to make you glorious, because He loves you SO much. Gratitude begins when you understand everything you have comes from God, and nothing comes from yourself. The fact that you're even breathing is a gift, the fact that you have the ability to work and learn, and the mere gift that you are living in the most privileged country in the world is nothing that you deserve, but a gift from a God who values and loves you more than you could ever know. To ever refuse to use the gifts He's given you to reveal His glory, is such a waste of your time.
The only response when faced with the glory of God is to say: "Everything that I have is yours. Although I know nothing I could ever give could begin to amount to what you've given me, I give you what I have, because it's all I have to give". So, when God asks you to give time or money to His kingdom, you do so with gratitude, because it's just a small portion of the love He's given you. When God calls you to back off a little on one relationship and pour into another, you give to Him without thought for yourself. The amazing thing about our God is that even though He is so glorious and so amazing, He values us so highly that He was willing to die for us, and that is where we find our worth. Even though it's the last thing we deserved, it's the first place we should go to define ourselves, and definitely something to be grateful for.
Pray
Lift praise up to the God who is so glorious, that the whole earth gives Him praise.
Still Fighting It
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
It's rough growing up. I would know, I'm still doing it. Taking on new challenges daily, accepting the responsibility of adulthood with a heart of gratitude instead of grumbling, while still remembering to be humble in the process, is not easy for me. However, as we begin our series about family, aptly titled "Family Tree", it is necessary to look at what God expects out of each person in a family. As we learned on Sunday, He expects us to be thankful, responsible, and loving people. I don't think I have to explain why God expects this from us, because these are all attributes that we look for in our friends and that we'd love to see develop in ourselves, but we want those to develop on their own. Disagree? Think about it like this: would you want to be friends with someone who complains about everything, has no intention of ever working towards any future goal, speaks and acts hatefully towards everyone, and on top of all that, thinks that they're God's gift to the human race? Of course not. On the flip side of that, we all want to be someone who is perceived as: responsible and dependable, thankful for everything in their life, loving towards everybody, and one who thinks of themselves as no better than anyone else. So why is it so hard for us to put the work in to develop these characteristics in ourselves?
Why is it that those of us who live better than 90% of the planet seem to be so ungrateful all the time? I know kids who complain how they have to work on the weekends, when there are plenty of people (some of their parents) spending their time in the unemployment line. How many times have you screamed at your parents that they are "ruining your life" because they won't let you hang out at Ashley Park, when there are plenty of teens who don't have their parents around enough to care where they are? Our life is "over" because our parents decide we don't need a Playstation 3, and we'll just have to stick with our old Playstation 2. Do you see the problem here? We get so stuck on the things that we don't have, when God has blessed beyond what we need. Instead of thanking God for granting us with abilities so that we can work or giving us parents who love us or blessing us with the wealth that we have, we complain about the responsibilities that come with them or our lack of excess in our closet. We don't think about how we can bless others with what He has graciously granted us, instead, we complain about the fact that we can't get more of what we already have. What we need is to change our priorities, so we focus more on the desires of God instead of our own desire for excess.
A bi-product of our re-prioritizing is that it helps us become more responsible in our lives. As we talked about on Sunday, it is God's desire for us to all become individuals who take responsibility for their own lives. Unfortunately, this is not something that comes to us naturally. Many of us have been given the opportunity to get an education, by means of either college or high school, but we choose to put in the minimum amount of work, so that we can graduate. For many of you, God has given you the ability to get a job, something that we often take for granted, but you would rather spend your time outside of school hanging out with friends or whatever. Hopefully for everyone reading this, you know that God has helped you find a church where there are plenty opportunities to join a serving team, but you'd rather just put the 15-20 minutes that you put in because of group, then ever having to stay late after church or simply show up earlier, so you could be part of what God is doing in the world.
It's too convenient to blame your parents and say, "if they had made me do this stuff when I was young, then it wouldn't be so hard now"; although, I agree with that statement, you're now your own person. You are at the age now that you control the decisions you make, especially, if you have a driver's license. The Bible calls us to honor our parents, so you should follow their rules, but you are the one who decides what you do now. If your parents want you to focus on school rather than getting a job, maybe you should talk to them about it. If they still believe in that, then focus all your efforts on school, be responsible in that area. If they don't stay for two services on Sunday morning, or maybe they don't come at all, maybe this is God's way of telling you to step up and help them out. You don't necessarily have to find things to be responsible about, although it helps to take on more roles that require it, you can begin developing a responsible mindset in your life right now. Responsibility isn't a glass you have to fill with activities; it's a way of handling your God given talents and opportunities.
God is calling all of us to be responsible, grateful, and ultimately loving. Sometimes the hardest place for us to love like Jesus loves is within the group of people who were designed by God to show each other unconditional love. Let's be honest, there are many times our parents mess up. Even though our parents love us, they are still human, and sometimes they say things or do things that hurt us deeply. However, this never gives you the right to lash out towards them or to say hurtful things back to them. God does not hold us accountable for the things people do to us, but if we loved them like He loves us. Maybe you would say "love is all fine and good, but you don't know what my childhood was like", and you're probably right that you were mistreated. However, there have been countless times that we have turned our backs on Jesus, and He knew this would be the case, when He decided to still die for us. The point is, no matter how you spin it, Jesus loved us when we least deserved it, and He calls us to do the same. Because when you choose to love someone as Jesus loved you, you begin to see them in the way that He sees them, and love becomes a more natural part of your life.
This is the kind of freedom that Jesus calls us to. I know that this all seems like a lot right now, but life is a little brighter when you start to live the way God has called us to. People enjoy being around someone who is grateful and thankful more than someone who complains about everything. More opportunities open up in your life the more responsible you are, because if you can be trusted with a little, everyone (including God) can begin to trust you with a lot. Put simply, when we are truly grateful, responsible, and loving people, we become more and more like Christ.
Pray
That God can begin to form a grateful, responsible, and loving heart within you.
Why is it that those of us who live better than 90% of the planet seem to be so ungrateful all the time? I know kids who complain how they have to work on the weekends, when there are plenty of people (some of their parents) spending their time in the unemployment line. How many times have you screamed at your parents that they are "ruining your life" because they won't let you hang out at Ashley Park, when there are plenty of teens who don't have their parents around enough to care where they are? Our life is "over" because our parents decide we don't need a Playstation 3, and we'll just have to stick with our old Playstation 2. Do you see the problem here? We get so stuck on the things that we don't have, when God has blessed beyond what we need. Instead of thanking God for granting us with abilities so that we can work or giving us parents who love us or blessing us with the wealth that we have, we complain about the responsibilities that come with them or our lack of excess in our closet. We don't think about how we can bless others with what He has graciously granted us, instead, we complain about the fact that we can't get more of what we already have. What we need is to change our priorities, so we focus more on the desires of God instead of our own desire for excess.
A bi-product of our re-prioritizing is that it helps us become more responsible in our lives. As we talked about on Sunday, it is God's desire for us to all become individuals who take responsibility for their own lives. Unfortunately, this is not something that comes to us naturally. Many of us have been given the opportunity to get an education, by means of either college or high school, but we choose to put in the minimum amount of work, so that we can graduate. For many of you, God has given you the ability to get a job, something that we often take for granted, but you would rather spend your time outside of school hanging out with friends or whatever. Hopefully for everyone reading this, you know that God has helped you find a church where there are plenty opportunities to join a serving team, but you'd rather just put the 15-20 minutes that you put in because of group, then ever having to stay late after church or simply show up earlier, so you could be part of what God is doing in the world.
It's too convenient to blame your parents and say, "if they had made me do this stuff when I was young, then it wouldn't be so hard now"; although, I agree with that statement, you're now your own person. You are at the age now that you control the decisions you make, especially, if you have a driver's license. The Bible calls us to honor our parents, so you should follow their rules, but you are the one who decides what you do now. If your parents want you to focus on school rather than getting a job, maybe you should talk to them about it. If they still believe in that, then focus all your efforts on school, be responsible in that area. If they don't stay for two services on Sunday morning, or maybe they don't come at all, maybe this is God's way of telling you to step up and help them out. You don't necessarily have to find things to be responsible about, although it helps to take on more roles that require it, you can begin developing a responsible mindset in your life right now. Responsibility isn't a glass you have to fill with activities; it's a way of handling your God given talents and opportunities.
God is calling all of us to be responsible, grateful, and ultimately loving. Sometimes the hardest place for us to love like Jesus loves is within the group of people who were designed by God to show each other unconditional love. Let's be honest, there are many times our parents mess up. Even though our parents love us, they are still human, and sometimes they say things or do things that hurt us deeply. However, this never gives you the right to lash out towards them or to say hurtful things back to them. God does not hold us accountable for the things people do to us, but if we loved them like He loves us. Maybe you would say "love is all fine and good, but you don't know what my childhood was like", and you're probably right that you were mistreated. However, there have been countless times that we have turned our backs on Jesus, and He knew this would be the case, when He decided to still die for us. The point is, no matter how you spin it, Jesus loved us when we least deserved it, and He calls us to do the same. Because when you choose to love someone as Jesus loved you, you begin to see them in the way that He sees them, and love becomes a more natural part of your life.
This is the kind of freedom that Jesus calls us to. I know that this all seems like a lot right now, but life is a little brighter when you start to live the way God has called us to. People enjoy being around someone who is grateful and thankful more than someone who complains about everything. More opportunities open up in your life the more responsible you are, because if you can be trusted with a little, everyone (including God) can begin to trust you with a lot. Put simply, when we are truly grateful, responsible, and loving people, we become more and more like Christ.
Pray
That God can begin to form a grateful, responsible, and loving heart within you.
I Love/Hate You
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Who's that special someone for you? You know the one I'm talking about. You can't stop thinking about them, any time they're brought up in conversation you just find yourself compelled to talk about them. You're obsessed; you think about them night and day, and you can't imagine anyone else being with them. Whenever you think about them, which is at least once a day, you get this strange feeling in the pit of your stomach. You know who I'm talking about, it's the object of your obsession: the person you hate. Now I know that "hate is a strong word", but sometimes it is an accurate word. Sometimes we view hate as something that could only be applied to the way we feel about murderers or Osama Bin Laden or rapists, and we forget that hate is a pretty commonplace thing. Jesus paired it in the same message with lust, which I think we can all agree is very commonplace, when he explained how serious an issue sin was. So, maybe this might be an issue that we all have dealt, will deal, or are currently dealing with right now.
Growing up you might have heard someone say "you don't have to like everybody, but you have to love everybody", and even though this is true, we might have exaggerated this statement too much in our minds. We often think that as long as we don't carry out our actions or wish horrible things on a person, than it isn't hate. But even the dictionary defines hate as "an intense hostility", which I think we all might have felt before. Do you know someone that anytime that person's name is brought up in conversation you can't seem to be happy until you have spoken bad about them at least once? Do you find yourself burning up thinking about how horrible or annoying they are, and how you don't understand how anyone else would ever want to be their friend? When something good happens to them do you find it hard to be happy for them, maybe you even dislike the fact that they're getting attention for it? If you're honest with yourself, you'd have to admit your probably hate this person. Just like Jonah, who couldn't understand how God could give grace to the people he hated the most, we don't want to believe that God would allow good things to happen to people who don't deserve it. We often forget that God already gave us grace, which is simply getting a good thing that you don't deserve, so why should we get to decide that someone else shouldn't get the same thing?
The basic truth behind the "you don't have to like everybody" statement is that it is okay for people to annoy you or for you not to enjoy somebody's company, but you should still hope that good things happen for them and rejoice with them when they do. See love and hate are not choices for those of us who call ourselves Christians. The Bible makes it clear that when we hate someone, than God's love is not in us; because if you can't even love someone that you can see, how could you ever love a God that you can't (refer to contest)? So, if we are to say that we love God, then we must love others, there is no choice.
Explore
In order to be entered into a contest to win this week's wonderful prize: Click Here.
Pray
That God will help you to identify those that you do hate, and to help you to see them the way He does, so that you can extend His love and grace to them.
Growing up you might have heard someone say "you don't have to like everybody, but you have to love everybody", and even though this is true, we might have exaggerated this statement too much in our minds. We often think that as long as we don't carry out our actions or wish horrible things on a person, than it isn't hate. But even the dictionary defines hate as "an intense hostility", which I think we all might have felt before. Do you know someone that anytime that person's name is brought up in conversation you can't seem to be happy until you have spoken bad about them at least once? Do you find yourself burning up thinking about how horrible or annoying they are, and how you don't understand how anyone else would ever want to be their friend? When something good happens to them do you find it hard to be happy for them, maybe you even dislike the fact that they're getting attention for it? If you're honest with yourself, you'd have to admit your probably hate this person. Just like Jonah, who couldn't understand how God could give grace to the people he hated the most, we don't want to believe that God would allow good things to happen to people who don't deserve it. We often forget that God already gave us grace, which is simply getting a good thing that you don't deserve, so why should we get to decide that someone else shouldn't get the same thing?
The basic truth behind the "you don't have to like everybody" statement is that it is okay for people to annoy you or for you not to enjoy somebody's company, but you should still hope that good things happen for them and rejoice with them when they do. See love and hate are not choices for those of us who call ourselves Christians. The Bible makes it clear that when we hate someone, than God's love is not in us; because if you can't even love someone that you can see, how could you ever love a God that you can't (refer to contest)? So, if we are to say that we love God, then we must love others, there is no choice.
Explore
In order to be entered into a contest to win this week's wonderful prize: Click Here.
Pray
That God will help you to identify those that you do hate, and to help you to see them the way He does, so that you can extend His love and grace to them.
Let Go
Friday, March 19, 2010
The great irony that many of us face in our Christian walk is that the things we think that we need in order to live the life we want, are the same things that will lead us down a path that will ultimately cause us to lose our lives. We're like drowning men holding onto a sinking ship, because we're afraid to swim. God calls on all of us to follow His will, and sometimes He calls on to make specific changes. Maybe God is calling you to speak words of kindness and love to someone who doesn't have any friends or maybe He wants you to change the way you speak to or about people or maybe He's calling you to join a serving team at church. In any of those circumstances you have to let go of certain things that feel extremely important and vital to you, but they also hinder you from following God's will and leading the lives He calls us to. We're afraid to speak to a lonely person because we would have to let go of our need to be inside our "comfort zone" at all times, and no one wants to feel awkward. We choose to gossip and cut people down all the time because we would rather be funny and interesting then let go of our drive to be cool. However, when we finally let go of the things we believe are so important and follow God's will, we find that there is more joy inside of God's will than anywhere else we could look. So, where is God calling you to change or go? What is it that you need to let go of in order to follow that calling?
But don't wait until high school is over or college is over to start answering God's calling. Believe it or not this isn't the time for you to "make mistakes" or just "have fun" or to "discover who you are", because if you're a follower of Christ, THAT is who you are. Stop trying to figure out who YOU are and what YOU should do, but figure out what GOD wants you to do with your life, then do it. You have relationships and friends right now that you, more than likely, will not be involved with, within two or three years of graduation, this might be your only chance to reach them. Just like the Ninevites knew how long they had to repent (which basically means to an extreme change in your life, because you're so sorry for something that you've done), you can view the time that you have left in high school as your "period of grace" to reach those in your high school. Don't get to the end of your high school or college career and realize that you could have gone on an amazing journey with God, but you were too afraid to let go of things that you didn't need to begin with anyway.
Explore
In order to be entered into the contest to win a fabulous prize: Click Here.
Pray
That God will make His will evident to you, and that you would have the strength to let go of your own fears and desires to follow Him.
But don't wait until high school is over or college is over to start answering God's calling. Believe it or not this isn't the time for you to "make mistakes" or just "have fun" or to "discover who you are", because if you're a follower of Christ, THAT is who you are. Stop trying to figure out who YOU are and what YOU should do, but figure out what GOD wants you to do with your life, then do it. You have relationships and friends right now that you, more than likely, will not be involved with, within two or three years of graduation, this might be your only chance to reach them. Just like the Ninevites knew how long they had to repent (which basically means to an extreme change in your life, because you're so sorry for something that you've done), you can view the time that you have left in high school as your "period of grace" to reach those in your high school. Don't get to the end of your high school or college career and realize that you could have gone on an amazing journey with God, but you were too afraid to let go of things that you didn't need to begin with anyway.
Explore
In order to be entered into the contest to win a fabulous prize: Click Here.
Pray
That God will make His will evident to you, and that you would have the strength to let go of your own fears and desires to follow Him.
Runaway
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
I hope you can enjoy the (not-so clever) Bon Jovi reference for the title of this week's blog post, but more importantly it brings us to our topic for further discussion this week. If you were at church on Sunday then you know that for the next four weeks we'll be talking about the Bible's favorite runaway, Jonah (don't get all "Bible quiz-bowl" on me and point out the prodigal son...it's a fictional story). The book of Jonah recalls the story of a prophet of God (this is Jonah), who is called to leave Israel (his home), and go preach against the Ninevites (these are the people Jonah's afraid of). Since the Ninevites are a group of people who strike fear into the hearts of the nearby nations (including Israel), Jonah is understandably a little nervous about telling them that God will destroy them. So, instead of following the will of God, which was laid out before him, Jonah decides to charter a boat and run from God, which is never a good or logical plan. As most of you know, things don't go according to Jonah's plan, but that's not the point of this blog post. What I'd love for you to take away from this story is that we all have, currently are, or are going to find ourselves in a place where we will know the will of God, but be tempted to runaway from it. Most often we choose to runaway from the will of God because, just like Jonah, we're afraid of what might happen to us.
How does one know what God's will is? When Christ left our planet to fight the evil Cylons to save the planet Caprica...wait, that's not right...What I meant to put was when Jesus ascended into heaven (which also has a sci-fi feel to it, but I guess since He came back from the dead, I can believe anything), Christ left us a "Counselor", who is the Holy Spirit, and when you become a Christian, by believing and accepting what Jesus did on the cross to forgive you of your sins so that you can live in relationship with Him, the Holy Spirit lives in you (John 16:5-11). The Holy Spirit is probably the most powerful way, that God communicates His will to us. Have you ever felt the feeling that you should go talk to someone or do something that you don't quite understand, and later on you realized that it probably would have been the Christ-like thing to have done? If you have, that was probably the Holy Spirit prompting you to follow God's will. However, sometimes out of fear of rejection, being mocked, or just because we don't want to stand out, we choose to ignore those promptings. God also lays out His will through the Bible, by giving us guidelines to live by, but because we want to "fit in" often we push against these boundaries. We choose to ignore gossip in our conversations, because we don't want to be gossiped about in return. We join in inappropriate sexual activity, because you're not really a "man" or an "adult" until you do. We get involved in a multitude of activities which we know to be against God's will, but because of our fears we, like Jonah, choose to run from God's will and miss out on what He's doing in the world.
God is constantly doing work in our world, and He has called us to join Him in changing lives all around us. However, if we let our fears dictate our behavior, then we'll never fully embrace and enjoy what God has in store for us. Jonah foolishly believed that he could outrun the God of the universe, how long do you think you can? You can try and avoid the guilt you feel from the sin that has trapped you or you can continue to ignore where it is God's will is pulling you, but you'll miss out on everything God could do through you along the way. Maybe through serving in the church you could be apart of bringing someone to Christ, maybe through overcoming a sinful habit you could be an example to others, maybe God just wants you to fill up someone's car with gas, or maybe He wants you to stand up for someone that needs a kind word, but all of these things require you putting your fears aside and choosing to run "with" God instead of "away" from Him. Are you getting tired from running? All of your guilt and regret weighs you down, God just wants you to lay all of that in front of Him, so you can run together, and together make a difference in this world.
Explore
In order to be entered into the contest to win this week's prize: Click Here.
Pray
That you can have the courage to lay your fears aside, and run "with" God.
How does one know what God's will is? When Christ left our planet to fight the evil Cylons to save the planet Caprica...wait, that's not right...What I meant to put was when Jesus ascended into heaven (which also has a sci-fi feel to it, but I guess since He came back from the dead, I can believe anything), Christ left us a "Counselor", who is the Holy Spirit, and when you become a Christian, by believing and accepting what Jesus did on the cross to forgive you of your sins so that you can live in relationship with Him, the Holy Spirit lives in you (John 16:5-11). The Holy Spirit is probably the most powerful way, that God communicates His will to us. Have you ever felt the feeling that you should go talk to someone or do something that you don't quite understand, and later on you realized that it probably would have been the Christ-like thing to have done? If you have, that was probably the Holy Spirit prompting you to follow God's will. However, sometimes out of fear of rejection, being mocked, or just because we don't want to stand out, we choose to ignore those promptings. God also lays out His will through the Bible, by giving us guidelines to live by, but because we want to "fit in" often we push against these boundaries. We choose to ignore gossip in our conversations, because we don't want to be gossiped about in return. We join in inappropriate sexual activity, because you're not really a "man" or an "adult" until you do. We get involved in a multitude of activities which we know to be against God's will, but because of our fears we, like Jonah, choose to run from God's will and miss out on what He's doing in the world.
God is constantly doing work in our world, and He has called us to join Him in changing lives all around us. However, if we let our fears dictate our behavior, then we'll never fully embrace and enjoy what God has in store for us. Jonah foolishly believed that he could outrun the God of the universe, how long do you think you can? You can try and avoid the guilt you feel from the sin that has trapped you or you can continue to ignore where it is God's will is pulling you, but you'll miss out on everything God could do through you along the way. Maybe through serving in the church you could be apart of bringing someone to Christ, maybe through overcoming a sinful habit you could be an example to others, maybe God just wants you to fill up someone's car with gas, or maybe He wants you to stand up for someone that needs a kind word, but all of these things require you putting your fears aside and choosing to run "with" God instead of "away" from Him. Are you getting tired from running? All of your guilt and regret weighs you down, God just wants you to lay all of that in front of Him, so you can run together, and together make a difference in this world.
Explore
In order to be entered into the contest to win this week's prize: Click Here.
Pray
That you can have the courage to lay your fears aside, and run "with" God.
Help!
Monday, February 22, 2010
You might be thinking because this Sunday was the last week in our series "GodLoveSex" then you could finally take a breath, and release all that awkward tension; however, there is still one thing I'd like to reinforce to you: Get Help! As has been explained on Sunday morning through the services and discussion in group, as well as through the blog posts online, you cannot fight sexual temptation on your own. Sexual immorality is not something to play around with, you should flee from it, and tell someone about your struggle. Do not be fooled, sexual temptation will beat you if you leave it hidden within your secrets or if you try to "man up" and fight it. The best possible way to take a stand against sexual sin, is to run for your life!
Make the choice to be proactive. Instead of waiting for sexual temptation to find you, let somebody know what it is that you struggle with, so that when the time comes to run you'll have someone to help you. God never intended us to do life alone, and through church you can find someone who will listen, support, and love you while you defeat temptation together. Together you can decide on boundaries to set up for yourself, maybe it's removing your computer from your bedroom or never being alone with your boyfriend/girlfriend. The best person to reveal your struggle to is an older, more mature Christian (such as a parent or your small group leader), because they know what it's like to be in your shoes, and they can help you find the way out. Don't wait until it's too late, don't wait until your faced with temptation. If you wait until the moment temptation comes to make a decision, you have already lost. Trust that God will provide you with someone who has been where you are now, and knows the way to get to the place you want to be. As I finish out this sex series I want to leave you with a story of hope, so that you might be compelled to reveal your struggle against temptation to an older Christian so that, through confession and prayer, you can be healed (James 5:16).
This guy’s walking down a street, when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep, he can’t get out. A doctor passes by, and the guy shouts up, "Hey you! Can you help me out?" The doctor writes him a prescription, throws it down the hole, and moves on. Then a priest comes along, and the guy shouts up, "Father, I’m down in this hole! Can you help me out?" The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole, and moves on. Then a friend walks by. "Hey Joe, it’s me, can you help me out?" And the friend jumps in the hole! Our guy says, "Are you stupid? Now we’re both down here!" And the friend says, "Yeah, but I’ve been down here before, and I know the way out."
Explore
In order to be entered into the contest to win a prize: Click Here.
Pray
That God will reveal someone, in whom you can trust your secret to, and that you will have the courage to speak.
Make the choice to be proactive. Instead of waiting for sexual temptation to find you, let somebody know what it is that you struggle with, so that when the time comes to run you'll have someone to help you. God never intended us to do life alone, and through church you can find someone who will listen, support, and love you while you defeat temptation together. Together you can decide on boundaries to set up for yourself, maybe it's removing your computer from your bedroom or never being alone with your boyfriend/girlfriend. The best person to reveal your struggle to is an older, more mature Christian (such as a parent or your small group leader), because they know what it's like to be in your shoes, and they can help you find the way out. Don't wait until it's too late, don't wait until your faced with temptation. If you wait until the moment temptation comes to make a decision, you have already lost. Trust that God will provide you with someone who has been where you are now, and knows the way to get to the place you want to be. As I finish out this sex series I want to leave you with a story of hope, so that you might be compelled to reveal your struggle against temptation to an older Christian so that, through confession and prayer, you can be healed (James 5:16).
This guy’s walking down a street, when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep, he can’t get out. A doctor passes by, and the guy shouts up, "Hey you! Can you help me out?" The doctor writes him a prescription, throws it down the hole, and moves on. Then a priest comes along, and the guy shouts up, "Father, I’m down in this hole! Can you help me out?" The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole, and moves on. Then a friend walks by. "Hey Joe, it’s me, can you help me out?" And the friend jumps in the hole! Our guy says, "Are you stupid? Now we’re both down here!" And the friend says, "Yeah, but I’ve been down here before, and I know the way out."
Explore
In order to be entered into the contest to win a prize: Click Here.
Pray
That God will reveal someone, in whom you can trust your secret to, and that you will have the courage to speak.
Breaking the Habit
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
This is poison! Your secrets keep you sick!
We are broken, on more than one level, but especially in our sexuality, we are broken. Our addictions leave us bleeding out through an open wound, and it's starting to scab over. All of our secrets and schemes to hide our sin are nothing more than band-aids covering a gunshot wound; we're losing more ground than we're gaining. What addiction, what sin could be so serious that I would compare it to a gunshot wound? The answer is pornography, and ultimately lust. You might think that a gunshot wound is an extreme metaphor for something like lust and pornography, but it was Jesus who stated that if your eye caused you to sin (sexually, as it were), then you should gouge it out (Matthew 18:9). If the God of the universe considers lust something severe enough to compare gauging out one's eye to the kind of precautions we should take, then maybe it would be prudent to examine the effects of pornography and lust in our lives.
When dealing with pornography it serves one to remember: pornography is an addiction. This is not a habit, like biting your nails or twirling your hair, which can just be stopped through repetition. Pornography is an addiction; therefore, in order to fight this, we need to think like a reformed alcoholic or drug addict. Since you wouldn't tell an alcoholic in an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting to go sit in a bar or buy lots of liquor and just stare at it, why do we think we can saturate ourselves in sexually stimulating environments, and not be led into temptation? If pornography is any images, videos, or stories that stimulate sexual excitement, then it's not just the hardcore pornography that we tend to think of, but also certain movies, TV shows, magazines, chat rooms, or even things like sending nude pictures through text messages or the internet. Your addiction to pornography isn't harmless; it will eventually lead to the entire corruption of your sexuality. God wants you to experience a fulfilling sexual life, but on His terms (refer to last week's blog post). Pornography is a downward spiral that begins with an image, movie, or story, and ends with an addiction that no amount of sexual stimulation can quench.
Lust is an infection caused by a wound we suffered at some point. At one point in your life you stopped thinking of the opposite sex as gross, and eventually you were introduced to sexual stimuli. It could have been a magazine, a movie, a website, or maybe just something you heard someone talking about, either way at some point you suffered an injury that altered your mindset about sex. After this, lust began to infect that wound, and you began to think of the other gender and sex in general, in a totally different light. Lust corrupts our hearts, minds, and a drive for intimacy that God has given us. We start to view the opposite sex as nothing more than objects to get sexual pleasure out of. As the infection progresses, sexual fantasies and images flood our thoughts, and we feel completely helpless. Sometimes we view lust as a misdirected sex drive, which can be focused into something healthy. Our mindset is that once we get married we can focus our sexual desire on our spouse, and that sexual temptation and lust will cease to exist; however, ask any married person, they will tell you that lust doesn't stop the moment you say "I do". This is how we know that lust is an infection and not just misdirected sexual desire, because we can't end sexual temptation by focusing our desires on our spouse.
So, how do we fight against pornography and lust? You run for your life! You have no chance in a fight against sexual immorality, the Bible tells us to run from it (1st Corinthians 6:18). The moment you wonder if you should sin sexually, you start losing ground. You need to understand that you don't even have the right to sin, because your body was bought at a price (1st Corinthians 6:20). The first way to evade your sexual desires is to starve your addiction, by removing any kind of sexual stimulation from your life. Maybe that means that you have to get a computer out of your room or maybe you need to stop chatting or text messaging certain people or maybe you have to stop watching a certain TV show or movie. Whatever it is you have to get it out of your life, because this pornography is a path that leads to destruction. Second you have to clean your infection, and the only way to do that is by telling someone. You can't do this on your own; your secrets are the poison that keeps you sick. Tell a parent or an adult that you trust or one of the leaders in our student ministry about your struggle with lust and/or pornography. The longer you struggle alone, the more difficult it will be to stop. Lust and pornography harden your heart and mind to the kind of sexual life that your heavenly Father wants you to have, stop covering the gunshot wound of your sexuality with the band-aid of your secrets, you're losing too much blood.
Explore
In order to be entered into a contest to win one of our weekly prizes: Click Here
Pray
That God will give you the courage to speak to someone about your struggle with lust and/or pornography.
We are broken, on more than one level, but especially in our sexuality, we are broken. Our addictions leave us bleeding out through an open wound, and it's starting to scab over. All of our secrets and schemes to hide our sin are nothing more than band-aids covering a gunshot wound; we're losing more ground than we're gaining. What addiction, what sin could be so serious that I would compare it to a gunshot wound? The answer is pornography, and ultimately lust. You might think that a gunshot wound is an extreme metaphor for something like lust and pornography, but it was Jesus who stated that if your eye caused you to sin (sexually, as it were), then you should gouge it out (Matthew 18:9). If the God of the universe considers lust something severe enough to compare gauging out one's eye to the kind of precautions we should take, then maybe it would be prudent to examine the effects of pornography and lust in our lives.
When dealing with pornography it serves one to remember: pornography is an addiction. This is not a habit, like biting your nails or twirling your hair, which can just be stopped through repetition. Pornography is an addiction; therefore, in order to fight this, we need to think like a reformed alcoholic or drug addict. Since you wouldn't tell an alcoholic in an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting to go sit in a bar or buy lots of liquor and just stare at it, why do we think we can saturate ourselves in sexually stimulating environments, and not be led into temptation? If pornography is any images, videos, or stories that stimulate sexual excitement, then it's not just the hardcore pornography that we tend to think of, but also certain movies, TV shows, magazines, chat rooms, or even things like sending nude pictures through text messages or the internet. Your addiction to pornography isn't harmless; it will eventually lead to the entire corruption of your sexuality. God wants you to experience a fulfilling sexual life, but on His terms (refer to last week's blog post). Pornography is a downward spiral that begins with an image, movie, or story, and ends with an addiction that no amount of sexual stimulation can quench.
Lust is an infection caused by a wound we suffered at some point. At one point in your life you stopped thinking of the opposite sex as gross, and eventually you were introduced to sexual stimuli. It could have been a magazine, a movie, a website, or maybe just something you heard someone talking about, either way at some point you suffered an injury that altered your mindset about sex. After this, lust began to infect that wound, and you began to think of the other gender and sex in general, in a totally different light. Lust corrupts our hearts, minds, and a drive for intimacy that God has given us. We start to view the opposite sex as nothing more than objects to get sexual pleasure out of. As the infection progresses, sexual fantasies and images flood our thoughts, and we feel completely helpless. Sometimes we view lust as a misdirected sex drive, which can be focused into something healthy. Our mindset is that once we get married we can focus our sexual desire on our spouse, and that sexual temptation and lust will cease to exist; however, ask any married person, they will tell you that lust doesn't stop the moment you say "I do". This is how we know that lust is an infection and not just misdirected sexual desire, because we can't end sexual temptation by focusing our desires on our spouse.
So, how do we fight against pornography and lust? You run for your life! You have no chance in a fight against sexual immorality, the Bible tells us to run from it (1st Corinthians 6:18). The moment you wonder if you should sin sexually, you start losing ground. You need to understand that you don't even have the right to sin, because your body was bought at a price (1st Corinthians 6:20). The first way to evade your sexual desires is to starve your addiction, by removing any kind of sexual stimulation from your life. Maybe that means that you have to get a computer out of your room or maybe you need to stop chatting or text messaging certain people or maybe you have to stop watching a certain TV show or movie. Whatever it is you have to get it out of your life, because this pornography is a path that leads to destruction. Second you have to clean your infection, and the only way to do that is by telling someone. You can't do this on your own; your secrets are the poison that keeps you sick. Tell a parent or an adult that you trust or one of the leaders in our student ministry about your struggle with lust and/or pornography. The longer you struggle alone, the more difficult it will be to stop. Lust and pornography harden your heart and mind to the kind of sexual life that your heavenly Father wants you to have, stop covering the gunshot wound of your sexuality with the band-aid of your secrets, you're losing too much blood.
Explore
In order to be entered into a contest to win one of our weekly prizes: Click Here
Pray
That God will give you the courage to speak to someone about your struggle with lust and/or pornography.
Let's Talk About Sex
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Sex is only for one man and one woman who are married to each other. Sex is not for the engaged. It's not for adults. It's not for people "in love". It's not for the "mature". It's not for those who are "ready". It's not for those who are "responsible". It's not for those who are "safe". It's not for those who think it's just casual. It's not for two men, it's not for two women, and it's not for you privately. Sex is exclusive to one man and one woman who are married to each other.
Sex is the most intimate connection which two human beings can experience together. No matter how much you try to convince yourself, it cannot be casual or meaningless. God intended sex to be for a man and a woman who have sacrificed all other relationships and everything else to be completely devoted to each other in marriage; just as Christ sacrificed everything and was completely devoted to us. When you force intimacy through pre-marital sex, whether it be with one or multiple partners, you are trying to take an intimacy that only God can give. Unfortunately, just as we do with everything else, the human race, through our sinful nature, has corrupted sex, and tried to make it something it's not. Sex is not a sales pitch. It's not a punchline. Sex is not the images in your head. It's not the fantasies you play out in your head. It's not the "next step" for you and your boyfriend/girlfriend. It's not the thing that makes you cool with your friends. Sex is the most intimate moment two human beings can experience, and it's intended for a man and a woman completely devoted to each other.
Honestly, pre-marital sex is not the only form of sexual immorality in which we need to flee from (refer to the contest or 1st Corinthians 6:18). Paul, the guy who wrote the majority of the Bible's New Testament, explains that sexual sin is the only sin that affects the body. This is because the God who created us understands how we work emotionally, physically, and psychologically. The emotions, images, and memories that you experience sexually stick with you forever, and cause harm towards yourself and your relationships in the future, including your relationship with God. God wants to protect us from harm, so He put limits on our sexuality, but these limits are not exclusive to just sexual intercourse. Paul states that "sexual immorality" is what harms us, and the Greek word used here is "porneia" (which I'm guessing you can find out what word we get from that). This word literally means any illicit sexual behavior, such as: adultery, fornication, homosexuality, and so on... Jesus explains that if you even look at a woman (or man) lustfully it is the same as committing adultery, so, obviously, God sets the standard a little higher than just intercourse.
God wants us to flee from sexual immorality. Ultimately, we don't even have the right to sin against our bodies because they're not ours. The Bible explains that our bodies our temples of the Holy Spirit, and that we were bought at a price (6:19-20). It's not even your choice, you're just renting this body, and God has commanded you to stop using it for sexual immorality. You were bought at a price. The images, videos, and/or stories that you read or watch are not in God's plan for sex, and they will cause you harm. When you take it too far with your boyfriend/girlfriend, you're not following God's plan for sex. When you chat online too explicitly with somebody or text nude pictures to someone, you are not following God's plan for sex. All of these things will cause you harm, and lead you further away from God's plan. God wants us to experience sex, but under His terms. However, if you have messed up, let me say that God doesn't hate you, and it's not the end of the world for you. God loves you, and through His help He can make you holy, so that you can live a fulfilling and righteous life under His terms. Sex is awesome and God loves it, but you have to stop forcing intimacy and start living according to God's plan.
Explore
In order to be entered into a contest to win a prize: Click Here.
Pray
For God's forgiveness when you stray from His plan, and pray for His love and support as you try to get back to His plan.
Sex is the most intimate connection which two human beings can experience together. No matter how much you try to convince yourself, it cannot be casual or meaningless. God intended sex to be for a man and a woman who have sacrificed all other relationships and everything else to be completely devoted to each other in marriage; just as Christ sacrificed everything and was completely devoted to us. When you force intimacy through pre-marital sex, whether it be with one or multiple partners, you are trying to take an intimacy that only God can give. Unfortunately, just as we do with everything else, the human race, through our sinful nature, has corrupted sex, and tried to make it something it's not. Sex is not a sales pitch. It's not a punchline. Sex is not the images in your head. It's not the fantasies you play out in your head. It's not the "next step" for you and your boyfriend/girlfriend. It's not the thing that makes you cool with your friends. Sex is the most intimate moment two human beings can experience, and it's intended for a man and a woman completely devoted to each other.
Honestly, pre-marital sex is not the only form of sexual immorality in which we need to flee from (refer to the contest or 1st Corinthians 6:18). Paul, the guy who wrote the majority of the Bible's New Testament, explains that sexual sin is the only sin that affects the body. This is because the God who created us understands how we work emotionally, physically, and psychologically. The emotions, images, and memories that you experience sexually stick with you forever, and cause harm towards yourself and your relationships in the future, including your relationship with God. God wants to protect us from harm, so He put limits on our sexuality, but these limits are not exclusive to just sexual intercourse. Paul states that "sexual immorality" is what harms us, and the Greek word used here is "porneia" (which I'm guessing you can find out what word we get from that). This word literally means any illicit sexual behavior, such as: adultery, fornication, homosexuality, and so on... Jesus explains that if you even look at a woman (or man) lustfully it is the same as committing adultery, so, obviously, God sets the standard a little higher than just intercourse.
God wants us to flee from sexual immorality. Ultimately, we don't even have the right to sin against our bodies because they're not ours. The Bible explains that our bodies our temples of the Holy Spirit, and that we were bought at a price (6:19-20). It's not even your choice, you're just renting this body, and God has commanded you to stop using it for sexual immorality. You were bought at a price. The images, videos, and/or stories that you read or watch are not in God's plan for sex, and they will cause you harm. When you take it too far with your boyfriend/girlfriend, you're not following God's plan for sex. When you chat online too explicitly with somebody or text nude pictures to someone, you are not following God's plan for sex. All of these things will cause you harm, and lead you further away from God's plan. God wants us to experience sex, but under His terms. However, if you have messed up, let me say that God doesn't hate you, and it's not the end of the world for you. God loves you, and through His help He can make you holy, so that you can live a fulfilling and righteous life under His terms. Sex is awesome and God loves it, but you have to stop forcing intimacy and start living according to God's plan.
Explore
In order to be entered into a contest to win a prize: Click Here.
Pray
For God's forgiveness when you stray from His plan, and pray for His love and support as you try to get back to His plan.
The Compromise
Friday, February 5, 2010
There is a word that gets thrown around in our society so much that people have begun to view it as the best option, in any conflict of opinions. Whenever there are two parties who cannot agree on the best way to handle a situation, this one word has become the "be all, end all" solution: Compromise. Now, there are situations where it would be desirable to compromise, and actually might be the Godliest approach to the situation. However, I believe that this word has begun to take an ultimate positive connotation, meaning, that when people hear the word "compromise" they don't think of someone giving something up, they think of both people gaining things. Compromise (in the form, we're looking at) is ultimately an agreement that two parties meet, for each (or maybe just one) to give up part (or all) of their demands, so, that both parties benefit. As I stated earlier, there are situations where the right approach is to compromise, but those situations only arise when the values at stake are debatable. For example: If my wife and I find that we can spend equal amounts of money going out to eat as we could staying home and cooking, and one of us wants to go out 6 nights a week and the other would like to stay in 6 nights out of the week, it would be best to compromise in that situation. Because, the values at stake (whether we prefer a home-cooked meal or professionally prepared food) are debatable, neither one of us can prove, based solely on taste and preference, that one is better than the other, and both of us can benefit from the compromise made.
Unfortunately, the attitude that we have in dealing with the right-kind of compromises, leads us to compromise in a relationship which has no room for it, our relationship with God. You have to understand that compromise has further consequences, which is to weaken or to lessen or to dilute your original values. The problem is that the values of God are not debatable. When it comes to our relationship with God, we are aware that there are certain areas of God's will, in which there are shortcuts to getting where He wants us to be. Due to our impatience or the difficulty of the task that God has given us, we are often tempted to compromise His values in order to accomplish His will. For instance, we know that God wants us to honor our parents, and they explain that they expect good grades out of you. So, in order to get good grades, you choose to cheat on the final in your history class, does it make it acceptable for you to cheat, because your parents will be happy that you made an A? Of course not, because their value was for you to learn the material and to do your best. God has asked us to reach those unconnected to Him, and teach them about His Son; however, do you think that it's right for you to gossip along with your friends, so that they will think that you're cool, that way you'll have a better chance at reaching them? We all know that the answer is, no, because God told us that such things were sins. Therefore, just because something good comes out of a situation, does not make the things you did to get that outcome, righteous.
You can never get the benefits of God by abandoning the principles or values of God. God intends for us to have an intimate and righteous sexual relationship with our future spouse, but He does not intend for us to force intimacy through pre-marital sex. God promises that we can experience true and fulfilling community, but He expects us to uphold His values, instead of compromising because it's easier. God promises us many things, but He expects us to trust Him to provide them, in His timing. Don't let your impatience shortcut Gods values, so that you can gain benefits that are temporary and hollow. Because there is one more meaning of compromise that I want to bring to your attention: to expose to danger. When we compromise, we open holes in our relationship with God, which expose us to danger. Not just physical danger, but we are in danger of losing our faith in God. Even the wisest man ever, Solomon, could not escape the effects of compromise (refer to the contest). So, as we close out this series of Hostage, let's choose not to compromise our relationship with God, His values, or the following statement: Temptation you will not steal my future, you will not steal my family, and you will not steal my faith.
Explore
In ordered to be entered into the contest to win this week's prize: Click Here.
Pray
That God can help you become the kind of person, who refuses to compromise His values to gain false benefits.
Unfortunately, the attitude that we have in dealing with the right-kind of compromises, leads us to compromise in a relationship which has no room for it, our relationship with God. You have to understand that compromise has further consequences, which is to weaken or to lessen or to dilute your original values. The problem is that the values of God are not debatable. When it comes to our relationship with God, we are aware that there are certain areas of God's will, in which there are shortcuts to getting where He wants us to be. Due to our impatience or the difficulty of the task that God has given us, we are often tempted to compromise His values in order to accomplish His will. For instance, we know that God wants us to honor our parents, and they explain that they expect good grades out of you. So, in order to get good grades, you choose to cheat on the final in your history class, does it make it acceptable for you to cheat, because your parents will be happy that you made an A? Of course not, because their value was for you to learn the material and to do your best. God has asked us to reach those unconnected to Him, and teach them about His Son; however, do you think that it's right for you to gossip along with your friends, so that they will think that you're cool, that way you'll have a better chance at reaching them? We all know that the answer is, no, because God told us that such things were sins. Therefore, just because something good comes out of a situation, does not make the things you did to get that outcome, righteous.
You can never get the benefits of God by abandoning the principles or values of God. God intends for us to have an intimate and righteous sexual relationship with our future spouse, but He does not intend for us to force intimacy through pre-marital sex. God promises that we can experience true and fulfilling community, but He expects us to uphold His values, instead of compromising because it's easier. God promises us many things, but He expects us to trust Him to provide them, in His timing. Don't let your impatience shortcut Gods values, so that you can gain benefits that are temporary and hollow. Because there is one more meaning of compromise that I want to bring to your attention: to expose to danger. When we compromise, we open holes in our relationship with God, which expose us to danger. Not just physical danger, but we are in danger of losing our faith in God. Even the wisest man ever, Solomon, could not escape the effects of compromise (refer to the contest). So, as we close out this series of Hostage, let's choose not to compromise our relationship with God, His values, or the following statement: Temptation you will not steal my future, you will not steal my family, and you will not steal my faith.
Explore
In ordered to be entered into the contest to win this week's prize: Click Here.
Pray
That God can help you become the kind of person, who refuses to compromise His values to gain false benefits.
Faith
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
The devil is not the nature that is around us, but the nature that is within us.
Every set of temptations that we face deal not with questions of self-control, but questions of faith and trust. We choose not to eat 35 hot wings, 2 large pizzas, and wash it all down with a 64 ounce banocolate (that's chocolate and banana mix, by the way) milkshake, because we have faith that the satisfaction we get from not gaining weight will be more than the satisfaction of flavor. It all comes down to economics. The whole argument between self-control and faith, hinges on an idea based in economics. There is a term thrown around in economics called "Opportunity Cost", which is the cost of the highest priced alternative you give up when choosing something else. For example, the opportunity cost of going to college, is the amount of money you would have gained working during the time you spend in the classroom or studying. However, many people would argue that the money you gain in the long run, from having a college education, is higher than its opportunity cost.
Throughout the Bible, God makes several promises to mankind. He puts limits on desires that He, Himself, coded into our DNA. Many of us, myself included, have often looked at these limits or rules, as a test of our self-control, but a simple investigation will prove this might not be true. If God was just trying to test our self-control, why would He spend so much time making rational limits? Why would God not just choose random things, such as: do not scratch your nose or only clean your house on odd days or don't laugh at things that are funny. All of those would be pretty good tests of self-control, because it's hard for me not to scratch my nose, even when it doesn't itch. If God was only interested in getting us to have more self-control, why give us promises like, "if you do sex my way, it will be more fulfilling" or "if you put barriers around your temper, I am full of justice"? God wants us to put our faith in Him, and not ourselves.
He wants us to have faith that the satisfaction from the promises He gives, will outweigh the opportunity cost. We are so impatient and untrusting, that we want to decide when we get our reward. Someone wrongs me, and it's hard to trust that one day God will make all things right. So, I choose to start a nasty rumor or lash out in anger against the one who harms me. I have a desire for intimacy, but I refuse to believe in God's promise of sex. So, I choose to lust, look at pornography, or engage in pre-marital sexual activity. Self-control is a tool to get what you want, but the problem is, we do not believe that God will provide what we want. It becomes easier to control yourself, when you truly believe that what is waiting for you, is better than what you have. When you believe that God's promises hold more value than the opportunity cost of your sin.
Explore
In order to be entered to win the contest to win a fabulous prize: Click Here.
Pray
That God will help you begin to start trusting in His promises, instead of your own ability to get what you want.
Every set of temptations that we face deal not with questions of self-control, but questions of faith and trust. We choose not to eat 35 hot wings, 2 large pizzas, and wash it all down with a 64 ounce banocolate (that's chocolate and banana mix, by the way) milkshake, because we have faith that the satisfaction we get from not gaining weight will be more than the satisfaction of flavor. It all comes down to economics. The whole argument between self-control and faith, hinges on an idea based in economics. There is a term thrown around in economics called "Opportunity Cost", which is the cost of the highest priced alternative you give up when choosing something else. For example, the opportunity cost of going to college, is the amount of money you would have gained working during the time you spend in the classroom or studying. However, many people would argue that the money you gain in the long run, from having a college education, is higher than its opportunity cost.
Throughout the Bible, God makes several promises to mankind. He puts limits on desires that He, Himself, coded into our DNA. Many of us, myself included, have often looked at these limits or rules, as a test of our self-control, but a simple investigation will prove this might not be true. If God was just trying to test our self-control, why would He spend so much time making rational limits? Why would God not just choose random things, such as: do not scratch your nose or only clean your house on odd days or don't laugh at things that are funny. All of those would be pretty good tests of self-control, because it's hard for me not to scratch my nose, even when it doesn't itch. If God was only interested in getting us to have more self-control, why give us promises like, "if you do sex my way, it will be more fulfilling" or "if you put barriers around your temper, I am full of justice"? God wants us to put our faith in Him, and not ourselves.
He wants us to have faith that the satisfaction from the promises He gives, will outweigh the opportunity cost. We are so impatient and untrusting, that we want to decide when we get our reward. Someone wrongs me, and it's hard to trust that one day God will make all things right. So, I choose to start a nasty rumor or lash out in anger against the one who harms me. I have a desire for intimacy, but I refuse to believe in God's promise of sex. So, I choose to lust, look at pornography, or engage in pre-marital sexual activity. Self-control is a tool to get what you want, but the problem is, we do not believe that God will provide what we want. It becomes easier to control yourself, when you truly believe that what is waiting for you, is better than what you have. When you believe that God's promises hold more value than the opportunity cost of your sin.
Explore
In order to be entered to win the contest to win a fabulous prize: Click Here.
Pray
That God will help you begin to start trusting in His promises, instead of your own ability to get what you want.
I So Hate Consequences
Friday, January 15, 2010
The greatest trick the devil ever pulled, was convincing the world he didn't exist.
Our inability to see past our immediate circumstances, leads us to act as if the future holds no consequences. We make decisions that in the moment feel as if they are harming no one, or, at the worst, hurting only ourselves. However when the dust settles and the smoke clears from the rubble that has become our broken lives, we look back and understand that the destruction could be traced back to one small decision. Entire friendships are destroyed by one word, marriages torn apart due to one moment of weakness, relationships burn due to the fire of an anger left unchecked since childhood. In order to justify a decision, our minds, combined with our temptations, make us believe that there are no lasting ramifications for our sins, but as we learned on Sunday, that is a lie.
It may not be a direct effect from one decision, but a habit which began because of one decision. Most addicts will explain to you that they never intended to destroy their marriages, lose their jobs, or ruin their lives, when they found their vice. Some of us believe that the things that we struggle with now will be nothing more than memories when we're older; yet, the things most adults struggle with can be traced back to decisions or habits in their past.
If you don't believe that your inability to predict the consequences of your actions is a vital part of your sin problem, trace back the history of every deep regret you have. In the moment that you made that decision, were you planning on causing immense emotional and spiritual problems for yourself? Of course not. No one wants to harm themselves, but because of the evil nature of our hearts, we strive to find ways to justify our sin. Just like Adam and Eve, we want to play God, and rebel against our Creator, in order to satisfy our temptations. They believed that God was just trying to keep them under His thumb; however, we know God was trying to protect us. God's Word is clear on how we should live our lives, but we choose to believe that we know what is best for us instead. If you continue making decisions based on your own understanding or reasoning, you will find yourself faced with heartbreak, again and again. Choose to lean on the understanding of the Creator of the universe, it's possible He knows a thing or two about life.
Explore
In order to be entered into the contest to win a fabulous prize: Click Here.
Pray
For the strength to say no to your temptations, and to lean on your Heavenly Father's understanding, instead of your own.
Our inability to see past our immediate circumstances, leads us to act as if the future holds no consequences. We make decisions that in the moment feel as if they are harming no one, or, at the worst, hurting only ourselves. However when the dust settles and the smoke clears from the rubble that has become our broken lives, we look back and understand that the destruction could be traced back to one small decision. Entire friendships are destroyed by one word, marriages torn apart due to one moment of weakness, relationships burn due to the fire of an anger left unchecked since childhood. In order to justify a decision, our minds, combined with our temptations, make us believe that there are no lasting ramifications for our sins, but as we learned on Sunday, that is a lie.
It may not be a direct effect from one decision, but a habit which began because of one decision. Most addicts will explain to you that they never intended to destroy their marriages, lose their jobs, or ruin their lives, when they found their vice. Some of us believe that the things that we struggle with now will be nothing more than memories when we're older; yet, the things most adults struggle with can be traced back to decisions or habits in their past.
If you don't believe that your inability to predict the consequences of your actions is a vital part of your sin problem, trace back the history of every deep regret you have. In the moment that you made that decision, were you planning on causing immense emotional and spiritual problems for yourself? Of course not. No one wants to harm themselves, but because of the evil nature of our hearts, we strive to find ways to justify our sin. Just like Adam and Eve, we want to play God, and rebel against our Creator, in order to satisfy our temptations. They believed that God was just trying to keep them under His thumb; however, we know God was trying to protect us. God's Word is clear on how we should live our lives, but we choose to believe that we know what is best for us instead. If you continue making decisions based on your own understanding or reasoning, you will find yourself faced with heartbreak, again and again. Choose to lean on the understanding of the Creator of the universe, it's possible He knows a thing or two about life.
Explore
In order to be entered into the contest to win a fabulous prize: Click Here.
Pray
For the strength to say no to your temptations, and to lean on your Heavenly Father's understanding, instead of your own.
Stockholm Syndrome
Thursday, January 7, 2010
I am my own affliction. I am my own disease. There ain't no drug that they can sell...The sickness is myself!
We are slaves. We are all held hostage by something unseen. Unfortunately, we have identified with our captors, and we have become our own afflictions. We were created to be in perfect harmony with our Creator, and we were stamped with the image of God. However, we messed things up, and now, due to the curse of our sin, we are the corrupted and diluted image of our Holy and pure God. We are rebels by nature. Even in the Garden of Eden (living in perfection) we could not help ourselves, we still fought against our Creator. Although, we like to believe that we are just good people, who occasionally do bad things; the truth is, that we are bad people, who occasionally do good things. I know this comes as a hard pill to swallow, but if we examine the evidence, we'll find it to be truthful.
As a race we often like to minimize our sin, and believe that it's not as big of a deal as God believes it is. Well, Jesus won't let us get away with that. We often look at rapists and murderers, and believe that we're good people in comparison to them. Yet, the Son of God puts the rest of us on the same level, by explaining that if we even look at someone who isn't our spouse with lust, then it's the same as adultery or having hateful thoughts or feelings towards someone is the same as killing them. Based off of this explanation, if I am honest with myself I'm an adulterer, a murderer, a thief, a cheat, a deviant, etc... So, with this knowledge, why do we believe that we're good people, when the all-knowing God of the universe just told us we were the same as the "bad people"?
Maybe the key is that we like to view sin as a series of bad habits, which lead us to continue making bad decisions. However, habits have a beginning, and if you fight hard enough, they can have an end. I have a terrible habit of biting my nails, but I can remember a time when I didn't bite my nails. It becomes clear that the individual sins that each of us struggle against are not just bad habits, but symptoms of a much larger problem. I can clean up individual sins, but the temptation to rebel against my Creator still thrives deep inside me. And left to your own devices, you will continually fall into the same old temptations, again and again.
Now, that everyone feels good about themselves, I want to let you know that this isn't the end of the story. There is hope that arises from our broken lives. There is a solution, but it's not a quick fix. This is an overhaul, which relies on you completely letting go of who you are, and becoming a slave to the righteousness of Jesus Christ. You're humanity has led you to destruction, but by asking the Son of God to make you over, you can rediscover the image of God that was implanted in you long before you were born. Maybe you shouldn't feel good about who you are, in fact you probably shouldn't, but you can take pride in what Christ did for you. Even though we live in sin and depravity, the God of the universe loved us so much, that He gave up His own Son as a perfect sacrifice, so that we could live forever in relationship with Him. The truth is, we are bad people, but we serve a God who is Great, Pure, and Holy.
Explore
In order to be entered into a contest to win a fabulous prize: Click Here.
Pray
That God will grant you the humility to understand that we are bad people, but you can make us holy.
We are slaves. We are all held hostage by something unseen. Unfortunately, we have identified with our captors, and we have become our own afflictions. We were created to be in perfect harmony with our Creator, and we were stamped with the image of God. However, we messed things up, and now, due to the curse of our sin, we are the corrupted and diluted image of our Holy and pure God. We are rebels by nature. Even in the Garden of Eden (living in perfection) we could not help ourselves, we still fought against our Creator. Although, we like to believe that we are just good people, who occasionally do bad things; the truth is, that we are bad people, who occasionally do good things. I know this comes as a hard pill to swallow, but if we examine the evidence, we'll find it to be truthful.
As a race we often like to minimize our sin, and believe that it's not as big of a deal as God believes it is. Well, Jesus won't let us get away with that. We often look at rapists and murderers, and believe that we're good people in comparison to them. Yet, the Son of God puts the rest of us on the same level, by explaining that if we even look at someone who isn't our spouse with lust, then it's the same as adultery or having hateful thoughts or feelings towards someone is the same as killing them. Based off of this explanation, if I am honest with myself I'm an adulterer, a murderer, a thief, a cheat, a deviant, etc... So, with this knowledge, why do we believe that we're good people, when the all-knowing God of the universe just told us we were the same as the "bad people"?
Maybe the key is that we like to view sin as a series of bad habits, which lead us to continue making bad decisions. However, habits have a beginning, and if you fight hard enough, they can have an end. I have a terrible habit of biting my nails, but I can remember a time when I didn't bite my nails. It becomes clear that the individual sins that each of us struggle against are not just bad habits, but symptoms of a much larger problem. I can clean up individual sins, but the temptation to rebel against my Creator still thrives deep inside me. And left to your own devices, you will continually fall into the same old temptations, again and again.
Now, that everyone feels good about themselves, I want to let you know that this isn't the end of the story. There is hope that arises from our broken lives. There is a solution, but it's not a quick fix. This is an overhaul, which relies on you completely letting go of who you are, and becoming a slave to the righteousness of Jesus Christ. You're humanity has led you to destruction, but by asking the Son of God to make you over, you can rediscover the image of God that was implanted in you long before you were born. Maybe you shouldn't feel good about who you are, in fact you probably shouldn't, but you can take pride in what Christ did for you. Even though we live in sin and depravity, the God of the universe loved us so much, that He gave up His own Son as a perfect sacrifice, so that we could live forever in relationship with Him. The truth is, we are bad people, but we serve a God who is Great, Pure, and Holy.
Explore
In order to be entered into a contest to win a fabulous prize: Click Here.
Pray
That God will grant you the humility to understand that we are bad people, but you can make us holy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)