Monday, August 23, 2010

Team God vs. Team World

I really don't know how to start this. And I'm not certain where it'll lead, and where it's going to end up. Lately, to be honest, I've been having a hard time in the sense of relation towards other people. I love people. I would consider myself a people-person. But it's not there recently, that sense of relation isn't there. And I'm talking about my peers, kids my age. People I once was close to, but have taken a different route, seem to be falling into a deep, dark hole. My perception of Christianity is like this: As Christians, we're all on a team together. Captain? That would be God. And we're in this constant battle everyday against our opposing team, the world, who is led by the world, or Satan. And daily, our goal is to strive for Christ, and show Him through our actions and words, and slowly, but surely winning the hearts of the opposite team. So now picture this, your teammate on Team God deliberately betrays you and goes to Team World. How do you feel? Probably nothing less than betrayed. Come on! We're supposed to be a team here...we're not supposed to ditch our team. Our team is who we are. Well this is how I feel lately towards some of the people in my life, even some people that I used to be very close to. And it's sad. And it hurts. And it frustrates. The passage that's been on my mind lately comes from 2 Timothy 3:
But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
I believe everyday we are sinking further and further into the pit of the end times...and I witness more and more corruption every single day in our society. The world has become a very dark, fallen, and hideous place. This is such a good passage to refer back to from time to time. I know for sure that it wakes me up a little bit when I read the words God so carefully picked out to put together in this fraction of our manual to life, the Bible. The more I see people from Team God slipping away, the more I feel being pulled back with them. There is no way that I want to be pulled back the slightest, so I make sure I throw some cold water on my face, so to speak, in these moments where I'm feeling abandoned by part of the team. No mortal can force someone on God's team, it's their choice whether they're going to choose Team God...or Team World.
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Verse 9 is crucial and it reads:
but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.
Sin, my friends, HAS CONSEQUENCE. Everything we do, here on earth, whether it's good or bad in the sight of God, will reap whatever it has sown. So what are we to do? Live a righteous life and have the mindset of that one day all of our actions will be revealed to everyone. So living a righteous life now, on earth, is crucial. There is no righteousness without Christ. So how would one expect to be righteous without Christ? You say you're righteous, but are you consistently following Him? Or are you living for the world? You can't live for the world and expect to be righteous....
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Next, we come to verses 10-12:
But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra—what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me.
I love this. THIS, I relate to. Paul wasn't saying, "woe is me, woe is me!" No. He was reminding the people who followed Christ that God was with him every step of the way. And I completely agree. Couldn't agree anymore. I've been there, and you probably have too! We all have. In the times where we feel our lowest, and feel like there's no way out, bam...God opens our eyes and we see that He never even left us. And He lifts us out of our troubles so gracefully, beautifully..and let's see, verse 12 proves my point just now:Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
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To wrap up the passage, Paul writes in verse 13:
But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. This, I'm sure we've all witnessed. And someone who is bad, without proper help, will go from bad to worse. We should watch out for this in people, as Christians. We should love on them and help them come back into faith in Christ. What I'm worried about is the generation to come...it's super important that we do all that we can to focus energy into the youth who will be leading tomorrow before we know it.
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Verses 14-15 coincide with what I was just saying:
But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
At one point of my life, probably around age three or four, I began memorizing scripture. But I didn't just pick up a bible and start reading on my own. My parents took me to Cubbies, and from there I moved on to Sparkey's and so on. It was AWANAs, and I loved it. It definitely made a huge spiritual growth in my earlier years, and I still, to this day, remember verses I learned years ago. I held onto that knowledge. But AWANAs isn't just for youth. Memorizing scripture, the Bible, "God Breathed" words, is helpful for everyone.
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Here, we come to two of my favorite bible verses to this day, verses 16-17:
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
GOD'S WORDS ARE REAL. The Bible isn't just filled with stories of events that happened forever ago...No. It's a manual and guide for this life for those who put their faith in God. This verse? It really helps clear some things up for me. It's pretty straight to the point. God wrote the Bible for a purpose. What's the purpose? WE ARE. God wrote it for us, His people. Reading His word, applying it to our lives, meditating on it, promises a positive outcome. A life with God in this world is worth it.
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Sometimes I'll fall and end up tangled in Team World, I won't deny it. But then God pulls me up, fixes my injuries, hydrates me, and throws me back into the game. He's the ultimate coach, and one I'll never stop playing for.


-R

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Kids Will Be Kids

The other night my friend Erin spent the night with my girls and me at our house. It was really nice because we got the fine opportunity to hang out and talk about all sorts of random things which is always fun. One subject in particular went on for a while, because some of us had different views than others, the subject was on raising children. One of my girls made this broad statement of how she will discipline her children, "Sit down. Shut up. Because I said so." And she said she would follow up with smacking them. I was pretty much offended at this. I would not agree with any part of what she said. If my authority was questioned by my future child, I would simply give them the logical reason of why I was going to discipline them, being the mature and logical adult I hope to be. My views on spanking? Nunya! I will not spank at all. I will not hit my kids, nor will I show them anger in any physical and illogical manner. I feel that spanking and hitting your kids is just an irrational way of venting your very own personal anger on your child. It's for parents who can't use their reasoning and logical skills in certain situations. To treat a child this way is morally and ethically wrong on so many levels. if a child doesn't know the exact reason that they're being punished, then how does one expect the child to learn from their mistake? After years of being raised in this unethical way, I took it upon myself to be the person that actually used their brain in said situations. When I realized this philosophy of not being given a logical reason to why I was being treated the way I was from my parents, I began to ask them why I was being punished. I wanted to know for future reference, so that I wouldn't repeat my mistakes. Of course, this took practice, and after a while my stormy life began to clear because we were no longer involving our emotions, rather logic. I understand it's okay to be mad sometimes, but not when you're in a dispute with someone. So in a way I was teaching my parents how to be parents to me. The fights began to dissolve and I was beginning to have hope again for my life. But all of this leads me to the fact that not only do I witness parents treating their kids illogically, but teachers as well. I think that just because children are technically younger than adults, does not inquire that they should be talked down to; talked to like a baby; talked to, no offense, in a rather "dumbed down" voice. Children are smarter than they let on! Want to know why we adults don't know this? It's because we intimidate them to the point where they're going to act the way we treat them: like children. I know I was a lot smarter growing up than I let people know. It was like they were expecting me to fail in the realm of intelligence. One thing I could not tolerate was the fact that adults would change their voices when talking to me. I'm talking elementary school and middle school. I remember one time I was at church and I was probably about 6 and my sister's friends would always come up to me saying, "Ohh you're soooo cute!!!" I couldn't stand it. I didn't want to be cute. I wanted to be treated differently; like a normal human being. Children aren't aliens, so why should they be treated any differently when spoken to? Today during clean up, while sanitizing the serving area, I was listening in on the children's lessen for the camp that's staying this week. The teacher used a shrill, and "dumbed down" voice when teaching them about Jesus Christ. It's kind of funny, actually, how royally peeved I was becoming the more I listened to her teaching methods. I remember when I was a kid and how much I hated the dumbed down voice my Sunday school teachers used. I would often think to myself, "Yes, Jesus does love me and you. But can you teach me something I haven't heard?!" For years growing up I never really learned too much in depth about the bible, even after attending Sunday school after sunday school, and AWANAs after AWANAs. It actually wasn't until this past year that I started going up to my pastors and asking them questions that I had been dying to know. I started gaining a better knowledge about things, not just about the bible, but about life in general. I wish I would have been taught the things I know now, when I was younger. My view is that it doesn't matter how old a person is, that they're never too young or too old to learn something new and true about God. What I'm saying is, I realized I shouldn't hold back any important information of life based on one's age. It doesn't say this anywhere in the bible, but I am positive that Jesus didn't use a baby voice when preaching to the multitudes. And in those multitudes, I am certain, that there were people of all ages; young and old. But I felt inadequate every time an adult would talk to me about something. In my mind, I would be so distracted by the tone they used, that sometimes I would zone out from them talking to me completely. I would think to myself, use your real, live, "adult voice"; don't make me feel small and puny by the way you talk. One of my fellow co-workers is set on the thought that I was never a child, but merely an adult trapped in an child's body. I'm not sure that's really the case, though. I just never wanted to feel inadequate based on my age. I love learning, but I will lose my interest really quickly if I feel the person talking to me is speaking in a condescending tone. It's rather rude and prideful in my view. I feel that everyone has at least heard Jesus loves them, but its just that some don't grasp the power of the fact that He loves us. He loves us. Now you know He loves you. But the thing is, I can't force you to understand the fact that He loves you. And you can't expect someone to understand this if you never explain it in a logical sense. Saying, "God loves you because He said so, " is way less powerful than saying it like this, "God sent His only son to die for your sins and to show His omnipotent power and love He has for you; to show His mercy and grace on us corrupted people." I don't know about you, but I like the second response more. I want the kids in this generation to grow up knowing more than I did at their age. The way to do it is not to be condescending towards them, but to accept the fact that they need the truth, and to not just think that whatever you tell them is going over their heads. They'll grasp the concept if God wants them to, and let me tell you, God wants them to! I say, don't be afraid to teach small kids if you're in the position to. Why hold back anything, and why pass up a chance to help produce an eternal fruit in their life? More to come.

-R

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Is it Enough?

The other night was really odd. I woke up several times, but still got a pleasant night's sleep, (even from waking up early and going to bed late.) It was so weird what I'm about to tell you! I had a series of dreams that night, and woke up between each. The one dream in particular that really stayed in my mind happened like this:
I was volunteering at a homeless shelter talking to a lady right after serving her a sandwich. When she got up to leave I started walking down the road a bit. As I was walking, some friends appeared around me and we continued on together. All of the sudden huge rain drops appeared out of nowhere. And when I say huge rain drops I mean: GINORMOUS. We thought it was kinda cool, yet freaky, so we started running the opposite direction that the rain was coming from. Pretty soon the rain was falling faster and faster, but vanished when we turned the corner of a building. The rain was completely gone, but what we saw in the sky astonished us. The clouds were intense and started breaking apart. As the sky broke up, out poured blood everywhere in the sky. The sky wasn't so much a sky anymore than it was blood. This all felt so real, even my thoughts were real. I thought to myself as I witnessed this, "If this is the end of the world right this second, did I do everything to please God?" When I woke up the next morning, the question of whether or not I'm living my life for God, and God only, inflicted me. It impacted me. It's lingering, still. This happened two nights ago, and that question that I don't have an answer for, is still strong on my mind. I'm glad I had this dream because it's helping me to do more thinking on my daily walk with God. It's helping me to love more. It's true, I DO want to please God, I DO want to live for Him..but am I seriously doing everything FOR God? Or is some of it set aside for my selfishness? More to come.

-R

Monday, August 9, 2010

What Is Love? Baby Don't Hurt Me...

As a human being I tend to think a lot. The other day during General Clean-up I got to thinking: There are certain people who feel the need to emotionally hurt those they love, as a way of proving to themselves that the person they're hurting, does in fact, love them. Then I got to realizing that no matter how much certain people in my life hurt me, I cannot help but love them still. I find that sometimes, hurting others is a trait found in hurting people. It's more or so likely that they've been hurt in recent times or abandoned by those who have claimed to love them. So they begin this "hate fest", or habit, of hurting those they love as a test to see who actually sticks around in rough times. I try to be that "real friend" in my relationships with people. Of course people are going to let you down, and they will hurt you, but in the end, I feel that's it worth staying in certain people's lives in the end and investing in them; showing never ending love. I once wrote a letter to a friend but never sent it. Inside the letter I described what love meant to me. Love is not a feeling, and it's not just a word. To me, love is an attribute and can be shown through action. It's not a feeling, but it can lead people to feel a certain way. For instance, God is love. And love to me as an action is helping someone change for the better; walking with them endlessly, (even if it's at a distance.) you don't have to be "best friends" with someone in order to love them. So as all of this lingered on in my mind as I cleaned cabins around the camp, I found a letter under a mattress and it inflicted me.
If I had to choose one thing that tears me apart, it would have to be hurting people who want God, but can't seem to let go of things in their life which separates them from Him. Some people don't get it. They don't understand that you cannot expect to "feel God" if they're riding the fence of Christianity.
This letter makes me want to scream. I want to scream, "GOD'S THERE WITH YOU. HE'S EVERYWHERE. HE LOVES YOU. HE DESIRES A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU. JUST OPEN YOUR HEART AND YOUR EYES; SEE HIM; FEEL HIM. LET GO OF THE FLEETING THINGS OF THIS WORLD. You can do it.." I hate this letter. I've been there; felt that way. I have felt lost and alone. I've been in that place where I ignored God, and listened intently on Satan's lies oh how I was "never good enough"; "never smart enough"; "never wanted by anyone". It's the worse feeling I've ever experienced. Worse than breaking my collar bone; worse than blowing out my left knee and feeling the pain from of my permanently internal bruised bone in cold weather. Being far from God is like having a never ending hunger pain. It's torture. And I never want to see anyone feeling this way. I don't. That's the truth from the bottom of my heart. And I have a message I suggest for anyone who isn't feeling close to God. For those can't see God, I recommend OPENING YOUR EYES. For those who can't hear God, you should probably take a minute to genuinely LISTEN. And for those who cannot feel God, LET GO of the things that drag us away from having a beautiful relationship with Him. It's moments in life like these that make camp clean-up well worth it. My eyes have been widen just a bit more. I have been reminded that there are people out there losing the battle of life between God and world. And for those people all I can do is love and pray for them. And show them God's love, even when it's hard to do so. I pray that whoever wrote this letter had a benefited time at camp last week, and that their relationship with God was strengthened, and that they'll be able to carry that strength throughout their life. I truly want everyone to know how perfect it feels to be in the center of God's will and plan for our individual lives; how safe and secure and promising it is...More to come.

-R

Friday, August 6, 2010

A Life With God? So Worth It.

Sometimes I feel like no matter where I am I always seem to come across those "unhappy" people. I call them unhappy because they always seem to speak with bitterness or sort of an attitude; in some cases they speak on a power trip. In a judging sense the first word that comes into my head, honestly, would be anal. But then I get to realizing, maybe they're not anal, not unhappy, on a power trip, or acting on negative attitudes; maybe the problem is me. Maybe I'm just impatient and lacking one of the key commandments God has for us: love. I'd much rather admit the problem is me, rather than anyone else. For I can change myself, but would fail to change someone else. Sometimes I feel like my expectations for the way people should act are immensely high. They're high for me as well, believe it or not. But when I set a standard, its always impossible to reach it. That's why I'm glad God has given us a standard by which we should live: with love over flowing in our hearts, and the least bit of judgment toward someone. The other day when I was on facebook, I received an IM from a random kid who had added me weeks earlier. I cannot begin to repeat the vulgarity that continued out of no where. It was craziness. I didn't know what to do. I wasn't going to judge him in the way a Pharisee would. Instead, I should him an act of love. I think he starting becoming ashamed of what he was saying, because he left as fast as he got there. I have pity on irrational people, because I know that it's just built up anger inside of them, and they don't know how to handle it. I spent a while praying for the poor soul, and looked to God's word for guidance. I read up on Acts chapter I believe, where they apostles went and had a prayer meeting and were filled with the Holy Spirit. That's what I want. I want to be so filled with the Holy Spirit that it leads me to the truth through any situation. Something that occurred to me was that I shouldn't take offence when someone offends me. The time I should take offence is when someone offends my God. But even then, I should turn the other cheek. I know I'm not living on this earth to benefit myself, but to benefit my God. The scripture that I thought of in this scenario was Jeremiah 17:9. I cant take personal offence when another deceitful heart blatantly tries to hurt me, because every one's heart is deceitful and so very desperately wicked. Who can know it? I can't. You can't. Only God can. So we leave the dealing of the hearts up to God. Through Christ, even with my wicked heart, I can have love for all. Hurting, non hurting, saved, non saved- everyone. I don't want to ever become a bitter christian, which in my opinion is a big contradiction..instead, i want to be joyous because Jesus Christ is alive in me; it's no longer I who live, but Christ in me. I really need to crack down more on that, (I tend to take offence easily sometimes). Concluding thoughts: I want to be like Jesus. I want to walk with Him; talk with Him, After all, you are who you hang out with. More to come.

-R