So I don't entirely know what I'm writing, but I am writing to hopefully encourage or remind myself that I want to think about this more. Well, the topic is worldliness. I was in small group this evening and Strauder talked about worldliness. I assumed it was going to be the standard talk about not living like the non-worldly people around us and making sure to watch your actions, etc... But he started off with an activity where we were to mark things worldly or not. This was going to be extremely easy...I'm a Christian. Well, here were some of the things on the list: - Drinking Beer - Mixed Swimming - Wearing Lipstick - Listening to Marilyn Manson - Striving for Church Membership Goals - Wearing Nice Dress at Church - Nightclubs - Smoking - Running a Red Light - Buying a Car - Missing Church to Watch Sporting Events - Hanging Out w/ Worldly People - Playing Golf - Dancing - Playing Cards - Video Games - Watching Ultimate Fighting on TV - Watching "Sex and the City" - Going to Work Happy Hours - Striving for a Job Promotion
(Ok, so I listed all of them.) But when I began looking at just about each of these...it became difficult to put them into categories. I, as a Christian, like things to be black and white, like people to be in or out, like things to be clear cut, like things to be right and wrong. However, in the world we live in, in the complex world God created, that is just not entirely possible.
In our world, anything listed up there would be normal. But something that stayed with me from Brandon's talk last Sunday was that we, as Christians, are not called to live normally. Jesus did not live a normal life. I, as a Christian, try to fit in with the world. I try to do things a little differently, because I am a Christian, but if an objective person were to look at my life from the outside, would they see much difference. (I think in certain areas, he would, but I can list many more where I look exactly the same.) I participate in the same activities, I think the same thoughts, I have the same fears, I like the same things, I say the same things, I live a lot of the same life. However, as a Christian, I should really stand out, I believe. Not in a bad way, per se, but in a way so that people see that I am truly different. I should live in a way that makes people curious as to why I act differently. What is different about me? I can tell you what's different about me...JESUS!
I've thought about most of this before; however, for some reason when I thought about it tonight in regards to the word "Worldly" it seems to resonate differently. What in the world does worldly mean? Christians, I, use it all the time, even to my eventual disgust. (I don't know if that's valid or not, but for some reason, I have begun to not like words like "worldly" or "lost". I am not entirely sure why. I think because many times they are used as blanket terms that sound good in Christian eyes. However, when I really think about them, like the word "worldly" tonight, I begin to wonder....."What in the world does that really mean anyway? What is worldliness? What does it look like to be worldly?")
So looking at the list Strauder made, I thought about the day I had today. I wondered what actions of mine were worldly today. (Or rather because I don't like to think too much, I thought, I really should think about what I've done today and try to analyze if the things I did today were worldly or Godly. I haven't actually done that.) And sometimes I, as a Christian, can try to analyze things too much or rather I should analyze something too much, but I'll do it later. I wonder what God wants me to do?-
Asking that questions sort of hit me...why don't I always ask that question? Should I need to ask that question as often as it seems I need to? Or because I "am spending daily time with God and know His character" should I already know what he wants me to do? Regardless of the answers to those questions, my definition of whether an activity is worldly or not might should be, does God want me doing this? And maybe instead of asking if something is worldly, maybe I should be asking if something is sinful (missing the mark)?
A couple of hours later... I was reading 1 Samuel. I ran across this passage, 1 Samuel 8:19-20:
But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles."
I found this interesting because I think this is what we do today. We choose not to acknowledge God as our King. We identify ourself more with the world around us instead of with the Kingdom of God. We want men to fight our battles, and we don't want God to fight them or we don't let God fight them. We want to be accepted by the world instead of by God. We don't want to be different.
So I had written a post a couple of weeks ago entitled, "How Did Jesus Do It." Well, Melissa had commented on it and got me to to thinking. I also commented, replying to her comment, but I don't know if many people read comments on old posts...so I wanted to write a new post of those comments...(for fun?!) :-)
Melissa's comment: ------------------------
This post has been making my brain hurt for the past two weeks, and I'm a bit disappointed that nobody chimed in to the discussion....
The fact that (some) sinners were drawn to Jesus makes perfect sense to me. Picture yourself living in a land where almost everybody hated/condemned people for being an adulterer/tax collector/something else socially unacceptable and then Jesus comes along and isn't a jerk like everyone else... it seems kinda obvious to me that you would want to be around him. Add in the excitement of him telling the leaders of the day that they were buttheads and not nearly as smart as they thought they were. That must've been a pretty sweet sight for the outcasts.
This could be a really interesting discussion if more people actually commented....
And here is my "response" stemming from her comment... ------------------------ I had never quite thought about it how you put it, about how everyone is rejecting these people, and there is one person who doesn't! I began to picture that...and OF COURSE I would be drawn to that one person, that one person who sees me as someone else, someone who I know I'm not. Somehow he sees something else in me, something that no one else sees. I would want to do anything to live up to that person's expectation of me, to not let Him down, to not disappoint Him anymore than I already have or could do, to try to prove to Him and myself that I can do it. I'm not who I appear to be...I can be better, I promise. Thank you for believing in me, I don't understand how you can.
Yeah, I can picture EXACTLY how they were drawn to Jesus.
I guess my question is...HOW do I do that for other people? I guess really, it's simple, LOVE them, care for them, see in them what they can be, not who they are now (have a vision for them). Spend time with them, share my life with them, tell them the truth, share Christ with them. I know those things...but do I do them? Can I do better? Do I just not see where I do these in my life?
That list up there is still generalities and not specifics applied to specific people. Why can't the Bible just say, Chris go and do this or be this for this person? That's where the Spirit comes in, if I am able and do listen to him, that is where the specifics will come.
I guess I've answered some of my questions (through rapid jumping), but for some reason that doesn't feel good enough. I know many of the answers. What comes after that? Putting the answers into action....(sigh)...
So I accidentally knocked a button on my CD player and it starting playing the song "Lifesong" from Casting Crowns. Because it was unexpected noise and very quickly and promptly turned of my CD player when I realized what happened. (THAT reminds my...I still haven't given back Kendra's CD I borrow for the Valentathalon. Someone come do this for me or remind me to do so...) But just then Blake said something to the effect of, "That's a good song." So I turned it back on and listened to the Lifesong CD. But then I wanted more of Casting Crowns, so I got on my computer and began listening to their newest CD The Altar and the Door. I really like this CD!
So it came to the song "Slow Fade". For some reason, I stopped and began to think about this song. And at that moment, I thought, I need to write a blog about it! So I will pause for a little while and figure out what I need to write... _._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._.
(Me pausing...possibly for several hours/days...I have to go play Volleyball at 10...:-) )
As Casting Crowns wrote about this song, "This was inspired by the spreading cancer of moral failure in the fathers of this generation. As believers, we must guard our hearts and understand that no one crashes and burns. They just slowly fade away one little compromise at a time."
I do not take quite as specific of a message from this song, most likely because I'm not a father. But what they say in this song really makes sense, "People never crumble in a day." It is a pattern of evil thoughts and a pattern of unwise choices and actions that leads to a destructive lifestyle and essentially to destruction.Not just one.
This pattern of slow decay can be very deceiving. As we live out our daily lives, those small "insignificant" thoughts and choices do not appear to be making changes within us. However, they all add up to build and shape who we are. Have you ever just been going about life and looked up and noticed something (or someone), and thought...Woahh...this is (you are) different, when did this (you) change? We tend to not notice the small things and even begin to accept them as normal. It's like if you were concentrating on something and someone next to you were to take one small step away from you every few minutes. For quite a while, you'd probably not realize that they have even moved away at all. But when you take a break and look up, you realize they are across the room. _._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._.
This clip from The Office does not completely apply, but I was wanting to find a way show it in a post. In this scene Jim simply asked Dwight if he wants an altoid after his computer beeps...something very insignificant. Over time, Dwight becomes accustomed to this and at one point has no clue why he is craving an altoid and reaching his hand out to grab one from Jim.
The same thing happens in our spiritual life. We make one small choice not to spend time with God today. It's only one day...out of a possible 31,025 days in our life. That's NOTHING, just 0.003% of our life. (And when we compare that to eternity, it doesn't matter!) However, it is SOOO easy for that one day to turn into another day, another week, another month: and the slow fade has begun. This happens with so many things, spiritual and otherwise. I sleep through or skip class this one day. I don't need to meet with this person this week. I'm busy tonight...I'll just not go to Core this one week. I really want to tell this joke, but it's not appropriate...just this one time. I know I've procrastinated now, but I'll do better. I'll spend just a little more money this month on eating out or on myself. It's just one night of looking at pornography on the Internet, I'm not going to make a habit out of it. I'm just tired tonight...I'll make sure I pray twice tomorrow. I'll make sure to tell Jonathan about Jesus next time I see him. I don't need to call and talk to my family today...I'll do it later. I can get serious about God in the summer when I don't have to worry about exams.
All of those things start out small, but it is incredibly easy for them to snowball out of control. We will not realize it at first. Once something has already been done, most times it is increasingly easier to do it again. Once you've done something twice, more times than not, it's easier to do it a third time. However, one day, weeks/months done the line, we'll look up and think, "Why am I here?!!!??!?!" This is why in Proverbs it mentions how important it is to keep your foot from evil, to not even take one step that is not on God’s path. It is important that we fix our gaze on Christ.
Proverbs 4:23-27 -- Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.
In the same vein, the "slow fade" can occur in another way as well. It can be good. I wish that once a person starts believing in Jesus or "becomes a Christian" that they could just be perfect. I wish that for myself. I wish that I could just get things done right the first time without any practice or grief or making mistakes. However, this is NOT the case, we cannot just go from living for ourselves to living for Christ overnight. It takes time. That’s why Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross DAILY and follow me.For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it (Luke 9:23-24)."
This is frustrating as well as a great encouragement. It’s frustrating because I look at my life and the only things I do daily are breathing and eating and sometimes many times sleeping…But it’s encouraging because if you’re not where you want to be, just like I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago, it simply requires you taking small steps toward your goal or taking small steps toward becoming who you want to be. As I mentioned above, once something has already been done, most times it is increasingly easier to do again it again. Once you've done something twice, more times than not, it's easier to do it a third time.
Now, all that said, I think most of that is the result of what this song is talking about.The actions produced from it.The keys lines in the song are “Be careful little eyes what you see/Be carefully little ears what you hear.”(And the more action parts “Be careful little feet where you go/Be careful little lips what you say.”)But it is so important that we watch what we are taking into our body.Of course in the physical sense that’s important to stay healthy, making sure you’re eating the right things, not staring into the sun, etc…But even more so, it’s important for our spiritual lives as well.We have to make sure we’ve “eating” and “staring” at the right things to make sure that our spiritual body is healthy.We must be careful what we are watching on TV, in movies, on the computer, other people.Just watching something harmful does not typically produce an action right there.But through a continual pattern, our mind begins to become filled with these images, and they are all we can think about!All the violence and sex and dirty joking and lies about how life works and lies about what we should be doing DO begin to affect us whether we realize it or not.(And I know y’all’ve heard that many times.
We must be careful what we listen to.I think this most directly applies to who we choose to listen to, not necessarily what we choose to listen to, as far as music or what not, which is usually what I hear this applied to.Lies are so easy to believe.Lies that people spread about others whom they are angry at or envious of.Lies meant to bring division.Lies, claiming to be God’s truth and God’s Word.Satan is a master at spreading these lies through the world and through the body of Christ as well.“[Satan] was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him.When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44).”However on the surface, these lies are not exposed.“Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light (II Corinthians 10:8).”It is much easier to believe them.And while one lie, about someone, what they did is not going to make that much difference.But that begins the slow fade.These things we take in can and will eventually come out of us and will turn into actions.“What comes out of a man is what makes him ‘unclean.’For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly.All these evils come from inside and make a man ‘unclean (Mark 7:20-23).’ “These simple things we see and hear, turn into thoughts, affect our hearts, and come out in our actions.
(I might write more or edit this a bit later, but I wanted to get it posted...) _._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._.
(And just for y'all, I've pulled some strings and hopefully done something not too illegal. Since I can't upload songs, I made a "blank" video with the song....I can upload those!)
"Slow Fade"
Be careful little eyes what you see It's the second glance that ties your hands as darkness pulls the strings Be careful little feet where you go For it's the little feet behind you that are sure to follow
It's a slow fade when you give yourself away It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid When you give yourself away People never crumble in a day It's a slow fade, it's a slow fade
Be careful little ears what you hear When flattery leads to compromise, the end is always near Be careful little lips what you say For empty words and promises lead broken hearts astray
It's a slow fade when you give yourself away It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid When you give yourself away People never crumble in a day
The journey from your mind to your hands Is shorter than you're thinking Be careful if you think you stand You just might be sinking
It's a slow fade when you give yourself away It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid When you give yourself away People never crumble in a day Daddies never crumble in a day Families never crumble in a day
Oh be careful little eyes what see Oh be careful little eyes what you see For the Father up above is looking down in love Oh be careful little eyes what you see
Relaxation is a curious thing, at least for me. For example, just before some “long” break arrives, that is all I can wait for, a little time to relax. Yet as the break draws to an end, I can hardly wait to get back to “life” and back to the routine of school, work, etc. And when I start back into the routine, I almost feel guilty because it seems I had been doing absolutely nothing. I wish I had actually done something productive or worthwhile while I was “relaxing.” Maybe, though, I really don’t know how or what relaxing means. To me, it seems like in order to relax, it has to be a long period of time. A day or so hardly seems like enough time to unwind from a busy semester (or part of the semester when Spring Break is concerned). And also, relaxation has seemed to me to mean essentially doing nothing.
However, like I said, I think my definition of relaxation is a bit off. According to the dictionary, relaxation is a form of activity that provides a change and relief from effort, work, or tension, and gives pleasure. It can also mean a lessening of something that was previously intense. When I look at this, the first thing that jumps out to me is the word activity. So relaxation is a form of activity, one that provides change, relief, and pleasure.
Looking back over the past few years, I have come to realize that at the end of the day, the days I feel the best after are the ones that I have been the most busy or rather the most productive. The day itself may have been stressful, but it is a good feeling when I’ve accomplish something or completed/done something that is challenging or what I consider beyond my means. (Which when I think about it, even unproductive, busy days feel better than days I have absolutely nothing to do. This is especially true at work.)
So when I combine these two thoughts on, relaxation and busy/productive days, I see that maybe my days of relaxation should be “filled” which activities. The other component of relaxation is where it says relaxation should give pleasure. So these activities should be things that I enjoy doing that bring about change and relief. Perhaps this should exactly include being busy, but include projects or things I have been wanting to work on for a while but haven’t had time. And this relaxation can happen for just a day or two or part of a day. It doesn’t need to be for weeks at a time. (And especially looking at life after school, that is what relaxation is going to have to be…no more summer and winter break or even Spring Break for that matter.) I have just come to realize that being lazy all day, waking up at noon or later is just not too attractive to me anymore. It feels nice at the time, but later on, I begin to regret it. And some of this goes back to just not being as selfish with my time and trying to use it to please God, for His kingdom.
(I have a feeling I am suppose to be writing about my Core on this blog a bit too. “Next week” I will try to do just that!)
I don't remember what I was thinking a few hours ago...Ahh...(Well, what I'm writing about here isn't it.)
I have had this in my mind for a week or two and at different times I have wanted write more about this but I think I'll just mention it right now. I just don't understand how Jesus could be such a friend of sinners. I've heard this soo many times that Jesus is a friend of sinners and that's great and all, but He was perfect! How could he feel comfortable to be around people with disgusting lives? He must have really, really loved them. That must be it, but what does that look like in practice? I think how uncomfortable I feel when I am around people doing things that I don't approve or that I think are bad/evil. I wonder if that's how Jesus felt, very uncomfortable and wanting to just leave their presence. If He felt that, He sure didn't listen to it. What is even more remarkable to me, is that "sinners" (well some of them) loved being around Jesus. (Maybe it wasn't exactly that, but they were absolutely drawn to Him, and their lives were definitely changed.) That again doesn't completely makes sense to me
I guess my whole life I have not really had friends who were too controversial or friends just did bad things. Most of my friends have been in some way Christian. Those are the people I like being around, those are the people I spend time around. No "sinners" are drawn to me it seems. (Albeit, I'm not Jesus...even if Christ is in my name. ;-) ) Should some people like that be drawn to me or want to be around me or have their lives changed by being around me? What does that look like? Is it less obvious but more little encounters that when all put together add to something?
I guess some of these thoughts come to me when I think about challenging people to live more of their lives for God and to help them try to see things that are in their life that should not be there. I am not too great at this and at times have a tough time figuring out what the issue is at the heart of someone actions. It is just Amazing to me how Jesus did this! Of course, Jesus did pay a price for this. There were those that were drawn to him and loved being around him, but there were also those who had the opposite reaction. Jesus definitely polarized people. But, I guess that's when people truly experience Him in some amount.
That's all for now, I suppose. I'll hopefully write soon about what I was actually thinking today.
So as it's been about a month and a half since I've last posted, I figured that tonight is the night, to make my resurgence in the blogging world. This "experience" (of not posting but really wanting to) has taught me something which I have to continually learn over and over. I've learned that when things don't go as well as they should or I am not as consistent as I should be, it is important not to get bogged down in what could have been. The thought that has kept me from writing the last couple of weeks is the thought that, since it has been so long since I've posted, my next post had better be something incredibly mind blowing, something no one has ever thought of before. (Either that or I need to make 10 ("random" number) consecutive posts to make up for the weeks of the lack there of.) When really, this is my pride speaking. I think that I have something to prove, that I am really such a great person and the reason I've delayed so long is so I can bestow upon you something that will completely change your life. Upon realizing those things won't happen, I decided to just sit down and type...
In the past I've run into the same sort of thing when I say I am going to start out the year right, on January 1st reading the Bible everyday for a year to get through the Bible. So the first week goes great! Then the next week, I miss a day or two, and so on, and I feel like the next week I really have to work to get caught up. And pretty soon, I'm so far behind, it seems impossible to catch up, so I give up. But really, when something like that happens, I need to just take today as a "start over day." It does matter what I've done in the past, from this point forward things are going to be different. (And this "start over" point may happen several times. It's important not to get discouraged by this. Essentially it is inevitable. That doesn't mean we can be lazy, but it is an opportunity to get back on the right track when we've messed up.)
I'm so thankful this is how God operates. He is willing to accept us, no matter what we've done, no matter where we are, as long as we are willing to put our faith in him and strive to be obedient to His will. I don't know how He does it. I sure couldn't...I guess that's why I'm not Him.
If you're in somewhat of the same situation...do not get or stay discouraged with where you are at. Don't worry about how much you've messed up in the past or how much more you think you should have done. Whether that's reading the Bible, loving people, writing blogs, spending time with people, schoolwork, praying, giving monetarily to the kingdom, serving others, etc... Cast off these feelings of guilt that the missteps of your past has caused, and take today as a day to start over.
All this reminds me of Santa Claus Is Coming To Town. And in some senses...this is exactly what I want to say and exactly what I need to hear sometimes.
Put one foot in front of the other And soon you’ll be walking cross the floor. Put one foot in front of the other And soon you’ll be walking out the door.
You never will get where you’re going If you never get up on your feet. Come on, there’s a good tail wind blowing A fast walking man is hard to beat.
Put one foot in front of the other And soon you’ll be walking cross the floor. Put one foot in front of the other And soon you’ll be walking out the door.
If you want to change your direction, If your time of life is at hand; Well, don’t be the rule, be the exception; A good way to start is to stand.
Put one foot in front of the other And soon you’ll be walking cross the floor. Put one foot in front of the other And soon you’ll be walking out the door. If I want to change the reflection I see in the mirror each morn. You mean that it's just my election To vote for a chance to be reborn. Put one foot in front of the other And soon you’ll be walking cross the floor. Put one foot in front of the other And soon you’ll be walking out the door.
...Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. ----- Philippians 4:12-14
Chris and Ricky’s 8-week Core Plan January 16 – March 5 Core Time:Wednesdays at 8:30
For the next 7 weeks, our Core group will be reading through John.For homework each week, everyone is going to read three chapters of John.Each week at Core, we will spend around 20 minutes discussing what people got from the reading:best ideas, lessons learned, questions, etc.(Which that time can really go on for as long as necessary, as long as there is good, productive discussion.)Ricky or I will then prepare something that we have pulled from the passage that we would like to focus on in more detail, a lesson of sorts.(Those topics are not decided yet.)
Before the main discussion time and lesson starts, we will have someone from the Core share a Worship thought.Ricky and I wanted to pick a book to read because we are wanting our Core guys to spend more time in the word, actually reading it for themselves.We are going to plan to have more outside Core activities for our group.More hang-out time outside of Core is one thing most of our guys mentioned that they wanted to see this semester.
Tentative Reading/Lesson Schedule January 16 – Discuss John chapters 1-3 January 23 – Discuss John chapters 4-6 January 30 – Discuss John chapters 7-9 February 06 – Discuss John chapters 10-12 February 13 – Discuss John chapters 13-15 February 20 – Discuss John chapters 16-18 February 27 – Discuss John chapters 19-21 March 5 – “Hang-out Night” (This night may be shuffled earlier.)
(*I am supposed to credit Aaron and Chris, as they gave us this brilliant idea.*)
