Mess + Age =...

"Almost everyone who allows themselves to be taken hostage by what-ifs discovers that the only thing binding them is their own imagination." -Craig Groeschel from the book Soul Detox

The Observation

 I was sitting alone at a restaurant, thinking about random things.   I started thinking about the "what-if" about certain things that have already occurred in life. 

The Revelation

After about 2 minutes of daydreaming about the "what-ifs" of this and that (the unchangeable past), I became reminded that God didn't allow us to travel through life to ask "why" or "what-if"; He allows us to experience what we experience to mold and shape us. Instead, we should ask, (words of wisdom from a friend) "God, what now and(or) what's next?" He will guide us, progressively forward, to life's next chapters. The past is the past; we can't change it. The good thing is that we can learn and grow from it, though.

The Adage

 An old adage says this:  God takes a "mess" and gives it a little "age".  What does that create?  It creates a "message".

The Outcome

  Our lives and pasts are testimonies to many who cross our paths!  We are all indeed equally important pieces and parts of Christ's body and are all able vessels for discipleship.  

The Scripture

 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." - James 1:2-5

Identity Crisis: Who Am I and What Do I Do?

When we become Christians or rededicated, we may ask ourselves, “Who am I?”  It is easy to tell someone, “you are a new creation,” and send them on their way.  It is totally correct to call someone a new creation, because it is perfectly paraphrased from 2 Corinthians 5:17.  Logically, this tells the person that they are made anew and the slate is clean.  Who are we?  What do we do?

As Christians, there are a lot of parallel names we identify ourselves with.  Here are just a few:

 Brand New: 

We are new creations, in Christ. 

As Paul wrote, the old is dead and Christ is alive in us (Galatians 2:20).  We are not saying we are perfect, because scriptures clearly tell us we are still sinners.  But, we are saying that we will strive to abstain from sin and repent from our slips. Christ lived a perfect life and never sinned; we should strive to be like Him.

 Pray: 

Talk to your Dad; have a personal relationship with Him.   

The Bible tells us to talk to God.  This is called prayer.  You can talk to God like you talk to anyone else.  He wants to hear from us.  This does not have to be done in some formal fashion; just talk to Him.  And this can be done anywhere at any time, even while you’re walking down the street.  Even though He already knows you and everything about you, He wants you to seek that relationship with Him.  1 Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to, “pray without ceasing,” and Luke 185:1 says, “…pray and not lose heart.

Have Faith: 

We are told to be faithful. 

As Christians, we are encouraged to live by faith.  But, what exactly is faith? In Hebrews 11:1, the book’s unknown author says that, “faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”  Once we start doing this, we learn to become reliant on God.  When we see Him doing awesome stuff in our and others’ lives (and He will) this will increase our faith.

Seek the Word: 

God wrote us a love letter.  

This love letter is called the Bible.  God used many people, whom He chose, to write this letter from Himself to us.  If we want to know God, then we should read His Word.  When we form a relationship with someone, we strive to communicate with them to know them better; this is a major way God speaks to us.  The funny thing about The Word is that at different strides of life, we will gather different interpretations from The Word.  2 Timothy 3:16 says that, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness…"

Spread the Word: 

We are disciples of Christ.  

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a disciple as, “one who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another.”  In the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19), Jesus tells his disciples (now us) to, “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” We all want to go to Heaven, but what good is going to Heaven if we don’t want others to come with us?  If we truly love our neighbor as we love ourselves, we should want them to go to Heaven as well.  

Submit: 

Submit ourselves to God.  

Submission - Ooohhh... This is the not-so-desirable one, in human eyes... The word, "submission," we sometimes consider a "bad word".  As Christians, we are called to submit - to drop our own self and become more like like Jesus.  He submitted to God's will for us; He died in order for all of us to live eternally.  Did He want to do that?  No.  Was He called to do this for us? Yes... The huge question is this: Did He follow through and submit to His (our) Father's will? The answer is,"yes."  There is evidence that He didn't want to endure being whipped and hung on a cross to death for our thousands of years worth of sins.  In Luke 22:42, He prayed, “...Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”  We know the end of the story:  He died a painful death, but resurrected VICTORIOUS!!! This is the most extreme instance, but nevertheless, God asks for our submission in good times and bad.  God just wants us to submit in our everyday lives with things like our time (prayer), social media (posting encouraging stuff), and other things.  He wants to be involved in everything we do.  It's God's will, not ours, remember?...  Submission's outcome means that in the long-run, we will get God's best, instead of our own ideal, lesser value, "best".  In the outcome, God was victorious when His Son was resurrected.  James 4:7 says, "submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."  Paul wrote, in Ephesians 5:21, to, "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." 

Light the way: 

We are a guiding light for others:  

Matthew 5:14 says that we, “are the light of the world.”  Furthermore, 1 Peter 2:12 tells us to, “live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us."  We should live our lives, day in and day out, as we think Jesus would.  Sometimes, it is not easy, but who, besides us, will be a guiding light for others to see?  The scriptures say that even the non-believers should, IN A GOOD WAY, recognize us and praise God that we exist.

Grow: 

We should continually seek to grow.  

Read, pray, seek community with others who are like minded, and grow as a child of God.  Seek accountability from someone (preferably the same gender) who will boldly "call you out" when you slip.  With these aspects, we can grow to be the Jesus freaks God wants us to be!

Roots! BLOODY ROOTS!!!

ROOTS...

...They are the only way to defeat the devil.  As we saw in December 6th's  blog post, Satan was defeated by Jesus Christ speaking the Word to him (Matthew 4:1-11).  If the word is rooted in you, when you pray to shed something, or when you rebuke the devil from you, you just use the Word that is ROOTED inside of you, and Satan will FLEE!  There is evidence of this in James 4:7!  It is also said in Timothy 2:22 to, "flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart." If we flee one direction and evil flees the opposite, then we end up a long way from sin.

The more you have the Word, the closer you come to divine blessings, your life's plan, hearing God speak to you more clearly, and the most important: KNOWING GOD!  We can read all day long, but the Word is way more important than anything that man has ever written.

"I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." - Psalm 119:11

God has an awesome, big plan for US, but we have to get to know Him better.  He can and will use us for greatness, and I think that is awesome!  The only way  to know Him is to get into the Word.  The more we read, the more we get to know Jesus, who is the most important, the most respected (supposed to be), and the most loving being in our lives.  Pick out the person or thing, you love the most, then multiply it by 1,000,000.  That is only a small iota of how much God loves us, individually, "saved" or not (with emotions involved).  He knows the number of hairs on our heads.  That is love, if you ask me.  If we strive to see things through His eyes, instead of ours, we are peaceful, and see it with love.  I think that is awesome.

"And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered" -Matthew 10:30

This is what the Word does for us: 

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." - Matthew 7:24-27

We need to root our standing with the Word!

Delayed, Not Denied...

I wrote this to a friend, a while back, who was constantly giving undue credit to Satan for his slips and delays.  I found it in my email archives and thought it would be cool to share:

It is always easy to think, “not now,” “it’s not time, yet,” and “tomorrow, change will come,” when it comes to our destiny, whatever it may be.  He also wants us to think that we are not good enough for something, right this moment, so we need to work harder at it to become more qualified.  God will never tell us we are not good enough.  If we believe in Christ, we believe that we can do anything the Bible says we, His disciples, can do.  Believe it TODAY, not tomorrow.

God always wants us to stand in what He offers us, TODAY, because every promise, in the Bible, is true TODAY, not only tomorrow.  The enemy wants us to think “delay”, so we will miss, or get a delay on the blessings and promises coming to us.  Doubting is lack of faith.  Lack of faith is lack of trust. Lack of trust is not what God calls us to have.  Our sinful, unfaithful, or disobedient actions can, however, delay our destiny, as it did with Abraham and with others in the Bible.  But…as a good friend told me, “destiny delayed is not destiny denied.”  The more whole-heartedly obedient to God we are, the smoother life is…  Or at least we can be calm during the storms or battles.  

The next time you want to give the enemy any credit for anything, remember that God is stronger, and there is nothing we can’t accomplish as long as it is through Christ.  Lucifer DOES NOT own the world; he just temporarily dwells in it.  Christ owns everything, and everything can be used for His glory.  God appointed Him the King of kings (enough said).  Evidence of that is stated below:

Colossians 1:15-20

The Supremacy of Christ

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  For him all things were created:  things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.  He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.  And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supermacy.  For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by ,making peace through his blood, shed on the cross."

Away From Me!!!

There is something to be said about being a truly devout believer.  There are many that claim to believe, but are stagnant in action.  Just merely believing isn't enough, without actions; Satan and his legions of demons believe in God. They take action to tempt us, thus they are striving to bring us down.  James (from the Bible… Jesus’ brother) even said that we can have faith, but with no action or work, our faith is dead.

I’m just speaking on my partial conviction, and other things… 

Great things are happening, and scheduled to happen to us who are obedient. Meanwhile, here is one who is always trying to steal, kill, and destroy what is coming to any believer to make them fall away.  I feel this happen to me every day, but cast down and strive to resist what I am being tempted with to accomplish my true destiny.  It’s crazy, because every time we defeat sin, Satan tries to file a false claim against us to God.  Additionally, he tries his hardest to deplete our self-worth.  Ideally, we defeat temptation, pray, become forgiven of a slip, forgive ourselves, and succeed in resisting the tempter. 

When Satan makes a claim against us, God rejects Satan’s claim.  Later on, we become tempted with something else, and the whole process starts again.  The stronger our Christian walk, the stronger we stand against temptation.  We always talk about spiritual warfare and how we defeat it.  Throughout the Bible, the tempter is spoken to and defeated through rebukes.  When we tell Satan to leave, in Christ's Holy name, he cannot stay.  He has to leave! 

Jesus was in the desert for 40 days. Every time he was tempted, Satan tried to use God's own Word against Him.  Jesus was close enough to His Father, God Almighty; He discerned Satan's ill attempt at ruining His whole ministry to save the world.  What did He then do?  He threw the Word [of life] back at Satan.  And what happened? We know the story's end and we are living in victory because of it, today.  According to scripture, in Matthew Chapter 4, "...the devil left him, and the angels came and attended Him." 

Does this process sound familiar?  Does it not seem that every time we embark on something huge that God has called us to, Satan throws everything he can, including the kitchen sink, at us? 

So, again, how did Jesus defeat Satan? He used the Word as He told Satan it is written that man does not live on bread alone, do not put your Father to the test, and put no Gods ahead of the True Father…  That was a paraphrased version of what is written in Matthew Ch. 4, below, but you get the jist.  There is more power in speech than physical strength, when it comes to our Creator.  That’s pretty awesome, if you ask me.

We are made in God's likeness.  God SPOKE the world into existence.  While in the desert, Satan tempted Jesus, Jesus SPOKE, defeated Satan, and Satan left Him.  This motivates me to do as Psalm 119:11's author did:  "I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You."  If God's word is hidden in our own hearts, we can and WILL defeat temptation.  Since we are made in God's likeness, we too can SPEAK things into existence and TELL Satan to leave in Jesus' name. 

Satan is not an idiot, contrary to popular belief, but he is a liar, thief, and killer, if we so let him be.  He will use any means possible to bring Christians down, just like we who are dedicated to discipleship, "will do anything short of sin to reach people who don't know Christ."  (Quoted is a LifeChurch.tv core value.)  Satan knows the Bible better than we do.  He has a Ph.D in psychology; He is seen using against Adam, Eve, and even Jesus.  The first ever evidence of human psychology is in Genesis and it was INSTRUMENTAL in the fall of mankind.  So, again... The closer we are to God's word, the easier it is to flee or resist temptation.

I think the best thing explained about what Satan does to us is below:

Mark 4:3-8 (Parable of the Sower)

“Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times.”

Matthew 4:1-11 (The Temptation of Jesus)

"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”  Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”  Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,

And they will lift you up in their hands,

So that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him."

We see that Jesus defeated Satan by being closer and more versed in God's word than he. 

We have armor though:

Ephesians 6:10-18

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

The Monster

Preface:  In the past, I was scared of something.  I was hurting inside.  I couldn't figure why I was hurting, so I started writing this in 2008, on my iPhone's notepad app.  Over the next few years, I added to it and modified it little by little.  There were times I forgot about this little letter to myself, but as time went on, I would add to it from then until now (2012).  I never intended to share this with anyone but me, but how could I be so selfish? It is long, but I hope you enjoy it!  :)

It all started when I had a question, and it went like this:

The following portion was written in 2008-2010 and modified between now and then:

Why are we afraid?  There is a spontaneous light switch located in an unknown location; we have no control over it.  Even if our fingers could touch it, we still wouldn't know how to respect it.  Even if we did have control over this plug or switch, the world would probably be over-populated, and dictatorships [that revolve around controlling these on/off switches] would last forever.  These dictatorships would probably thrive off of controlling the demise of others through ridiculously unattainable taxation; if the taxes weren't paid, then instant death sentences would occur.  So, the question rises again:  Why are we afraid?  Maybe, the question should be rephrased into more questions:  Why am I afraid?  Why are YOU afraid?  Why are some NOT afraid? Why do some rejoice at the thought of it?  None will ever know exactly what it is, until we completely cross over.

Airplane rides have always kind of, for lack of better terms, concerned me. I might be traveling to visit family. The reverence of gravity's power or a freak-accidental disaster never overcomes the excitement, but, in the back of my mind, it is very apparent.  Upon boarding, I just say my prayers, push my concerns away, and get on with my trip.  I realize that I am not in control when I'm dangling 35,000 feet above the ground.  But, I also know that I am statistically safe, knowing that I would have to fly every day, consecutively, for over 19,000 years for a chance of a fatal incident occurring.  The thought still scales the back of my mind, nevertheless.   I once knew a United States Air Force chaplain who had moved half way across the globe from the U.S. to Guam. In his first sermon after moving there, he jokingly said that he always loved God, "a whole lot more," when he was on a long airplane ride.   We all, in the congregation, laughed, but we all knew what he was saying and we related with him.

There are some people who dwell this world who, to some, are considered "more important" than others. These are the ones that do acts so important, who go down in history as greats.  They are worshipped by the masses, and treated with best of the best.  Most of us are just regular Joes and Janes. Maybe two to three generations of friends and family will remember us, but unless we do something amazing, crazy, or great, the history books won't contain us.  Remember, we are ALL human, regardless of our status.

Generations, fads, trends, kingdoms, and this planet's kings die with death.  They live on through history, legends, and memories, but their flesh and bones disappear over time.  That may sound really cliché, but, to me, it means too much.  The human race has existed for thousands upon thousands of years, and most all generations have pondered this subject.  It is documented that Genghis Khan once met with a Buddhist monk about becoming an immortal; Khan found no solution to this burning desire.  I can only imagine the feeling he had as he turned and walked away.  Even he, a feared man who brought death and destruction to most of Asia (and other regions), craved eternal human life; human life is the one thing he, like a god, took from thousands, but he himself, with all of his power, could not clinch an eternal earthly residence. It was just a matter of time.  I would love to live forever, and in some way, shape or form, I, actually we, will.  This is where a life-long decision-making process comes into play.

So, a while back, in early 2008, 2:00 AM creeps upon me, while in my sleep.  That time of night is always so eerily quiet, except for ears ringing and the air conditioner turning itself on/off.  It is the middle of a horribly bland and boring workweek. I was in a band, at the time.  My band members and I had also dealt with drama from one of our mates. I was also dealing with utmost loneliness, from a recent spontaneous move to Southern California and not knowing anyone.  Needless to say, the week was not treating me great, but was definitely not worse than some others.  

Suddenly, I am awakened by a small Riverside-San Bernardino area earthquake. Somehow, ironically, the small ones seem to always occur in the quiet night/early morning.  Startled from the shake, I woke with fearful thoughts rushing through my mind; my heart was beating like drum, at 3 million beats per minute, palpitating, almost completely out of my chest.  The fear was of the unknown, invisible monster standing beside my bed.  He is the reaper and  he's waiting for the right time to grab my hand and walk me to the gates. My only hope is that I did it "right", this one chance I had at life.  This fear was from Something deeply rooted in my heart that I had not had a personal relationship with in many months, possibly years prior.  

Credit:  © iStockphoto/Dodorema

That was my past.

HEY!  Guess what...The past is gone...

Here is the present:

Many, including myself, believe eternal afterlife rests in a Higher Power's hands.  Numerous others believe there are no higher powers; no good or evil; no consequences. Regardless of the belief, we all face it, and, eventually, the monster comes for all of us.  There is no way to overcome, escape, or defeat it. We are married to it.  Our left-hand ring fingers wear are banded with it and our wrists are handcuffed to it, walking to the final destination, from birth.  From birth, our days have a number that only One knows of.

The monster does not have to be a monster. If we become at peace with the monster in our minds, we can prepare our minds and souls for the inevitable. We think we are alone in this battle.  The fact is we are not alone.  Maybe we should talk to others about it. To be so advanced, on Earth, as humans, it is hard to believe that after death there is complete darkness for an eternity.  We are the only "intelligent animals" or earth, who can reason, and make mental, and emotional decisions.  We are capable of love, hate, and forgiveness.  We have souls, too.  Crazy, huh?  I do not believe we "evolved" into this. If we began as primates, then why do primates still exist?  Anything that has "evolved", has left it's original state, and became a different form.

Today, I believe that death's fear ends with eternal salvation.  My fear of the dark actually became a yearning for the light. If I have an eternal light to look ahead to, not tomorrow, but today, I will live for today, and the light ahead.  God, the God of all mankind, Jesus Christ's Father, our maker has given me the peace of mind and inside of my heart is calm no matter what storm surrounds it.  There are no more fears and no more sleepless nights; there is no more fearing death.  Do you want to know WHY?  The answer is that I am not going to die. Because of Jesus Christ, I will live eternally, according to His promises. I now understand why some "mysteriously" don't have a fear of this darkness. I definitely do not fear death, now. Darkness isn't my destiny; Eternal Life is...

Credit: igorcoltro via bigstockphoto.com