Last night we watched the movie, Letters to God. If you haven’t seen it, it is a movie that you should add to the top of your netflix queue, because is was amazing and is an absolute much see. This is something that I have been thinking about a lot lately. Back on March 8th 2010, I wrote a blog titled Christianity and Star Wars. I would suggest going back and reading it before continuing with this blog. I feel sometimes that my obviousness to the world is keeping me from the potential that God has for me. Letters to God was just another reminder of that. Here’s what I mean.
I woke up this morning in my nice warm house, in my king size bed and serta mattress, I was hungry so I got up and had breakfast. I had some left over pizza from last night, and my kids had some cold cereal. After breakfast we all got dressed, and brushed out teeth. Than, I partook in my most favorite morning routine. I made my 30 ounce turtle mocha and sipped it for almost an hour. I listened to a podcast on my iPhone, and surfed the internet for a wile, as my kids watched TV. I put the kids in the car and drove them to the MN Zoo. If it was a Tuesday or a Thursday, I would have brought Faith to preschool. For lunch we decided to treat ourselves to McDonalds. Of course the kids got a happy meal toy, and before we left I made sure to get a free refill of my diet coke. Than we came home for some quiet time. Faith colored while Japheth watched Mickey Mouse. We sat in our nice comfy house all afternoon. Tuesday through Saturday at 3:00 I would leave for work, but today I am off. For dinner I made some homemade pasta from scratch using only the freshest ingredients, and made some homemade bread sticks to go with it. Of course we have Halloween candy for dessert. After dinner, I fill the sink up with hot soapy water to do the dishes, and the food that the kids didn’t eat, I throw into the garbage. While I am doing this Jane is upstairs giving the kids a bath. She uses soap and shampoo, and for Faith also conditioner. Than the kids get to play and splash around for a while in the tub playing with some of their bath toys. After bath its time the kids get their pajamas on, they brush their teeth, and floss, than they get stories and hugs and kisses, and we put them into their warm beds with nice clean sheets. We turn on some music for them, Japheth listens to KTIS the local Christian radio station, while Faith listens to a play list on her iPod, that is docked to her iPod stereo. Than me and Jane put on our pajamas, brush and floss our teeth, and crawl into our beds. Tomorrow, we will wake up and have a very similar day.
Let see how this story would be different for little Juan and his family who live in, oh, I don’t know, let’s say, Ecuador.
As the sun rays peeked into the little mud hut from a hole in the roof, Juan who is 7 woke up from his dirt floor bed. He didn’t pay any attention to the fact that he was hungry, because he is always hungry, so he doesn’t know any better. He was warring an old ripped up pair of pants and a very dirty t-shirt, the same one that he had been warring for days. Him and his mother need to collect some water, so they walk barefoot 1.5 miles to the river and fill up buckets, and they carry them back on sticks hoisted over their shoulders. This takes up most of the morning. Not knowing anything about lunch, he would partake in daily chores around the villages, spending his afternoon, collecting wood, and maybe trying to sell a chicken. His parents could only dream about what it would be like to have a job and have any income at all. It started to rain, to his family of 8 went into the 15x15 mud hut, to seek shelter, but with all the holes in the roof, they still got wet, and the rain was cold. After the rain was done, Juan got to play with some of his friends; they got to jump in mud puddles. They ran around laughing and playing, this would be the highlight of his day. About once a week he would get to go to the river for a bath, and also about once a week his mother would wash his cloths in that same river. Tonight was a very special night, because he was going to get to have a meal, which was a rare occasion. He was served about 1 cup of rice. It was like heaven. He could almost see it going into his belly where his ribs were sticking out of his chest. Once it was dark, there wan not a lot to do since there was no electricity, there were no lights. So the family would sit around sharing stories and singing songs. Than, he could go back to his corner, back to his dirt floor bed, where there was a small puddle from the rain, and he would go to sleep. He didn’t have to do things like brush his teeth, as a matter of fact he had never brushed his teeth, he only had a few, most of them had fallen out due to his lack of personal hygiene. Juan had malaria, and had been very sick for a while, of course there are no doctors, or medicine; go he goes to sleep not even knowing if he will wake up in the morning.
Let’s try not to forget just how fortunate we are, and try to take some time to remember and maybe even pray for people around the world that don’t have basic things that we take for granted. God has blessed you and he has blessed me more than we realize, so let’s remember to give God the credit that he deserves.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
What Christianity is all about
This paragraph is directly quoted from Chip Ingram from the living on the Edge daily podcast. I thought that is was good, and I wanted to share it.
The story of the Bible put very simply is that this high Holy God created the world. There was a coo, and mankind rebelled against God that produced a chasm between God and man; the bible calls it sin, or missing the mark. God out of his great love before the foundations of the earth, new we would rebel, and the trinity had a conversation, and the Son said, I will go, and I will die in the place for all the people out of our love even though they don’t deserve it. The only way they will have relationship with a pure and Holy God, is by a perfect sacrifice. I will go and I will live upon the earth, I will live a perfect life, I will raise the dead, I will fulfill 700 prophecies so it’s objective, and they will know that I am in fact God. And then I will give up m life, and I will die upon the cross, so Father you can pour out your just wrath on me. Everything they deserve, I will take, and I will be there sin payment. And then so they know it’s true I will rise from the dead, but it won’t be in secret, I will walk upon the earth, for 40 days for over 500 witnesses in space time history, and I will commission them, and I will power them, and then those who come to believe, the instant they believe, the Spirit of God will come into their heart and into their life. They will be adopted into God’s family, they will be placed in the body of Christ, they will be sealed with the Spirit of God, they will be granted Spiritual gifts, and that Spirit dwelling in them will manifest the very presence, and power of Jesus. He will lead and guide them into all truth, to that that Spirit living in them, will illuminate their mind into what is true in his word, and they can pray and that Spirit will bare witness with their Spirit that they’re actually children of God with assurance and love and will give them direction and power, to live out a super natural life. That’s what Christianity is all about.
The story of the Bible put very simply is that this high Holy God created the world. There was a coo, and mankind rebelled against God that produced a chasm between God and man; the bible calls it sin, or missing the mark. God out of his great love before the foundations of the earth, new we would rebel, and the trinity had a conversation, and the Son said, I will go, and I will die in the place for all the people out of our love even though they don’t deserve it. The only way they will have relationship with a pure and Holy God, is by a perfect sacrifice. I will go and I will live upon the earth, I will live a perfect life, I will raise the dead, I will fulfill 700 prophecies so it’s objective, and they will know that I am in fact God. And then I will give up m life, and I will die upon the cross, so Father you can pour out your just wrath on me. Everything they deserve, I will take, and I will be there sin payment. And then so they know it’s true I will rise from the dead, but it won’t be in secret, I will walk upon the earth, for 40 days for over 500 witnesses in space time history, and I will commission them, and I will power them, and then those who come to believe, the instant they believe, the Spirit of God will come into their heart and into their life. They will be adopted into God’s family, they will be placed in the body of Christ, they will be sealed with the Spirit of God, they will be granted Spiritual gifts, and that Spirit dwelling in them will manifest the very presence, and power of Jesus. He will lead and guide them into all truth, to that that Spirit living in them, will illuminate their mind into what is true in his word, and they can pray and that Spirit will bare witness with their Spirit that they’re actually children of God with assurance and love and will give them direction and power, to live out a super natural life. That’s what Christianity is all about.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Extreme Christian
I would rather live my life as a Christian and die to find out that there is no God, than to live my life not as a Christian, to die to find out that there is.
A year ago, I decided to create an email alias, ExtremeChristian@me.com. I wanted to use an email address that told people who I was. I want to talk a little bit about what I believe to be an Extreme Christian.
Being a Christian is not an uncommon thing. There are many people in the world today that call themselves Christians, myself included, however, I am also a disciple. Why, because a disciple will make him/herself known. They don’t keep their faith to themselves. They are bold when it comes to talking about Christ, and speaking the bible. They don’t care what other people think of them. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in Heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the profits who were before you. Matthew 5:11-12
In this verse 11, Jesus is saying that is it ok for us to speak the truth. And guess what, when you do, people will be offended. Now please understand, when we speak the truth, we need to do it gently and appropriately. There is a right way and a wrong way to do it. And if we do it the wrong way, we need to be humble enough, to admit that we screwed up, we need to take ownership, we need to repent, and be forgiven. When I screw up, I have no problem admitting my fault and asking for forgiveness, that is what helps me to grow. But you know how the old saying goes; you can’t please all of the people all of the time. The bible is a dangerous topic, but we need to be bold enough to speak the truth, and even when done appropriately, we will still offend people. Now we are at verse 12, if we do these things than great is our reward in Heaven. And right after that, he compares us to profits. I am not talking about the false profits of the law; I am talking about Daniel, Ezekiel, Hosea, Jeremiah, etc.
Friends, being a Christian is the hardest thing that you will ever have to do. You have to literally change the way you live, and it is not by any means easy. You have to constantly watch what you do and say, in the open and behind closed doors. We tent to forget that even though people can’t see what we are doing in the dark, God can still see. Have you even gone through a day where you did not lie at all? You would be amazed to find out just how many times each day we tell just a tiny little fib just to get out of some trouble or to look just a little bit better. But who cares about looking good, it’s not about us, it is about Christ and what He did for us on the cross. We cannot just talk the talk, we have to walk the walk, and if we don’t we will be found out, this is the type of person the Jesus calls a hypocrite. You cannot just clean the outside of the cup when the inside is filthy dirty. Matthew 23:25-26. If you call Jesus Lord, you will be persecuted for it, and if you aren’t being persecuted, than you are doing something wrong. Someday, you may have to die for your relationship with Christ, are you willing to do that?
These are not things that you just start doing over night, it takes time to change your life, believe me. Over the last year I have been becoming bolder every day. Today, I can rarely publish a blog, or post a facebook status without being persecuted by someone being smart, trying to get a reaction, or just wanting to put in their two cents. But, I am just being persecuted by strangers, I am being persecuted by my own family and friends. I have lost a few facebook friends over the last few months. What I mean is than of some my previous Facebook friends have blocked me because they were offended by my beliefs; one of them was a close relative. You know what; that tells me that I am making people think, and they are scared and don’t want to know the truth. What you don’t know can’t hurt you, right? Do you think that I came to bring peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two, and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law. Luke 12:51-53
Yes, Jesus says that if we want to follow Him, we will be separated from people that we love. Am I offended that I have lost some facebook friends; absolutely not. My time here on earth is a mist. James 4:14. If I am lucky I will be given 85 years over the course of eternity. That’s not a lot of time. I am hear to life for Christ, and if I am rejected by people, friends or family, than so be it, because great is my reward in Heaven, and that will be an eternal reward. I am ready to face whatever challenges I have to, if that means that I have to die a martyrs death, than I pray that God will forgive the one that kills me.
Friends, this is what I believe that it means to be as Extreme Christian, someone who appropriately and gently speaks the truth, regardless of what other people think, and guess what, some day it may even cost me my life. If you are offended by my relationship with God, that’s fine, I am called to follow Christ at any expense. For to this, you have been called because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in His steps. 1 Peter 2:21. So be prepared for an extreme Christian to be a part of your life. And for full and fair disclosure, I do not speak the word or truth to people in person, who do not want to hear about it, and I am well aware of who you are, but Facebook on the other hand is a whole different story. God Bless you all my friends, I love you all in Christ.
A year ago, I decided to create an email alias, ExtremeChristian@me.com. I wanted to use an email address that told people who I was. I want to talk a little bit about what I believe to be an Extreme Christian.
Being a Christian is not an uncommon thing. There are many people in the world today that call themselves Christians, myself included, however, I am also a disciple. Why, because a disciple will make him/herself known. They don’t keep their faith to themselves. They are bold when it comes to talking about Christ, and speaking the bible. They don’t care what other people think of them. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in Heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the profits who were before you. Matthew 5:11-12
In this verse 11, Jesus is saying that is it ok for us to speak the truth. And guess what, when you do, people will be offended. Now please understand, when we speak the truth, we need to do it gently and appropriately. There is a right way and a wrong way to do it. And if we do it the wrong way, we need to be humble enough, to admit that we screwed up, we need to take ownership, we need to repent, and be forgiven. When I screw up, I have no problem admitting my fault and asking for forgiveness, that is what helps me to grow. But you know how the old saying goes; you can’t please all of the people all of the time. The bible is a dangerous topic, but we need to be bold enough to speak the truth, and even when done appropriately, we will still offend people. Now we are at verse 12, if we do these things than great is our reward in Heaven. And right after that, he compares us to profits. I am not talking about the false profits of the law; I am talking about Daniel, Ezekiel, Hosea, Jeremiah, etc.
Friends, being a Christian is the hardest thing that you will ever have to do. You have to literally change the way you live, and it is not by any means easy. You have to constantly watch what you do and say, in the open and behind closed doors. We tent to forget that even though people can’t see what we are doing in the dark, God can still see. Have you even gone through a day where you did not lie at all? You would be amazed to find out just how many times each day we tell just a tiny little fib just to get out of some trouble or to look just a little bit better. But who cares about looking good, it’s not about us, it is about Christ and what He did for us on the cross. We cannot just talk the talk, we have to walk the walk, and if we don’t we will be found out, this is the type of person the Jesus calls a hypocrite. You cannot just clean the outside of the cup when the inside is filthy dirty. Matthew 23:25-26. If you call Jesus Lord, you will be persecuted for it, and if you aren’t being persecuted, than you are doing something wrong. Someday, you may have to die for your relationship with Christ, are you willing to do that?
These are not things that you just start doing over night, it takes time to change your life, believe me. Over the last year I have been becoming bolder every day. Today, I can rarely publish a blog, or post a facebook status without being persecuted by someone being smart, trying to get a reaction, or just wanting to put in their two cents. But, I am just being persecuted by strangers, I am being persecuted by my own family and friends. I have lost a few facebook friends over the last few months. What I mean is than of some my previous Facebook friends have blocked me because they were offended by my beliefs; one of them was a close relative. You know what; that tells me that I am making people think, and they are scared and don’t want to know the truth. What you don’t know can’t hurt you, right? Do you think that I came to bring peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two, and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law. Luke 12:51-53
Yes, Jesus says that if we want to follow Him, we will be separated from people that we love. Am I offended that I have lost some facebook friends; absolutely not. My time here on earth is a mist. James 4:14. If I am lucky I will be given 85 years over the course of eternity. That’s not a lot of time. I am hear to life for Christ, and if I am rejected by people, friends or family, than so be it, because great is my reward in Heaven, and that will be an eternal reward. I am ready to face whatever challenges I have to, if that means that I have to die a martyrs death, than I pray that God will forgive the one that kills me.
Friends, this is what I believe that it means to be as Extreme Christian, someone who appropriately and gently speaks the truth, regardless of what other people think, and guess what, some day it may even cost me my life. If you are offended by my relationship with God, that’s fine, I am called to follow Christ at any expense. For to this, you have been called because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in His steps. 1 Peter 2:21. So be prepared for an extreme Christian to be a part of your life. And for full and fair disclosure, I do not speak the word or truth to people in person, who do not want to hear about it, and I am well aware of who you are, but Facebook on the other hand is a whole different story. God Bless you all my friends, I love you all in Christ.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Born again...one year later
It as been one year to the day since my born again date. I grew up thinking that I was a Christian my whole life, and then 5 years ago when I we joined Celebration Church, I realized that just because I was going to church, didn’t make me a Christian. For the next 4 years I was living a lukewarm Christian life, going through the motions if you will. But than one year ago today I attended a men’s even at church and I realized that by living the lukewarm Christian life that I was, I was destined for a one way ticket to Hell.
If I was to die today, I can absolutely say without a doubt that I would be making a trip to a planet far out into the universe called Heaven. I am living everyday for the day that I am greeted by God in Heaven and he says to me well done my good and faithful servant.
I don’t recall myself changing much from day to day, but as I look at were I am today versus where I was a year ago, I realized that I have come a long way. The biggest sacrifice that I have made was giving up TV and video games. TV is filled with nothing but garbage, and video games were an idle. Looking back at it, I don’t miss TV at all, and I only miss video games a little bit. Understand, these are things that I had to give up in my own life to become the Christian that I want to be, I am not at all saying that everyone needs to do this to get to Heaven.
I have leaned to stop reading the Bible, and start studying the Bible. Over the last year I have purchased 3 study bibles (including the Dake Anointed Reference Bible (KJV)), Strong’s Concordance, Vine’s Expository Dictionary, as well as 2 versions of the bible in audio form. I have also ready quite a few books on Christian living, and I am now reading God’s Plan For Man.
My biggest accomplishment and the thing that I am most proud of over the past year is a goal that I made for myself shortly after my born again date that I thought would take a few years to get to, but I was wrong. In less than a year, I have successfully been able to give 10% (2 hours and 20 minutes a day) of each day to God, through bible study and prayer.
I am still learning, and I always will be. Before I conclude I want to take a moment to give some thanks where is it owed. First and foremost, I was to thank God, for putting my life on a path that got me to where I am today. God is always good. I also want to thank Celebration Church for providing the training that I needed, as well as Pure Life Ministries for putting on the men’s event at church that saved my life. And lastly I cannot leave out Jane, my amazing wife, who has been nothing but supportive in my last year. She has bared all my burdens, as well as been affected directly from all of the decisions that I have made as the spiritual head of the household. She has told me that there were a few things in the beginning that she was unsure of, but now tells me that she couldn’t be happier with the outcome. As a result of this past year, I have seen Jane grow in her faith more in the last year than since we met, and we have seen our kids, praising and worshiping God, on countless occasions outside of church.
I am still not where I want to be, but I have come a long way from where I was. I want to be an example for people, and model a perfect life for others to see. I am not talking about a perfect life where there are never any problems, and there is no debt or pain, hurts or struggles, those things are inevitable. But I am talking about a perfect life in Christ, where when the pain hurts and struggles do arise, they are not a big deal because the Lord will always provide. I want to be a person that people can come to because they can trust me, and I can be there for them as a brother in Christ.
Friends, I love you all as my brothers and sisters in Christ. Unconditional love is not something that in mastered in a year, or even over a lifetime. But this is something that I will continue to practice to the best of my ability as long as I live. In closing, I am looking forward to another year, as well as encouraging everyone that I can though love, and living a good Christian life, and if I have to, I may even choose to use words. I want to take one more moment to send out one more thank you, and that is to you. If you are reading this blog entry, it is only because you are choosing to follow my blogs, and I want to thank you personally for taking the time to follow my journey, and friend, I pray that I have been able to encourage you and been able to have a positive effect in your life.
If I was to die today, I can absolutely say without a doubt that I would be making a trip to a planet far out into the universe called Heaven. I am living everyday for the day that I am greeted by God in Heaven and he says to me well done my good and faithful servant.
I don’t recall myself changing much from day to day, but as I look at were I am today versus where I was a year ago, I realized that I have come a long way. The biggest sacrifice that I have made was giving up TV and video games. TV is filled with nothing but garbage, and video games were an idle. Looking back at it, I don’t miss TV at all, and I only miss video games a little bit. Understand, these are things that I had to give up in my own life to become the Christian that I want to be, I am not at all saying that everyone needs to do this to get to Heaven.
I have leaned to stop reading the Bible, and start studying the Bible. Over the last year I have purchased 3 study bibles (including the Dake Anointed Reference Bible (KJV)), Strong’s Concordance, Vine’s Expository Dictionary, as well as 2 versions of the bible in audio form. I have also ready quite a few books on Christian living, and I am now reading God’s Plan For Man.
My biggest accomplishment and the thing that I am most proud of over the past year is a goal that I made for myself shortly after my born again date that I thought would take a few years to get to, but I was wrong. In less than a year, I have successfully been able to give 10% (2 hours and 20 minutes a day) of each day to God, through bible study and prayer.
I am still learning, and I always will be. Before I conclude I want to take a moment to give some thanks where is it owed. First and foremost, I was to thank God, for putting my life on a path that got me to where I am today. God is always good. I also want to thank Celebration Church for providing the training that I needed, as well as Pure Life Ministries for putting on the men’s event at church that saved my life. And lastly I cannot leave out Jane, my amazing wife, who has been nothing but supportive in my last year. She has bared all my burdens, as well as been affected directly from all of the decisions that I have made as the spiritual head of the household. She has told me that there were a few things in the beginning that she was unsure of, but now tells me that she couldn’t be happier with the outcome. As a result of this past year, I have seen Jane grow in her faith more in the last year than since we met, and we have seen our kids, praising and worshiping God, on countless occasions outside of church.
I am still not where I want to be, but I have come a long way from where I was. I want to be an example for people, and model a perfect life for others to see. I am not talking about a perfect life where there are never any problems, and there is no debt or pain, hurts or struggles, those things are inevitable. But I am talking about a perfect life in Christ, where when the pain hurts and struggles do arise, they are not a big deal because the Lord will always provide. I want to be a person that people can come to because they can trust me, and I can be there for them as a brother in Christ.
Friends, I love you all as my brothers and sisters in Christ. Unconditional love is not something that in mastered in a year, or even over a lifetime. But this is something that I will continue to practice to the best of my ability as long as I live. In closing, I am looking forward to another year, as well as encouraging everyone that I can though love, and living a good Christian life, and if I have to, I may even choose to use words. I want to take one more moment to send out one more thank you, and that is to you. If you are reading this blog entry, it is only because you are choosing to follow my blogs, and I want to thank you personally for taking the time to follow my journey, and friend, I pray that I have been able to encourage you and been able to have a positive effect in your life.
Monday, September 13, 2010
It's the End of the World as we know it
So I have been doing some thinking lately about 2012. For full and fair disclosure, I have not seen the movie 2012, but I know that because of it, people seem to think that the world is gonna end in 2012. Now, after putting some thought into it, this is a really interesting question. My initial reaction was that world can’t end in 2012. Why, well let me quote a verse from the bible. Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day our Lord is coming. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. For this reason you also much be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think he will. Matthew 24:42-44.
This seems like a logical answer doesn’t it? Here was my second thought. Who is the bible inspired for? It is inspired for Christians as a handbook of how to live. It is inspired for the believers, not the unbelievers. Christ’s coming is for the believers, not the unbelievers. Here’s a thought, if all of the Christians (the ones who the bible was inspired for) are positive that the world will not end in 2012, than 2012 is when we least expect it. Curious, isn’t it.
I have one final thought, if the world is going to come to an end in 2012, that I would suggest putting all of your money on the Vikings winning Super Bowl XLVI on February 5th 2012 in Indianapolis, because, you know that is the only thing that is keeping God from His rapture. God is a Vikings fan after all, and all He is waiting for is for the Vikings to win the Super Blow, and after that, what else is there?
But to end on a serious, is the world really gonna end in 2012? I don’t know, and frankly, I don’t care, what is important is that I am ready, are you?
This seems like a logical answer doesn’t it? Here was my second thought. Who is the bible inspired for? It is inspired for Christians as a handbook of how to live. It is inspired for the believers, not the unbelievers. Christ’s coming is for the believers, not the unbelievers. Here’s a thought, if all of the Christians (the ones who the bible was inspired for) are positive that the world will not end in 2012, than 2012 is when we least expect it. Curious, isn’t it.
I have one final thought, if the world is going to come to an end in 2012, that I would suggest putting all of your money on the Vikings winning Super Bowl XLVI on February 5th 2012 in Indianapolis, because, you know that is the only thing that is keeping God from His rapture. God is a Vikings fan after all, and all He is waiting for is for the Vikings to win the Super Blow, and after that, what else is there?
But to end on a serious, is the world really gonna end in 2012? I don’t know, and frankly, I don’t care, what is important is that I am ready, are you?
Monday, September 6, 2010
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
