After months of waiting I have finally reached Miami!!! I will spend the day in fairly intensive training for the drama, and on Thursday we leave for Guatemala! Not much has happened yet, but we did receive our roles for the play. I was expecting a fairly big part. I thought I was a superb actor, but this infatuation with myself was the very root of my distinguishing.
Yesterday at our very first FUAGNEM (Fired up and going nuts every minute!) we got to watch a video of the drama we will be doing. It shares the story of creation and the gospel, by portraying a world called toy world. It is very simple to pick out the underlying characters in the play: the toymaker is God, the toymaker’s son is Jesus, the Prince and Princess is Adam and Eve, and the magician is the devil. I watched this video and I understood how this drama has saved so many lives. It is amazing and it portrays the good news in such a passionate light. I watched as the story went on and I thought inside my head how good I would be at all of those parts. I could be an amazing God, a passionate Jesus, an evil magician, and I could even attempt to be the handsome prince. As the play went on I even said a prayer to God asking for him to put me in the part that would spread the most grace (thinking that would be the part of Jesus). But when I received my role I was astonished at what I got.
In addition to the main characters listed above there are soldiers, mimes, cats, and various other parts; Parts that I viewed important, but not good enough for my standards. When I received my part my view of the play was turned upside down. I was to be playing the part of a cat. Not even the King or Sidekick Cat, but just a regular cat. I was no leader even in the subdivision I viewed as being to low for me. The Cats part in the play is to be a bad guy at the beginning and then through God’s saving grace, be changed to good in the end. And somehow by God’s amazing grace the part of the cat changed me as well.
When I woke up in the morning I was still high on my train of thought. I wasn’t going to say anything, but I still felt underappreciated. So I decided to trudge downstairs anyways for breakfast. After I finished I went into the team devotions room. No one was their but I just sat down anyways and had my own devo. I read Revelations 21. When I read that heaven was a place with streets of gold I almost smacked myself upside the head for God.
It dawned on me... I AM NOT HERE FOR MYSELF!!! On a mission’s trip set to save thousands of people I was griping in the corner about being a cat. I had prayed the night before for God to use me as he saw fit, and after he did I resented him because it wasn’t what I saw fit. God had a purpose for me but I let the world’s distorted view of the superior person get in the way. God isn’t my sidekick, the guy standing in the back to answer my prayers when I need them answered. But he is the hero and I am not even good enough for me to be his sidekick. At best I am the stupid kid who the villain (Satan) snatches away with the snap of his fingers.
In a world where we are taught to be number one, we must remember that we are not. God is the origin of the universe and we are simply dots floating in space. The choice that God leaves us with is “what will you do with your dot?” I was ashamed to be a cat yesterday when someone got to be the star. Will you choose to be a dot randomly floating in space, or a dot gravitating around the origin of the Universe. If you choose the latter, then remember you are no longer the sun. You are just a planet rotating around it. Sometimes God will ask you to be Jupiter, and sometimes he will ask us to be a space rock. Either way, remember you are rotating around God and it is not the other way around. You should not be working to glorify yourself, but instead working to glorify your creator. God is the Alpha and Omega, Beginning and the End. To Walk the Christian walk we must give up our views of superiority and just be the best middle that we can possibly be.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Friday, June 18, 2010
Bullying Part 2 - Between Friends
As discussed in Part 1 bullying is one of the hardest things a teen will ever go through. I personally went through severe bully throughout most of my life and still go through it today. But what I realized from my experiences is that physical bullying is not at all the problem even though it is mainly thought of as it. But what actually is the problem is verbal harassment. Because were only enemies choose to physically beat up on each other, every teen, even close friends, often choose to say hurtful things as an effort to be humorous.
Everybody wants to be funny. After all it is an awesome feeling to get a group of people to laugh at a joke you have told. But recently the media has distorted our view on humor. It has told us that instead of nice clean jokes, it is funnier to make fun of people’s differences. This specific kind of humor surrounds us on a daily basis. Derogatory names ring throughout school hallways. Insults like “fatty” and “retarded” are constantly being used as a comedic device. The problem with this is that teens often become accustomed to these jokes and accidentally start using them themselves.
Because our minds have been dulled from constant exposure to this humor. It has begun to leak into our personal relationships. We forget what we are saying and accidentally make fun of our own friends. We disguise it with statements like “I am just kidding around” and “I don’t really mean it,” but deep down we know it has the same hurtful aspects as if it were told to that friend by an actual bully.
God makes it very clear throughout the bible that bullying is not okay, especially between fellow members of Christ. Ephesians 4:29 says “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
When I read this verse God reminds me of the old saying “If you cant say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” God wishes for us to only love those who surround us. In this verse God tells us that unless we are saying something that will help those who are sitting around us we shouldn’t say anything at all. This includes jokes that you say to your friends. Even if it is truly being told in humor, if it isn’t nice don’t say it.
Verbal Insults will always surround us. And sadly our culture will never be able to completely rid itself of it. As a Christian it is our duty to spread our influence and light as far as we can. The best way to do this is to develop as many “safe grounds” as possible. Or in other words, create places where other people feel safe from hurtful forces of bullying. Begin this mission with your own youth group. I can tell you from personal experience that even though you may be behind the doors of a church you may still not be free from bullying. So as you rid yourselves of verbal bullying we must also try to rid our church’s youth program of it. The church should always be a Christian’s last resort for safety and comfort, but if we cant keep our mouths from negative talk even inside that building then we are no better than even the worst bully out there. To “Walk the Christian Walk” we must only speak that which benefits others and not that which cuts others down.
Everybody wants to be funny. After all it is an awesome feeling to get a group of people to laugh at a joke you have told. But recently the media has distorted our view on humor. It has told us that instead of nice clean jokes, it is funnier to make fun of people’s differences. This specific kind of humor surrounds us on a daily basis. Derogatory names ring throughout school hallways. Insults like “fatty” and “retarded” are constantly being used as a comedic device. The problem with this is that teens often become accustomed to these jokes and accidentally start using them themselves.
Because our minds have been dulled from constant exposure to this humor. It has begun to leak into our personal relationships. We forget what we are saying and accidentally make fun of our own friends. We disguise it with statements like “I am just kidding around” and “I don’t really mean it,” but deep down we know it has the same hurtful aspects as if it were told to that friend by an actual bully.
God makes it very clear throughout the bible that bullying is not okay, especially between fellow members of Christ. Ephesians 4:29 says “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
When I read this verse God reminds me of the old saying “If you cant say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” God wishes for us to only love those who surround us. In this verse God tells us that unless we are saying something that will help those who are sitting around us we shouldn’t say anything at all. This includes jokes that you say to your friends. Even if it is truly being told in humor, if it isn’t nice don’t say it.
Verbal Insults will always surround us. And sadly our culture will never be able to completely rid itself of it. As a Christian it is our duty to spread our influence and light as far as we can. The best way to do this is to develop as many “safe grounds” as possible. Or in other words, create places where other people feel safe from hurtful forces of bullying. Begin this mission with your own youth group. I can tell you from personal experience that even though you may be behind the doors of a church you may still not be free from bullying. So as you rid yourselves of verbal bullying we must also try to rid our church’s youth program of it. The church should always be a Christian’s last resort for safety and comfort, but if we cant keep our mouths from negative talk even inside that building then we are no better than even the worst bully out there. To “Walk the Christian Walk” we must only speak that which benefits others and not that which cuts others down.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Bullying Part 1 - Between Enemies
Bullying is a major conflict that thousands of teens go through today. Most teens can’t even go through a single day of school without receiving some kind of abuse. Although the type of abuse differs, there are only two different kinds of bullying relationships. The bullying relationship between two enemies, and the bullying relationship between friends. Section 1 of this post will go over the relation between enemies.
between enemies is the most referred to type of bullying. The image of two teens physically fighting is often what is pictured, but that is not the case in society today. Instead teens usually use words as daggers instead of their bodies as clubs. This kind of harassment, although not causing physical pain, impacts teens in even worse ways. This constant verbal abuse is sending thousands of teens into early-on-set depression. Then as a result, hundreds of teens are turning to suicide as a last resort. Doesn’t it just hurt to think about? These teens fell so bad about themselves from constant abuse, that they feel the only way out is through their death.
The first step to take when being bullied is to understanding that you are a special creation made from a loving God. Ephesians 2:10 says that “you are God‘s masterpiece.“ Not only are you a creation made from God, but you are his Mona Lisa, you are his masterpiece. Then to go further John 3:16 says that God loves you so much that he gave his only begotten son as a sacrifice for your sin so you could spend eternity with him. Not only are you a masterpiece made by God, but you are loved by your creator with such a strong love that no one can even comprehend.
The second step we must take when being bullied is to learn how to love and forget how to hate. 1 John 3:15 says “ Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life.” God tells us that we must show love to everyone, even our persecutors. This verse says that if you hate your brother you are a sinner, and are therefore equal to a murderer in God‘s eyes. So when we are bullied instead of reciprocating the action and giving into hate, we should instead stop the cycle in it’s path. Luke 6:29 says that “if somebody strikes one cheek ,then turn to him the other. If somebody steels your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic.“ God wants us to only show love and kindness to those who bully us. When you are bullied, do not become like those who bully you, but instead be better than them and walk away.
The devil seeks only to pull us down and to make us disobey God. In order for him to do this he places bullies in our path. It is essential to remember when you are being bullied that it is not happening because God doesn’t love you, but because the devil wishes to destroy your relationship with God. John 15:18 says “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.“ God understands that we are bullied. In fact this verse states that Jesus was ridiculed even before you. We need to follow the example that Jesus placed before us and love our persecutors. Next time the devil tries to trip you up remember not to give in, but to instead “Walk the Christian Walk” away.
between enemies is the most referred to type of bullying. The image of two teens physically fighting is often what is pictured, but that is not the case in society today. Instead teens usually use words as daggers instead of their bodies as clubs. This kind of harassment, although not causing physical pain, impacts teens in even worse ways. This constant verbal abuse is sending thousands of teens into early-on-set depression. Then as a result, hundreds of teens are turning to suicide as a last resort. Doesn’t it just hurt to think about? These teens fell so bad about themselves from constant abuse, that they feel the only way out is through their death.
The first step to take when being bullied is to understanding that you are a special creation made from a loving God. Ephesians 2:10 says that “you are God‘s masterpiece.“ Not only are you a creation made from God, but you are his Mona Lisa, you are his masterpiece. Then to go further John 3:16 says that God loves you so much that he gave his only begotten son as a sacrifice for your sin so you could spend eternity with him. Not only are you a masterpiece made by God, but you are loved by your creator with such a strong love that no one can even comprehend.
The second step we must take when being bullied is to learn how to love and forget how to hate. 1 John 3:15 says “ Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life.” God tells us that we must show love to everyone, even our persecutors. This verse says that if you hate your brother you are a sinner, and are therefore equal to a murderer in God‘s eyes. So when we are bullied instead of reciprocating the action and giving into hate, we should instead stop the cycle in it’s path. Luke 6:29 says that “if somebody strikes one cheek ,then turn to him the other. If somebody steels your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic.“ God wants us to only show love and kindness to those who bully us. When you are bullied, do not become like those who bully you, but instead be better than them and walk away.
The devil seeks only to pull us down and to make us disobey God. In order for him to do this he places bullies in our path. It is essential to remember when you are being bullied that it is not happening because God doesn’t love you, but because the devil wishes to destroy your relationship with God. John 15:18 says “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.“ God understands that we are bullied. In fact this verse states that Jesus was ridiculed even before you. We need to follow the example that Jesus placed before us and love our persecutors. Next time the devil tries to trip you up remember not to give in, but to instead “Walk the Christian Walk” away.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Endurance...Perseverance...What's the difference?
Everybody uses perseverance and endurance interchangeably. But after writing about perseverance yesterday I began to wonder, “What is the actual difference between the two.” According to Dictionary.com, perseverance is defined as continuance till the end. And endurance is defined as using strength to continue despite pain and fatigue. The difference between the two is that persistence is remaining steady in hopes to finish while endurance is bearing pain so that you can finish. Endurance is different than persistence because you have to conquer pain to endure.
Endurance is closely related to trials because to conquer trials you must endure. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” When you are faced with trials, you must remember to endure. God understands that this will not be easy so he will always provide you with a way of escape. But God not only wants us to endure our trials but he also wants us to rejoice in them. Romans 5:3-4 says “More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” Hope is essential to us, without hope we have no need for a savior, and thus no need for God. The Bible tells us that one of the only ways to produce hope is by enduring.
Enduring is difficult. But God doesn’t want us to give up. He understands that you may fail, but he still asks us to run the race as best as we can. When we run, we must remember that we are not running alone. Deuteronomy 31:6 says “the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you” God is always at our side. He is constantly there holding our hands and protecting us wherever we go, even when we feel like he has abandoned us. When we stumble, like everyone does, God just asks that we take his hand, so that he can pick us back up. To “Walk the Christian Walk” we must endure through even the most difficult of trials, despite how hard it will be to do so.
Endurance is closely related to trials because to conquer trials you must endure. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” When you are faced with trials, you must remember to endure. God understands that this will not be easy so he will always provide you with a way of escape. But God not only wants us to endure our trials but he also wants us to rejoice in them. Romans 5:3-4 says “More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” Hope is essential to us, without hope we have no need for a savior, and thus no need for God. The Bible tells us that one of the only ways to produce hope is by enduring.
Enduring is difficult. But God doesn’t want us to give up. He understands that you may fail, but he still asks us to run the race as best as we can. When we run, we must remember that we are not running alone. Deuteronomy 31:6 says “the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you” God is always at our side. He is constantly there holding our hands and protecting us wherever we go, even when we feel like he has abandoned us. When we stumble, like everyone does, God just asks that we take his hand, so that he can pick us back up. To “Walk the Christian Walk” we must endure through even the most difficult of trials, despite how hard it will be to do so.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Perseverance
Persevere, the words echoed in my head as I began to sprint the first lap. I was back on my daily running routine. It consists of about 2 ½ miles, separated by 3 different laps. I started the routine about a month ago. I went solidly for 2 weeks, but then I slowly drifted away. But now two weeks after the stop, I was running again. I use a very simple system. I exert all of my extra energy when sprinting the first lap. The second lap I take to recharge. I push myself, but not to a point of overexertion. The third Lap kills. I run for the finish. Most of my energy reserve has been depleted, and I am coming up empty. This lap is not run with my body. I block out the messages it is sending to me. I push myself, forget the pain, and persevere. Success is finally achieved when I reach the finish line. Accomplishment floods my brain. I have not just succeeded, or strengthened my body. I have won my own personal race.
Persevering is what strengthens our faith. In my story, the first lap is easy. Likewise, your faith doesn’t achieve much unless it is tested. But on the third lap, or the point where you have to push yourself, that is the when you choose whether to make or break it. When my body ached so bad that I thought I couldn’t make it, I could have easily given in and quit. But the fact that I choose to persevere kept my body working hard, and my body gain muscle because of it. When your life is easy, it is also easy to believe in God. But when your life is falling apart it is hard to endure. You can never truly know the strength of your faith until it has been pushed to its breaking point.
James 1:2-4 says “Consider it joy my brethren, when you have encounter trials, for the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” Perseverance is what gets us through life. We can not run a race, do our quiet time, or even write a paper for school unless we persevere. But how do we gain this life skill? The Bible tells us that the only way to develop perseverance is through the testing of our faith. Just like homework helps us grow in knowledge, trials help us grow in perseverance. George Van Valkenburg, a famous businessman of our time once said, “Accomplishment and success are often the result of commitment and perseverance rather than skill or talent.” Or in other words, you are more likely to succeed in life as a result of perseverance rather than talent. I once heard the same thing but stated like this, “I was not better than most guys out there, but I pushed myself harder than they did, and eventually I began to beat them.” To succeed as a Christian, we have to push ourselves harder and perform better than what is expected from the average person. To “Walk the Christian Walk” we must persevere even in the hardest of trials so that we can always finish the race a bigger and stronger Christian.
Persevering is what strengthens our faith. In my story, the first lap is easy. Likewise, your faith doesn’t achieve much unless it is tested. But on the third lap, or the point where you have to push yourself, that is the when you choose whether to make or break it. When my body ached so bad that I thought I couldn’t make it, I could have easily given in and quit. But the fact that I choose to persevere kept my body working hard, and my body gain muscle because of it. When your life is easy, it is also easy to believe in God. But when your life is falling apart it is hard to endure. You can never truly know the strength of your faith until it has been pushed to its breaking point.
James 1:2-4 says “Consider it joy my brethren, when you have encounter trials, for the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” Perseverance is what gets us through life. We can not run a race, do our quiet time, or even write a paper for school unless we persevere. But how do we gain this life skill? The Bible tells us that the only way to develop perseverance is through the testing of our faith. Just like homework helps us grow in knowledge, trials help us grow in perseverance. George Van Valkenburg, a famous businessman of our time once said, “Accomplishment and success are often the result of commitment and perseverance rather than skill or talent.” Or in other words, you are more likely to succeed in life as a result of perseverance rather than talent. I once heard the same thing but stated like this, “I was not better than most guys out there, but I pushed myself harder than they did, and eventually I began to beat them.” To succeed as a Christian, we have to push ourselves harder and perform better than what is expected from the average person. To “Walk the Christian Walk” we must persevere even in the hardest of trials so that we can always finish the race a bigger and stronger Christian.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Commitment Ends Quickly
Wow, Commitment to this blog is already becoming a challenge. Once the weekend sun set, my life became a whole lot harder. Where on the weekend I could blog for 2 hours a day without breaking a sweat, I now have a quarter of the time. The weekend is easy, free time and open spaces. But during the week I have school, final exams, and preparing for my drivers test. There is just no time anymore. Take tonight for example. I came home from school, went to a birthday dinner (45 minutes away from home), got back at 10, made a batch of cookies for school (4 dozen), and I am now writing to you at 12:15 at night. With this schedule I begin to wonder how am I supposed to fit in time for this blog, or even more importantly, how am I supposed to fit in time for God.
My situation is the exact same situation that almost every teen faces when school begins. Where in the summer it is easy to fit in a devotion here and there, during the school year there is no spare time. Then on the rare occurrence that we receive spare time, God is last on our thoughts. But this is the opposite of what God wishes for us. The bible tells us countless times that God should always come first. Even if it is just a prayer every so often throughout the day. Luke 5:16 says “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places to pray.” This verse doesn’t say that Jesus prayed for hours and hours on end. It just says that he prayed often. In addition to prayer, God also asks that have fellowship with him daily. Just like you wish to see your friends and family everyday, God wishes for us to have daily fellowship with him. Hosea 6:6 says “For I desire… acknowledgement of God rather than burnt offerings.” This verse says that God just wishes for “acknowledgement” from his believers. As much as he would appreciate a 3 hour devotion daily, he doesn’t require it. He just wishes that his followers acknowledge him in our lives every day by having a devotion with him.
In our busy teen lives it is hard to fit all of this in. As a matter of fact we can barely fit in sleep on some occasions. But we need to remember that God must always come first. To keep God constantly in our lives we must find times throughout the day that we can devote to him. Prayer should be done numerous times throughout the day. Easy times to do this are when you wake up, before each meal, and then before you go to sleep. These same times (with the exception of “before each meal“) are also great times to do quiet times. I mention the same times again because they are already scheduled into your daily routine. By picking times you always have open, you will have less opportunity to close it with other things. Devotions are a commitment that everybody needs to make with themselves so there is no set time limit, but 20 minutes a day is a great starting point. Remember, if it ever gets really late at night and you feel like you aren’t going to make it…still do a quiet time. Just pray to God before to keep you alert and focused, and then after to give you a deep sleep to regenerate and make up for the lost sleep.
By keeping God in your life by doing these simply things you will see a dramatic improvement in you relationship with God. Think of it like this, if you only ever prayed to God once daily and didn’t do a quiet time. By following these steps you could easily spend over a half an hour more per day with God. This time although seemingly small, adds up quickly. This step in our relationship with God is critical. We can never have God work in our lives unless we openly invite him in to talk to us. To “Walk the Christian Walk” one must have a daily relationship with God, even if it means pushing our self harder and longer than we have ever gone before.
My situation is the exact same situation that almost every teen faces when school begins. Where in the summer it is easy to fit in a devotion here and there, during the school year there is no spare time. Then on the rare occurrence that we receive spare time, God is last on our thoughts. But this is the opposite of what God wishes for us. The bible tells us countless times that God should always come first. Even if it is just a prayer every so often throughout the day. Luke 5:16 says “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places to pray.” This verse doesn’t say that Jesus prayed for hours and hours on end. It just says that he prayed often. In addition to prayer, God also asks that have fellowship with him daily. Just like you wish to see your friends and family everyday, God wishes for us to have daily fellowship with him. Hosea 6:6 says “For I desire… acknowledgement of God rather than burnt offerings.” This verse says that God just wishes for “acknowledgement” from his believers. As much as he would appreciate a 3 hour devotion daily, he doesn’t require it. He just wishes that his followers acknowledge him in our lives every day by having a devotion with him.
In our busy teen lives it is hard to fit all of this in. As a matter of fact we can barely fit in sleep on some occasions. But we need to remember that God must always come first. To keep God constantly in our lives we must find times throughout the day that we can devote to him. Prayer should be done numerous times throughout the day. Easy times to do this are when you wake up, before each meal, and then before you go to sleep. These same times (with the exception of “before each meal“) are also great times to do quiet times. I mention the same times again because they are already scheduled into your daily routine. By picking times you always have open, you will have less opportunity to close it with other things. Devotions are a commitment that everybody needs to make with themselves so there is no set time limit, but 20 minutes a day is a great starting point. Remember, if it ever gets really late at night and you feel like you aren’t going to make it…still do a quiet time. Just pray to God before to keep you alert and focused, and then after to give you a deep sleep to regenerate and make up for the lost sleep.
By keeping God in your life by doing these simply things you will see a dramatic improvement in you relationship with God. Think of it like this, if you only ever prayed to God once daily and didn’t do a quiet time. By following these steps you could easily spend over a half an hour more per day with God. This time although seemingly small, adds up quickly. This step in our relationship with God is critical. We can never have God work in our lives unless we openly invite him in to talk to us. To “Walk the Christian Walk” one must have a daily relationship with God, even if it means pushing our self harder and longer than we have ever gone before.
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