Depth

Some would say it is a strange thing to be overtaken with something as radical as a God we cannot comprehend. Those people have never been overtaken. Most of those people are "Christians." Its hard to imagine establishing a love so potent and so valuable as God has for us. Harder still to understand how a love so strong continues to burn over thousands of years of debauchery and whoredom. We don't seem to have the capacity to maintain that love for the nominal years we dedicate to marriages.

The trouble I have as a Christian is I act like I get the basics. I pretend to understand the love of Christ, the power of the cross, and the presence of the Holy Spirit. The fact is, I search and search for depth on a daily basis. I need something hard to understand to conquer my mind and twist it into a pretzel to feel like I am growing for that day. I think any of us that have been Christians for any period of time have gotten to this point. We chase after profundity with such zeal; like we chase after nothing else in life. We don't pursue God's face with the same zeal that we look for weightiness, and I believe, we suffer because of it. Even now, I'm trying to manipulate wordplay subconsciously so this is a more entertaining piece of writing, and so it takes you to a new level of thinking. Even so, here is the fact of the matter: we are so consumed with wisdom and knowledge that we have cheapened the gulf that is God's love. We don't realize that the most very basic piece to the Christianity puzzle, and the cornerstone of the entire Gospel message, is God's love and his plan for us. That is it. Within that love, there is a depth that we cannot ever understand in these bodies. I am not saying we shouldn't chase after wisdom. Wisdom is crucial and coveted, but we need to start back at the beginning sometimes and take in what has long been forgotten; that our God's love should so entrap us, that we can do nothing but try to understand it for our whole existence. Through that pursuit we will learn everything else we need to know.

Seriously

I have been overtaken by emotion and embarrassment and plain anger this morning. As I read this morning I'm being haunted by some peculiar evidence that seems to point to the atrocity that is our church life here in America. We all realize by now that God is sifting. Luke warm is becoming even more gross and I think it's becoming endangered. This is one extinction I pray for. Either get on board with actively following the example of a sinless, holy man or get out!I think the reason we experience such a rapid decline into mediocrity is the way we come to "know" Christ in the first place. We base our salvation on a prayer we repeat and then we take a seat and twiddle our thumbs for 60 more years of life. Is it supposed to impress God that we "accept" his son? He took on all the pain that the sin of the entire world carries and we "accept" him? Why do we think God wants us that bad? We are the ones that have the need here. We are the ones who should be falling on our face asking Christ to captivate us and lead us into the streets to do as He did. As sure as there is a Hell, God doesn't need us, and he didn't need a pardon for sin. He doesn't need another do-nothing civilian in the Lord's Army, no sir. That is not the gospel. For some strange reason we think it's our actions that get us salvation. Our "acceptance" and our "belief" gets us to Heaven, and that is really all we are shooting for anyway. It is this terribly misguided belief that cultivates stagnation in our churches. No one pursues holiness anymore. It doesn't end with a prayer of belief and acceptance. Guys, it doesn't even begin there. If that was the case, the Gospels would be the only books of the Bible, and we would only need a few chapters of those. It's a never ending pursuit that follows a never ending, holy Word. I hope everyone becomes a follower of Christ; a true lover and follower of Christ. However, we don't need another dead weight to fill a seat on Sunday. Really, we don't.

Weighty

It has been a really really long time coming, but I have to write again. So if anyone actually reads this stuff, great, and if not, at least I'm getting it outside of this broken down body.

So, life is happening quick. I graduate college in a couple weeks and then I guess it is this real world concept I'm still unsure of. I don't mean to ramble about me and my life, but my life has been strategically and drastically over thought as I've endured the weight of an entirely new world being introduced to me. Perhaps the heaviest of things is my longing to impact. As some of you, who read these things know, I am a passionate person. The problem with us dreamers is we tend to dream a lot more than we know how to accomplish, and that destroys us. It's not the dreaming itself that drags us down, no, that is our very being. Our existence is defined by our ardor, and that very gusto is what sets us apart from the melancholy, comfortable world. The unknown, the what could be, the "how do I get there?" is what drives us mad. Many a lofty goal-setter will stay on the mundane road to complacency often stopping to think "what if?" whereas I want to step out and make a difference. I can't allow myself to settle; I must go and I must do. I don't want to get stuck in the in-between of who I am impacting the world for, however, either. My desire is to follow Christ like the term "Christian" implies I do, without holding back and follow short like we all too often do. I don't want to get prideful either, because impacting the world in a positive way is amazing regardless, but doing it while staying in the shadows and letting Christ get the glory is a far greater accomplishment. It is a far more difficult task, but a far more rewarding outcome.

Let us live life without bounds, and take on the world that Christ has already overcome (John 16:33) to proclaim his worth. To God be the glory.

With Utmost Sincerity

The last couple weeks I've been hit hard by a couple of sermons and not really even sermons but actually just in worship I've been hit hard by the Holy Spirit. And I realize that I need to apologize for my actions representing Christ. It is actually that I have been representing myself; have been representing the world more than anything, and I am accustomed to getting my own way. I never give what I can to Christ. It reminds me of a story in the Bible where the lady gave all that she had to Christ and it wasn't much, yet it was everything. On the contrary it seems that I have everything yet I give nothing and that's a hard spot for me to be in. I desire to be a role model to the youth that I work with, to my sister that looks up to me. I want to be a leader in my relationships; I want to be out leader to my friends, and I want to fully dependent on Christ as my leader. This is my prayer. Let me lead. Give me back my passion and concern. I want my anguish for the cause of Christ back. I need that fulfillment. I have had it before and it seems as if the only times I write is after a long bath in my depravity and a sudden realization that I need more of Jesus. But I do need more Jesus. And I plan to stay in His presence henceforth. Holy Spirit guide me and remove any indignation you have of me I pray. Teach me to give ALL I have.

Some Faith

I am completely and utterly heartbroken this morning. I got the news just after midnight last night that a child, one who hadn't yet learned many of the joys of life, had passed away. Luke Sexton lived only a few days in this world, yet he and his God-loving parents don't even know the tremendous impact they have made on lives everywhere. Sure, babies are born with health problems and pass away just days after birth all the time. Sure, some babies never even make it to their own birthday. However, this story is different. This story involves two young parents totally distraught at the sight of their baby boy born with a heart condition, that wouldn't give up, and furthermore trusted God fully. It is inspiring to say the least. I don't know how I would have handled the same situation myself. Blog posts written daily, texts and e-mails spread around, and Bible verses about perseverance and a "good" God were the Sexton's answer.

I have been burdened for baby Luke and this family myself, and the character and faith mustered by a young Christian couple have made me well up inside. How could a couple stricken with such bad luck be so optimistic? How could they choose to see the sunshine in the rain?

Luke 1:37 stands as the verse on the blog for baby Luke's status updates, and as a perfect theme for a pitiful situation. It reads: "For nothing is impossible with God." It is straight to the point, bold, and hopeful. Security is found in this verse. However, now, at a time when it seems that it was not God's will to impact the world with another day for baby Luke, I turn to a verse I know so well; a verse I turned to when I was dealing with loss. Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those that love him, who have been called according to his purpose." We have no idea what good can come from this. Our incredibly feeble minds can't comprehend the plan God has in mind for the Sextons. I do know however, that He won't ever put on us more than we can bear, and from the heart I know that the Sextons love the Lord. If there is anything apparent from this whole period, it is that Luke had a fighting spirit and the courage to stick it out as long as he did, and his parents dearly love and depend on Christ. I think this can be a strong example for the rest of us to take a look at our own faith and see how we measure up today. How much do we trust Him and His plan?

We love you baby Luke.

Swimming Down

I recently wrote a new song entitled "Forgotten" in which I repeatedly mention "swimming down" and question why I am doing so. The song eludes to our sins being cast into the sea of forgetfulness and how we, for whatever reason, constantly seem to be trying to retrieve them. As it so clearly says in Micah 7:19, "You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea."
Doesn't that sound wonderful? I think we buy into that when we first find salvation or when we decide to fully devote ourselves to Christ's service. We say, "My sins are not only forgiven, but forgotten. Now I can move on too." That is so true. However, we never leave it there. We let it creep back in on us. Or maybe we don't ever even have the afore-mentioned thought process. Possibly, we come into Christianity with our doubts of our worth. The truth is, we really don't have worth until we come to Christ. We are as wretched sinners unworthy of the prize He has afforded. How can we begin to accept ourselves as deserving, when we are so clearly not?
It breaks down like this for me: however unworthy and ill-deserving I ever have been, still am, or will become, the Bible speaks truth for everyone. Maybe our problem forgetting is that we have a bigger problem accepting forgiveness.
We who have been called to a greater service must learn to accept forgiveness so we can tell others of the debt paid by a King who lives close by. Accept forgiveness. Live in that forgiveness pursuing purity. Tell others about this great forgiveness. After we become more comfortable with forgiveness we can start to forget. God is forgetting our sins when we pray with sincerity. Now we need to forget and move on. Let sin live in the past so it cannot thrive in the present.

BIG Words

"Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ." 1 Corinthians 11:1

I don't know about you, but as for myself, I could never feel comfortable saying that. What kind of man must Paul have been to pen words like that. I think he must have been aware of the consequences of saying something that bold. I don't think Paul would write something like this in a presumptuous manner, rather he wanted to get a point across. He follows Christ. Closely. Make no mistake about it, Paul had his mistakes even while serving the Lord, but he was a man intent on serving Christ with all he had, bar none. I respect that. He knew that when he stumbled and momentarily lapsed into a life of sin he once lived, that he would most certainly face judgment and even malevolence, yet he spoke boldly of his attempt to follow closely.
Oh, how sweet it would be if we could all be so dauntless; so courageous! In my life, I have readily sat under a canopy of comfort, but rarely have I strode to follow Christ gallantly. I speak for myself, and likely any of my readers, when I say we need more. We need to seek more, trust more, DO more. I like Paul. He is fearless. However, not only was Paul brave enough to shout Christ's supremacy from rooftops, He was brave enough to say follow me. He said follow me because I am following Jesus extremely close, and I can guide you. I want to live a life that is not only bold with ignorant bliss, yet bold with some substance. I want to live a life that is of Christ; his words, his steps, his love.
Like a wise song once said from a book about a forest full of animals and one small child named Mowgli: "I wanna be like you, I wanna be like you, talk like you, too..."