A Challenge

I have a challenge for myself. I am going to celebrate the birth and resurrection of Christ the entire year of 2010, not just the months of March and December.

There are the obvious pros of having Christian holidays, but there is also the not so obvious cons of them. One example of a con is the fact that it crams most of the focus of these AMAZING events into two three or four week periods. I know no one really thinks so, but maybe that gives us the excuse that "we've covered this story for the year, now we can talk about other stuff." When was the last time you heard a sermon on the birth of Christ in August?

Also, any holiday is going to have decorations, themes, Santa...Peter Cottontail. These things aren't bad, but sure can get in the way.

This is just a challenge in my life, because I know I am guilty of being too worried about the holidays, and only thinking about the meaning of those holidays when they occur. I believe Jesus is bigger than a Sunday in the spring and a family filled week in December. I am just letting people know my feelings. Perhaps you've felt this way before ,and want to celebrate year round with me.

A Birth. Something more than yearly presents under a tree

I think it’s important to remember that God chose
to send His son to this imperfect and sinful world.
That God joins us, through Jesus,
in the midst of our suffering, our problems, our hurts.
Jesus was born into a life just like ours and for
most of us way worse.
And He invites us to take part in true life with Him;
to repent and to believe; and be saved.
That is the good news of Jesus;
That is The Gospel.

-A Disciple That Jesus Loves

Grace - The Unearned Gift

I have come to realize something, something I have known my whole life, but never believed. Grace is totally free; God's love is completely free. I know that I have been taught this since I was a boy, but I guess I just missed it.

Acts 15
"10Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? 11No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are."

I know that I have read this before, and have heard sermons over it, but I always remember the points of those messages turning to your actions. It was almost like I always heard "yesjesuslovesyounomatterwhat, NOW, YOU HAVE TO LIVE THE LIFE!" The grace part of the message was just the intro, and the works part ruled the rest.

In the passage of Acts, Peter is talking to a group of people who belonged to party of the Pharisees, responding to a statement they had made.
5Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, "The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the Law of Moses."
God had given the Gentiles the gift of the Holy Spirit, He had showed that they were accepted. The followers of the Pharisees immediately go into "action" mode. In there minds, the Gentiles cannot be accepted by God unless they go through the rituals and "actions" required by the law. Just accepting God's grace and love, which is theirs whether they want it or not, is not enough for the Pharisees, they have to earn it. They've heard Peter talk about grace, they know the message, yet they still insist on "putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear."
Which brings me to the current church, I think we still believe like the Pharisees. We preach and proclaim grace, but don't have the faith to live under it. I would like to hear a sermon about grace, and not hear one thing that we have to do, except accept it. Wouldn't that be beautiful?

I heard a song last night. It's by John Mark Mcmillan and called How He Loves. It is so beautiful.

Part of the lyrics are
We are his portion
And he is our prize
Drawn to redemption by the grace in his eyes
If grace is an ocean we're all sinking

While listening to that last night with my eyes closed, I just started smiling, I couldn't help it. I was just thinking about how before I could even make a decision to do something to earn his love, he loved me, and know matter what I do, he still loves me. It truly is unconditional.

What are the Christians Saying?

Here is a quote from the book "The Irresistable Revolution." Shane Claiborne is talking about his trip to Irag during the heat of the war.


The bishop went on to tell me that the church in the Middle East was deeply concerned about the church in the United States. He said, "Many Americans are for this war."
I nodded.
And He asked, "But what are the Christians saying?"
My heart sank. I tried to explain to him that many of the Christians in the US are confused and hope that this is a way God could liberate the Iraqi people.
He shook his head and said, very humbly, "But we Christians do not believe that. We believe 'blessed are the peacemakers.' We believe that if you pick up the sword, you die by the sword. We believe in the cross." Tears welled up in my eyes as he said, "We will be praying for you. We will be praying for the church in the US. . . to be the church."" (Claiborne, 212)

"But what are the Christians saying?"

This line didn't really jump out at me while reading the book, but when I heard it on the audio book sometime later, I couldn't stop thinking about it. Here is a man who is a Christian, living in a "Muslim" nation, getting bombed by a "Christian" nation, talking with a Christian from the "Christian" nation, asking him what the other Christians in the "Christian" nation are saying about the war. He couldn't understand how the Christians in America would sit in silence while the non-Christians did this to his country. Little did he know that a bulk of the support of the war came from the very people he thought were on his side, and that many of the soldiers driving by in there Humvees were Christians as well. Being from Iraq, he has probably lived in "terror" most of his life. Here he is though, in the middle of bombs landing all around him, seeing not just the terrorist getting hit, but also hospitals and civilian homes, and he quotes Jesus. He says "'blessed are the peacemakers.' We believe that if you pick up the sword, you die by the sword. We believe in the cross." America was hit with one terrorist attack and immediately cried out for justice, revenge, no matter what the cost, and I was right there with them. Where were the Christians saying "Hold on, aren't we supposed to love our enemies? Aren't we supposed to pray for those who persecute us?" It's been eight years, and I have finally started realizing that our country did not listen to Jesus' teachings. My stance on these issues have been changing. I guess you can say that the bishop's prayer, "We will be praying for the church in the US. . . to be the church" is being answered. I join his prayer, and hope that through our love we can help spread the Love of Christ.

Control

Somehow thunderstorms make me think of God. I really love a good storm, it’s calming. I get all giddy when I feel that crisp air, that gentle feeling when the sky gets dark before the first drops fall. Then the downpour follows, with the flashes of lightning. It’s a thing of beauty, with a musical score of thunder and wind. It’s really God’s creativity at it’s finest. One can’t help but stand in awe of the one who imagined it all. Then there’s a different kind of storm, a bigger scary version. The kind that can flatten an entire town, and this kind draws me to a different side of God. Not to his marvel and splendor side, but to his refuge and comfort side. I think it’s because of the loss of control. As a child when storms came, the really big, scary kind, I truly felt helpless. I saw that my dad, the one who protected me, couldn’t stop the roof from coming off or a tree from flying into my room, and it worried me. Where else do you find safety? So I learned to ask God to take control. Prayer was always involved during storms with my family. We would ask God to protect us from what was out of our hands. We could find rest and comfort in him. It placed a belief in my heart that God is here for me, which is a good belief for anyone to have. Now, I think that this is a very easy way I can put my trust in him. What do I have to lose in this situation by trusting God? Nothing, or at least nothing I have control over. If God answers this prayer, I am safe, which makes believing in his power to ward off storms very easy.

What about the areas of our lives we have control over? When was the last time I asked God to help in an area of my life that wasn’t beneficial to me? What if giving him control means I can lose somehing? I am making enough money to live comfortably, why do I need God’s help here, why would I want him to control that aspect of my life? I’ve trusted that He can save me from the storm, but I’ll stay in charge of the finances, I wouldn’t want to lose control over that. He might want me to give away more money, or force me to live a little more simple, and that’s just too scary. And I already have great friends, why do I need to hang out with this other person, he’s a little different, that would definitely knock off some cool points. It seems to me that for some reason I’ve taken the comforts that God places in my life as basic rights, not recieved them as a precious gifts. Shouldn’t I realize that the money isn’t even mine in the first place, or that maybe there’s more to who I hang out with than how fun it is for me? Do I really believe I am entitled to feel safe and comfortable all the time? Have I taken a relationship with the Creator of the universe for granted, simplified it to asking for money, keeping me out of akward situations, and begging him not to blow my house down? I really hope not. Yes I believe God is here for me, no I don’t think it’s selfish to ask God to spare your house. I’m just hoping that’s not all I believe He is here for. I’d like to believe that there’s a bigger story, one that tells of me working not for my will, but for His.

-Austin

Another World Could Be

So suddenly you've caught my eye
Beneath an empire and buildings-
they blocked the view for my whole life.
It's coming clear it's a call to die-
to this appetite of sanity-
they've pinned our wings so we can't fly.

I believe, I believe another would could be.
I believe, i believe His Kingdom is calling me.
I just never thought I'd see this clearly

So suddenly you've caught my eye.
And now my appetite is changing
I see life in an eternal light.
It's coming clear it's a call to die
To these same old boring stories.
Were meant to spread our wings and fly.

I call to you oh Sleeping Child,
come along, join this story that
He's written on our hearts.

-Brett