A Simple Prevalence

Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. ~1 John 2:6 (ESV)

What does it mean to die for someone you love? In some ways, it reveals your everything, your true commitment, but not if you aren't also living for them. Christ gave his life for us, in a bigger way than we ever could for him, but he also lived for us. Jesus gave all of his time to spreading the gospel and the good news of God's love. I think that if we truly live for Christ, then we wouldn't mind dying for him, but usually it doesn't work the other way around. Some Christians (myself included) have trouble living each day for Christ while they would gladly give their lives for him...it's just that there is no need to when we are living in such peaceful times. When we have no compassionate push from someone to commit our time to something that doesn't always have an apparent outcome, it can be hard to get enthusiastic about it. Physical consequence, however, to showing our faith, is very black and white. Let's try to look at today as being black and white: either we show others that Christ is in us by living for him, or we go about our day and ignore the fact that we are called to be more Christ-like in everything he did for us.

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. ~1 Peter 2:21 (ESV)

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. ~Ephesians 5:1-2 (ESV)

God is a Tractor. Know Him.

When a tractor treads the ripe fields of the new season, regardless of that particular tractor's purpose, it leaves behind a trail of impression--nothing is left the same. So it is when God tills the dissension of our hearts and becomes the steadfast King and companion with whom we have a real relationship: he cannot leave us unchanged. If someone claims to have accepted Christ and they show no signs of a Christ-like passion/life-attitude, then they must not have truly met with the Jesus of the Bible and heard him speaking into their lives. When he calls us out of our sin and we obey, we cannot simply keep silent about it, we long to change because we love Him in whose image we were made.

For me, I can often tell, for the most part, simply by talking with someone a bit whether or not they have met and obeyed Christ personally, even if they are regular church-goers. We were made in the image of Christ, the embodiment of God, and although we can never be a perfectly cookie-cut image of our savior, we are called to resemble Christ to the best of our ability.

If we are indeed resembling Christ to the best of our ability, then no one should be able to say we have not been changed. That's why knowing Christ--truly knowing Him--must equal following Him.

“The Word we study has to be the Word we pray. My personal experience of the relentless tenderness of God came not from exegetes, theologians, and spiritual writers, but from sitting still in the presence of the living Word and beseeching Him to help me understand with my head and heart His written Word. Sheer scholarship alone cannot reveal to us the gospel of grace. We must never allow the authority of books, institutions, or leaders to replace the authority of *knowing* Jesus Christ personally and directly. When the religious views of others interpose between us and the primary experience of Jesus as the Christ, we become unconvicted and unpersuasive travel agents handing out brochures to places we have never visited." ~Brennan Manning

He Who Has Ears, Let Him Hear!

"[This song is like] a dialogue between God and one seeking him...like the person seeking is dealing with self-pity, when all God wants is for him to make forward motion and just let go of the cares of this world. The one seeking feels God is nowhere to be found but God is fighting to be in this persons life." ~Anonymous

A sound ahead from distant peaks
A song that all my brothers sing
It's just out of reach, to join them I need
The wings the heavens denied me

It's like you're deaf to my voice
But I've been here for every moment
Waiting on your call to move

If you could just make a choice
I know you would find me wanting
Only to be close to you

A sound ahead from distant peaks
A song that all my brothers sing

You keep denying my lead 'cause I've tried
I've never pulled back my reach
And I've stayed and I've died
But you keep looking for me where I'm not

I won't be just where you want me to be
You've got to believe
And just trust that I can be everything

It’s like you’re deaf to my voice (but I’m not)
I’ve been here for every moment (and I’ve fought)
Waiting on your call to move (just call to move)
 

If you could just make a choice (oh I have)
I know you would find me wanting (I just want)
Only to be close to you (all of you)

If you would just try and let pry
All your grips on worries
I would come alive in your life And let you find the flight you're longing [for]

~"Reveries of Flight" by Oh, Sleeper ("Christian" metal band)

Don't be a Christian.

Have you ever discussed your faith with an unbeliever? A point I have recently been made aware of in a new light is that when we share our beliefs, we shouldn't do so from a Christian standpoint. Those who are struggling in life don't need Christianity, they don't need to come to our side in order to make things right--they need Jesus. When we share our faith, we should be sharing Jesus, because Jesus didn't come to earth to spread his religion, he came sharing the gospel and the grace and love of his Father in a way that no one had considered before. Moreover, when we share Jesus, let us not tell his story as we might read about him in a book, we should introduce him as a friend, savior and king. Jesus does not need to be defended--he can stand up for himself in the absence of debate--and people do not need to know about him, they need to know him.

We should always strive to be seen as friend's of the King before we come across as Christians.

"Jesus didn’t come to start a religion. Men started calling those who followed Christ as Christians, but in our modern era, Christianity is thought of as a religion more than it is a lifestyle of following Jesus." ~Grace Living

Mind Your Maker

Remember what happened to Lot’s wife! If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it. ~Luke 17:32-33 (NLT)

When Sodom was being destroyed and Lot and his family were fleeing God's wrath, Lot's wife disobeyed the order to not look back and was turned into salt. Now, some people would use this analogy to say we shouldn't be looking back at our old lives or our past sins--which is true--but it would also be a good way of explaining to someone that the things of this world will never satisfy our innermost desires, and that they often go against God's better judgment. When we even "look to" or "dwell on" those hidden desires to be a part of the worldly things other people do, we are heading down the path of disobeying God's will for us. We are beginning to look the other way, and when we look the other way, we are also beginning to turn our back on Him. (Not good).

Bloodlines & Lifelines

But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it." ~Luke 8:21

In that passage, Jesus had been asked to see to his family when he was in the midst of a great crowd, preaching. He answered by reminding his disciples that as good as family can be, earthly ties and bloodlines will still forever underlie the importance of spiritual connections and growth with those who are our immediate neighbors. For us to be followers of Christ and brotherly or sisterly disciples, we must all share the same goal: do as Jesus told us, not simply share a common ground of belief. We need to be passing out lifelines to people so that they can choose to allow God to reel them in!

When we read the Bible and see what Jesus did and taught, we understand more about his character and purpose, but when we actually do as he did, when we reach out to others in love and understanding, we can truly begin to know and experience everything he came to earth to do. Similarly, the way people view Christians can become quite distorted, so instead of simply telling others about Christ, we must be Christ to them however we can. That way they will have a firm reference point to understanding what being a Christian really means.

At?...In?...Out the door.

Thus says the Lord:
 

“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
    and makes flesh his strength,
    whose heart turns away from the Lord. 

He is like a shrub in the desert,
    and shall not see any good come.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
    in an uninhabited salt land.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,

    whose trust is the Lord. 

He is like a tree planted by water,
    that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
    for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
    for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

The heart is deceitful above all things,

    and desperately sick;
    who can understand it? 

“I the Lord search the heart
    and test the mind,
to give every man according to his ways,
    according to the fruit of his deeds.”

~Jeremiah 17:5-10 (ESV)

I pulled this passage out of my reading schedule, going through the prophets, and there's a few great things to be pointed out!

1) The flesh--our humanness--has been flawed since the beginning of time, essentially. We can never trust ourselves for things like touching other peoples' lives without prayerful support, being "good people" without having the right intentions and motivations, or fighting battles of temptation and spiritual attitude by trying to ignore them. When we live in this world without acknowledging our God, we are living in an uninhabited, barren desert land of salt, heat and depression. No good can come of it.
 

2) We are to trust in God with everything. If we can attain an attitude of righteous godliness, the even those we interact with will have a secure trust in God through us, knowing that everything we do and say is true and meaningful.

3) When we become wholly devoted to our faith and truly know the confidence given by the only one who can be truly firm and trustworthy, then we will be like trees that are not afraid of the heat or affected by the drought. When hard times come in life, we will always be able to retain the joy and peace of knowing and trusting in our savior.

4) Going back to point #1, never trust yourself and never trust what you think your heart tells you, because it is deceitful and will ever whisper the desires of this world. On another note however, when we fully commit ourselves and submit our beings to the Lord, we can know that He will guide our hearts' desires. When we are in a true connection to the King of our life, then we will not continue to long for the things that used to bring us satisfaction. He will constantly be changing us from the inside out.

5) Finally, we are held accountable to what we do in this life. God knows our everything, and He will reward us for the good we commit to whenever it is within His good and perfect plan for us. There will come a time when God will test our minds and nudge us to take the next step on our journey toward ultimate devotion and obedience to Him. Whenever those times arrive, knocking at our doors, the best thing we can ever do is to open up the door and, instead of simply meeting Him there or letting Him in, take His hand as He guides us outside into the light of the beautiful world He created!