Of Going with the (Hidden) Flow

This week's blog post is about putting off our worldliness, but with a new twist. Basically, the phrase "being in the world but not of it" is a widely understood term in its denotation--at least, in our own "Christian culture"--and rarely in its connotation, as was shown by Jesus' perfect example. It's called not going with the flow.

Don't go with the flow if the flow is heading down the drain.

WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE:

The most common tripping hazard for Christians in the US is the need to relate to what others are doing. Things like always talking about sports, cars, finances, having or losing significant others, latest movies, and everything else that can be categorized as a temporary worldly satisfaction are what make you an "outsider" or and "insider". As Christians, everything we are not should make up everything we are. In Jesus' time (...on earth...in physical form), there were many things he and his disciples did not do that set them apart, which is why he is the perfect example. They went against the flow. "The flow" is the tendency everyone has to jump into the stream of things that are generally accepted as "cool" and "right." Not riding the current and denying yourself the things other people do is not comfortable. You will feel like an outsider and it won't feel good, it's hard. The good news is that if you truly believe that the things of this world are empty and will pass away (believe everything Jesus taught us) and that true satisfaction comes not in "the flow" but in the company of the heavenly deities and your fellow "insiders", then you will begin feeling natural at being an outsider and you'll realize you're actually an insider too!

"The things that we are not, or the things that we refuse to be, are often just as crucial to our character as those things that we aspire to be. In an age of zero boundaries and endless personal gratification, it's the things that we deny that truly set us apart. We're sold the idea that practically anything is acceptable, and we subscribe to a 'no regrets' way of life. The truth is that honest regret builds integrity. Opposing the flow of a nihilistic, self-absorbed culture is something to take pride in.

~Ryan Clark (from the band Demon Hunter)

I Am No Scatter-Plot.

Which of these 4 images would you say represent our lives best? I'm guessing most people could relate with the graph. Which of these images represents our Christian walk best? Hopefully none of them, and here's why:

Sometimes as Christians we get in low places where things aren't going very well or we continue to fail in our sense of duty toward God, and it just keeps pulling us down into a hole, a low point on the graph where we don't even feel like getting back up.

The thing about getting up though, is just accepting that Jesus dies for each sin you commit and forgives you every time, allowing you to move on. If we try to wallow in our sin and self pity then we are only digging the hole deeper, but when we get back up, we can always make each new peak a little higher on the graph. In that way, I think life should look like a graph that has it's ups and downs (because without the ups and downs of life, as with a heart monitor, we are simply dead) but the graph should also be on a continual rise, never restrained to one level of stumbling.

As we mature as Christians, it is my hope and prayer that we all will become better at getting back up before we reach the same depth of the last ditch we dug so that eventually our future self will not look anything like who we are now (in a great way, of course)!

 

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

What do workers gain from their toil?

~Ecclesiastes 3:1-9

Misological Lies

"Misology" is the distrust or hatred of reason or reasoning. This is one of the most common weapons used against us by Satan when we are faced with difficult decisions. When we speak to others about Christ and his purpose, the deceiver uses everything he can conjure up in order to twist their minds beyond logic and reason. This is why we can never save a person through reasoning, debate or even through the Bible. Unless we carry with us a prayer and blessing from on high for the safety of our fellows' souls and the opening of the ears of their hearts, the devil will succeed. Remember: God must be the one to do the work in them, not us; we are but vessels in His grand ocean!

Deliver me, O Lord, from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue. ~Psalm 120:2

God is a Destination

PART ONE

If we want to lead people into the presence of our God, into His Holy Spirit, we often find methods in which to make that transition easier. In this analogy, the transition piece is the vehicle and God is the place we're are directing them to. As Christians, and as evangelists, we must not forget where we should be spiritually before we go around using the wrong vehicle or focusing on the wrong destination. Sometimes we forget that God is the true destination, and so we lead people to the bible (for example), which should actually be the vehicle. If we are truly in the Spirit, we will understand that leading someone to church or to the bible is only part of the journey, we must also lead them to a relationship.

PART TWO

1) We must understand, as a foundational truth, where we are going:

"The valley is solemn at their departure, but I see no signs of passionate grief. They do not doubt their immortality, and friends of the same generation are not torn apart. You leave the world as you entered it, with the 'men of your own year.' Death is not preceded by dread nor followed by corruption." ~C.S. Lewis, "Out of the Silent Planet" (pg. 157)

That passage is about another planet and how the inhabitants there have a different view of death, perhaps even a more correct and appreciative view of death than we do.

2) We must understand where we are coming from:

"Never forget where you came from. Aspire to inspire before you expire." ~Lecrae (Rapper)

3) And where we should be going:

 
"To trust is to obey, to trust is to obey." ~From "Above the Desert Sea" by Project 86

IN CONCLUSION

 

For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? ~Romans 10:10-17