Does It REALLY Matter?

Yesterday, October 4, 2014, I was invited to go to a friend's church that once a month has a gathering of young adults (20 and 30 year olds) to network, chat, sing, and hear a message.  I'm not going to get too much into the nature of the message or songs because they were all pretty good but there was this one specific instance that rubbed me the wrong way...

So it was after the message and we were waiting for the food to arrive (it was catered Cosi which is always a good idea).  It was a quite informal experience where people felt comfortable enough to just walk up to others and randomly start having a conversation (which if you know ANYTHING about me, that's not my specialty).  Nonetheless, this guy and I believe a girl walked up to me and started to have a conversation with me.  It went as follows (note I'm trying to recall the entire convo so this is an approximation):

-A little short talk-
Guy:  So are you a Christian?
Me: Yessir.  Jesus is alive!
Guy: How do you know that he's alive?
Me: *thinking that this is an interesting convo* Well I interact with him every day through nature, I talk to him, I pray to him...
Guy: WRONG, you know that he's alive because of the Spirit.

Pause.

Right when he said that statement he had this sly look on his face like he was trying to prove, (whether to me, himself, or the lady next to him) that he knew some theological lingo.  Congratulations buddy, but come on!  Why does it matter if I didn't use the correct theological lingo? Was my answer incorrect? No.  Was your answer more biblically standing? Sure.  However, the need to completely shoot down my answer just to relay your supposed theological superiority took me aback.

It has led me to ask the question: Is this how we seriously evangelize now?  Are we overly consumed with having the correct (or should I say supposedly) correct answer that we're out to prove that we know what we're talking about?  My intention is not to bash the guy because I'm sure his intentions were at least somewhat pure, but brother, does it REALLY matter if I didn't recount Theology 101 and give credence to the Spirit at the moment of a spontaneous conversation?

If I ever have a conversation like the above that emphasized the core of Christianity, hopefully, I'll take the answer given as an acceptable one.  I mean the fact that I acknowledged Jesus' presence should tell you something about my beliefs.  Besides, the Holy Spirit was sent in Jesus' name (John 14:26)!  So me interacting with Jesus is acknowledging the Spirit.

Let's not get bogged down into the semantics of theology unless we are having a deep theological discussion of which acknowledgment of discourse is being partaken.  It's a waste of words and I'm afraid that it may rub people the wrong way.  Our job is to show people the light, not disgust them with our proud Christian-ese words that leads them with a poignant taste in their mouth.

Why I Am Against Homogenous Worship Services (Especially In America)

Recently I've been reading John Piper's book Bloodlines: Race, Cross, and the Christian.  This book talks about his plight in fighting racism in his own life and how the Gospel of Jesus Christ broke that chain.  In the book, I came across this sentence:

"If Christ died - mark this, Died!- to make the church a diverse, reconciled body of Jew and Gentile - "red and yellow, black and white," and every shade and shape in between - then to glory in the cross is to glory in the display of the fruit of that cross."

In the context that Dr. Piper is referring to, he's talking about what I would describe as the big "C" Church as opposed to the little "c" church*.  Jesus' death and resurrection unified the Church; there is no more Jew or Greek, there's only of Christ and not of Christ.  That's Dr. Piper's main point.

I'm taking it a step further: because of Jesus' death and resurrection, church's should not be seperated by race, ethnicity, or worship styles.  Now admittingly, I'm only a worshipper.  I'm part of the worship team at my current church and I've been a gospel choir director for my alma mater Messiah College and Harrisburg Brethren in Christ Church.  So I'm not too deep into church politics.  However, what I do know is that there probably isn't a much larger battleground in church structure than worship.  As a worship leader, I've been in the mix of some of the wars, so take my comments with that grain of salt.

With that being said, we are called to unify.  To declassify.  To shed off our own skin and become united with Jesus and when we do that, we are united with the body and when we do that, those in the body are no longer just my friends, they are now my brothers and sisters.  

So I ask this question: How can [honestly] I love my brother and sister if I don't take the time to understand them?

Now Michael, what you're saying is that all believers should just join one (small "c") church!?  No.  That's not what I'm saying.  Obviously there are legitimate reasons for SOME denominational splits, especially when theologies are on different ends of the spectrum, aka Protestant vs. Catholic/Orthodox.  But, despite those differences, there is absolutely no reason why there shouldn't be diversity in two ways (with one leading to the other).  Firstly, there needs to be diversity in the congregational body and that leads to diversity in the worship styles.

I will probably never find a church that I agree with it's theology 100%.  Probably because I don't even know what I believe sometimes (other than the core of Gospel -- Jesus lived, taught, was crucified, rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and is coming back).  But if I can find a church of which I agree with 75% of the theology, I feel secure.  As a result, I would surmise that most protestant congregations, theology-wise, I would be comfortable in.  

So why do we only stay with our race, ethnicity, or group that makes us feel "comfortable?"

There is absolutely nothing comfortable about being a Christian.  In fact, when we feel comfortable, we run the risk of becoming complacent or lukewarm, and that is not what we are about.  If you are comfortable every day of your Christian journey, then there is probably something wrong with your Christian journey.

This boils over to a homogenous congregation.  When I'm around people that look like me (racially and/or ethnically), think like me (culturally), and act like me, I'm probably not going to grow.  I'm not leaving room for my faith to be stretched.  This is why when I came back home from Messiah College, I could not join the largest African American Church in Philadelphia, PA called Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church.  No knock on Enon, but I didn't feel comfortable being around people that only looked like me anymore.  I needed to be challenged...

When the congregation structure begins to change, worship styles are going to have to change. One of the largest challenges in the diverse church is worshipping on a song style that just isn't your cup of tea.  But, it's necessary.  Many cultures are best defined by their music.  In many ways, it's our identity.  Wait a minute, Jesus should now be our identity, not the worship style...I digress...

In an effort to shorten this blog post, I'm going to reiterate what I said earlier whether you agree with me or not:

There is no way I can [honestly] love my brother and sister if I don't take the time to get to know them.

If I just stay in my comfort zone in church, I won't grow as much as I could.  

Oh, and newsflash, when we get to heaven we are all going to be together worshipping Jesus, our Lord and savior anyway.  So let's start now!!

-MJA

-I may need to write a part 2 on this one, but we'll see.-

*Big "C" Church is referring to the entire body of Christ.  Little "c" church is referring to the individual worship services.

Break My Heart For What Breaks Yours?

You know the songs:

Break my heart for what breaks yours;
Everything I am for your kingdom's cause;
As I walk from earth into eternity.
~Hosanna - Hillsong UNITED

Father, break my heart for what breaks yours;
Give me open hands and open doors;
Put your light in my eyes and let me see;
That my own little world is not about me.
~My Own Little World - Matthew West

Oh Jesus, friend of sinners;
Open our eyes to the world at the end of our pointing fingers;
Let our hearts be led by mercy;
Help us reach with open hearts and open doors.
Oh Jesus friend of sinners: break our hearts for what breaks yours.
~Jesus, Friend of Sinners - Casting Crowns

To name a few.

But do we REALLY want that?  Do we want our hearts and sould moved with compassion at the"least of these." Do we want to look around and see so much pain that our hearts break with every turning? Do we want to see the begger and instantly feel compassion? Empathy is a scary thing ya'll.

One thing that I'm realizing is that we can't just stop there.  We can't end the prayer there.  Look at the above lyrics.  Every single time it's preceded or followed by action.  We can't just look around and so "ooh that's bad" and just move on with our lives.  The purpose of the heart breaking is to cause us to move into action.  We all have different gifts and talents to help this world in some way.  Don't believe me? Check out Romans 12.  I guarantee you'll find something in there that you have the absolute capability of doing.

My heart broke earlier today.  But at the same time, I feel much more motivated to enact change.  Even if it's a little change, I'm going to try.  Even if I don't see results, I have to press on because I don't know the work to Jesus is doing in their life.

Don't just pray the simple prayer if you're not ready to do the HUGE action.

Who Do We Think We Are? (Day 1 - Palm Sunday)

In an effort to get back to blogging on a semi-normal basis, I'm going to ATTEMPT to blog every day during the most important week in the Christian Calendar: Holy Week.

Day 1: TODAY - Palm Sunday
Day 2: Monday
Day 3: Tuesday
Day 4: Wednesday
Day 5: Thursday
Day 6: Friday - Good Friday
Day 7: Saturday
Day 8: Easter Sunday!

Matthew 21:9 - "The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" "Blessed is her who comes in the name of the Lord!"  Hosanna in the highest heaven!" - NIV

Jesus came into Jerusalem riding one of the humblest of animals: a donkey.

The King of kings, who could get anything he ever wanted came in one of the most humiliating ways.  Think about that for a second...

We come in with our degrees and expected lifestyle acting like people OWE us respect. We DESERVE respect because of who we are.  I mean don't you know who I am?

Don't you know who Jesus is!?  He came to serve.  Yea, he could've came on a white stallion but he didn't. Matthew 21:5.

That idea really makes you think.  Why do I do what I do?  Why am I a paralegal?  Why am I a person that tries to love others?  Is it because I want the recognition.  Because I want to get the respect that I feel like I deserve?  But wait...respect is the last thing I deserve.  So why am I constantly acting like I'm all that and a bag of skittles?  When my role model, my best friend, my savior, my GOD came here to serve.

Who do we think we are? to take the song title from Mr. John Legend.

Day 1 reflection:  Stop acting like I'm entitled to having respect; I should be doing what I'm doing because it's the right thing to do aka out of love.

I know who Jesus is and that's all he wants: love.

Rephrasing and Replacing. Case Study: God will never give you more than you can handle.

There is this one common Christian cliched phrase that over my life I've been guilty of reciting countless times to help people in theirs strifes.  Stop me if you've heard this one before:

"God will never give you more than you can handle."

This might sound harsh, but I vehemently disagree with the structure of the phraseology and I'll tell you why.

That phrase is the nice Christian way of telling the other people to hold on.  That they will survive and it is a perversion of the common bible verse Romans 8:28 which I quote often:  For we know that all things work together for the good of those that love the Lord and are called according to his purpose.

The problem is that we, as good intentioned Christians only look at half of Romans 8:28 and turned it into something catchy.  There's no doubt in my mind that the writer of this passage Paul (inspired by the Holy Spirit) said those words to encourage people, but I would argue that the most important part of the verse is the second half and not the first.

All things work together for the good of those that (a) love the Lord and (b) are called according to his purpose.  That's the key.  Countless times throughout the Old Testament God and other people inspired by God have mentioned that the wicked will fall.  That in the end the good will succeed when the promised Messiah rules (aka Jesus).

So, for my unbelieving readers, I do believe that God will allow things to happen to you that you just can't handle because you're not supposed to handle it alone.  You're supposed to trust in Jesus; to allow Jesus to take your bearings.  Yes, you must take a lot of the pain and suffering, but your comfort comes in knowing that no matter what happens, Jesus has your back!  All he wants is for you to love him.  That's amazing for me.

To by Christian readers, I do believe that God will allow things to happen to you so that you just can't handle because you're not supposed to handle it alone.  If you've noticed, I kept the same wording here.  I don't know about you, but just because I do believe that Jesus has my back and understands my pain doesn't mean that I BELIEVE it at the time.

One of the most effective ways unfortunately for God to get to us, believers or unbelievers, is to tear. us. down.  Strip away our riches in order to strip away our pride.  That why the songwriting William Murphy continually asks God to empty him and that he wants more, more, and more of God.  It's at those moments, God has us exactly where we wants us.  Broken.  Bruised. And it's that moment where we realize more than ever:  I need Jesus.  I can't do this alone.

And when we get out of it, we thank God for the allowance of the trials and tribulations we have in our life because we see what it did for us.  So actually, I want to thank God for allowing me to take more than I can handle [on my own].

So I am proposing a rephrasing and replacing of the common cliche.  Now this new phraseology probably isn't going to become very popular because it takes the owness off of me and my selfish desires and puts it on God and his sovereignty.  Plus, it's a kind of depressing phrase.  But if you ever feel inclined to whip out a Christian phrase, how about you try this one:

Often, God will allow us to have more than we can handle on our own so that we learn to be fully dependent on him.

How does that sound?  I don't think I'll be using that as a pick-me-up anytime soon.  But it's the truth ya'll.

The biggest damage that the common cliche can do is when that former phrase is used by well intentioned Christians to comfort those in pain.  However, most people, do not want to hear little Sunday School phrases when they are struggling.  If I was a parent and I just lost my newborn kid, that's the LAST thing I would want someone to say to me.  God will NEVER give me more than I can handle?  Is that so? Well I can't handle this!  What justice is there in killing a newborn child?

There are countless situations that this common phrase, along with others, can do irreparable damage.  The reason why we, well intentioned Christians, turn to it, is because we don't know what else to say.  I mean what do you really say to the parents of the deceased?  I'll tell you.  Nothing.  Sit there are say nothing.  Sit there are show your support.  Hug them and let them know that they are loved. Even if you aren't one to empathize, all people in strife want is to know that they are cared for.

If you agree with me, great! Let's change our mindsets together.  If you don't, that's ok too.  I am not the authority on all things so you can let me know your thoughts below.  I would love to hear them.

Above all else:

LoveGod.LovePeople.

--MJA

I Don't Have An Answer.

Today I spent church in HBIC which was my church home for half of my college life and today I was reminded why I love that place. Pastor Woody is a crazy crazy man who has a lot of stuff to say and when he really wants to penetrate with his words, he can. And today he did that exact thing to me.

He preached out of Matthew 10:16-39 which is the end of the Jesus' Sermon on the Mount which is the greatest sermon that was ever written to my estimation. At the end of this "sermon" Jesus talks about persecution and brings the parallel that since he was persecuted and eventually killed, we as Christ followers should expect the same. It's the reason why Paul says in Romans that "to die is gain."

Pastor Woody dug even deeper on soo many levels but one point he hit was that the reasoning Christians should readily accept death is because we, as Christ followers, are already dead. Jesus commanded us to take up our cross, which was the ultimate instrument of death, and to follow him.

Wow. That got me to think if I was really willing to die. I know that I've said it before but is it actual reality? Furthermore, it got me thinking on Worship and worship songs.  It made me think about how many songs I sing as a worship leader and if I was to put myself on the psychologist's couch, I honestly don't mean. Let me give examples of what I'm talking about.

From the Old Gospel Tradition: I Surrender All

I surrender all,

I surrender all;

All to Thee, my blessed Savior,

I surrender all. 

Do I really want to surrender everything to Jesus? No, I wanna hold on to my selfish tendencies, I wanna live my life My Way as the Frank Sinatra song says.

Urban Gospel: I Give Myself Away

Take my heart,

Take my life,

As a living sacrifice;

All [of] my dreams,

All [of] my plans,

Lord I place them in your hands.

Sure, it's nice to say that I'll give my entire life to Christ. That Jesus can have all of me but do I mean it to the extent of the lyrics? Probably not.

Contemporary Christian: From the Inside Out

In my heart, in my soul,

I give you control,

Consume me from the inside out.

Once again the selfish tendencies take over. I don't want to live entire as Christ. I don't always want to love my enemies. That's stupid. It's difficult. Meh.

Let me take it a step further. This sermon got me to think about the extent of what I believe. No, I'm not claiming any loss of faith on my end.  But this has brought out a questioning side of me like none other. In some way or another I enjoy having some type of answer to any question theological or practical. But on my subconscious side, there are just some questions that I can't fathom no matter how much I BS it.  Questions that I come to God as ask why? For the first time in my life, I'm completely humbled to the fact that I don't have the answers to some questions.

Let me give examples of said questions:

Why is there sin in the world? I mean fundamentally, God reigns over everything but decided to give us choice and one choice is sin. Why even give us the choice?  That just made life more difficult and overly annoying.

Why do the most righteous people I know suffer? I understand that the world is going to persecute Christ followers but why would God allow us to suffer from diseases such as cancer. I already surrendered [most of] my life to Christ so why do I need to still suffer physically?  It doesn't make any sense.

Why isn't the Bible completely historically accurate? If bible readers were to be honest, they would say that some weird stuff go on in the Bible. What's up with that!?  The academic side of me is puzzled by it.

I can keep going and going. 

It's ok. It's ok that I don't have the answers. That's what faith is for. Faith is believing and knowing that there is a reason to all the pain and the seemingly discrepancy tendencies of life.

I broke down. My life was shattered. I was humbled. I'm ready to be restored by Christ.  

Last thing I'm going to say is that answers to the aforementioned questions are in my noggin but the doubt doesn't fully go away. So I don't want people to think that I can't answer those questions.

Blessings, 

MJA

Lets Raise Up A Standard!

I'm going to open this up by saying this simple statement: There aren't too many things worse than a half-hearted christian.  A christian that knows Jesus, a christian that believes in Jesus, but for some reason or another doesn't want to follow Jesus.  This christian is forgetting about the '-ian' which literally means "follower."  So if you are a Christ-ian you literally are making the commitment to follow Christ.  Denotations aside, differences aside, the Holy Spirit is Jesus interacting with us.  And when a Christ-follower purposely decides not to continually listen to the Spirit, then there is a huge problem.

The great thing about God's grace is that he is indeed a God of a second, third, fourth, fifth...infinite chances.  That's one of the reasons I'm completely in love with God.  But with those chances do come consequences because the Bible reminds us that the wages of sin is death.  So every time we miss the mark, we are literally killing ourselves even if we don't know it.

Now, if an unbeliever continuously misses the mark, that's one thing because they don't really believe in the mark to begin with.  However, when a professed believer "misses the mark" DESPITE the warning signs that the Holy Ghost gives us, that...that's a WHOLE 'nother issue.

It is clear in the Bible that God treats ignorance and complete disobedience on two separate levels.  On the one hand those that are ignorant of God will indeed suffer his wrath if they never confess Jesus Christ as Lord.  BUT, those that know what they know and DESPITE that still disobey, that's a huge issue.

An example from the Bible is taken from Jeremiah 3:11 where God speaking through the prohpet Jeremiah says: "Faithless Israel has shown herself less guilty than false Judah." (emphasis mine)  Now lets give a little background information.  Israel and Judah used to be one nation (God's chosen people).  However, Israel continuously disobeyed God thus propelling God to weed out his "true" peeps = Judah. So, from that point on Judah was considered God's chosen people.

One of the reasons that God allowed Israel to drift apart (because God could've kept Israel around because..well, he's God) was to show Judah what he was capable of.  God used Israel as an example in hopes that Judah would not falter and if they did, repent.  So time elapsed and Judah started to follow her sister, Israel, down the same path.  By the time this verse in Jeremiah comes along, God is pretty much disgusted with both nations.

But let's point out that God emphasizes that the now ignorant Israel is held to a lower standard than the kept Judah!  What does that tells us, that those who have the Gospel, those who know the Gospel are held to much more esteem.  And with that esteem comes a responsibility   And when that responsibility to taken advantage of, consequences will happen.

I'm here to challenge those of us who profess Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  Will we rise up and set a standard that says that we will not be moved!  Sure, we will fail every once in a while because we are humans, but in the long run, we need to be committed to following Christ's teaching to the best of our abilities.  Lets raise up a standard!

We don't have too much wiggle room because the world already looks at us with suspicious.  Like hungry hyenas, waiting for us to stumble so they can pounce on our mistakes and boast at our failures.  I say, we like the Apostle Paul boast at out own failures.  Acknowledge that we have all screwed up but it's only by the grace of God we are now becoming a new creation!  If we take our standard, our calling seriously, the devil, the prince of the air, will have no way to criticize us.  The Bible reminds us that Satan will flee from us if we attack him with the Full Armor of God!

There aren't too many worse things that a "christian" that is only half in.  When it comes down to it, if you aren't for Jesus; you are against him (Matt 12:30).  When will we take our burden, our responsibility serious enough and go out and be the salt & the light to the world (Matt 5:13-16)

Lets Raise Up & Follow Our Standard!

-MJA

Righteous Anger

I don't know about you, but I grew up thinking that I shouldn't get angry.  Implanted in my brain was the idea that getting angry actually is a sign of weakness.  Not being able to control your beast mode of sorts was irresponsible; that the bible tells us not to get angry.

Boy was I wrong!  The bible doesn't tel us not to get angry.  It just reminds us to be slow to anger. (Proverbs 14:29)  Quite Frankly, there are some things that ought to get us angry.  The injustices in the world, children being killed, women being gang raped in India (if you don't know what I'm talking about Google it).  These things should get our blooding bubbling.  Make us feel queasy at society because if you haven't noticed, society is on a highway to Hell with no turning back!

No my friends, getting angry is a natural feeling.  But let me offer some advice here: we need to watch HOW quickly we get angry and WHAT makes us angry.  If every little offense gets you whipped up ready to fight someone then you might have what we call an anger problem.

I'm going to make a premise here, that the Holy Spirit actually can convict us to get angry.  It can convict us to feel some type of way about an injustice and spring into action.  Martin Luther King Jr was angry at the injustices that was happening to black people.  All of those passionate speeches wouldn't have come if there wasn't some righteous anger.  The Holy Spirit also gives us the ability to discern the difference between righteous anger.  I'm under the full belief that if you angry because of an offense to yourself, then it's probably not righteous anger.  However, if you are angry on behalf of other people, your chances improve.  Jesus tells us in John 15:13 that, "There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends." (NLT)

But it goes beyond that!  The difference between righteous anger and worldly anger can be summed up to one word: reason.  When we allow the worldly hate penetrate our hearts we tend to lose reason.  See with righteous anger, you won't lose reasoning.  With righteous anger, you see the offense, and you want to do everything possible to remedy said offense.  But here's the kicker: within reason.  MLK knew that he would probably have to die in order for true freedom to be accomplished.  So it was reasonable for him to not be afraid to go into Birmingham (which was affectionately known as Bomingham), Alabama to fight for those he loved.

The second way you know whether you are righteously angry can be boiled down to a second word: hate.  1 John 4:20 is very clear when it says : "If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen." (NIV)  When you get to the point where you hate someone for what they did, you need to take a stepback.  You can dislike the sin that they are committing, but my friends, you cannot hate the person. Righteous Anger tells someone or a group of people, "I love you but what you are doing is wrong, it's hurting other people, and I can't let you do that anymore."

What better example of righteous anger than Jesus' anger.  All throughout the Synoptic Gospels the same story (in slightly different ways) is told of Jesus' Anger.  Let's take it from Mark 11: 15-17 (no particular reasoning in just choosing Mark)

On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’" (NIV)

I'm going to end the blog with this.  Lets look at it this way.  Jesus went into the temple saw how various people were defacing it.  So he stopped all the activity and turned over the tables.  Why?  Because they turned the temple into something that it wasn't supposed to be.  You can't go into a house of prayer when there are marketers and livestock selling their goods.  He was righteously angry at what was going on.  But did you notice, he didn't tell the people that he hated them nor did he do anything beyond reason.  He didn't see red to steal an idea from Kevin Hart.  He did what he had to do and then moved on.  

That right there is righteous anger.  It's not the most popular thing in the world because even with righteous anger you will be scrutinized in the world.  However, you won't have any hate in your soul therefore you didn't sin.  Remember be slow to anger.  The world will always judge you.  So just remember to Do You Boo-Boo (sorry, another Kevin Hart reference. haha).  Be yourself and keep your head on your shoulders.

--MJA

Stop...and Think

It's been over a week since my last blog post, so I have to start off by saying, Hi!  How are you?  I missed you guys.  I've had a bunch of different issues entire into my noggin, however, there has been one that has seemingly been etched into my brain.  It's an issue that we all have.  It's a body part (kinda) that we all have, both male and female.  If you guess the tongue, why don't you give yourself a 5 second pat on the bat! *smiles*.

But seriously people, what we say, or as the bible eloquently puts it, the "power of the tongue" is a dangerous tool that we have.  What you say impacts how people view you on the surface and how you view yourself under the surface.  One thing that the bible continually states, both in the NT and OT is that we need to watch.what.we.say.  Whether is lyin or over-truthin', we need to get to the point where we stop....and think to oneself, "Hmmm...is what I'm saying reallllllly necessary? Am I "speaking the truth in love? (Eph 4:15)."  If the answer to that question is questionable (see what I did there?), then you should probably refrain from saying it in that manner.

Solomon, who was a king over Israel was known as the wisest man that ever lived.  The majority of the sayings found in Proverbs are by him.  Most of the Proverbs speak to laziness or wickedness, but there's one shining one found in the 18th chapter, 21st verse, that says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue."  You have the opportunity to help someone or absolutely crush someone with what you say.  I don't believe that we fully grasp the weapon that we have.  

He doesn't stop there though, he continues "And those who love it will eat its fruit."  Those that love the power of the tongue, those of us that love to hurt other people by words.  Those of us that need to tear other people down just to lift oneself up, will "eat its fruit."  What does that phrase mean?  It essentially means that you will use it.  What you say can have some HUGE consequences for not only others, but yourself.

Lets fast forward to the New Testament and hit the ever friendly book of James, where he devotes almost an entire chapter on the tongue (3:1-12).  No verse is more prevalent that the 8th verse where the author reminds us that, "no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison."  Whoa. Restless Evil. Full of Deadly Poison.  Next time you just blurt out an in-the-moment-extremity, be reminded how powerful your words are...

James, as he often does, leaves us slightly depressed.  I mean, he clearly states that the tongue is untameable.  So why even try?  What's the point?  All of our work is futile right?  Welllll, we do we abstain from sin?  We will never ever ever be able to fully control our humanly sinful nature right?  Oh wait, because the wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23).  Because when I'm in Christ, I'm a new creation (2 Corith. 5:17). Those seem like great reasons to at least try to tame this muscle.

What do we do?  What do you do when that person that knows how to get under your skin just catches you on a bad day?  What do you do when you feel like the only way your significant other will understand the gravity of their actions is if you curse them out?  Is there another way to discipline your kids without yelling at them?  It's hard...it's hard to control our emotions sometimes.  I'm guilty of saying the wrong thing often.  I've also been on the other side of a loose tongue.  And I can honestly tell you that they both are sucky.

Paul has an answer, he urges us to, "Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. (Eph 4:29)"  What is Paul saying her?  Basically, if the motivation for what you saying to to destroy, rather than building; to degrade, rather than uplift. Then, don't say it!  What's the age old phrase: "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."

Stop. And THINK. I'm not telling you to only say positive things. I'm not telling you to only paint the rosy picture of life because to be honest, we need to be knocked on our backs every once ina while (Especially men!) What Paul is telling you however is to stop what you are about to say and do a double check and determine if what you are saying is out of love or out of spite. There are plenty of different ways to tell your boo-boo s/he needs to relax. This method leaves room for "tough love." Just lay of the spite. There's enough spite and hate and Sphate (spite+hate) in this world.  But not enough building and loving and Buloving (I think you got that one!).

Let's go people. Lets work on controlling our tongues. Lets be responsible for what we say. Lets take this responsibility over our words seriously. No one deserves to get hurt over your words. Besides, it's less work in the long run when you don't have to take your foot out of your you-know-what.

So before you say anything (especially out of an emotional state):

Stop.....

And

Think.

--MJA

The Christian Lovers' Dilemma

One day, when I die and go to heaven, I'm going to ask God, why did you make men and women soo different?  We are soo different and yet, for the most part, we can't stay away from each other.  Now whether that's a good thing or bad thing is TBD but this blog is about relationships.  I'm not in a relationship.  In fact I'm nowhere close to a relationship, but I've read a ton about relationships and I was told I give good advice, so I'm going to give this a try.

This blog right here, is dedicated to all my Christian Lovers.

Ya know, as a Christian it's tough.  We have to "deal" with all the things that a normal person has to deal with but we also have to "deal" with a spiriutal aspect.  We have to constantly make sure that we and the Man Upstairs are on the same wave length.  We have to consistently check to make sure that it's our Father's will that we do X or Y and sometimes we don't even recieve an audible answer so we go around blind hoping that we are making the right decision.

This is especially tough in the dating/relationship realm.  What's the proper way for a Christian to date? (Yeaaa...I'm not gonna go there) However, one problem that I've had in the past is the mindset.  Too many Christians, especially younger ones have this non-biblical principle that says that: "God has this perfect person out there that is perfect for me, all I have to do is meet her/him and everything will go smoothly."  Am I bowling down your alley?  My peeps, our concept of The One is.NOT.biblical.  If you go through your life turning down he's and she's looking for your Mr. Perfect, you are going on a wild goose chase.

Yes, I do believe that God has a plan for your life and every once ina while God does seem to pull you in one direction or another but I do not believe that God tells John Doe that he will meet Jane Doe on December 21, 2012 (when the world ends).  Noooooooooo.  We have free will.  God knows ultimately what we are going to do, and there are some people more compatiable than others for us, but there isn't that one person.  We need to get out that mindset.  Let's consider the compaitable beings as little tugs from God that this person is a possibility.

Once you get locked out of that mindset, you my friends are liberated.  I know I was!  You no longer look into ever person and think: OMG is this The ONE.  Getting to know people is about having fun.  We Christians are guilty of stressifying the dating period soo much that we lose sight of the true meaning of dating.  Everyone you go on a date with shouldn't feel like they are filling out a husband/wife application.  Nein! In the get-to-know phase you do exactly that: you _________________.  Find out their interests.  Find our their passions.  If you look at this phase as having fun, you're en route to living a less stressful life!

But wait there's more!  Actually, I held back on ya'll a little.  The concept of The One is biblical.  The One I'm talking about is Jesus. God is supposed to be first in foremost in our lives.  And logically if God is first, then maybe, just maybe, we need to start looking for Number Two.

Whoa.  Number two?  That's radical and yes, you can slap me later on.  But think about it.  Let it marinate in your noggin.  You can't have two number ones can ya?  Just a thought...

But seriously people, we need to revamp our thoughts.  If you are in a relationship and you are thinking about getting out of it because the person isn't you're Mr. Perfect but you are crazy about the person nonetheless, don't be naive and do that to yourself.

I'm going to let everyone in on a secret.  No matter who you date.  No matter who you marry. No matter...you are going to have arguments.  They are going to drive you crazy?  Why?  Because you are two different people with two different opinions/interest/livelihood.

I'm going to take off my Perfect-Christian Mask and say that I get angry at God.  Me and God bicker quite often. Sooooooo, if I disagree and question the LORD, why would I think that my relationship with another sinner like me will go smooth?  Stop having this expectation my brethren.  You are ruining chances with great people and you are ruining great relationships.

With the fact that relationships are tough in your head, I need to press you on one more issue. People give up on things wayy too quickly.  When the going gets tough, we run. We're afraid.  We give up. ESPECIALLY in relationships (I am one of the biggest culprits of this).  But somehow.  Somehow we think that we can grow.  We can grow closer to our guy. Grow closer to our girl and not work at.  Here's a question: What, if anything, can you do where you stop working on it, and still have growth?
*Insert Cricket Sounds*

So then why do we magically think that we can just go through relationships half hearted and expect them to become fruitful.  Why do we think that you are supposed to be happy evvvvery day in a relationship or else boo-boo gots to go?  Why do we think that this girl isa dime, and my girl is getting on my nerves, so I can just do a lil sumthin sumthin and it'll be ok?  Why don't we work on our re-lation-ships? If you are at the point where the grass looks greener, then you need to nurture and water your lawn!

If you aren't mature enough to handle the ups and downs of a relationship, then you probably shouldn't be in one! (Ouchie)  Relationships take commitment and growth.

So what am I trying to say?  Have fun in the getting to know phase.  Don't stress about whether that person can fill out your marriage application because who knows how much your app will change when you're ready to get married. We need to get rid of the myth of the "one"  God will order our steps using His Word (Psalm 119:133) as a map but he will never tell you that you HAVE to do X.  Remember that.

When you do find that person you want to settle down with, don't give up.  If you really lovve them, you wouldn't give up so easily.  In order to have growth you have to...have to...have to work at it!

Overall, I think we need a changing.  A shifting of the phrase.  I'm looking for Miss. Perfect.  I'm looking for The One is no acceptable.  God has placed people in your lives that are compatible to you. Not perfect, but pretty darn close.  However, He wants you to seek him first.  So, I don't know about you, but I'm excited for my Number Two.

When Enough...Is Enough

Have you ever gotten to the point where you've felt like you've compromised, and compromised, and comprised just to make the other person happy?  Compromise at the heart of it, is a great thing to keep the peace.  It's a great thing to do when you have a relationship that you deem is "worth-it."  But when is too much compromising too much?  Now I know that phrase might've been a little confusing but think about it.  At what point in your life are you willing to absolutely say: No, I cannot do that.  I like/love you, but theres just somethings I cannot accept, there are certain things I cannot compromise to.  Where do you draw the line?

I'm writing this blog entry to challenge someone out there.  Not to over-compromise...no, something deeper, something more important than that...

What is your bottom line?  Ya know in marketing, companies have a bottom-line which is the least amount of money they can make and still survive, and still be successful   If the line is too low, they will certainly struggle through the life of the business, but if the line is too high, they'll push away too many people and ultimately lose money in our capitalistic system.  So the bottom-line is the happy medium between too much and too little.  Just the right amount to keep the right amount of people around.  Just the right amount to know who's their real friend.  Just the right amount to know who really supports them and...oooh...I kinda went off topic there a little bit.  But we, as humans, need to have a bottom line.

Unlike companies, our bottom line isn't necessarily to keep people or keep away from people, but our bottom line (or standard) is what makes us, us!  I'm looking around at my generation, seeing the things that people are doing and while I don't hate them for what they are doing, I can still fundamentally disagree with them and choose not to participate in that practice.  I have a standard.  I have a bottom-line that I will never cross again.  Unfortunately, in my short life span I've broken my bottom-line.  I've done things I said I would never do and in the end, it hurt me.  In the end it hurt those around me. You have to have a bottom line my brothers and sisters.

Here's the thing though, in order to have a bottom-line that's worthy of being broken, you have to have a bottom-line to begin with!  No (mature) person genuinely wants to hang around a "yes-man."  Someone that you know is down for whateva.  Someone that will never disagree with you.  Someone that just goes with the flow at all times.  That interpersonal relationship at the heart of it is shallow, it's a mile wide but only an inch deep.  We need to get to the point where we have a set values that we treasure and will not budge on.  Everything else in our life is disputable and open for discussion but these 3 or 4 things are not.  They are on the DO NOT DISTURB LIST.

Yes, I am a Christian and I will love you for who you are.  But my man, I gotta be honest with you, I don't agree with you sexin' up all those ladies like they are your property.  My lady, you are more than your body, don't let any ol guy be able to pick you up and steal your jewels.  When is enough...enough?

Yes you are going to lose friends, yes you may lose some cred for doing that but lets be honest, it's better to keep (gain) your soul than gain the whole world.  And I can tell you this, if you make your DO NOT DISTURB list now, people might not like you initially.  In fact there's a great chance you'll lose relationships.  However, in the long run, you will gain more respect for yourself and ultimately gain more respect from others.  How many people know that life is a marathon not a sprint.  We have to stop living in the moment with losing sight to our future.  I know that our culture tells us YOLO which at the heart of it is true.  But the things you YOLO can turn you into a HOBO down the line.  Yeahhh I know that was really rough.

I'm going to end it like this: God has a standard.  It's all written out for us in His Word right? When we choose not to agree or follow his standard he doesn't go chasing after us.  Overall he protects us, but when we are rebellious he doesn't protect us from "all hurt harm and danger."  He gives us his bottom line, and if we don't like it, we can (and often do) hit the road.  But, when we come around and understand why He had his standards don't we appreciate him more?  Don't we respect him more? (Check out the Prodigal Son story and imagine the father is God --Luke 15:11-32)   It's not unChristian to dislike what a friend of yours is doing.  It's not unChristian to tell someone that you don't agree with what they are doing.  It's not unChristian to just let people go if you don't agree with them.  It IS unChristian to hate people for what they do.  It IS unChristian to keep everything in.  And ultimately, it IS unChristian to just let people walk all over your bottom line like they own it.

When do you say that enough is just enough.  You have crossed the line and I can't do it anymore.  What is your Bottom Line?

--MJA

Get Out Of My Life!

Do you have that thing?  Do you have that thing that you can't get rid of?  That fallacy that will probably follow you for the rest of your life...That weakness that you have that you consistently have to keep it under grips or else it can ruin your life.  That burning desire that you just have to constantly be aware of or else it can consume you and those around you...

Of course you do.  We all do. We are broken, sinful people that are just screwed up.  We all have fallacies but we all have that one major fallacy.  For me, mine always seems to come out at the most inopportune times.  At times when I'm the most vulnerable. And to be honest, it's only my the grace of God that I don't allow it to consume those around me.

You know what I'm talking about.  That issue that you have that you hide.  That problem that you lock deep down inside of you.  You can't let anyone see it.  It's just between you and God right?  The Apostle Paul knew exactly what was going on. 

"Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.  Three times I pleased with the Lord to take it away from me." - 2 Cor. 12:7-8

A messenger of Satan to torment you.  Does anyone here know what I mean??  TORMENT, won't leave you alone! Why can't these thoughts just leave my head...Why do I have this huge flaw?  I've asked God to take it away.  To fully cleanse me of this issue but He hasn't.  Are you listening to me God?  I need to stop, I need to fully take charge of my life.

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ's power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties   For when I am weak, then I am strong." - 2 Cor. 12:9-10

Why does Paul, why do you, why do I have this thorn in the flesh?  For one, it's to stop us from being conceited   But more importantly, it's so we realize...we recognize that it is literally only by the Grace of God that we are able to control it even a little bit.  When I have my "outbreaks" I have to literally stop and pray.  It's the times when I am the weakest, when I actually paradoxically become the strongest because I'm fully relying in the Lord.

But lets not stop there because trust me, I know.  I know that sometimes I slip.  And sometimes I have to repent.  Sometimes I say or do the wrong thing.  Sometimes my weakness(es) win.  And for that, I'm coming to realize that I need to tell someone about this.  I need someone to hold me accountable for my actions.  To check on me, to keep me grounded ya know? 

Here's the thing, I wouldn't suggest using a person that is of the gender that you are attracted to (for example, I shouldn't use a woman) because when you open up like that, feelings can become attached and if something were to happen such as a break-up, it could scar you for life.  Find someone that you can confide in.  That you can trust.  But most importantly, isn't afraid to get into your face and tell you to STOP IT. Or at least that's what I've realized.  I've come to the point where I keep losing.  My thoughts, my actions are failing.  My willpower is becoming futile.  I need help.  I need help from a brotha.  

You need help.  My brotha, you need to be able to trust another man to have your back!  My sister, you need to trust ya girly to hold you accountable.  It's a scary life out there.  BUT there is hope!   I know you need some scripture  "For where two or three come together in my name, there I am with them." (Matt 18:20) And a huge emphasis on the power of 2: "How could one man chase a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the Lord had given them up." (Deut. 32:30)  By yourself, you can chase 1,000, but with another...10,000.  That's kind of a big deal.

Most likely, my Thorn(s) will always be around.  Most likely, I will succumb to it.  But I know that when I fall, I won't be weak.  I'll be stronger than ever before.  However, falling into is still isn't fun.  I don't want my thorn to tear apart my future, my friends..my life. So, I'm going to chase off the ten thousand and find an accountability partner. I will NOT let this ruin me.  And I know you won't either.

--MJA

I Disagree...(2012 Election)

So, the election is finally over and we now have a victor.  Congratulations President Barack Obama.  But also, congratulations to Republican Candidate Mitt Romney for a well fought campaign that literally came down to the wire.  It was the prime example of how a great election could be numbers wise.

I now have to write an obligatory "political" blog about the election and how elated and/or disappointed I am in the results (I'll let you choose which one if any).  However, I've seen enough hate out of my Facebook friends, Twitter follows and talk within my ear that I don't feel the need to gloat/vent about the turnout of the election because everyone is doing it for me!

There isn't anything wrong with being passionate one way or another.  But it is wrong to put down someone else's view, to try to take someone else's joy just because you are upset with the outcome.  It is wrong to just be downright disrespectful to the victor or the loser.  It's dehumanizing as well as un-Christ like.  And that's what's bothering me about the outcome.

I can handle all the mudslinging for the politicians because that's what we've come to in todays life.  But when I hear, just like I did in '08 that the world is going to end, that everyone that's against the election is gonna move to Canada, my heart aches.  In life, there are winners and losers, in sports there are winners and loser, in politics there are winners and loser.  It's just the way things go.

Disagreeing with ones policies is one thing and if people were to say, that they don't think the economy, the deficit, education, etc etc is gonna improve then thats fine with me.  It's those extra extremities that is too much.  Whatever happened to civil disagreement.  That's how We are supposed to act.  We, Christians especially, are supposed to love one another despite differences, so why is there hate?  I just don't understand. And it reallllly frustrates me as I look through my feeds.  Aren't we supposed to do everything ina loving Christian manner as Paul continuously says through his letter?  Aren't people supposed to feel the love of Jesus through us?  Aren't we supposed to be the Salt and Light of the world??? (Matthew 5:13-16)

Mitt Romney put his heart out on this election.  He was sooo into it that he didn't write a concession speech. He didn't even wanna let the idea of losing creep into his head which is the sign of a great competitor   But when he lost, he went out with grace, respect, honesty, and love.  One of the (if not THE) most disappointed man in the nation, had to get out in front of his peeps, and tell them that its over.  I can't imagine all the thoughts that ran through his head...disappointment, anger, fear...But he knew what he had to do and did an absolutely amazing job at it.  He stated that we need to pray for this nation and the President.  And I get the feeling he wasn't just saying that if you know what I mean. He put it all out on the line, no remorse, just moving forward.

And that's what we all should do.  We should respond to the results with love and grace.  You can be disappointed, but don't become disrespectful ESPECIALLY in public my friends.  Join Mitt and pray for our nation, pray for our President, pray for each other.  There are plenty of issues in our daily lives that stress us out, sooo lets not let politics become divisions from friendships, spouses, or even the church!  You can disagree, you can be sad, you can be a little upset, but remember, in alll things do it with love. (1 Corinthians 16:1)  Let's chill with all this hate ya'll.

--MJA

I Understand (Answers)

This post is part two from my previous post titled "I See You."  I would advise you to open two tabs and read each story simultaneously to  understand because this post is going to be the "answer" to the stories. The response that God says.  The response that the Bible tells us.  In the long run, my prayer is that someone is reading this that is going through a situation and one of these responses make them feel at least a little better...thats my prayer...

A.
     My son, why have you done this to your life?  Are you looking for something more?  Are you looking for answers?  I want you to realize that I'm hear.  I've been hear all along.  I've watched you tear your life apart. But I've also watched you succeed.  I've watched Satan just trample over your life, but I never let go of you.  I am what you need.  Humans are consistently looking for something...something greater than themselves when in reality, it's right in front of their face.  Look around..look at the sun, the stars (unless you are ina city), the cars...Just look at it.  I just need you to trust me.  Trust that I'm there for you.  Here's the thing, I won't make you trust me just like I'm not going to make you stop drinking.
     Realize my son, that you have people praying for you.  You mother, your father...everyone!  They love you to death...they just don't want you to see you hurt yourself.  You just have to honestly, believe in your heart you can beat this because you can.  I've made you stronger than any addiction!  I'm not promising that you will quit cold turkey cuz everybody can't. However, I can assure you, you are starting at the right spot: calling out to me for help.  I hear your call, and I will happily respond.  You just have to believe!

B.
     My daughter, no woman should have to go through what you went through.  No woman deserves it.  What your father did tore you down, down to the ground.  But let me pick you back up.

The problem that humanity has is that too often they define fatherhood and then place God in their definition.  They place God ina humanly context.  But it should definitely be the other way around.  God is the Great I Am.  He defines the perfect parent (mother and father). He's ever present, loving, caring, wise...etc. So we as humans err big time when we place God in that box.  

     I can promise you that I am greater than your father.  I can promise you that I will never hurt your like your father.  I sent my only begotten son to die for you.  If I did that, why would I ever want anything else to happen to you? I love you. One thing you have to do, is you have to forgive...you have to forgive your father for what he did.  You want to know why?  Because it wasn't his doing.  Humans by nature do wrong, they miss they mark, you miss the mark on a daily basis.  PLease don't hold his sinful nature against him. (Romans 3:23)  Don't forgive him for his sake, you have to forgive him for your sake.  Can't let that woud fester.  Once you forgive him...the devil won't have that lock over your heart...that spot over your heart, you'll be able to trust again.
     Forgiveness is the healing to those wounds. (You've Got To Forgive..my sermon)  Just remember this promise: I will love you and hold you better than any father...better than any mother..you just have to let me...

C.
     My little girl what has you troubled so much? When I look down on you and see what you've become I can do nothing but smile.  You've made your mistakes, you feel like you've made the biggest mistakes ever but trust me you havent.  You may feel alone, you may feel like no one understands but you are mistaken.  Veryyy mistaken.  I am here!  I'm want you.  I love you!  You ask me about my grace and my love.  Let me tell you this, My grace is made sufficient for you, my power is perfected in your weakness. (2 Cor. 12:9)  Often times I let my children his rock bottom, let them follow their own paths, fall at their own feet. But I never leave them there.  I'm right there to pick them up.  It's at those moments that they realize that I'm there, that I was always there.
     You may think your family doesn't care, that's not true.  You may think that they abandoned you.  But thats not true.  Many of the situations they just don't know what to do.  So they just do what they think is the best...that doesn't always feel like what they did is the best for you.  But just remember that their love probably didn't just evaporate...they want to love you..they just don't know how to.  Help them understand your pain...pray for them.   I do not condemn you.  I accept you scars, tears, and all.  Let me love you little girl...let me love YOU.

D.
My son, my son, my son.  Fathers leaving their kids is an egregious act of selfishness.  You might relate to my son Jesus who exclaimed out while he was being crucified: "My God my God, why have you forsaken me." (Matt 27:46)  I mean, I left him there to die on the cross.  Just for sinful humans.  I mean that was naive.  I'm sure that there aren't many human would do that, but I'm God.  Look at what I said to the abused daughter.  Please don't define me by humanly standards.  Think about what you look for in a father and multiply that by a thousand and that still isn't enough to express what I can be to you.
     You want confirmation?  How about the greatest confirmation...How about when your time on this life is done when I will tell you "Well done"  Well done my son. (Matt. 25:21)  You just have to trust me.  I know it's kinda hard to believe..just give me a try.  If it helps envision me as a mother.  I'm everywhere you want me to be and I'm everything you need me to be.  Real Rap.

E.
     You are a little different  You are in a different situation.  You want to help others.  You are the one praying for your mom.  It seems that your brother's untimely death just blind sided your mom.  She's afraid to lose you.  She drinks because she doesn't know what else to do.. She doesn't know how to grieve.  But my daughter, I'm right there walking along side of her.  You've come to the right place!      
    You've turned to the right direction.  Something like this however, she won't be able to fix herself.  She's going to need help.  She's going to have to accept her issues...her problems.  But for you, you have to grow up.  You have to experience life.  No parent initially wants to see their child leave the house in reality.  It's a scary thing, but eventually she'll manage.  It's like weening an infant from a bottle.  The difference is that you are still around.  You are only a Skype call away.  That's the beauty of it.  She probably won't want you to leave right away, but sometimes you have to take the initiative and go out on a limb and trust God to take care of her as well as yourself.  I have your back!  Just trust me.

So that's the end of this series.  If you have any questions or comments feel free to comment on it.  This post is just trying to help someone...anyone.   The most important thing we need to do brothers and sisters is pray for our family members that are hurting.  Because, the prayers from righteous people works! (James 5:16)

God Bless All My readers.

What's Your Story?

When I was an incoming freshman at Messiah College in '08 (whoa that's a long time ago), the theme was: "What's Your Story?"  The idea was that we all come from different backgrounds and diverse experiences and thus have a unique story to tell.  A unique story that cannot be duplicated.  Sure, people can relate to it, but no two people have the same exact story...not even siblings...not even twins. Everyone has a unique perspective on the same events.  Which is why witnesses in a crime are in one case veryy helpful, but they can also really complicate a case if their stories don't match up.

With that being said, the most powerful thing...the most life changing thing...the most unique thing about you is your story.  If I wanted to use religious terminology we would call it your testimony.  Your testimony is your life story.  It's all the mistakes you've made.  All the great blessings that God has blessed you with.  It's YOU. It's what makes you, you.

For that reason, it is the most powerful thing about you.  The bible reminds us that the tongue is the most powerful thing (Proverbs 18:21).  What comes out of your mouth can affect people both negatively and positively.  This is why...this is why we need your story.  Everything you go through, happens for a reason.  Ok, you was a womanizer.  And yes, that's not the most positive association in the world.  But, only by the Grace of God you have been redeemed.  You need to tell people that!  You have no idea who's in the audience.  Who's surrounding you.  Who needed to hear about God's love and how He loved you despite your tendencies.  But most importantly, how he redeemed you or is working on you.

Maybe in your audience you have someone that was victimized by a womanizer and need to here your repentance.  Needs to hear your repentance so she can feel the love again.  Maybe in your audience is a womanizer that's trying to change...trying extremely hard to change, but you say how you changed or is changing and you give him hope.  You give him the push to make his life better.  To treat woman with respect.

I don't know about you, but people who are open and honest about their fallacies to me gain a heck of alot more respect from me than people that try to hide it.  We like to think that our past will get us judged.  And maybe it will, maybe it deserves to be judged.  But I like to think that when we are open and honest to each other, that's where the life changing happens.  Wall building stops you from getting hurt, but it also stops the healing process.  It's not until we confess and repent, that we are about to heal from the wounds of our past.

Everyone has a story...everyone has a testimony.  And more importantly everyone's testimony matters.  Whether you was abused as a child by a drunken father or you used to be a thief or you are an alcoholic that was saved or anyyything, you life matters.  Your life can change other people's lives if you let it.  But let alone that, have you ever confessed something to someone and instantly felt the weight of the world come off your shoulders?  All you are doing there is telling your story.  Don't feel ashamed of who you was.  If you are in Christ, you are a NEW creation.  Tell the world about your new creation!
What's your story? Cuz I would love to hear it!

*By the way, that example of being a womanizer is a part of my testimony*

Let Em Uze Ya!

It's Time For A Wake Up Call

Calling all Christians!  Stand up!  Not Xtians, not christians, but Christians!  Oh you are standing?  I see you but I don't see you.  That's the problem.  We have a lot christians but no Christians.  But I mean, what does it mean to be a Christian? What does it mean to be a Christ-follower?  Does that mean I have to go to church?  Does that mean I have to be good/nice?  Sure, those things are nice, but there is an easier way to answer that: to be a Christian is to do simply one thing: to love.

I'm getting sick and tired of these "christians" out there.  If you allow me to speak bluntly, I'm tired of these people that say they are following the Lord's name, but aren't showing it.  Yes, Faith (belief) is what saves us. (Romans 5:1)  Yes, it really is that simple.  But when we believe in Jesus, when we follow him, we no longer bear our selves anymore.  We take on the name, the reputation of our Messiah.  And let me tell you, we have abused that privilege.  It is a true fact that we all have sinned.  It is a fact that we are all going to continue to sin.  But, there should be something different about you.  There should be something different about you.  How you walk, talk, not sulk (you like that?) people should see something in you.

But seriously, what does it mean to be a Christian?  It means to love.  To do everything in love.  Not lust, not anger, not spite, not hate, but love.  Why?  Because love never fails.  I'm tired of us that take advantage of the act that God did for us.  Let's go away from what he did personally in our lives.  But, have you ever stopped to think the magnitude of what the Lord did?  Wow.  God gave his only begotten son to not only die, but be crucified.  Which, at that time was the pinnacle, the worst death that could be given.  It's a slow, and agonizing public death.  And the only thing, God asked for, is for us to love.  Love God and love people. (Luke 10:25-28)

Why is that so hard?  I want to hate you.  I want you to pay for what you did to me.  What you did hurt me.  It scarred me for life!  But I can't....If I do, I lose.  I lose by hurting myself and hurting those around me.  It's easy to hate, it's incredibly difficult to love.  I'm that man in the mirror.  I'm that man that doesn't show God's grace, God's compassion in my everyday life.  I'm that christian.  And I'm sick and tired of it.

We did nothing, absolutely nothing, to deserve God's grace.  The wages (earnings) of sin (aka us) is DEATH (Romans 6:23).  Why aren't we living like we believe in that verse! When i see my brotha or sista hurting, I should not hesitate at all to help him/her.  But I do.  Because I'm selfish.  I only care about myself.  If I expend all my energy helping you, I'll have nothing left for myself.

My Christians, we need to get serious.  This is a wake-up call!  Stop taking this gift for granted.  We say we follow Christ, but do we really?  When someone trashes our reputation, do we turn the other cheek?  Are we trusting God will provide thus not envying our neighbor?

In reality, people should be able to tell you are a Christian without knowing your full name.  In reality, they don't.  Too many of us christians, are doing the exact opposite of what Jesus told us.  We are talking bad about our bosses, spreading rumors about our exes, trying to get with every pretty thing that moves on this earth with lust.   Come on people!

Yes, I do believe in the Triune God: God the Father, Son, Holy Ghost are all God.  Yes I believe that Jesus lived on this earth, was crucified, rose from the dead, ascended into heaven and is coming back again.  But people don't see what I believe.  My friends, actions do indeed speak louder than words.  In all things, I'm supposed to do in love.

One knock on Christians is that we are hypocrites.  And you know what, we absolutely are.  I am a hypocrite, I do believe that I should love all people, but I fail to do so.  I do believe that sex should be after marriage, but I personally failed to do so.  I do believe that Jesus is coming back again, but I fail to act like it.  But, the difference between me and an unbeliever is that I'm redeemed.  Yes, I fell.  I fell, I fell, and I will continue to fall, but every single time I will get back up.  I'm keeping mine eyes on the mark.  And I won't stop until I get there.  So, I'm not running away from that tag.  I am a hypocrite.  I will continue to be a hypocrite, but hopefully, over time, I will become a loving hypocrite.

With that being said:

Parents, It's time to start loving your kids.  Men it's time to start appreciating the fairer gender!  Women, its time to start loving your men!  It's time for the real Christians to stand up!  Take your spot in the world.  Let Jesus shine in your hearts.  Let the Gospel ooze from your pores.  Let the great commandment flow in your veins so that when you donate your blood, the reciever will jump up for joy because he/she felt Jesus' love in your blood! (A lil too much?  Ook)

But in all seriousness, we, Christians need to take our place in society.  We need to stand up and show the unbelievers what true love is.  No disrespect to my non-Christian readers.  But I really do believe that Jesus is the only way, truth, and life (John 14:6). So, I better live like I believe it, ya heard me!

Singleness Is A Gift From God

This is probably the hardest entry I've ever made due to the fact that this is what I've been struggling the most with recently.  It takes a lot out of me to admit this, but the more I meditate, read, and discuss with people, the more I realize that: Singleness is truly a gift from God.

I used to question why people enjoyed being single.  I mean, God made us relational beings, so when someone came around that you had some attraction to, you mind as well give them a chance right? Wrong!  It doesn't work that way and I thank God it doesn't work that way. 

I can be the first to acknowledge it: it really sucks to be single sometimes.  ESPECIALLY when all your freiends tend to be in relationships (thanks Messiah College) and you become the 7th Wheel.  You contstantly battle with that nasty bug called lonliness and you have to deal with the elephant in the room that there are going to be some nights where you are going to be alone.  But maybe that's not soo bad.  (See my blog about Divine Time-Outs).  It's necessary to be alone.  It's all about your mindset.  If you go into those nights saying, "woe is me, I'm so alone," it is definintely going to be a long night.  But, if you go into it excitied, things may change.  Now why in the world would you want to get exicted?  Well, I'll tell you!  

• You get to relax with no drama (my bros know what I mean!), no issues, just you and yourself!
• You get to do some soul searching (since its basically impossible to do it when you are with others).
• You can watch your favorite movie/tv show without ANY distractions.

Now doesn't that sounds great!!  Ok, I'm not naive enough to think that that's enough to convince anyone that spending a Friday Night alone is better than with a significant other.  But, I am going to make the argument that the world NEEDS single people.

Let's put it this way: we can do things in a much easier capacity than our coupled counterparts can.  We have an essential ingrediant called freedom.  To put it simple, we only need to worry about ourselves, and we can do whatever we want (within reason) to make us happy.

To make this practical, lets just say you are a successful musician.  Always touring and away from home.  It is SOOOO much easier to do this when you are single as opposed to married.  Married musicians constantly worry about leaving their man/woman/children and gone for Lawd know how long.  BUT if you are single, you are able to just go and do yo buisness!

Another practical example, is that, in the Bible, Jesus commands us to go and disciple right?  Well, let me ask a rhetorical question.  Is it easier to care for one person or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 or (if you are ambiitous 10)?  Obvious answer.  Single people are able to do things for the Kingdom muhch more fluently and flexibly than those encumbered by relationships.

Now don't get me wrong.  When my Miss. Amazing comes along, I (hopefully) won't hesitant to sweep her up! Best believe that!  But, stastically, you are going to spend more of your time ina relationship, as opposed to single!  Sooooooo singleness is a gift!  It's a minority in our lives.  We should embrace it and ask God: Lord, what do you want me to do with this gift of singleness in my life?  Lead me Lord, I will follow because I can do it very easily as compared to Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

Remember that emotions are only temporary, so don't let them leave a permant impact on your life! 

Weeping may endure for the night but....

--GOD BLESS YOU ALL!