Uncompromising

Isaiah 40:28-31

28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.

29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.

30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;

31 but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.



So this week I watched the the Obama inauguration in school and it started off with the music and the invocation prayer and stuff. Normally I'm not really an avid follower of politics or anything but I guess I paid more attention because the gay community is all in uproar about Warren being picked to deliver the invocation. Anyways so at the end I was a little disappointed (esp. after watching the Brittany McComb video)because Warren seemed a little.....eh. He didn't preach Christ or eternal life; most of his speech was pretty much passive and vague enough to satisfy pretty much everyone. The point of me saying this is not to criticize the guy, but I guess I feel sort of responsible. This is really cheesy I know, but some day the kids in my grade are all going to be grown up and we're going to be leading America. Most of the time I feel like a lot of the Christian youth I meet are too passive, too willing to give up their beliefs in exchange for outward acceptance. Either that or I guess we kind of have a desensitized view on the fragile state of life and the immense gift Christ offers us. You probably can't compare a speech made up by a high school valedictorian to a speech read at the inauguration of the first black President (with millions watching), and certainly there is a lot of pressure to avoid controversy...but still, I think values should still stand, regardless. There seems to be a fine line between being tactful about evangelism and compromising the message of Christ to the point where you only skim the very surface and never actually get to the heart of Scripture at all. haha...I seem to be getting sidetracked. Anyways, I just feel as someone who is starting to get older I should try harder to examine my life and make sure that I'm not compromising anything. In the end I will only face God's judgment. My favorite verses of that passage are the last two; even though I may stumble or grow weak, the Lord will renew me. His strength is going to be what will carry me through, what will help me lead an uncompromised life, a life for Christ.

Psalm 119

1 [a] Blessed are they whose ways are blameless,
who walk according to the law of the LORD.

2 Blessed are they who keep his statutes
and seek him with all their heart.

3 They do nothing wrong;
they walk in his ways.

4 You have laid down precepts
that are to be fully obeyed.

5 Oh, that my ways were steadfast
in obeying your decrees!

6 Then I would not be put to shame
when I consider all your commands.

7 I will praise you with an upright heart
as I learn your righteous laws.

8 I will obey your decrees;
do not utterly forsake me.

This week has been so much work because of midterms so I had to try really hard to keep myself disciplined in Scripture and prayer. Most of the time whenever I struggle with keeping daily devotionals its because the night before I was working until way too late...and Scripture is always better when you can read it and think it through clearly. So not to be redundant here, but I think the retreat and Spiritual Disciplines book were blessings to my life because they remind me of my true purpose on this earth: to live like Christ would. So this psalm was really encouraging to me and I really hope that I can remain steadfast in Him.

So recently my parents opened up a wine store in new york and while my dad/brother work there all day, my mom will go help out after she gets off from her own job. So basically a lot of time now it's just me and my little brother at home because my parents don't get back till ten thirty or eleven, plus they work the weekends now too, and I realized all the things my parents do for me. At first I was really annoyed because my parents always come home exhausted and generally very irritated if the house was messed up when they came home. Also I guess it was a transition for my family life, since now I guess I'm responsible for taking care of my brother and the house more than usual, but I remembered a verse I memorized in my old church:

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.

Romans 12:9-10

Now honestly when this was going on I was kind of thinking a lot of selfish things because I felt like this huge load was dumped on me without being asked, and school basically takes up a good deal of my time. But, remembering the verse was a blessing, especially the last part. Honor one another ABOVE yourself. So even though at first I thought it was completely unfair that my parents were gone all the time, I realized that love isn't something that is measured in fairness. If it was, I really don't think we'd deserve Christ's love at all. I love my parents, and I love my brothers. We may not always show it through affection, but I am thankful God has blessed me with parents who work so hard to support their family. If Scripture tells us that we must honor one another above ourselves, then I should treat my family so. I really hope that God will help me shine His light in my own family, and that they can see Christ's love working through me, even if it starts just by me washing the dishes and making dinner.

Patience.

And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone.

1 Thessalonians 5:14

Man okay so I'll be the first to admit that I have temper problems. Whenever something goes wrong or someone does something in a way I don't like, there's a good chance I'll snap at them or end up saying something that hurts their feelings. I don't know if alot of you guys have seen that side of me, not many things annoy me when I'm hanging out at retreats or worshipping. But it's the times where I'm not directly worshipping, praising, learning about God that I forget myself. That would pretty much leave my time at school, home, etc. It's how I've reacted since I was a little kid. Lacking in patience. But this verse is so good that I stuck it on the bulletin board in my room as a reminder, cuz as a follower of Christ it's important to do more than read the bible. Gotta live up to the Word, gotta live up to be like Christ, amen? So I guess the very last part of the verse is what speaks to me the most, be patient with everyone, no matter how they are or what they've done.

Work

But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.
2 Chronicles 15:7

This verse centers around one thing: work. A life for Christ includes things like joy, love, hope--but alot of times we tend to focus on those things because those are the things we want for ourselves and the people we care about. We forget that without work, our spiritual lives are empty. Reading the bible every day, praying every day, going to church; these all require our time and effort, and not putting our heart into it is what keeps us from having a truly intimate relationship with God. Another thing is letting guilt get to you. Sometimes it's really hard for me to get back on track if I haven't read the bible that morning because I know that I should have...but didn't. There has to be a connection between wanting to know God and realizing that the way to know God is through hard work and daily discipline. It's the same thing with school pretty much; you'll get more out of it if you work harder at it, and even more so if you place your heart into your studies instead of doing it begrudgingly. A while back Pastor Steph made an analogy to our lives and a salmon run--basically when all the salmon swim back to freshwater as a part of their life cycle. Some of them travel thousands upon thousands of miles up waterfalls and against rapids against gravity and against the tremendous force of rushing water...now how is that not amazing? But if the fish falters, if the fish stops swimming, there is no doubt that it will be swept away by the current. The same thing applies to our lives...if we stop working to fill our minds with Scripture, with God, we will be swept away by the world, taken in by temptation and sin. That is why it is so easy for christians who don't know Scripture to fall back into patterns of sin. The world we live in basically encourages us to get as much possible by doing the least amount of work; our human nature only encourages this if we give in to our laziness. Not to say that I always feel like reading the bible in the morning, but keeping in mind Christ's love and the heavenly reward of eternal life is more motivating than just thinking "Ugh, I have to read the bible because I promised myself I would every day". After all, what's a bit of time each morning compared to the promise of eternal life?

Jesus is my truth

"You are a king, then!" said Pilate.
Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."

John 18:37

Truth is something we all search for. Some people devote their whole lives trying to come up with the answers to life. A few summers ago I took a philosophy course at JHU during the summer and we learned about a lot of philosophers; old school guys like Socrates and Confucius, and newer ones like Bateson and Dewey...anyways. These guys spent their years coming up with a whole bunch of theories on a variety of topics. Point is, people want the truth about everything. About creation. About mankind's existence. About love, hatred, happiness...the list goes on and on.

Guys, realize that truth can be found at the cross. Truth is Jesus. He is the only one that satisfies that inner desire to know something is pure and can withstand time and all else. If we turn to the cross we can find the truth that will illuminate our lives with His light...only the love of God is capable of moving us in such a way.

The other day I saw this poster that said, "Why believe in a god? Just be good, for goodness' sake!"

For me I guess that was how I viewed life before I came to Christ, trying to be good and obedient to my parents and all that. We're raised to be the "bigger person", to overcome our troubles just for the sake of being good and moral human beings. As well intended as these teachings are, they aren't realistic at all. Despite your good intentions, how many times have you lied? How many times have you experienced anger, frustration, even hatred towards others? The mantra of being good just for the sake of goodness has no lasting motivation because we are depending on ourselves. The only way we'd be successful through depending on ourselves is if we were inherently good anyways, and there wouldn't be any problems then.

This is why the cross is truth-it acknowledges our sinful nature, instead of treating it as something that can go away by itself through sheer human willpower. Scripture acknowledges that man is imperfect, that temptation is always near. Even Christians do not walk perfectly straight paths--we all have our down times and fall victim to the things of this world. The cross offers us truth because it says that Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins now and forever, and through the love and sheer willpower of God we can live lives based on light and truth.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.

Christian Lifestyle

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Romans 12:10-12

This verse is especially applicable to my life as I continue to grow in my spiritual walk with Him. The work that we do for Christ is for Him and Him alone. It isn't for our own self-image so that others will look at us like we're the perfect Christian--there is no such thing, otherwise we wouldn't need the cross at all. Alot of the churches I have visited in my past I feel like there are always kids and leaders who try to uphold this kind of "Christian" image or stereotype. But that's exactly what it is--an image, an imitation of the real thing. This is what happens when God is not the driving force of your life. I believe that if you are truly saved, the Lord will change the way you live your life drastically. It's not a part that you have to play while you're at church or around your Christian friends, which is what I feel like we've all done at some point in our lives. It is a genuine change of heart that will compel you to live your life that way. Christ is your motivation; God's strength and God's love will be able to help you see it through.