ooooh jersey shore ;)

Lately, I’ve been kind of annoyed by all the ‘arguing’ that happens over Christians boundaries. When it comes to things like music, movies, TV, social events and other stuff – there’s always different perspectives and opinions on what is right and what is wrong; what’s okay and what isn’t? I guess the reason I mention TV/movies/music is because I hear them talked about the most. For example; jersey shore... some say its wrong as a Christian to watch it, some say it’s no big deal. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not writing this to say I have an answer to what IS okay and what ISN’T, cause frankly – I just have yet another opinion to add this debate... I’d rather mention the fact that our view of sin should be GREATLY affected by our view of God.

The reason we don’t really get sin is because we have shrunk God. Sin has become an ‘ooops!’ rather than realizing that when we sin – we sin FIRST (on the deepest level) against God! That is a pretty big deal I’d say.  --- this thought was mentioned in church a week or so ago and as usual, it caught my attention.

It’s SO easy to disrespect our parents, the elderly and those around us because we’ve forgotten that by disrespecting them – we disrespect God. DISRESPECT GOD! If we were really aware of how big, great, holy, righteous, powerful etc. God is... we would shiver at the thought of disrespecting him. But we forget that by disrespecting those around us (gossip, lies, disobedience, rudeness), we disrespect God on a much deeper level...

I personally think it’s kind of similar when it comes to the music I listen to, what I watch on TV or in movies... I personally think jersey shore is straight up stupidity (I don’t understand how it can possibly be entertaining), but I also really believe that by watching that – I support what it is on some level. I support partying, swearing, immorality, drunkenness... I think you get the point... the bible is pretty clear on those topics... it IS sin. How can watching other’s sin like that become our entertainment... that stuff IS offensive to God, and if I support it – wouldn’t I be offending God? I don’t want to be offending God... do you? I guess I think people need to re-evaluate how they view God, who they think He is, what he stands for... that should affect HOW you live, what you watch and listen to, where you go to hangout; it should affect every aspect of who you are. Live wisely – and wisdom begins with God.

I know it’s complicated because to be honest, most TV shows have something in the that wouldn’t be pleasing to God, most movies and music as well. In the end, everyone does have their own boundaries and limits... but I think sometimes, those boundaries are pushed pretty far. There are some shows I see, movies and music too, and I wonder why the Christians around me aren’t completely disgusted by these things...

In the end, I think we need to be reminded of who our God is. Read the word, go to church, pursue your relationship with God – push yourself. Tune out all the noise of everything else and just focus on God – re-evaluate how you see Him. This will completely change your view of how you should live... we realize whether or not we are making WISE choices – is how we live really how God intended? Or have we allowed ourselves to dip our feet into the ways of the world... just something to think about...

lazy?... fail.

Laziness is like the ultimate way to destroy yourself. That might seem a little bit over the top – but I think it’s true. Sit on the couch all day, every day and your health declines. Expect your parents to always give you money because you’re not willing to get a job - slack on your school work because it’s not as important as watching TV or updating your facebook status – give up on trying to accomplish anything because it’s just ‘too hard’ – don’t work at keeping a relationship with a family member or friend alive because it’s just ‘too much work’ – I think you get what I’m saying... in the end, laziness results in failure.

Laziness allows for something good to fall into a bad state and fall apart.

Proverbs 24:30-34

“I went past the field of the sluggard,

Past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgement;

Thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds,

And the stone wall was in ruins.

I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw:

A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest –

And poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man”

Being lazy in your faith – I guess to me would be if I stopped reading the bible regularly and stopped spending time with God through prayer. If I stopped ‘learning’, I would fail to apply things to my daily life – I wouldn’t put my faith into action as well. If I started ‘pushing the boundaries’ of what is considered ‘wrong’ and started to act like the world... failing to stand apart for Christ. If I stopped completely living for God and just added ‘the Christian religion’ to my life without taking it seriously – I would be lazy in my faith; lazy in building the kingdom; lazy in growing in God.

Reading that proverb, it shows that the person who is lazy and does not work – will have their ‘field’/’vineyard’ come to ruin. When you start to act ‘lazy’, things go downhill! I think it is the same when it comes to faith – when we stop working, trying, pushing ourselves and our knowledge; when we stop moving and stand still – our relationship with God is no longer at the front of our lives – something else has taken our focus... or maybe you just have no focus and have given up – either way, laziness = failure.

This passage was spoken about the other week in church – and yeah, it got me thinking. Of course the Pastor went into more detail – and probably made more sense than I am – but I’m just sharing my thoughts with you. I guess I just really can see the importance of opening the bible and reading it and studying it to better understand its meaning. I see the need for prayer in our daily lives – the need for movement in our faith. Don’t stand still – walk forward – run forward... grow, learn, apply and all the work is more than worth it in the end. We hear stuff like this all the time, it’s become more of a ‘Sunday school lesson’... but yet there are so many people who easily shrug it off. I’ve done it and I know for a fact that when my relationship with God starts to lose its importance, other area’s in my life start to fail as well – but when God is my main priority and focus, everything starts to piece together and grow.

I guess I don’t want to just repeat what we’ve heard so many times before – but I just wanted to stress the important of delving into God’s word and studying it – learning and reflecting – praying and spending time with God – applying all the we learn to our daily walk and really watching our lives change as a result of that – don’t be lazy! Don’t sit back – run full speed towards God.

attitudes are contagious

Everyone has days where negativity completely absorbs them; I think it’s fair to say that it’s normal. We all go through events and situations where we want to give up and give in. We want to get angry and stay angry, we want to cry and keep crying... negativity has nothing good about it... nothing. I’m not talking about ‘venting’ or ‘letting it all out’, what I mean is, it is so dangerous to allow negativity to blur your vision and affect everything in your life... because it will if you allow it too...

I have to say, I’m not sure how Christians can allow themselves to be so completely negative about life, the world, or anything really... I guess it depends on what you’re living for, what you feel your purpose is and how you see God. We all struggle, we all feel hurt and down, we all give things up and lose things, we deal with A LOT in life – but to allow ourselves to be brought down by all the negative and then to just dwell in it... I don’t think that is what God intended for anyone... The bible says SO much about being Joyful – in the good and bad times – no matter what, be joyful... why? Because we serve an amazing God who has so much love and purpose for each and every single one of us. Be joyful because He has a plan, He has poured His grace out, He is our healer and redeemer. He gives us what we stand in need of... how can we worship a God so amazing with a negative heart?

Psalm 100 “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is good. It is He who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

People always say ‘no one wants to be around someone who is always negative about everything’... I think it’s very true. I remember at one point in my life, I was always negative about something – I looked for stuff to complain about – I always had something to say to darken the bright faces in the room... after awhile I began to realize that if I kept it up – people wouldn’t want to be around me anymore. I can understand that we all have to vent and let loose sometimes, we all have to talk and be honest about the ‘not-so-good’ things in life. But to dwell on them will burden your heart... and it WILL affect you. It will steal your God-given joy! We were created to worship, to serve, to love, to be God’s hands and feet – we have purpose from our God - that should give us joy. We have a God who is always with us even when we fall – that should give us joy. We all have blessings even though at times they can be hard to see, we have so much – that should give us joy. We have so much to offer, to share, to give – that should bring us joy.

Sometimes life throws stuff at us that brings us down – but to stay negative is a choice. We have so much to live for – God... I don’t believe for one second that God desires for us to live negative lives... negativity closes off your heart to so much... God wants your heart to be open for Him... what will you choose? Attitudes are contagious.  Are yours worth catching?

Paul's Prayer in Prison

Colossians 4: 2-6 “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

The other week in Church, the pastor shared this verse during his sermon and discussed the importance of prayer in all circumstances, especially when it comes to witnessing. Prayer is powerful. However; the thing that really caught my attention was the fact that Paul wrote this while in prison, yet he doesn’t pray that his circumstances might change... although I’m sure he would have loved to get out...

Paul’s prayer is that he might be able to share the gospel message with those around him, that he would be able to do it clearly and successfully. Here he is in, in prison, and he prays that God will help him to be a witness there and change lives! He prays that God will use the circumstances he is already in to bring glory to God rather than praying that God will change his circumstances... I thought, if I was in prison as Paul was – my first prayer would be somewhat of a desperate cry for help in order to GET OUT of prison so that I could more easily do what God wanted me to do in the first place... give or take, it would probably be something like that.

I admire the fact that Paul is still focused on his task, no matter his circumstances. He prays that God will USE him IN the circumstances he’s in. He’s focused on God and what he can do for God no matter what, no matter where, no matter how... because God is not limited! God can do ANYTHING, ANYTIME, ANYWHERE... why do we feel at times that our circumstances can put a hold on God using us? For example, I’ve heard people say things like ‘as long as I’m living here, I can’t do great things for God’, ‘Once I have more money I will be able to do more for God’ and even ‘God can’t use me until I have it all together, I’m too big of a mess’. Why do we think that our circumstances can limit God? No matter what, God will use you if you’re willing... no matter when, no matter where and no matter how. Of course we have to work at it too, but I guess the point I’m trying to make is we can’t put limits on God... it’s almost as if we make excuses for being ‘lazy’ in acting out our faith.

It’s hard to think that no matter what circumstances we’re in, we’ll do our absolute best to be a witness for God, we desire for Him to use us all the time, no matter what! If things are terribly hard in our lives, if we feel completely broken/empty/hurt/confused/angry... or even if it’s just the opposite, God should be first! Should our desire to serve God change due to the situations we’re in? Is it okay to think ‘Okay! I’ll serve God now because it’s easy and I’m able!’, or should we be thinking more along the lines of ‘I’m going to serve God now, even when it is most difficult.’ I guess it all goes back to whether or not we’re making it ALL about God. It NEED’S to be ALL ABOUT HIM.