Familiarity (opening remarks)

Familiarity is such a problem that modern day Christians are encountering more and more. I am going to begin a series on familiarity posts that I hope are encouraging for you. I hope in the midst of the familiarity you find in your faith, my posts can open your eyes the wonder of Christianity, but most importantly, the wonder of God.

I’ve had the opportunity to grow up in a Christian home my whole life; however, it has had its share of disadvantages through it all. This privilege that was given to me by my parents, but more specifically, God above, however, I have taken this privilege for granted.

One thing in particular that a lot of Christian children who are raised in Christian homes miss the extraordinary realization of the acceptance and dependence we find in Christ. We have lived a life of entitlement, at least, I have. I have lived feeling as though I can do whatever I want and come back to Christ for forgiveness and it’ll all be okay again. I am ashamed to admit this, however, it’s something that I’m working on and it’s detrimental that I come to terms with my feelings. Sometimes, our life with lack of ever being “without Christ” makes us less empathetic but in my heart, I am broken, for I find myself so very often unable to feel love and compassion. I know I’m not the only kid out there that feels this way! I know it! For all of you kids out there that have trouble like I do, that have trouble feeling the greatness and capturing the crazy love we have received in Christ, this is for you. Maybe you’re not even a kid, maybe you’re an adult and you feel this way as well! I don’t promise answers, I’m still trying to figure this out myself, but I want you to know that you’re not alone, and maybe, just maybe, by enlightening this topic more, we can take the first steps to figuring out the solution to this problem as well!

Contemplate your life; review your week, what have you done this week that brought you closer to God? What about further away from God? I don’t know about you, but this week, for me, was tough. I feel like this week had more “drawing away” in it then “drawing near.” I recently found myself contemplating my lack of sympathy for an individual caught between a rock and a hard place, in the shadows of sin, in the darkness of individual pain. I justified my numb feelings by saying “they did this to themselves” or “its best for them to figure out this for themselves” or even, I shamefully admit, I give up on them, I lose compassion and tell myself that I can do nothing about it. Maybe you’re reading this and you say “That’s true, though.” And while, yes, maybe this is true, I think we forget that in the midst of crisis, there is never a moment where we cannot do anything. Can we change the situation? No. Can we end the pain? No we cannot end the pain or change the situation, at least, not on our own. 

Closing Remarks (familiarity series)

So, the question is, where do we go from here? The question is as simple and complicated as rededication. Every day is an opportunity to grow in Christ, to rededicate our hearts, to give him more and more of our hearts. Every day is a chance God gives you to be me more like him, to grow in your faith. Every day is a new opportunity, but if we become familiar, we miss the newness of life in every breath.

We should never stop striving for more of God. Is there ever a point where a Christian can say “I have enough of God; I don’t need to strive for him any more than I do now.”? Indeed, there should never be a time as that. Though we may never think we do that, we may do it in a different way, in a more subtle way. Indeed our heart is should be Christ’s home, we should keep no nook, cranny or closet to ourselves. We should never gain a sense of familiarity where our current faith is enough for us, where our current relationship with Christ is deep enough to satisfy us. Truly, we should be swimming deeper each day, may we be satisfied with Christ, but never satisfied with where our faith is. May we always strive to dive deeper, I hope our lives never reflect familiar complacency in Christ.

Part 7: Sincerity (familiarity series)

The next principle that is so very detrimental in our Christianity is sincerity. Sincerity of heart is something a lot of Christians don’t have, and, admittedly, my familiarity of Christianity seems to chafe off my sincerity and replaces it with obligation. When you worship with music, is it simply words on the page you are singing? Is your Bible time just another check to complete on your task list? Where is the sincerity? One second we bow before Christ saying we are the dust of the earth and but a worm of filth, and the next we are broken because nobody likes us and we ever strive for this to be true. We tell Christ “we surrender all” and we still horde corners of our hearts for our own individual lusts and fulfilments. This is not sincerity; this is trying to please God and man as well as yourself. Do you sincerely spend time with God, or is God just something you use to impress others? Do you worship Christ with your doors closed as an act of worship between you and him, or do you do it in a flaunting obnoxious manner to impress those around you with your “sincerity” or as I say, “sincere insincerity?” Our familiarity with Christ sometimes leaves us with insincere hearts, and insincerity accomplishes most nothing for God’s work on earth.

Part 6: Christ's Light (familiarity series)

Christ’s light is also a forgotten principle in our life. What do I mean by this? Bear with me through my rocky analogy, please. Let’s use the old analogy of sin being darkness and Christ being light, which one would you choose? Obviously you’re going to say the light, right? But if we hate the dark, why do we fall off the path of light? I think there’s a lot to be said about this topic, but first I’d like to talk about the heart. The heart is sinful and desperately wicked, there’s no way around it. In Christ we are new creatures, sin is past and righteousness is our future, but that doesn’t take away mankind’s sinful nature. Though we have received Christ light in our life, there is still the flaw of Adam and Eve that reproduces itself in every individual. We are a little bit of hell on earth, that’s what sin is. Our natural sinful nature of mistrust in God, striving for individual control, and lust for individual happiness and fulfilment in the things of the world are very real problems that all Christians suffer from in some way, shape or form. We stray from the light because we are sinners, lusting for individual achievements and fulfillment. The first step in the issue is realizing our sin, the second is confession to Christ, and the third is constant work, through the power of Christ, to stay committed to the cause of the cross so our trust in God grows and we do not stray from the dark. The light is a better path, however, it’s sometimes scarier than the dark because the trials and flaws are illuminated which otherwise may be dark and ignorable. However, though this is discouraging, we have the comfort and power of Christ that, if we let him, he may remove these obstacles and flaws from our life. Will there be stumbling? Of course, but we have to stay in the light. We Christians become familiar with the lighted path, sometimes, and forget the power we have in the light, to illuminate the dark in other’s lives. This power, through Christ, should not be taken lightly, though we most often do so out of our familiarity.

Part 5: Evangelism (familiarity series)

So what else have we forgotten about? Evangelism, we have forgotten about evangelism. Not only do we, as Christians, abandon our duty to share the gospel story of God’s relentless grace, we forget to shine in this world of darkness. We forget about the saving power of Christ and that it is our duty to share this saving power wherever we go, but it’s so much more than that. Every aspect of our life should be a model of God’s grace. When we are driving, do we model God’s grace? Do we let that person enter our lane in front of us or do we speed up and make sure they don’t get the opportunity to get that spot, after all, we are children of God, entitled to the best of everything, right? Not so. There are so many examples of everyday encounters that not only do we have the opportunity to share the gospel message, but we get to share Christ’s love in all we do.  I pray that we would be givers, in every aspect of our life, just as Christ gave of his glorious position, lived with few “possessions” on this earth, and gave endlessly of his time and “talents” for the glory of God, his father. I pray that we would also give up our lofty vision of high ranking positions and entitlements to the best this world has to offer, and remember that our treasure is in heaven, not in this earth. I dearly pray that when God has laid someone on your heart, whether to share the gospel with, pray for, or simply love on with Christ’s love, that you would not deny the calling. Step out, do God’s work. What’s the worst that’s going to happen? People might look at you weird?

Part 4: A Forgotten Need (familiarity series)

The fourth battle I wish to fight: Our belittlement and forgetting of our need for Christ. If you ask most any Bible-believing Christian whether or not they need Christ for salvation, your answer would most likely be yes, we most definitely need Christ to receive salvation, save for the few who  believe good works are the way to get to heaven (Ephesians 2:9). Even though we are completely dependent on God’s grace, we forget that sometimes. We forget that the only way to receive salvation is choosing to accept the grace of God in his gift of salvation. Now, I say this with full knowledge that most of you reading this have probably accepted God’s grace in the form of his gift of salvation, however, I think we lose the picture of how extraordinary it is! We lose the newness, and in the loss of the newness we lose the extraordinary picture of God’s abundant love. We lose the huge, crazy reality of his love. We lose the idea that the King of Kings, The Lord of Lords, The Great I AM sent his one and only begotten son, Holy, without spot, blemish, and sin, a flowing river of purity flowing on eternally, we forget that God sent his one and only son to die for good-for-nothing sinners that flood this earth. Good gracious, why?! Because of God’s extraordinary love, a love we forget about, a concept that is blurred in the lines of familiarity, a concept we take for granted every single day. Imagine your child sacrificing their life to save that of another; imagine the emotional trauma of that alone. Now, try to imagine the trauma of that individual not appreciating the sacrifice of your child. How would that make you feel?

Part 3: God's Acceptance (familiarity series)

The third battle of familiarity to combat? I believe God’s acceptance is something most Christians take for granted as well. We have the expectancy that no matter what we do God will always take us back. Though that may be somewhat true, this is a ridiculous and horrible way of thought! Taking advantage of God’s grace? Does this sound like you? My cheeks burn red with shame as I accept the reality that I have, indeed, taken advantage of God’s grace. It seems to happen every day, we take advantage of the ability to step off the path and run back to God for his grace. But –oh! What needless pain we bear! Not only do we take for granted his grace, but we forget that taking advantage of his grace comes at no small cost. We can’t exasperate God’s grace, which indeed is a phenomenon in and of itself; however, we still pay a huge cost. We will experience trials, tribulations, needless pain, and beyond any trial we may experience as punishment of our straying from the path of God, we experience a cut in the relationship between us and Christ. Every sincerely un-repented sin is a fresh spring of future sin that flows on forever until sincere and broken-hearted repentance occurs. You might think that abuse of God’s grace comes at low to no cost, but I guarantee you, there will always be problems that arise from this abuse. 

Part 2: God's Word (familiarity series)

What’s my second battle of familiar belittlement I wish to fight? The crazy opportunity that we take for granted every day, and that is God’s word. When was the last time you read your bible? No judging from me, it’s been a couple days for me. Not only that, but when you read your bible is it out of obligation or desire? Do you want to read your bible, is it a deep thirst to hear, or read more specifically, the words of God? We take this honor and privilege for granted, every. Single. Day. Wycliffe Bible Translators estimate that 180million people do not have the Bible in their language, 180 million people. These people are left without knowledge of God’s love or his promises you have the opportunity to know. Does that really sink in? For me, it didn’t really sink in; it still hasn’t really sunk in. All I know is this, we all have the opportunity that 180million people are denied every single day. So next time you choose to do something else instead of reading God’s word, contemplate your familiar denying of an everyday grace given to you by God. May you thirst for this opportunity on a daily basis.

Long Days

Have you ever had a day you never thought would end? Maybe you woke up too early and couldn't get back to sleep so you spent your day exhausted, all the while the day dragged on, second-by-crawling-second. Maybe your work or way of life has left you attempting to deal with people who are less than desirably who you want to deal with. You spend agonizing minute after minute trying to please, take care of, and deal with these people.

It's time for a refresh.

"Today is just not my day!" you may say! (Oh dang, check out my rhyming skills!) Indeed, it is not your day.
Psalm 118:24 "This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it!"
Yes, indeed today is not your day, it is the Lords. Let him work through you today.

God is Crazy

God is crazy. Yes, reread that sentence. No, I didn't typo, I didn't stick my foot in my mouth, I meant that exactly how I said it. God is hopelessly, endlessly, reliably -CRAZY! I suppose I should explain the context in which I mean that, but truly, God is crazy... I'm so glad he is, I am so endowed in thankfulness for his absolute insanity...

                                      6 months ago...

I sat on the balcony overlooking the ocean, with no land in sight. The sun set and I sat there for the continuing hours. I stood up and leaned on the railing, tears violently pouring down my face. As my sobbing became more violent, I pounded on the railing screaming "I'M HERE, I'M HERE..... I'm here.... oh God please use me... Why, oh God, do you have me here?! You must be CRAZY!" and indeed, I was just scratching the surface. I put my headphones on as music poured through the speakers. "...Lead me where my trust is without boarders, let me walk upon the waters... wherever you would call me" I raised my hands in prayer and submission to Christ, praying these words to him. Never would I have imagined, he would take me up on the offer, to where my trust is without borders, walking upon the waters, following his will.

                                        6 months later...

Here I am, faced with the biggest, most terrifying, choices of my life. I am caught in a bitter clash of past choices who have made me who I am, and present choices I am making, molding me into the person I will be. I am terrified by my individualism, and yet my choices to follow God's will. I pray fervently as to follow Gods will, and I am terrified. I have told myself that I don't care if people hate me, if I am kicked to the curb, if I am rejected by those closest to me, as long as I follow God's will... but I have lied to myself. Though I am following God's will, I am terrified that I will have to walk away from everything I love, everything that is familiar to me. As I confess this, my cheeks grow pink in shame. Praying for strength in the coming days, weeks, months and years. Oh God, Lead me where my trust is without borders. Indeed, the insanity of God is leading me exactly to where my trust is borderless.