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Under Siege

Last night I came across a psalm that is now one of my favorites. That psalm is psalm 31, and if you don't know it by heart I demand that you do that right now. Just kidding, I can't demand anything out of you. But the point still stands that this psalm kind of fits in with my life perfectly as it is.

You see, my life has been at a standstill, like I am running in place on a treadmill (see my last post, Passing Through). I feel like I am focusing myself on Christ, yet I am staying put. But not until yesterday did I understand that maybe God wanted me to learn something in my time here on this "plateau". Perhaps there is a reason that I have been in the same place spiritually for a while, and after weeks of searching do I believe that I finally got an answer.

A lot has been happening in my life recently, family matters, school and the like. Moments of pain are still being eclipsed by God and my soul is being refreshed in the eternal waters of Christ. But I have been taking steps around the true matters and serious situations that God has put me in; I am calling it "denial". I am denying the fact that my "city" is under siege.I am being hard-pressed to stand under this siege of situations and temptations. My life is being shifted and morphed around me and that can be scary (because if you haven't been through it yet, I promise you that you will). But one fact, perhaps the only true fact in life, was eluding me during these past weeks; and that is that God is with me and with you and with us in all situations. the 21st verse of psalm 31 reads:

"Praise be to the LORD, for He showed me the wonders of His love

when I was in a city under siege."

This was the verse that made me stop. I stopped and stared. God, the God of the universe that came to earth to die for us, shows us His love even when we are under siege (and for clarification a siege was a time when an army would enclose a fortified city and basically starve the inhabitants out). Even during the times of doubt and despair, God is showing us more and more of His love. His almighty love, that rescued us from the grave. 

You have heard it said that God whispers in the good times and uses the mega horn during the bad. That is true, so don't give up. He is the same God now and forever, and He never stops showing us His love, even when we forget that.

All glory for Christ! Who saved me, a sinner.

Passing Through

First post in a long, long time. As a high school student involved in about every extra-curricular activity you can imagine, I have been quite busy. In fact, while I am writing this I should be doing homework. Theology homework isn't so bad though.

I have come to a point in my life where I feel like I am on a treadmill.  I see where I am going (that would be fixing my eyes on Jesus) but, it feels like I am just walking in place. I am praying, reading, striving, and trusting in His grace and strength, yet it seems like I am going nowhere, or at least I think I'm not. Its funny how after a spiritually dry time you can look back and see that God was still working, kind of like the stage crew for a show. (The only exception is that God is working behind the stage AND He is the main show).

Anyway, I know that God is still here with me, and that even when I am at my weakest, when I feel the most spiritually deprived, He is holding me in the quiet terror of His unimaginable strength (terror in a good way). A friend of mine texted me a couple of verses that just spoke to me, and they were 2 Corinthians 12:9-10:

⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

As Christians, our strength comes directly from God. And surprisingly we, the weak vessels of the world, are the chosen carriers of His strength, which abounds through our weaknesses. Passing through in faith is a hard thing, especially when we feel like we are not growing closer to God. But we are promised that His strength will be with us, especially when we are weak. 

Plateauing part 1

Lately, I have been striving after my relationship with God.

Not saying that I am not constantly striving after God, but sometimes we hit what I call "plateau" areas of our faith. I am sure you know exactly what I am talking about. Its that time of your faith where you want more and more and more yet you are staying at the same level with God, as if you are on a plain and there is no rise in sight.

I am definitely in one of these areas right now. I am not falling away from God, but I am just at a standstill, as if I am unable to move. As I have been squeaking out prayers for growth and a revolutionary step toward my Lord, I am humbled by the fact that I have that revolutionary step in my possession. I have it in my pocket, I have three on my bookshelf, and I have one on my nightstand. Can you guess what one of the best gifts that God has given to us is? That's right! The BIBLE.

Some find it hard to believe that God really is present on the actual pages and actual ink that makes up the Bible. But I can personally testify that He is. He of course is with us at all times and carries us through our daily lives, but He is ready to speak in the pages of that ancient book.

 It bothers me when people say that "God won't answer my prayers." Because often when I ask if they are reading their Bibles, they say no. I feel like this generation is geared toward mysticism and desire an encounter with the Holy Spirit in the forms of visions, moments of awe, etc. There is nothing wrong with that, but I do think it needs to be rooted in the very thing that God consistently speaks to us through. I absolutely believe in the power of the Spirit to work in ways outside of the Bible, but I know that we are beckoned to hear God in the very pages that He wrote.

I have been struggling lately with reading the Bible consistently and whole-heartedly, as if it is a check list assignment that I do before I go to sleep. Here are a few things that I found that help me:

1. Read the Bible with your heart, and not just with your mind.
2. Try reading in different settings, read in the morning outside, and read by candlelight at night, its amazing what changing the setting can do for your reading.
3. Read the same chapter everyday for a week. Its amazing what deep studying and meditation can do when you are searching God's word. Because most of the time life changing verses don't just slap you in the face.
4. Switch up the translation, it may have you more aware to the subtleties of a verse.
5. Get into a quiet, non-distracting environment. Turn off your phone by faith. How can we expect to hear from God when the phone is ringing and the TV is blasting in our ear?

The plateau isn't a fun place to be. But God is more than ready to consume you once again. James 4:8: "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."

ATTENTION: I am switching blogs! Here is my new one: http://beafollowerofchrist.blogspot.com/

Christianity: Come and Die

How about that for the new slogan of Christianity! "Welcome to our church, where we encourage you to come and die."

Now you may be ready to close down this page and go off onto other areas of social network, but stick with me for a little longer. Everyone knows that one famous verse in John chapter 3. You know, the 16th verse? Do me a favor and recite it to yourself real quick and think about its meaning. Christ so loves us, and He died for us so that we can have eternal life. One of my favorite verses, don't get me wrong. So much encouragement and promise are locked into those 26 words (depending on the version).

But one thing I do notice is that people usually tend to ignore the companion verses that are found in other areas of the gospel. Such as Luke 9:23 "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." Yes, that verse is targeted to you just as much as John 3:16 is. But maybe there is a reason that Luke 9:23 doesn't seem to make it to the encouraging Bible verse page or the social networking sites. My guess? It makes us too uncomfortable.

We are creatures of comfort, we try and make anything and everything more comfortable to ourselves. We like to lay around the house, we like to eat as much ice cream as we can stomach, and we like to stay inside our protective shell as much as possible. Christianity is so much fun when all it entails is church pot-lucks and youth group events. But when the whole suffering part gets involved, most "Christians" tend to wither out and move to the back burner. "Well, it was fun when it was easy, but this whole suffering thing just isn't worth it to me. I worked hard for that money, I want a (insert whatever ridiculous unnecessary device here)."

It is easy to follow (or at least think you are following) Jesus when life is easy, when it requires nothing of you. But when it is just so simple, a reconsideration of your commitment to Jesus may be in order. Life as a Christian begins at death. Jesus doesn't say: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must make their money and keep 90% of it and then halfway tithe, and they must be certain that they have everything they want before giving to the poor, oh and while you're at it, make sure to tailor God into a comfortable, non-threatening God, that fits your needs and doesn't challenge you."

Instead, He tells us to die. Yeah, things just got serious. Not only to die, but to carry a cross and suffer. Now I am not telling you that if you aren't suffering that you aren't a Christian, but I am saying that sometimes we are lulled into a mindset of "me me me", and the Christian mindset of "What can I do for Jesus, my Neighbors and my Enemies" is thrown right out the window.

I am challenging you to take the spotlight off of yourself. To stop asking what God can do for you, and start asking God what you can do for Him. Take up your cross, and follow Him to Calvary. We know that to be Jesus' disciples, His servants, are going to be with Him wherever He goes, die to themselves (John 12:26). This may seem like an unfair exchange, but following Christ is worth our own death, and so much more. His love, His promises, and His strength resonate within those who surrender it all to Him. Look into your following of Christ, are you following Him to the door, or are you going all the way to Golgotha?

Father, 

I thank you for every one of the people who read these words. It is my prayer that you would be with them as they join to the body of Christ. That everything in their lives would reflect Your Son. That they would genuinely follow you, for the joy of suffering, for the joy of following the Lord, and for the joy of Life with You. And that this following would lead them to change the world, wherever they are. I pray for our growth in Your Word, and growth in genuine faith, faith that moves the mountains. Keep us from evil, rid us of all temptation, and save us from ourselves.

Amen

Here is my new blog, I realized that I am only a teen for a little while, so I will start posting to this address more regularly! Being a Follower