The Ultimate Mentor

"For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ."
Galatians 1:11-12 ESV

     Over the past several years I've become acquainted with a few key people that have shaped my life in many ways and opened my perspective and awakened my wisdom regarding many topics about life. One of my most recent mentors that has become one of my dearest friends to my wife and I is Jered Day, and to her, his wife Jenny. If you lined up all those that have been impacted by Jered throughout his ministry and his leadership, you could surely fill a stadium. But don't take Jered as the stadium type though, he's the one that truly takes time, one on one time, to teach and lead you in the direction your heart leads you, your Holy Spirit filled heart. I could go on about his mentorship but I would have to say that neither him, nor Paul or any of the great men of faith, could truly change my life like a revelation from Jesus does.

     In these couple of verses, Paul makes it clear that Jesus is the ultimate mentor. People can guide our perspective on life and making the right decisions but true encounters with Jesus can't be "taught". I was never taught the gospel by a man, the true gospel, Christ always revealed that to me through His words or the words of a man. You see, the gospel is just  God's word to us and He uses it to teach us but how many times have you heard the gospel but never let it sink in? Many times for me. Many Sundays too. Jesus uses the pourous material of the Holy Spirit to let His word sink in. You can teach me stuff all day but until I am ready to sit down one on one with Him over a cup of coffee, or in deep prayer, I won't truly learn anything. In those times is when He reveals the gospel to me. Yes, He may use sermons and messages or mentors, but He uses the material we hear or read to speak the gospel we need to absorb into our hearts.

Do you understand? How many times have you sat in church and not heard a word but waking up after a Sunday nap had a huge Jesus revelation? Maybe not that exact example but you understand my point, Jesus is the one that teaches us the gospel through a revelation from Him and that is what Paul is trying to say.

So, the most important aspect to take away from this post is the fact that you always need to be listening because He speaks to you more than just on Wednesdays and Sundays.

Others Glorify God Because of You

(Google Images: Hooked On The Book.com)

     In the first chapter of Galatians, Paul speaks on his journey through the religion and life of Judaism and the change that happened inside of his own heart. Paul speaks on the fact that one of his sole purposes was to destroy the church and what God was trying to accomplish while he was a follower of Judaism. This region Paul is coming into in Galatians was only visited by Paul a few times and they only knew him of his past reputation.  That is a minor snippet of the backstory but I want to focus on just one verse and that is Galatians 1:24. In this verse, Paul makes a statement about what people think of him now that he is entering back into this region as a new man of God. This is the verse:

"and they glorified God because of me." (ESV)

What does he mean there?

Paul is entering into this environment as a new man and that change is so evident from the old Paul of Judaism that people can see it in him. They can actually see and understand the message Paul is portraying. Paul's message and overall body language and demeanor is so strong and evident, and his love for God so noticeable, that it actually changes people.

Let me ask you this uncomfortable question that I receive personal conviction on.

Does your love of God change people? Does your light make people glorify God?

I mean, the "city on a hill" verse in Matthew is true. We want our light to shine to others so they can see Jesus but does our light actually make people glorify God? Paul's heart transition and transformation made people glorify God! Another amazing fact is that this group has seen Paul less than 5 times in their life and on this time his heart change makes them glorify God? Do you make your coworker that you see every day glorify God because of your love for Him?

Boom. That hit me hard. You?

This is such a personal conviction of mine because I think about what kind of manager I am. Yeah, I don't cuss like the rest of them. Yeah, I try to be kind and considerate to all, but do I go to work and actually cause people to glorify God because of the fact that I am just radiating His already existing Spirit inside of me? Absolutely not.

Think about this with me. We need to find our strengths, and let God take care of our weaknesses (an upcoming post) and let His Spirit take us over and show others what He looks like. I want others around me, and you do too, to say that not only is it evident that he has Jesus in Him, but his demeanor and attitude about life, work, and everything else makes me want to glorify God just because of his life! I have that goal and I charge you to make it yours too.

Ye Lazy Christian

     In Sunday school this morning, we talked about laziness. It is actually one of the seven deadly sins, often referred to as "sloth" within that reference lens. We discussed several charges of this behavior within the lesson and talking points. We talked about us as a society and pondered on if we are actually a working society as a root or a lazy one. All political entitlement points aside, I received a personal charge that many of you may agree with me on. 

     Let's look at our Christianity productivity levels in 2015. No, this is not some end of the year mantra or pledging for 2016 mumbo, this is solely a frame of reference as we are nearing 2015's end. In reflection, I see my Christian faith on a 12 month point scale as I ask you to do. Within the last 12 months, how many of those months would you say that you are a "model" Christian? In other words, how many of the months would you say you were a disciple, and how many were you, well...lazy? I would say in 2015 I was more lazy than not, you? On that scaling I may be a 8:4 scale, where the left side of the ratio is my lazy months and the right is my "model" months. 

     My charge to you is, what does your ratio look like?

     12:1?
     3:9?
     8:4?
     2:10?

     I think this gives us a personal charge to do better in our next time frame of reference.

     It is interesting when many of us Christians turn to the news and want to jump on the "lazy America" bandwagon when we tend to be lazy in our own faith. Paul was charged with bringing a new ideology along to churches that were lazy. God gave him authority to be one of the leaders of the working movement and get Christians on the right track to societal contributions, and all other types as well including providing for their families and the church. God gave him that charge and authority as a disciple and worker to take on that title of leader. God has given us that charge as well. We have the Holy Spirit in us as Christians giving us that authority, yet we are the first to mock those that are lazy on the news and refuse to better their own lifestyles, when we are the owners of one ugly ratio. As a Christian faith of believers we have to fix our own laziness before moving onto others and condemning them for it. 

     "But Evan, I work and provide for my family and I surely am not lazy."

     How does your ratio look in regards to your faith though?

     Honestly, we as Christians have got to be better within our faith. It may be hard to be that 12 month disciple and not be lazy one bit throughout the whole time frame, but I think it is possible to be better because we all have room for improvement.

     If Jesus called us into His office for a performance appraisal, I think laziness would be one of the top talking points. He would most likely charge us with hypocrisy because we are the ones ashamed of our fellow humans that beg for $15 an hour at McDonald's, while seriously showing our lazy side in regards to our own faith. If we figure out this laziness thing within our faith, then we have the right to model it to other people who are not believers. We cannot be that person on the news deciding to not work and call ourselves a Christian; there are verses all over Proverbs regarding that mindset, you "sluggar".

      I want someone to know me for my character, willingness to work, and can say I am a Christian in my work environment without having to constantly remind them how much I go to church or sing or have lead worship before. I want my productivity as a Christian to outweigh my laziness as a believer so that others may see what a true model behavior looks like. 

     I want a better ratio.

Lying "An Ethics Class Response"

In my ethics class, we are discussing the topic of "lying" and I made the statement that all lies are wrong. I discussed how being a truthful person builds the heart, the character of the individual and the image of the individual in front of peers and in their community as well. The professor of the class, in typical philosopher type form, responded to my post (which was longer than the summary I just gave) with this scenario:

To this I replied:

Professor,

Of course I mean no disrespect in the following post as it is for discussion sake. Thank you for replying and challenging intellect.

Overall, nice question but you dug deep for this scenario to prove a point, did you not? It is okay because I think I have an answer and it is deeper than just yes or no and I think this helps for the sake of discussion about "arguments" in general and if not that then the whole of morale. 

When I speak about the heart and lying, and truth telling to build character, and I understand you do this for discussion sake, there are always instances where the opposing party digs so deep and finds a scenario or proposition that somehow "seems" to blow the whole of the case for the other person. The opposing individual would ask themselves inquires such as "am I just digging for questions to try to prove him wrong, or do I truly disagree with his whole proposal"? That is like asking "why does God allow evil and wars", etc., when that question is truly unanswerable. His ways are not our own, and that does not mean that there is no God, but many times that question is asked by an opposing party to try to disprove that very thing of existence. When operating with the statement for truth is always the way, I believe that a truthful person builds a stronger heart and the deceitful person destroys marriages/relationships and strong bonds with close peers because of lying. I truly believe it is a heart problem and one that is a destructive life to lead. 

Now, to your question. In the time of Jesus, if a disciple were asked if he was harboring the Savior in his home, would the disciple lie or tell the truth? That depends on if the individual is supposed to, in God's will, tell the truth in that instance or not. In history, if Judas would not have sold Jesus out to be captured, then would the plan of Jesus come to fruition or not? Sometimes deceit has to happen, or sin on Judas' part, (a.k.a. A bad thing), to bring about the will of God. It makes absolutely zero sense to us humans but it does not matter if it makes sense to our finite brains anyways.

Honestly, I most likely would lie to protect an innocent person. Does that mean "Evan retreats upon his word so that shows a hole of deceit in an argument"? I would hope not because I still believe the "meat" of everything I said to still be true and that in 99% of instances, unless something is this rare as you have stated, telling the truth is still better than a lie. That is what I would do. And I would stop Hitler from happening altogether, and Stalin, and death in general, but that just cannot happen. I feel like I would have done that, but maybe that is not what was suppose to happen because it did not happen that way in history to many people. Is it a terrible thing? Yes. On the other hand, everything has happened, in my belief, for a reason and a purpose leading to this very moment, even things as horrid as death. 

I may be babbling now but I hope I got my point across. Thanks for the question! Questions like that, even in few sentences, always seem to bring out the essays in me.

Blog readers, sometimes it is hard to defend our faith and true values but in any circumstance we must always try our best to somehow defend what we can only barely understand ourselves. 

Actual vs. Budgeted Christianity

http://www.shellblack.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Graph.png

     In business we have certain lingo to describe our sales and our hours scheduled. This is Actual vs. Budgeted. I'll break it down a little bit for you.


     If I have a schedule of 40 hours a week, that is what I am "budgeted" to work. In other words, I am projected to work for this amount of hours this week. If I end up working 37 hours, that is my "actual" hours worked. Make sense?


     God has budgeted us a certain lifestyle in His word. We are called to spread the word in the Great Commission to pretty much live a life like Jesus in all of our ways. We are called to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

     Good news is that in retail, if we do not follow budget then we are not fired, but maybe we are gotten on to, like a slap on the wrist. If we go under hours that is a benefit because that saves the company money, but if you go over budgeted hours then someone is getting overtime and then that costs the company more money to pay for that employee.

     If we live up to the guidelines that God laid out for us in His word then that is great and we will live life more abundantly and filled with joy and blessings because we follow His word. If we fall short and are still saved by His grace and a follower of Jesus and only in that way, we are not "fire"d but instead we live life a little less blessed and receive a little slap on the wrist from God (The Holy Spirit) disguised as a conviction of the heart. That means that we feel guilty, as a good adjective, for going against His word and commandments.

    God wants us to live by budget. He wants us to thrive in life and live according to His word and guidelines laid out so simply for us in the Bible.

God budgeted a life for us that is summed up very well in this verse:

     "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. -1 Thessalonians 5: 16-22

     So, walk in freedom and abundance living in the life God budgeted out for you in His word. It is a difficult life, but a blessed life and highly favored in the eyes of your Savior. 

Defining Success: God's Way

Success means many things to many people. I'm sure hundreds of books sit on a plethora of shelves all housing scores of information all defining what it means to be successful. I will not take the time to address the role of gender and give my definition of success for the man and for the woman, although it has a lot to do with family, I will rather elaborate on success in general. 

I'll start with a quote from a book I'm reading called "The Circle Maker", and it reads as follows:

"You need to circle the goals God wants you to go after, the promises God wants you to claim, and the dreams God wants you to pursue."

In other words as the book also suggests, success is not circumstantial because it is less about "doing" God's will and more about "being" God's will.  

People get high and mighty over what they want to achieve in life. Your job ultimately determines your success, or maybe your money. Whatever it is, most of the time there's a blank to fill in and an overwhelming percent of the time it is something tangible. Let me give you an alternative: 

Try filling in the blank of what defines success with something intangible.

Most of my life and even now I'm in a battle, as are most of you out there, and if you're not you may be in denial, about what path I want to go on in life and if that direction is right for me. There's a problem with that. I'm defining success in terms of something tangible. Will my job be right? That's tangible. Will my place of location be right? That's tangible. Will I choose the right house? That's tangible. Why can't we define success in a different way?

Here comes the part where I tell you what I believe and following this I'll give you a challenge. I believe success is defined by your character and respect in life. Both of my grandfathers hold weight as respectable men in business and both of my grandmothers as amazing supporting women in the home. Are either of those roles something outstanding and highly achievable positions by people in America? Maybe so, but most likely not. Success for them was defined by their character! The respect held for them by everyone around them, family or not, determined their success. They only cared about being famous in their own homes, and to them that was their greatest fortune ( that last line paraphrased from The Circle Maker). 

Let your success be defined by how you raise your children, how you treat others, how you are respected, the reflection of your character and MOST importantly for us believers, how you are BEING God's will and not just doing it. Do not be held captive to the motions of just church alone, or life in general, but rather be the will of God in your life. Show others Jesus wherever you're at. Show others Jesus in whatever job you're meant to be in, carrying out that specific potential God placed on your life. 

Now for the challenge. After reading this and reflecting on your own, grab a piece of paper and pen, or your Notes app, and write this question:

How do I define success?

Answer that honestly and compare that to God's definition which is the way you show the world Him. Compare your own personal acts of justice and the respect your family, peers and everyone who comes in contact with you in whatever area of life you're in, have on you. See how that compares and change anything tangible to things meaningful and also Godly. 

Having A Wholly Committed Heart

"It remains to be seen what God will do with a man who gives himself up wholly to Him." - Henry Varley

     We keep our hearts to ourselves don't we? My heart is something I hold dear and because of my past I want to keep it very private, and maybe even put up a wall to others, and sometimes even Christ. I sometimes like to keep my own heart locked up in a cage only accessible to me. But as Christians I don't think we are meant to keep our hearts all locked up only accessible by us. 

     We are built for community. We were made for each other. When we go through life and encounter certain situations, we aren't meant to go through them alone. We are meant to find those we trust, fellow Christians, those true friends that add the light of Christ to our lives and share our hearts with them. We make them our accountability partner if we have to. I know about being burned. Sharing your hearts with those that betray them isn't fun. But we aren't meant for that. We aren't meant to keep everything in our lives caged up only accessible by our own selves. Keeping our hearts caged up keeps us from being completely whole with God because it makes us less willing to give up our own will and take on His. That leads me to my next point. 

     As Christians, God owns our hearts. It is Him who has come and made a home in you, by sending His Spirit. So the last thing God wants is for you to keep your heart, now housing His Spirit, locked up only to yourself and to hide your feelings and needs from God. Just like your heart is built for communion and fellowship with others, those accountability buddies that you highly respect and trust, God is the holder of your heart so holding things back from Him in your own mind is naive for your own self, and for the fact that He knows your needs already. Hiding things from God only hurts you because He knows all things even when you're trying to be private and sneaky. 

Share your heart with your friends, those true Christians you look up to or those you use as accountability buddies. This will begin to opening up your heart to be fully committed to The Lord because holding it all in only restricts your spiritual growth and keeps it all in your hands, which is a place it isn't meant to be. 

2 Chronicles 16:9 

"The eyes of The Lord range throughout the  earth to sterf then those whose hearts are fully committed to him."

Not Safe Friday

Pic Credit: http://unfetteredpotential.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Aslan-Not-Safe-But-Good.jpg

     What does today mean? Some take it for granted. Some use it as a holiday. Some though, use it as a pinnacle part of their faith story. A God-man sent to Earth to fulfill prophecies, save the sinner, and to die on this day for all of us. I want to be clear. This day is named Good Friday for a reason and not Safe Friday for many more reasons. Here are a few but I could continue.



Following Jesus isn't safe, but it is good.

"Counting all sufferings as joy", as Paul said, isn't safe but it is good.

Leading others to Christ isn't safe, but it is good.

Fulfilling the Great Commission isn't safe, but it is good. 

     As it was said by Mr. Beaver referring to Aslan the lion in C.S. Lewis's acclaimed novel, God is not safe, but He is good. We live our lives bound by this safety net because it's not one that has us trapped, but instead we choose to stay bound in it ourselves. We want to make sure our lifestyles exhibit the factor of safety over goodness. Sometimes safety means disregarding what is good morally. You may make a decision for your own comfort that may not glorify God, like choosing not to witness to that struggling coworker in hopes to make sure you stay in your safety of your own comfort zone.

     Today in history did not represent safety. This day surely wasn't safe for Christ and did not ensure a life of safety for the rest of the world who would choose to follow Him. This life of Christ reflected what was morally good but not comfortable for humans. He knew that though. He knew that once this was done there would be those that choose the comfort and safety of the world over the solid goodness of Christ. Operating under the love of Christ, and spreading that, institutes a life of moral goodness. You will struggle, you will fall short, you will lose many earthly battles and if you are willing to spread the Word to all nations, or just all of your neighborhood, then your safety could be in jeopardy while still your morality will reflect God's goodness. 

     I'm not suggesting us to go out there and use bad judgement in regards to our own physical safety, but we want to use a type of adventurous judgement that will be rewarded on our final day of Judgement. 

     We want to choose the good life over the safe life.

     An example I've adopted recently is the idea of adventures. Adventures thrill me and I am stoked to fill my life with them. An adventure always represents a risk, partly one of our own safety. Being comfortable is not a common factor on an adventure, and sometimes our safety isn't either. That being said, adventures can bring about some of the best life lessons, some of the closest encounters with God, and some of the best stories to share with others. Do not live your life in a bubble safety net being afraid to spread the Word in hopes that your own safety of your ego be upheld. Humble yourself and bring your soul to a point where you are perfectly fine with living a life of goodness for Christ no matter what that may cost you. Because remember on this Good Friday, it cost Him everything to bring about a life of goodness in Him for us. 

The God-Saving Us Story.

     Guys, check this out. There came a time when God was in heaven and looking down on His creation. He saw the line of human thought and behavior now tainted by  a "broken beyond repair" sort of sin. There was no more animosity, no more passion, and while chaos and turmoil ran wild you know what He decided to do? When man decided to substitute himself for God, which is a sum definition of sin, God substituted himself for man. Let that sink in. To save humanity, He made Himself the perfect by-product of the alter ego of humanity at the time which was a perfect man. A living, breathing, full functioning "hey look at what I made you to be" now here on earth. A man-God radiating love, passion and a heart boundless and free. God came to reset the timeline, to flip the switch from humanity needing saving producing a savior (boom here's God-man) to now God-man has arisen and isn't here and instead we are now left with a lesson to be learned and followed. A conclusion and end-story made from a God who substituted Himself for man while we were substituting ourselves for Him. So what do we do with this unfathomable act of love and kindness? We put ourselves higher on pedestals. We strive to become the next God-man. We build idols (pop culture, money, success, fame, what have you) and on a daily basis substitute ourselves for God. So since we know rationally that's imaginary, we can't be God, we now have a problem. There will be no more God-man to walk around and save our sinful nation. It is up to plain man. It is up to the sinful humans to lead OTHER sinful humans to the now arisen God-man. Am I the only one blown away by this? But is this goal unreachable? No, but true answer: Daily Double. God knows us (our doubts, conditional love, and our unwilling nature to lead people to Him) AND His love beats out ours. His love is present for us continually, and no we don't understand it because our love is conditional, having to fit certain standards before we love, but His isn't. So we have a task, to tap into this unconditional love and lead others by example to knowing the perfect God-man Jesus, a Great Commission as He calls it, and it's a goal. It's this. To have men lead other men away from God-substitution and into God-permanence. That just means to stop putting God where you want Him when you want Him and sinning the rest of the time by substituting yourself as God, and to make Him where He wants Him all the time He wants Him there permanently. Got that? Thus making Him no longer needed for substitution when you are practicing God-permanence. If we do that, people can change people when they are in a state of God-permanence. You can lead people to Christ when you are not trying to BE Christ but to behave like Him. Love like Him. Teach like Him. Lead like Him. That is what makes God's heart smile and puts true Christians back into the soul-saving, discipleship making business. So here's the scene. There's a God in heaven. A God-man named Jesus in heaven. And a Holy Spirit here in us. That is what leads us to practice this God permanence and lead others to Christ through this Spirit of love and kindness inside of us. Through that we can save humanity again. Because man saving man is pointless and impossible without some sort of divine aid. That Spirit is in us, or available to us if you are not already aware of it, and we have a goal now. One set by the God-man. So let's do it. How will you practice God-permanence tomorrow?

From Beggars to Disciples

(Pic credit: http://theprosperityproject.blogspot.com/2011/02/beggars-rags.html)

    So as I was doing some random reading in Acts, I came across just a little story/scenario at the beginning of Chapter 3 about when Peter healed a beggar in the name of Jesus. Here is the real text:


"Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. 2 As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for some money.

4 Peter and John looked at him intently, and Peter said, “Look at us!” 5 The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. 6 But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene,[a] get up and[b] walk!”

7 Then Peter took the lame man by the right hand and helped him up. And as he did, the man’s feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened. 8 He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them.

9 All the people saw him walking and heard him praising God. 10 When they realized he was the lame beggar they had seen so often at the Beautiful Gate, they were absolutely astounded! 11 They all rushed out in amazement to Solomon’s Colonnade, where the man was holding tightly to Peter and John."

    Okay so this is not one of those stories that does not require that much deep interpretation but instead a little shift of perspective. After you read the original text, read it below as it relates to you and me now. I'm replacing the word beggar and his description to one that better fits you and me:

     I saw Peter and John approaching the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. As they approached the Temple, I was being carried in. Each day I was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so I could beg from the people going into the Temple.  When I saw Peter and John about to enter, I asked them for some money.

      Peter and John looked at me intently, and Peter said to me, “Look at us!” I looked at them eagerly, expecting some money. But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold for you. But I’ll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk!”

     Then Peter took me by the right hand and helped me up. And as he did, my feet and ankles were instantly healed and strengthened.  I jumped up, stood on my feet, and began to walk! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, I went into the Temple with them.

     All the people saw me walking and heard me praising God. When they realized I was the lame beggar they had seen so often at the Beautiful Gate, they were absolutely astounded! They all rushed out in amazement to Solomon’s Colonnade, where I was holding tightly to Peter and John.

     So guys, this is us. We are just like that beggar. We oftentimes are spiritually lame just as this beggar is physically lame. We have to have some sort of collision with people of God and then encounter the Spirit of God to be able to walk again. We sit outside of God's house all the time, afraid to make the next crazy move in fear that it will hurt our dignity somehow. So instead we play it safe outside of His house and beg for some sort of compensation. Maybe not more money but either some sort of sign or works to get us back to life again, to heal our downtrodden spirits. We start losing faith in God and what He can do so we slowly leave the temple, open the gate and proceed to take our seat outside the gate on the ground and hope someone of God can come around to heal our brokenness so we can enter again.

    But the beggar is better off than we are in this case! When Peter and John come forth to heal him by the power of God, the beggar rejoices and then enters the temple. But does the beggar return to his post to become sick again, low in spirit and faith? Absolutely not! The beggar rejoices and praises God even "singing" and "leaping"! After that he "[held] tightly to Peter and John".

     That is the mirror image of what God wants. When God found us we were lame and sitting outside of His kingdom begging for mercy, grace, forgiveness and healing from our inner human illnesses. Then here comes God walking up and demands us to "get up and walk" and this is where the road either goes His way or ours. We either say, "You know what God, go ahead in, I'm fine right here today thank you", or we actually get up and follow Him in. Say we do that and follow Him in and upon doing that we are in with God at this point. We forget that when He holds us He doesn't let go but what do some of us do? We slowly fade and stray away and go hang out at the punch bowl. Then before we know it we open up the doors to His house, we exit and go sit back outside the gates again and begin to beg and plead for someone other than the Savior inside to heal us from our brokenness. So out walks Jesus and pulls us back in, and we just go right back outside and sit again and again. If I were God, I wouldn't have patience for myself and countless other Christians that do that. But thank goodness I am not the Judge. God has grace. The beautiful thing is that no matter how many times we go back outside he leaves His kingdom to come bring us back in continually, picks us up off our feet, and walks us back inside knowing we will be right back out there again. He doesn't mind though because he loves us lame, sick hearted humans. He just knows that we fail and need His hand guiding us back in a whole lot and that's what His grace does for us and that is why the love of Jesus is so beautiful. No matter how many times we go sit back outside the beautiful gate of His heart He always walks us right back into His presence.

     So all we have to do is to learn how to stay inside longer. We have to learn the unfailing love of Christ. We have to do more of the "walking, leaping and praising" and less of the running back outside. We have to realize that His love never fails and that even if we feel like we failed Him and belong outside of that gate we actually always belong inside of His temple with Him because we are no longer lame but instead new creations through Him. It isn't always up to Him though. We may be healed but we are still healed beggars in our minds. We have to not only heal our hearts and receive Jesus but heal our minds to shift from the mindset of the beggar, to the mindset of John and Peter. Because being healed is great, and I will always leap, sing and praise God but we have a responsibility now. There are others sitting outside of that gate and its up to us to go let them in. Beggars can only let beggars in before they run back outside. We have to be the disciples that let the beggars in and continually show them Christ and His life and then turn those beggars into disciples until there isn't anyone else left outside of the gate. It is the Great Commission and our calling so now that you are no longer beggars but disciples if saved, who will you let in the gate to experience God's love today?

Presenting the Gospel in a Secular World- Pt. 1 "Influx of New Age"

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     "We must come to terms with the impact of secularism. How does the Gospel need to be presented in changing demographics & a changing society?" -Ravi Zacharias

     First of all I cannot believe my last blog post was all the way back on July 8th! That is crazy! I guess moving, getting full time job status and just life hitting full force is enough to throw one off track a little bit until adjustments are made. I figured since I haven't been on here in a while I would come back strong. I want to come back swinging with a new series titled "Presenting the Gospel in a Secular World" because I think this may be one of the most important topics that we can deal with. The main theme here is this: What can I do with my own talents and abilities to spread the gospel in a world turning more towards secularism, including major philosophical shifts, and back to God and the love of Jesus? This is only part one of an "I don't know how many" series. We will see. These posts will include pop culture, emerging ideas, new and revamped philosophies and more. So let's begin shall we?

     Our society is turning more and more secular as most of you know. Culture and even new ideas are taking over morality and steering us away from the origin of our values and trying to present a new way to view them hoping to somehow create a new truth we can choose to live by until another one comes around that smells better.  From pop culture to "new age" philosophies something arises daily to take our focus off of our morality and inner longing for a connection with a God. I will tackle the influx of "New Age" philosophy in this first blog post. It will have holes I am sure but I will try my best. I mentioned it a couple lines ago and that is this new influx of philosophy called "New Age". I am not even sure how to categorize it but it includes many things that we are familiar with but takes a new spin on them. Things like the moon, the stars, "spirituality", lunar phases, solar equinoxes, astrology and the interconnectivity of our mind, body and spirit. I know Wikipedia is a little flawed but I think this is a pretty good description as to what New Age is.

The New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational psychology,holistic health, parapsychology, consciousness research and quantum physics".^[2] The term New Age refers to the coming astrological Age of Aquarius.^[1]

The New Age aims to create "a spirituality without borders or confining dogmas" that is inclusive and pluralistic.^[3] It holds to "a holistic worldview",^[4]emphasizing that the Mind, Body, and Spirit are interrelated^[1] and that there is a form of monism and unity throughout the universe.^[5] It attempts to create "a worldview that includes both science and spirituality"^[6] and embraces a number of forms of mainstream science as well as other forms of science that are considered fringe.

     So this idea is not very "new age" either. It was developed in the 1900's but I think this idea goes back much further. I would even say perhaps Greek and Roman mythology with roots in Paganism. People worshipped gods and goddesses of the moon, sun, etc. and I think this is a spin off of that. I think this philosophy is so enticing because people talk about it a lot. Yep I think it is an simple as that. I think a whole lot of modern art contributes to its discussion along with the longing for answers (which is what most new philosophies are born out of). I think the MOST important line in the Wiki description is this: "It attempts to create 'a worldview that includes both science and spirituality'". I think that sums it up. New Age to me really just focuses on how the soul and the universe are somehow connected and in that connection we are supposed to find some sort of comfort. I also always thought it included some pretty fringe philosophies as well. I wouldn't even hesitate to say a lot of origins of New Age come straight from pagan philosophy and ideas, fortune tellers, voodoo rituals and other things of sorts. A lot of "New Age" believers do not even know what they believe and they spend their whole lives "searching" for some sort of connection and some sort of answer that really has been right in front of them the whole time. I think here-in lies the problem.

     Why must we turn to the philosophy of "New Age"? Why worship the moon, space, the sun, or even search for a connection between us and the universe? I think this all goes back to the ultimate battle between good and evil, Lucifer and Christ. You really have two camps in the world today right now. One side consists of atheists, pantheists, agnostics, tolerant individuals, "new age"ers, those who claim to just be "spiritual" and the sorts. The other side is monotheistic, mainly consisting of Christians with a few riding in the gray, and if one is in the gray then you really belong to the former camp, maybe the "tolerants". Personally I think that Christ is enough for people, always has been, and that the demonstration of the biblical Jesus is the answer. So what happens when people do not think it is the answer and search for something else? What happens when people are not just satisfied with enough being enough and the actual truth? You get ideas just like "New Age" theology that's what. There is no concrete belief system in "New Age" ideas. You pull lots of things from different outlets and really just get some jumbled pot pie of ideas you constitute as your "spirituality". Do you realize that believing in multiple things doesn't make you right, or any more the smarter? You can say "yeah I know about Jesus but I need to do some more 'soul searching'". Be careful in which way you go with that. Do not start turning to worship those things like art, the moon, the sun, science, horoscopes and those sorts because remember those things (besides horoscopes because I don't think that came from above at all) all have a Creator. Be careful not to worship the "creation" but instead the "Creator" that made them. Live to not succumb to the new idea of "New Age" just because more people write books on this topic, which in fact, actually makes sense because when you do not know what you believe there tends to be more opinions on something abstract and unanswerable than something like Christianity. There are more books on "New Age" right now than Christianity I bet you and that is only because you can only present the truth so many ways to try and reach out to people but you can present abstractness in multiple ways because it has no definite answer. So, do some research, LISTEN to the link below on this subject and figure out how you can overcome this new emerging ideas and relocate your roots in the love of Christ which is real and concrete, and not some abstract almost pagan origin philosophies. Remember, God created your spirit and science, so why worship them when you can worship their Creator?

     So how do we present the gospel to the "New Age"ers? I think the best way is not to preach to them just yet. Demonstrate how living a concrete, coherent lifestyle in the truth actually looks like. Many people turn to new ideas because they see how most Christians act with what they claim is the "ultimate" truth and the lifestyle they actually live contradicts that truth and their Christ. So we must mirror the behavior of Christ to them, buy books and CD's to give them, most are intelligent types and will be open to reading new ideas on Christianity and books I believe. Learn to educate yourself on these ideas of theirs and how to present God in a way that encompasses ALL things including the soul, science and the like in order to present the truth in a way they can relate to and grab a hold of. The days of handing out tracts are pretty much over. Most go straight to the garbage can and then they pick up their book by Rhonda Byrne titled "The Secret" and search for answers there. Educate yourself to show yourself able to lead people by example of what you believe and the truth that is in your heart. Do not jump down people's throats because that doesn't change people, that only pushes them away. Lead a life similar to that of Christ and you will likely change more minds that way.

LISTEN to this!!!
http://www.rzim.org/just-thinking-broadcasts/the-new-age-part-1-of-4/
      

The Philosophy of Purpose

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    Since I haven't done any sort of posts on theology, let me start by saying this is my true brain right here that's about to come out and these are the topics on which I enjoy the most but never get to discuss, so let me begin shall I? Purpose. What is purpose? For you definitive people I will give you the explanation of the word. Purpose is defined in a simple way as "being the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists." (Google Search, Define: Purpose). Lets look at the word and see what purpose has to do with, specifically in this post, the "meaning" of our lives and perhaps some more philosophical ramblings as well.

    Western culture, as sort of what it is today in America and really any sort of first world, civilized society, defines the course of life in some sort of agenda of man. This agenda, or "to-do" list as I may refer to it, came along from European theology and the maturing of man from say the Roman era to the English era, and by English I mean post Industrial Revolution theology of man. This is a new man. (And by man I mean all people of course) This man now doesn't really have to succumb to slavery or harsh government rule, and with this new type of man comes freedom to do whatever they wish, in bounds of reasonable law of course, which usually in most cases means something for himself. I believe that since man suffered under so much oppression over the course of history whether from masters or dictators and all between, that now man is finally ready to do something for his own good. That now it is time to break the bondage and idea of succumbing to another human (therefore abandoning the idea anywhere close to that of generosity towards another) and since we are now tired of other humans telling us how to live our lives, enter into a time of selfishness in which we still reside. This agenda of man is what one wants to accomplish throughout one's lifetime. Peel away the past rulers, past slave masters, past strict governments and really focus on ourselves now and our personal goals, plans and achievable tasks. This is a to-do list titled something along the lines of  "How to Make Myself Matter in this World" or more properly titled "Here's My Purpose the Way I Want It". In other words, what can I do to advance the furthest in this world and actually make a name for myself?

  This agenda all produces some sort of goal for yourself, we pretend like its for our family, our boss, or whatever entity we try to please when in reality it begins way before that and starts within us and what we can do for our own betterment before altruism even enters the mind. This "to-do" list of sorts plans out your life. I, a man, will grow up in a somewhat civilized family, attend school to get my diploma, attend another school to get another diploma that means more but still on the same paper and then make something for myself in this world. That is an extremely short interpretation of this "to-do" list but you catch the drift. Forming this list of ours leads us back to the word "purpose". This person, of which by some way I see a reflection of most people in this fictional individual, has the purpose defined. This person, like most as I stated, wants to make something of themselves in some facet of life. They want their own purposeful efforts to somehow give them meaning, to have those efforts produce fruit and make a name for all of their own hard work. Okay, that's fair, so let us explore that by giving 2 examples of people, of whom stories are fictionally being made up as I type this post.


     1) Robert - Robert is a graduate from Georgia Institute of Technology with a degree in chemical engineering. Robert grew up in a mildly mannered family, somewhat crazy in ways like all of our families, but he came out alright in the end. He attended school, all A's, graduated from his high school in the top of his class and went on to college to obtain his degree. Robert now makes $98,000 a year salary in his job. Robert has a wife and two kids. He owns two houses, one vacation home in the paradise of Hawaii and one in the metro Atlanta region where he and his family live and work out their similar purposes. He is very well off and has received several rewards for accomplishments in his workplace. Robert has fulfilled his purpose.

     2) Jim- Jim didn't finish school unfortunately  He did finish high school, making all A's and B's but as far as college goes on all his several job applications he's submitted over the years he checks the "Some College" box. He has a mediocre job making $60,000 a year, still a good income but not as good as Roberts. Jim has a wife and one child. Jim owns a house in a suburban neighborhood and thats it. He has no rewards or accomplishments he really likes to admit but Jim.....has fulfilled his purpose.


     Let me start by saying these two men do both have a purpose. Although Robert or Jim's purpose isn't exactly what you may expect from whichever position you take, a purpose resides in both situations. Robert is the average "perfect" man in the idea if there was an assembly line entitled "The Western Man" we would see little Roberts coming out in droves. He's the ideal guy. He's got the money, the job, the family, the everything. According to this line of theology that is.  Then we are lead to Jim and Jim is really not what we see as purposeful at all, but instead the lack of reaching "full" purpose. Somewhere Jim's dreams fell off track we think and thats just where he ended up. He tried to be a Robert but it didn't work so he's now a Jim. So all meaning and true morale aside, not touching base on any form of religious morality, which side would you choose? Who would you want to be? Robert of course! He's got it all. Whereas Jim seems to have wanted to have it all, but somewhere somehow he just became...well...Jim. Well instead of going any further into the philosophy of purpose and meaning and what you can do to make your life meaningful in a way that benefits your dreams and visions I'm going to stop right there and throw in a new word. This word changes purpose, or should, from something for us into something for someone else.

Jesus.

    So now we look at Jim and Robert again and when Jesus is thrown into the mix, when we look at their situations from a perspective of heaven in our minds then who fares better? If you base the thought process stemming from Jesus, which is a system of morality, which is not storing treasures on this Earth but in heaven and operating not on our own ideas but those that benefit our Father, then who is better? Come on now. Jim or Robert? It's really neither by the description I gave. When your looking at Jim and Robert through a God lens neither of their lives produce much purpose for the agenda of God. As far as Jesus is concerned neither of them believe so both of them will unfortunately be condemned for their disbelief and receive the eternal punishment. Because since both of those men live in America, in civilized, media based situations one can assume they've heard the gospel and would be judged accordingly for their decisions. Okay, so that's sort of a given so let me throw another curve ball your way.

Jim is a believer, follower and disciple of Christ Jesus.

  Woah! That changes the whole ballgame. Now we see that rich Robert and middle class Jim have switched positions! If your a Chrstian reading this then its not hard to follow my logic here. Jim now becomes the more "rich" person because his purpose isn't earthly but instead heavenly. So as far as Christ is concerned do you think that either one of their own purposes, as defined by their own achievements in life and what they did or did not decide to do on the track of materialism, and making their name great really has anything to do with discipleship and Jesus?! No it doesn't!! Ahh does anyone else get this thought process here? IF your rich in abundance, you have the dream job, extra vacation home, immeasurable income, or if your a middle income individual who gets by but not in abundance and are a follower of Christ...who fares better in the eyes of God? Well in this case Jim will. It seems to me that Robert has his eyes sort of set on things of this earth a little too much. If I spend most of my life getting my high degree to make this large sum of money how much do I care about my life and my degree, car, house, extra vacation home, 6 figure salary, (insert lifelong material goal here) over my discipleship and furthering the ministry of Christ?? I feel as if the scale is a little more towards the "me" side than the "Christ" side in that situation. Jim might not have a degree from an institution but lets say that Jim gets his decent salary and provides for his family and also, here it is, is a church builder and a builder of the kingdom in that community and his surrounding city, then actually I want to be Jim! When the Earth crumbles so will Roberts extra vacation home and 6 figure income, but when the Earth crumbles Jim's work that he did with his church will be the ONLY thing that now matters about Jim and in heaven Jim will now be Robert and now hopefully Robert will be a rich in heaven if he becomes a Christian  Those who do the work of the Father over the work of the  "self" fare greater in eternity because our "self" doesn't matter then but instead HIS "self" does and that is where our riches lie!

 So does it really matter to have your purpose be filled with things you want to make for yourself and your name? Is your name really that important to you that you need to be rich in all areas of life all for your benefit? What, are you gonna get rich, shout "YAYYY" leave it to be inherited by your sons/daughters and instill in them to do the same for the next generation? Don't you see how monotonous that cycle is and not just repetitive but unfulfilling too? Hey if you can be rich and still rich in heaven in the end then more power to you and I know there are those out there that are definitely blessed and entering the kingdom of God with a mansion bigger than their mansion here and I say more power to you that you are the exception not the rule! But I just want you to think about this. When all is said and done and you are at the end of it all on your death bed what will be the answer to this question, "Did I fulfill the purpose to glorify my name or did I fulfill the purpose God had for me to glorify His name?" Where am I on that scale? I don't want to barely be balancing on the God's purpose side to barely make it into heaven! I want to weigh down that scale because of ALL the good I've done fulfilling God's purpose! Because at the doorstep of death your wealth, mansion, car, extra vacation home, abundant riches on earth will not matter but instead what will matter is what's on the other side waiting for you and also how well you fulfilled the Great Commission. The homeless man who follows Christ will fare better than the rich man that focuses most on the treasures of this Earth and not those above. So final words are this. Be careful on how you define your purpose in this world. Do you want to be the new form of man? Rich in material person, who after history of strict government rule, slavery, wars and what have you, wants to make something of yourself for your benefit & wants to fulfill your purpose? Or do you want to be the one that says hey I will for sure provide for my family but I will not be known for my house, car, money or status in society but instead my Kingdom character and how well I made the name of Jesus known in my community and perhaps throughout the world? Who will you be? Define your purpose now.

Matthew 19:24 "And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

Colossians 3:2 "Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth"

Words To Live By (John Gray)

(Google Image Search: John Gray Minister)

     This is an excerpt I wrote as a transcript from a sermon titled "Dominion" from The City Church in Seattle, Washington by a pastor named John Gray. It is relationship advice for husbands, wives and even single individuals. These are powerful words to live by. Every now and then I will transcribe sermons (Titled always as "Words To Live By" followed by the speaker's name) but this is my first because it is so important and essential to me. I hope you think so as well.

" Men of God, when you begin to speak, God put you in a position to start functioning in greatness. The Bible says it's not good for him to be alone, to make a helper suitable for him. For the married men in this room let me let you know what the enemy has tried to do. The woman that God has breathed favor on is right next to you. I don't care who has nice perfume and keeps telling you how handsome you are in your nice cotton dockers at work, that is the devil, Proverbs 7, she's looking for a victim. I'm speaking life to the men of God that you will walk in integrity so that we have power when everyone is looking because we have lived a life of holiness when no one was looking. Men of God, God determined, He said I will make a helper suitable for him, God placed everything you need in the wife of your choosing. You don't understand the power of the woman that is next to you. May God give you eyes for the beautiful and full power of the woman that you chose. You didn't even realize you chose a woman that was 3 sizes too big for you. What I mean by that is that you are growing into the anointing that she carries. When you saw her you thought you were marrying one thing, but what you didn't know is that she has multiple places of favor on her and as you continue to mature she will be able to go with you wherever you go. Many men who don't serve God marry a woman for where they are, but didn't marry for where they're going. When you walk in dominion you will realize that the woman that you have next to you is uniquely designed by God to help you meet destiny in every area of your life. When you understand the power of your dominion you understand that your wife is not a different species, she is the rest of you. She is a man with a womb, a wombed man. She's not a different person she's the rest of you, came from inside you. God took something from you, to make someone for you, to bring someone to you, to birth something through you. Your wife is a garden, and whatever you sow that's what's going to grow. You want more love? Sow more love into her. You want more patience? Be more patient with her because she's a garden and whatever you sow she has to produce. When you give her groceries, she makes it dinner. When you give her a house, she makes it a home. You give her a seed, she makes you a child. A woman is designed to produce and maximize what God's man is doing on the Earth. I want to celebrate every woman of God that is about to walk in a place of generosity and a place of power and abundance and overflow like never before. Somebody say dominion..."

Here comes my favorite part...

"...Where the single people at? Lift your hands. Let me say this to you. For the single women in here continue to walk in integrity because men of God are looking for dominion minded women who are worshippers and will live a holy life. [AMEN!!!] The Bible says he who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord. It didn't say he who finds a girlfriend, who he begins to date, who he then gives a ring, who he then proposes to and gets married. Your not a wife when I marry you, your a wife when I find you. Your my wife when I marry you. Wife is not a ring its the presence of a devoted heart. Wife is not a title it is the statement of your character. If you want a husband, carry yourself like a wife. Otherwise you'll have the spirit of girlfriend and little boys will play with you. Somebody say dominion."

Watch the whole sermon in its entirety at this link: http://thecity.org/message/dominion
[Its completely worth it trust me!]

Why Am I Here? What Is My Purpose?

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Ahh now this is an age old question right here. But I think it needs to be covered so lets dive in.

How many of you readers of mine struggle with knowing exactly what your calling is on this planet or why your even on this Earth? I know I do. I mean I may seem like I am intelligent perhaps and know where I'm going in my life but I certainly do not. By the grace of God I will hopefully live out my passion because I know I am destined for greatness in whatever I do. No that is not pride or some sort of narcissist mentality because I also know that you are destined for greatness too. Whether you're reading this and are 14 or 54 it all started from one verse at the beginning of the Bible in the formation of the person that is you.

"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being" Genesis 2:7

That my friends is what you have inside of you. Well not what rather but WHO. You have inside of you God DNA. That's right, beforehand all you were was dust, even dry bones, but then God "breathed into [your] nostrils" and now you have Him inside of you. From God's breath you became a human. So no your not just by chance, your not a monkey gone wrong, and your no walking biology experiment or evolution question mark. You are a human being breathed into by the only God and meant to fulfill a specific purpose because inside of you is the imprint and likeness of God. His DNA of greatness is in you.

Because of this alone you can accomplish whatever you put your mind to. Sound like a cliched mantra?  Well its not because its completely true because Ephesians 3:20 tells me so.

"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us" -Eph 3:20

So now we know that through God's power that lives within us we are able to do "abundantly beyond" all that we can ask or think in our measly human minds. Whenever you think you can't achieve this or that your neighbor works at your passion better than you, just remember that you have to make that first step towards your passion for you to even start to be successful. How can you know if your peers can be more successful in life at whatever your passionate about if you never try it yourself? Now that is only the humanely inspirational side, here is the spiritual inspiration. Not only are you a God-breathed creation as derived from Genesis but because you ARE compiled of God DNA now you can achieve abundantly more than anything you thought you were going to put your human mind too. If our passion and purpose is God centered, that is if what we are passionate about we carry out but do so being a light for Christ, then He will make us blossom in whatever that is. I mean if your called to be in business but never show one shed of light for the name of Christ then you can't expect God to be on your side when your not on His. Yes He never fails you but you have to live in Him and put all of your faith and trust in Him thus producing the true fruits of the labor you put forth!

I know that this blog post can really be a huge 900 page novel about the philosophical purpose of why we are here and what God has called us to do but the calling is really simple. Your calling in life is the Great Commission which is this:

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." -Mat 28: 19-20

Okay so there's your calling. Everyone is "called" to do the same thing and achieve the same mission put forth by God for His followers. How you choose to carry out your calling is by whatever passion you possess. That's why you can still do what you will in this life by the specific God breathed, unique thumbprint that is you and your passion, but whatever your passion may be will achieve abundantly more with God on your side. More than you can even imagine then.

So next time you are wondering what you are here for remember this. You are not average, you are a God-breathed creation. You have dominion over all of the Earth and it is your domain. How you choose to live your life determines your own successes. The purpose of your life here is to proclaim the name of Christ to other believers, to disciple them. How you do that is up to you and that is the beauty of choice my friends. You can do whatever you want. So becoming caught up in the world can help you in no way, shape or form. Pondering too long on the importance of your successes and about what YOU yourself achieved or haven't achieved yet only starts it off in the wrong mindset. A life apart from God is a gamble, and one that mostly wins in the favor of the Dealer (the devil). So to successfully tune your life strings and feel complete, start out by learning to read the tablature of God and then the perfected instrumental orchestra sounding will come forth later when you least expect it but also when you most deserve it.

living the: "Salt Life"

Salt Life logo is a trademark/copyrighted image of the Salt Life Company @2013 Salt Life

    I tell you one thing. I absolutely love the beach. I am not too fond of the actual sand but the atmosphere is what I love. The air tastes of seafood and the people look as if they are happier. Their lives all revolve around the vast spanse of water known as the ocean. Troubles disappear in the water because its almost like that is God's canvas, as is the sky, but one where the sound of the waves is like therapy to the ears, drowning out the sound of all problems and issues of life with the crashing of the waves onto the milky shore. How does the ocean and salt have anything to do with God and how we need to live our lives? There are actually two verses I will put into this post. One you may have guessed but the other you may not have yet. All of this would constitute how to live the "Salt Life"

     The first is one of my favorite verses as it has to do with

"You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be trampled under foot by men" -Matthew 5:13

     This is a beautiful verse full of symbolism because obviously it is talking about the literal definition of salt but it's meaning exists on a metaphorical level. I am going to break the verse down like a literary analysis below first and foremost.

1. You are. Alright, it didn't just say "A select group of people are the..." or "Evan is the salt..." or "Your pastor is the salt..." No no. It said you. That means you, and ALL of the you's reading my post and those that are not reading my post. (Which vastly outnumbers the first) Just so you are clear, this applies to YOU.
2. The salt of the earth. You are gravely important on this earth. Salt is a mineral that this Earth would be useless without. All sea creatures would be gone and the ocean would be nothing like it currently is. Your fries would taste nasty and so would your green beans. Salt is everywhere. I need show no statistics for you to know that without salt our Earth would be different both culturally and environmentally. Therefore, since salt is important that means that YOU are also important as well. You are vital to the existence of this earth and without you the world wouldn't be what it is. You are just as or more valuable to this planet and all of its functions in the grand scheme of civilization than the salt ever will be.
3. But if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? Hey literally, it can't. Next.
4. It is no longer good for anything, except to be trampled under foot by men...........

....Wow that last one really puts it into perspective doesn't it? Okay, so we are the salt. That means that we are extremely valuable to not only this Earth as I said but also to God. Hey, your unique. Just as I am sure no two grains of salt are perfectly the same in nature, you are not the same as your neighbor either. So not only are you vital to this Earth but your also very important and uniquely designed by THE creator. So since you are the salt of the earth, you can't lose your saltiness. Yeah. If you go and try to lose yourself and forget how important you are to God then you will lose your saltiness. If you forget how you are uniquely made and formed specifically for a purpose by God then you lose your saltiness. You can lose your saltiness in many ways, but guess what happens when you do? You are no longer good for anything, except to be trampled under foot by men...did you catch that part?

In your head if you begin to think you are insignificant, that your life doesn't matter, that you were not uniquely formed by a Creator for a specific purpose, if you are not vital to the functionality of the civilization of this planet, if you are not loved, if you think you do not mean anything to God or that He doesn't notice you OR that you are THE most important piece of anything in this vapor called life then You are no longer good for anything, except to be trampled under foot by men. 

 Now that's something you don't and won't forget now. Not only are you not good for anything. Because remember that part is said first. In addition to that, you are only good enough to be trampled under the feet of men. Okay, now being good for nothing is one thing, but I honestly think that being trampled on by the feet of men is worse than being good for nothing ya feel me? God's message is pretty clear and I know throughout this Salt summary you've caught it. God made you the most vital resource on this planet. Like salt preserves meat, you also are made to preserve His word and promises for generations. Like Salt is a vital part of the biological makeup of our planet, you are a vital part of the makeup of this planet as well because without you there would be no disciple making and the world would remain lost. Like Salt, if you checked out mentally or physically somehow the world would not function properly without your existence. Like Salt you were designed and put on this earth for a certain and specific reason. Like Salt you were made to make things taste better just as you are suposed to make the word more appealing to the masses. Finally like Salt ,without it the Earth would perish and without God you would perish as well. Know that you are wonderfully created with a specific purpose by God and that if you ever lose that vision or promise you are good for nothing for without that you can't understand your importance in winning disciples for the kingdom of God. To understand others, you must understand yourself and how vital you are to God and even more importantly how vital it is that you realize how crazy in love with you He is.

The second part is also another one of my favorite set of verses on

"25 “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?26 Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27 And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? 28 And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 31 Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ 32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." -Matthew 6: 25-34

     This just perfectly describes how we feel like those people that live on the beach go about their day to day lives. With no worry and without a care in the world. Its almost like all of their troubles are somewhere else and they have no sings of stress on any of their faces. Okay, so if they can look like that, then why can't we? "But Evan, not all beach folk look like that. How can you tell me not to worry about my life, you don't understand how difficult life is for me." Your exactly right I don't. But God does.  I also didn't tell you not to worry. But God did. Life isn't difficult for you, but it was for Jesus. If you can come anywhere close to telling me your life is anywhere near as difficult as the life of your Savior's then feel free to post it straight to my Facebook wall. I would love to see that. I am not being sarcastic out of meanness of course but instead out of how I want you to see how petty our stressors are in our lives compared to what our Savior went through to breathe life into you. We do worry all about what those verses say don't we? We worry about our clothes all the time. "What will I wear?" We also worry about our food all the time too. "What will I eat today?". God will provide. I can't explain it but yo use it with people who give. Some person may say "God wants me to give my whole paycheck this Sunday but I dont get it but I'm trusting He will provide." He always pulls through. Whatever we worry about having, God will always provide. Its not like a magical 3 wish lamp, it takes a life of prayer for Him and yearning for His guidance on what you should do but ultimately those verses say to not worry one bit because it doesn't help you. God will always provide for you! Don't look at me, I don't have the answer but He just does. If you trust in Him fully with your life, you will see the benefits of what I'm talking about. I tell you the second most important verse that sticks out to me is Verse 27 that reads "And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to your life?" That is so catchy and worded so perfectly. All of that time spent worrying is really just taking time away from the life you could be living for yourself and most importantly for Christ. It is really taking away from you being the salt of the earth too isn't it? Worrying I think slowly makes you become less and less salty. And we know what happens when we become salt-less now don't we.

     Besides that being the second most important then what is the most important? I think verse 33 holds that title. "But seek first His kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

  This verse is all about sowing and reaping. This is about getting out what you put in. If you invest just a pinch of your life into the eternal kingdom of God then you will only be rewarded with what you put in. Louie spoke on this last sunday at Passion City Church for a minute as it pertains to giving to the church. In paraphrasing loosely he said:

     ...Its almost like when someone comes up to you and makes you an offer to invest something into a company that promises to double what you put in. So after long hours of consulting and calling up experts for advice me and my wife decided to just go for it. Whenever someone tells you that, "now there is no guarantee", make sure to say that line 500 times over in your head because normally all you get from those investments are nothing....What we got in return though was 15 times what we put in. What do we think in that moment? You know its like when you invest money in a stock and then it soars through the roof, what do you think? I wish I would've put more in. That is exactly how the investments into the kingdom go. If you only put a little in, when that trumpet sounds and the clouds part, your hands are going to go on your head and your gonna say.......I wish I would've invested more. -Paraphrasing Louie Giglio: That We May: Part 2

    That just blew my mind right there. Our lives are just what we put into them. If you are the saltiest salt there is and you invest all of your life into the kingdom then you will hear a "Well done" when you enter into heaven. I honestly don't want to hear anything less than that. I don't want to get to heaven and hear. "Okay so I put time and effort into making you unique like the salt of this Earth, and you gave me probably about all of two years worth of solid time worshipping me. And you chose to only invest a little into the kingdom whenever YOU remembered to bring your giving to my altar. If you were me, what would you say to yourself in this moment?" I can tell you one thing. I don't want to hear anything less because that will mean I will burn and be apart from my God for eternity and I don't want that. Oh yes of course we will lose our saltiness and we will worry, we are human. But the amount we need to invest into the kingdom needs to be more than the amount we invest into this world because when those trumpets sound my blog wont matter. My iPhone won't matter. Or my computer. Or Coca-Cola. Or Apple. Or Oprah. Or the Fortune 500. Or Kim Kardashian's overly plump self. None of that will matter. All of the "greatness" that is America, all of the western ideology of the "American dream" will all fade under the light of God's glory.

     Just live the "Salt Life" people. Make a heavy investment into the kingdom of God, don't worry your life away because Jesus already paid it all for you, and finally be the salt of the Earth. Go and be the most valuable thing to the people around you and make God smile down on you. Live the "Salt Life" relationship with your significant other, at your workplace, in school, in church, out of church, grocery shopping. All over the place be the salt of the earth. If you do that your returns will multiply and your investments will have been worth all your put in and more. That puts a WHOLE new spin on that sticker on my car window. How about you?