living the: "Salt Life"

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    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?

Jesus Is Not Justin Bieber

(Artwork Credit: The City Church & Judah Smith Jesus Is campaign. This is my interpretation of filling in the blank. And others below Google Images.)
(Content Credit: Mostly me but some of "not a fan" novel by Kyle Idleman)

     Backstreet's back alright. As I was watching a sermon from The City Church this morning in the background was Good Morning America on the television set. Although I made it through the sermon in full attentiveness, I could not help but glance at the TV screen every now and then and see women wearing shirts made by themselves, ribbons in their hair, video cameras rolling, screaming protruding from their mouths even before they went on stage, handmade signs and posters, bedazzled hats, they had it all today. These people are hardcore fans of The Backstreet Boys. I'm talking about hardcore fans. This isn't the only group. Think about Justin Bieber fans too. Look at these pictures.

     These are known as Beliebers. These girls are literally weeping and screaming their hearts out for the Biebs. Some people follow him around on his tours and strive their hardest to win time with him or meet him, or even go to lengths to try and storm over barricades to even touch him.

     Does this make anyone else want to gag? I mean I don't necessarily care that people are fans of people. I understand we all enjoy different types of musicians, bands and actors. I go to concerts, The Walking Dead filming and all of that and after this post maybe I can blame myself some for even doing that. Although I am a normal fan of things like that, isn't there a line people are crossing that is sort of sickening? When we think of what these fans are that Jesus followers aren't then that is what makes me cringe.

Bieber fans: -All gather to see him
                    -All go to great lengths to get to his concerts
                    -Decorate themselves with Bieber memorabilia
                    -Spend time making signs, painting their body, doing their makeup all for Bieber.
                    -Some try and break the law just to touch him, or actually just to get near him.
                    -People cry in his presence.
                    -Some people would go to GREAT lengths for him.      
                       (http://www.buzzfeed.com/rebeccae/what-would-you-do-to-get-with-justin-bieber)
                        **Warning most of those on that website are sickening and disturbing.

Jesus followers: - (Crickets)

     I mean that is truly the saddest thing and yes that is not the case for some but it is for most. Would we as followers of Jesus do any of those things listed above for the one that brought us from death to life? We may would all gather to see Him of course.  But the commitment of Justin Bieber fans is actually ridiculous. Bieber cannot offer his fans anything except teen pop hits and look at how they all treat him. Look at all of the things I listed there. All of those things are examples of followers and believers in someone who can offer them nothing but music on their iPod.

     Jesus gave us eternal life by dying for us and our commitment to Him is incomparable to the commitment of Bieber fans. Think about that. One lady on that website I listed actually said she would "give her soul" for Justin Bieber. I mean come on now! What has this world come to?

What can Justin Bieber offer you? -Arguably some good music to keep on your iPod

What can Jesus give you? -Peace, Joy, Healing and I could go on but the most important is LIFE.

     Jesus can give you life. We were once dead and Jesus said "Hey I can take your sin, your DEADNESS and bring you to LIFE. I can absolutely rock your world by making you free from the bondage of death by breathing life into you so you can be a faithful servant for me." After that promise and that commitment from Jesus, He looks down and is saying "Why is Justin Bieber getting what I should be getting and he has offered you nothing?" Wow that is something isn't it? I mean to think about Bieber fans and their commitment to him and his concerts is ridiculous. But if your going to follow Jesus, don't be a fan, be a follower.

    That's just the thing. Those Beliebers are just fans. They may be EXTREME fans but they are fans. As much as they love him and would mostly want to marry him I doubt that these individuals would actually give up their ENTIRE lives to follow Him and live traveling by his side. Some may, but the majority of those screaming fans still have to go home that night after the concert and get back to their daily lives. The Bieber Fever will wear off eventually and then they will move on to the next teen pop star. These girls will go home, wipe off their tears, take off their Bedazzled hats and go back to school the next day. They are not followers but fans of his.

     Dont be a fan of Jesus. Fans are people just like that. They are hyped up one day at church and then go home the next day and pretend like they don't know Jesus. Its like once the Bieber Fever is over, they will move on. Whenever church is over on Sunday, we move on. We pretend like we didn't just hear the Gospel of Jesus that will save our souls but instead we just got out of a Justin Bieber concert. Jesus Is Not Justin Bieber. We are called to be servants and followers but not fans. Fans move on the next day. If you have received this news of the Gospel, it is news that has brought you from DEATH to LIFE and you cannot let go of that. You can't just move on the next day and get back to your normal lives. It is impossible. If you really have received all He has given. If His glory has come down to you and His mercy and saved your soul, you have new life and you can't keep that quiet. That is something you can't move on from on the next day, no next teen pop star will save your soul or offer anything for you except a picture on an LCD piece of plastic in your pocket called a smartphone. These fans are better fans than most of us are followers. That is saying something. Why don't we get this wound up about Jesus and the gospel? We should go to great lengths to proclaim it! Don't you think Beliebers go to great lengths to see him and attend his concerts and tell their friends about him? Don't you see the problem here? Yes there isn't a Jesus around to attend his "concerts" or gatherings and do you know why? It is because he DIED for you. That is why you can't travel around with Him it is because He travels around with YOU. Inside of you is Him, and inside of Him is you. Its a big web of love and grace and the response we give him is Sunday church? I'm almost done but I want to finish with this thought. Think about Justin Beiber fans. If you loved Jesus as much as Beliebers loved Bieber then we could change the world. Think about that.

He's Been You, He Gets You

(Google Images)

"Remember, he is not, like you, a pure spirit. Never having been a human (Oh that abominable advantage of the Enemy's!) you don't realise how enslaved they are to the pressure of the ordinary." -The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis

     This one quote, this two and a half lines of type, is what I want to emphasize on. This quote comes from an excellent novel by C.S. Lewis (which what of his material isn't excellent?) called The Screwtape Letters. For those of you who don't know, in summary, this book is about an elder demon trying to teach a lower level demon the ways of the trade, in other words, how to be a jam up demon and the best ways to toy with our minds. This quote comes from the heart of one of the many of letters form the elder demon. I won't go much more into the book with names and more talk about it, but it is for sure worth the read. But for now, this quote is what I'm concerned with. Just know in this letter the elder demon is talking about ways to distract us and lead us astray from God. In some of the previous lines before this quote he is discussing how it is good for the lower level demon to know how to make us caught up in "real life" but to never make us question what "real" means. (A brilliant quote also)

     So now with a little background I want to sort of dissect this one quote.

-"Remember, he is not, like you, a pure spirit." 

          The "he" is the demon's "patient" or human they are assigned to, and the "you" is the demon.
          Which is obviously wholly spirit and not one bit human.

-"Never having been a human (Oh that abominable advantage of the Enemy's)"

          The never having been human reference is geared toward the demon because like I mentioned before a demon is a whole spirit, and never having been human. The next line though, that is what I want to mainly focus on here. So just know I am saving this line for the larger discussion underneath.

-"you don't realise how enslaved they are to the pressure of the ordinary."

          This line is genius right here. I could easily write a novel on just these 13 words. What I think is important here mainly though is the idea of us being a prisoner to society. We are truly enslaved to the ordinary. If you aren't this shape, if you don't wear these clothes, if you don't act this way, or if you don't go party or drink then you are labeled as not being ordinary. We were meant for so much more through Christ. We are so complex and uniquely made that the word ordinary should never be used on another human being. But that is just it, we are slaves to a certain culture and way of thinking as Americans and if you don't fit that bill, your not normal. We are meant to be extraordinary, so stop drooling at the media, worrying so much about how well you fit in and seriously, I HATE cliches but just be you. Your already extraordinary so just be you and stop being a sheep. The only Shepard you should have is Jesus. Period.

     Now I want to return to that second part of the second breakdown of the quote. Think about this for a second. Jesus was a human just like you. Wait, did that sink in? JESUS WAS A HUMAN TOO! See, what this elder demon (stupid demon) was so mad about is that Jesus has an advantage over the demons (in more ways than one obviously) but in one we are discussing is that he has been human. Demons are fully spirits and they know not how we operate. Well we don't know what demons know, and we shouldn't underestimate them but they are easily defeated unlike Jesus, but we do know that our Savior has an advantage over them because He was at once human just like you and me. Jesus was tempted with sin like we are on a daily basis, He knows what peer pressure feels like and He understands our enslavement to the ordinary as discussed before. He knows every single feeling you have and has honestly experienced more than you have. You think you have it bad? Try being Jesus. That is one life I thank God I didn't have to live honestly. The point though is this. When you feel like no one gets you, or that you can never be a certain something you want to be, or that your goals are unachievable then you need look no further than Jesus. He gets it completely. He's been there, and even when your best friend or worst enemy doesn't get your side of the story, Jesus knows what it feels like to be human and experience it all despite also having infinite knowledge as well. So really what I'm trying to get across is that when God seems so far away from you, or so you think, that your unreachable just know your being way too hard on yourself. When you think that God doesn't understand what your going through, then think about that again because He certainly does as Jesus went through it. Just like the title of the post. He's been you so He gets you. When your too busy running, Jesus is saying "HEY! BEEN THERE, DONE THAT, RUN TO ME!" I LOVE it how our Savior has an advantage over the devil and his petty minions below. That's only one advantage of course but think about how beautiful that is. Jesus was human, it was an advantage for Him, so take that and use it. Run to him because His arms are always open. His human arms, and spiritual ones as well.

Part 3: Easter Rant/ The Holy Spirit from an Empty Tomb

(Google Images)

     Honestly I really am not sure what to say for this one, or rather I am sure what to say, but this won't be a feel good just "He is risen" post. That will come but first I have to take care of a few things. I am in part tired of the hype of Easter because it loses the meaning of the most important story of all time. I will tackle a couple of things in this one before I get to the conclusion of the story so just travel along this journey or rant, whichever you choose to name it, if you want to. I will label the sections so if you want to just skip to the conclusion of the Part 3 of my posts then by all means skip over it and go there. Or if you will get offended, you may want to skip this next part.


1) Your Gonna Wish You Skipped It...

     You have to choose which side of the spectrum you want to lean more closely to. Side 1 is the happy Easter bunny basket egg hunt side. Truthfully, if you are reading this pretty much Christian based blog of mine then you are not dancing fully on this side, but I need to still clarify what this side entails. This is the "Happy Holidays" side. This is the side where you let yourself get wrapped up in all the marketing and manufacturing of a holiday where there shouldn't have been anything. First of all, guess what your doing with your bunny and egg holiday?! Do you even know where the "Easter bunny" and "Easter eggs" originated? I can tell you this one thing, it certainly was not from anything Christian related, quite frankly, it is from the opposite end of anything good really. Here is an article from Discovery about this very subject:

"According to the University of Florida's Center for Children's Literature and Culture, the origin of the celebration — and the origin of the Easter Bunny — can be traced back to 13th-century, pre-Christian Germany, when people worshiped several gods and goddesses. The Teutonic deity Eostra was the goddess of spring and fertility, and feasts were held in her honor on the Vernal Equinox. Her symbol was the rabbit because of the animal’s high reproduction rate....Spring also symbolized new life and rebirth; eggs were an ancient symbol of fertility. According to History.com, Easter eggs represent Jesus' resurrection. However, this association came much later when Roman Catholicism became the dominant religion in Germany in the 15th century and merged with already ingrained pagan beliefs."

     Hey so guess what people? Your eggs and bunny isn't really rooted from anything all that innocent. Okay look, don't point at me for being "That guy" who is "too serious" and a "fuddy duddy" or however you wish to falsely label me because I believe those labelled people are on the opposite side of the spectrum really. (Note I didn't say its the wrong side, but thats where those people lay) I do not believe it is wrong to have an Easter egg hunt, I had one as a kid and I enjoyed it, it was fun. But I mean on the other hand, I really don't like it either. I think it is one of the things we as Christians don't really know what to do with. Everyone, including myself because I just said it, says that it is okay, nothing is wrong with it, and yadda yadda yadda. But when will it get to the point in our culture when the bunny and the eggs thing REALLY trumps the actual meaning of Easter? And if this time ever comes can we look back and say "Why didn't I focus more on Christ than on bunnies and eggs?" Honestly I also don't know what to do about it either. If I am the first one, or if your the first one even, to speak up about it we are instantly labelled and well, we become "thoooooose people". And golly we just don't want that over our heads now do we? As America its now okay not to stick up for what you believe in. Watched the news lately? The metaphorical "bunnies and eggs" of our whole entire society are winning right now people and we are sitting back, eating our Peeps and taking Facebook "selfies" labelled "Happy Easter" (that will get some dislikes but when is "Happy Easter" about you and your self portrait? I know its innocent don't get me wrong and don't hate me but its just a point that fits in with what I'm saying and no taking pictures with family isn't what I am talking about its the lasting effort to somehow make anything that is about Christ about us. We all do it in different ways too though so don't worry) as the world STILL remains lost and STILL is hopeless. How in the WORLD is it easier to believe in a bushy tailed creature dancing around but not Jesus Christ? Where have we went wrong where Christ wasn't good enough so it was time to adopt Pagan beliefs? Label me what you will but I don't care, if you don't see anything wrong with this whole picture I made a case for, then read it again.

2) Now That Your Heated, Smile Because Now He's With Us!

     I need not go into the whole Jesus being raised from the dead story. For Matthews account you can look into his gospel around Chapter 27 I believe for just one account of the Resurrection. I think what is most important about Jesus being raised from the dead is not the fact that Jesus is now out form the tomb, which is very important, but that the Holy Spirit is now with us. I think this is the most beautiful picture of the whole process of the birth, death, resurrection and coming of the Holy Spirit. Don't get me wrong it is very important to know all of those things and the accounts of those happenings but still I think what is the most beneficial to the Great Commission and leading people to Christ is that intermediary that is the Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit we would...well I don't know exactly what we would do. Make an empty decision without conviction and repentance maybe? That's really an unanswerable question, one of those that you don't know "what if" ordeals. But the beautiful thing is that it did happen and that it is our direct link with witnessing to others and feeling the presence and power of Christ within our hearts and our convictions as well. So the tomb being empty is a sign of victory for the followers of Christ! Can you imagine the in-between day? It's our Saturday but its the day where we don't know what to do. Friday is Good Friday and we discuss and contemplate the cross and what it means. On Sunday we celebrate His resurrection. Saturday? Watch tv? Eat good meals? Family time? I mean if its awkward for us, for the followers of Christ but mainly His disciples can you imagine how horrible that day was. The Savior you saw and believed in front of your very eyes is now dead and defeated! He now lay in a tomb sealed up for this entire day! I would be very depressed during this time. But there's the hope that Christ gave them though that they held on to. There was a hope that the Spirit was coming and by it they could act out their "spiritual" gifts that will be bestowed upon them and with this news their spirits were downtrodden yes but also their expectations were high for the arrival of what Jesus foretold. Then the Spirit came and by it some performed miracles and other gifts they had now been able to lead out by the power of God in their midsts. That is truly what I think about getting out of Easter. It was not only the death of death, but it was the birth of the Spirit. Not only that Jesus defeated the grave but now we have the power of the Spirit which is equal to that of having Jesus in the flesh. All we have to do now is to pray and go out and make disciples and do all we humanly can. There is a point where we do all we can do then the Holy Spirit of God has to move to actually change hearts. That to me is the true joy of Easter knowing I have God's spirit on my side within my midst now I feel unstoppable!

The Penitent Thief: His Story

         " I have wept all morning. That's all I know to do. I know what I've done wrong, and now I must pay. I am the guilty one. I am a dirty, petty thief. Today I am going to be crucified. Do you understand how heartbreaking this morning was? Saying goodbye to your family for the last time...no you don't get that. Unless you've been where I've been you don't get it. But I have to realize I have done wrong. I know I have. And honestly I kept doing wrong too. I not only would fail my family everyday but I would constantly fail myself as well. I am broken, down trodden, fallen to pieces and have nowhere else to turn. No one will accept me. My family gave me awkward glances and goodbyes offering no second chances. Their family member is going to die on a cross for his wrongdoings, why should we love him? You know what, for the first while, I blamed them. I was their kin. I thought how can you turn on someone like that? Well my answer is now as clear as the sky above me and that is, if I can turn on them instantly and daily, how can I be surprised? I mean I expect a family to welcome me with open arms after I live my life of crime right under their noses? Once again, I am the guilty one.

     This preparatory chamber is dark and cold. It is almost as worse as my chamber in which the guards keeps me imprisoned. All I'm allowed to wear as garments are measly cloths around my waist. I am unclothed for the most part and cold. As cold as my heart. My heart has never been so cold as it is now. Some say hearts are the coldest on the eve after the crime, but I say to the contrare it is actually during the reflection period when the healing seems to never come is when the heart feels the coldest. What am I saying, they are coming in shortly to give me my piece of wood, a crucifix, to carry to my death hill. Why do my pleas of the mind amount to anything at this point?

     The pleas of my mind!? What about the pleas of my soul? I am too unworthy to even say His name anymore! I am a dirty human being! I am apart from my soul and now I will be sent into the underlings of hell where I belong! Oh what's the point in not trying? HEAR MY CRY OH LORD! To you I cry out in my deepest darkest moment where you are probably so far away you've shunned my words away from your ears! I bet the gatekeepers of heaven only hear my cries as whispers in the wind I am so far away from you God! Oh Lord if there is any chance of you saving me let it be now! I have no sacrifice! I really don't know what to believe anymore either Lord. I know the Pharisees wouldn't let me see the light of the day in your temple so what is my other option? Who is this man that is walking around here and is he from you, Lord? I know the wrong I've done, I am a dirty nasty thief and deserve death and well, now I get it."
   
     The thief takes up his cross and begins the journey onto the hill. He notices when he is beginning his first round of lashes there is not the normal crowd gathered equally to each of the three criminals but mainly today they are gathered around the middle. The crowd is overwhelming for this criminal. All the thief sees is a cross though, he is too short and receiving too much brute force to try and glance any further in that direction than he can and is now forced just to continue to keep walking. There is never a crowd this large gathered for normal criminals so the thief knows this must be a murderer of a great multitude of individuals hence the reason for the large gathering of people for a crucifixion. He barely has time to raise his forehead up towards heaven before another blow to the head almost renders him unconscious. In his heart he's ready for death. He prays that God will somehow save him but he knows that's impossible.

     He arrives at the hill and is nailed to the cross. Agonizing screams are cumbersome compared to the sound of the nails on the wood. With the help of the Roman guards, he is hoisted into his position beside the middle cross. His eyes are almsot swollen shut now. He tries with all his might to open them again and when he does, he begins to scream for another reason. He squints a picture of a man he's seen before. He wasn't sure where because at this point his memory is almsot as cloudy as his vision and his mind much less coherent than even a little bit ago in the preparatory chamber. Even with his handicap he still notices who the man is. This is the man they claim is named Jesus.

     "Nooooo. I don't understand!...........I...I don't get it.....Why is he here?!"

     The thief knew the man was innocent. Upon the man they called Jesus's approach, another thief was hoisted on the other side and this thief began to look at the man called Jesus with disbelief as well but it was a different kind. All attention, including that of our penitent thief, shifted towards the man in the center. His nails were more powerful, and his screams more piercing. This sounded like no man. This sounded like suffering and pain manufactured from all of the voices of the people of the world who have ever hopelessly cried out into the night. He was hoisted up in his postion into the middle and all eyes were on Him.

    Time went by and the thief could barely breathe. It seems that all thought had left him and now he hung there as a vegetable hangs on a garden plant about to be eaten but in his case the ever looming tomb takes the place of the hungry mouth. The light is starting to fade then he hears it. No, not from the man in the middle this time, it was from the other criminal. The other criminal shouted "Are you not the Christ? Then save yourself, and us!"

    "This was Him! Not the him, but the HIM! This Jesus is the son of God everyone had claimed he was. I see it more clearly now than ever! While by now my eyesight has left me, I know who this man is and it is no normal man but the Messiah. But wait? Why is he on a cross like me? I am the guilty one, I deserve death but why him? Why is he like me? Why is this other criminal on the far side of the Messiah shouting at Him? I don't understand this"

     His thoughts fell silent as did his consciousness, something within him ignited another breath and he shouted aloud in the direction towards the other two.

    “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong. Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!"

     "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with me in paradise."

     Tears of joy streamed down the face of the criminal. He tried to form another thought or another word but in that time of extreme joy, physical death overcame him. But after all of his pleas, when he thought God was the furthest away from him, God sent His son Jesus to die for the sins of not only this thief but for everyone. I hope you've enjoyed this fictional account I created from the thief's point of view. I could go into reasoning why I shifted between 1st and 3rd person but that's unimportant. What is important is that if you already know the story then this can offer you an alternative. If you do not know the story of Jesus however I encourage you to read all four accounts of it all written a little differently in the four gospels of the Bible. That is all and this concludes the Part 2 of my 3 part Easter blog posts. Tomorrows is for celebration!!!!

   

Part 1 of 3: The Beginning of the Beginning

(All images in this blog post gathered from Google Image Search)

Born into the world like any other human being, He lay there in the straw that starry night. Upon His arrival, blurred visions clouded His undeveloped, just opened eyes. Reaching for Him, He felt the warm, comforting grasp of His mother's arms and He realized all will be okay. But there was something different about this baby boy that made Him very much unlike any other human being. He was part man and part God. There isn't a more beautiful story of a beginning to anything. It's quite poetic, historical, and jaw dropping all in one.

 I wonder if He knew that His real Father was above instantly at birth, or did that come later on in a dream/vision/direct contact of sorts? Either way this is the beginning of the story of the Savior of this world named Jesus. Yes this is a real story. If you can believe that George Washington was our first president based on historical texts out of books bound the same way the Bible is bound, then you can believe in Jesus. None of you were there for Washington's inauguration as none of you were there during Jesus's time so it takes faith to believe in each account. So what's the difference? What's so special about Jesus that makes Him different from Washington or Honest Abe?

The story of Jesus has changed the world. Period. The story of Gandhi is a great one. It is a good story and lesson on non-violence and how to win a war without fighting but instead standing firm on what you believe in. I encourage all of you to go and watch the movie Gandhi. Its a great movie and he was a great man. But that was it, he was just a great man and not a god, just a man. Another one is Muhammed. Yes, although a "prophet", he also was no god, but a man. So what makes Jesus different than everyone else in the history of this world? He claimed to be one with God the Father. That is what started this whole debacle right at, to right over, 2,000 years ago. Let's look at a brief summary of the importance of this week in history shall we? This is a loose schedule and some scholars argue its one way and some argue another, but all in all this is pretty accurate.

Day One- This was known as Palm Sunday. This is the day that Jesus arrived into the city of Jerusalem for the Jewish festival known as Passover. He fulfilled the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9 that stated loosely that Jesus would arrive on a donkey into the city.

Day Two- Jesus gets angry and turns over the tables in the temple. During Passover, as like every single holiday of America today, the Jewish people market the Passover to make a prophet by offering currency exchange as well as selling animals for the Jews to sacrifice to God during these days. As He should, Jesus enters into the temple very angry turning over merchant tables and obviously frustrated makes this statement. "The Scriptures declare, 'My Temple will be a house of prayer,' but you have turned it into a den of thieves." (Luke 19:46). This obviously caught some attention.

Day Three- Mainly Jesus travels to the Mount of Olives to share several famous parables to His disciples. Also it is believed that this day was the one in which Judas started his negotiations with the Sanhedrin to betray Jesus.

Day Four- Interesting day here. The Bible doesn't say much about this day really. Many scholars speculate that Jesus remained silent on this day because He was rather exhausted. Many believed He spent this day with His disciples in the town of Bethany right near Jerusalem. This is where Lazurus, whom Jesus raised from the dead, and his two sisters Mary and Martha resided. This day is nicknamed as "Silent Wednesday".

Day Five- This is the day the infamous Passover feast takes place between Jesus and His followers. Here Jesus demonstrates how they should remember Him and also shares the news that this will be His last meal with His disciples but that they not need be afraid for what's ahead. This is also called the Lord's Supper, or Communion. Much more can be written about the significance of this meal, but for your sake and in the interest of promptness, we will leave it there for now. Jesus leaves this scene and heads to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus makes His prayer and plea to the Father above, and also this is when Judas betrays Jesus with a kiss before His arrest. Peter tells Jesus he will never betray Him but in the late hours of the night and into the early hours of the morning, while Jesus is being judged by the High Priest and the rest of the council, Peter does deny Christ three times.

For now, since this is still Thursday (welll, pretty much haha) and "Good Friday" isn't until tomorrow, I will stop the timeline here. Let's reflect shortly on these events. These events were prophesied about in the Old Testament before they even occurred mostly. Days 1-4 are significant mainly because they all have lessons that we can learn from them. Yes they are significant in the interest of history as of what they lead up to and what they offer in themselves as the story of Jesus, but also think about what we can get from each of these days.

Day 1: Look at the prophecies of the Old Testament and see how they are all fulfilled in the New Testament. That's humanly improbable, but that's why it took someone not human to fulfill them.
Day 2: What can we learn from Jesus's acts displayed in the temple? Why did He get so mad? And what can we learn from this event to apply to our everyday lives? Hey sometimes, its okay to get a little frustrated.
Day 3: What's so important about being silent and resting like He did? Should He have rested? This day was not as much significant for Jerusalem I bet but rather Bethany where I'm sure many came to know Christ in this town.
Day 4: Okay, so I eat a little nasty cracker and drink lukewarm grape juice out of a plastic cup no one ever knows what to do with when its over. So, why is this SO significant to Christians? This is one of the ceremonies that no matter how contemporary the church, it sticks? Why was this feast and this moment so life changing? And what does it all mean for us?

I hate giving questions in my blog posts unless they are rhetorical  But these days are just so packed with information I cannot possibly relay the meaning to all of this to you and especially when, as long as the facts are correct, many of you can get out of this story so many different things on so many different personal levels. Maybe your struggling from talking too much and going overboard and just haven't taken that time to be silent for a day like Jesus did. Maybe your sweat is piling up about some unknown issue like Jesus felt on that day in the Garden. Or maybe you needed some more understanding and this will encourage you to read more going forward. Either way, I hope some people got something out of this post. It will probably be my longest one yet! As you may recall from the title, this is only Part 1 of a series of 3 posts with Easter being the final one on Sunday. I will finish the chronology then and hopefully offer some more interesting information from my noodle on those two posts because I know this one was rather dry and factual, but essential still. Watch for Part 2 tomorrow!

You'll Never Stop Loving Us, No Matter How Far We Run

Photo Credit: http://mindfulbalance.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/running-away-2.jpg

     It isn't just our choice, we don't wake up and choose it, and for sure we don't want to live our lives this way but it is our inherent nature to turn away from God. Our souls and inner beings are naturally evil. I don't mean supervillan evil but instead worldly evil. We don't naturally turn to God but instead turn away from Him daily. Living in this success, money and power driven culture we are taught that the absence of God is okay. We don't need Him to function daily which is why in our schedules there seems to be an absence of Him. Think of it as running a race. The finish line is there, but we are constantly running the opposite direction away from God naturally and we pile so much stuff on our plates it makes it seem okay that God isn't there.


When we wake up and start our day the world is on our minds for the most of us. Here's your average adult schedule:

6: Wake up
6:15: Really wake up
7-8: Get ready for work/breakfast/kids/be at work
8-9 to 5-6: Work
5-8ish: Supper/Kids/Getting home/sports/chores/homework
Around 9ish-Slowly start the zombie relaxed mode and into me time. Some don't get me time because some are on the move straight until bed.

Okay so that's tentative and sloppy and it's different with everyone but can't you see some reflection of your schedule in that mix? I know I can. What's so disheartening is that within the schedule, where did I make room for God?

I know it is a lot to ask to try and add an additional outlet to our busy schedules but I mean if we are Christians, God has to be in there somewhere. We have to make room for God. When we get home or even when we wake up. At SOME point, we have to make room for Him. If God sent His son, a human being just like you and me, who suffered offering up His life for the sake to save our petty, undeserving human souls then we can't even give Him 15 minutes? Has America grabbed us and brainwashed us so much that God isn't a part of our schedule anymore? Yeah, His ministry is my life but I am not perfect and never claimed to be. I mess up and there are some days where I guess I believe I don't have time, or don't make time rather, for God and I promise you those days are a lot less fulfilling then the days I do choose Him. I think it makes sense though. Even though as I mentioned earlier our nature is to run away from God, when we choose God, it makes Him smile and He blesses us with that sense of fulfillment. I think God is saying, "I choose you everyday because you don't understand my love for you, and when you choose me, I share it with you." That right there is the most beautiful depiction in our whole universe. I snatched the title of this post from one of Chris Tomlin/Passion's new album songs called "God's Great Dance Floor". The line is simply what the post title says it is. Its amazing that no matter how many days we wake up and make no time for Him, how many times we turn against God and run our own way (which, people, our own way is the wrong way) that He still opens His arms and NEVER stops loving us. How many people do you know that would still love you constantly even when on a daily basis you stab them in the back? The answer is 0. Just think about that right there. That is a comforting and amazing view of God and his unfailing love for us when we for sure deserve nothing like that due to how many times we turn our backs on Him.

End of Post Prayer:
Thank you God that your judgement isn't like that of ours because if you weren't God, you would've been done with us humans a LONG time ago. Thank you so much for putting up with my backstabbing, sinning and constant failure. Thank you God that you never stop loving me, no matter how far I run.