Take up Your Cross

When you think about what Christianity has to offer you, is this what you see? Just a person and their cross, is that what it's all about? Recently, I have been battling with God about what I should be doing with my life and my faith. His answer, was to lead me to Luke 14:26-35. For those of you who are wondering, this is the passage where Jesus talks about a person carrying his cross and following Jesus.


Here are a few of the things implicated  by this passage:

1) Before you can be devoted to God in discipleship, you must be willing to give up everything for the sake of following Him. In verse 26, he tells us to not regard personal relationships above following Him. In verse 28 and 31 He talks about counting the cost before deciding to commit. In reality, this is a problem in Christianity - and the world for that matter- that we lack true commitment. We want for all the blessings, we expect good gifts, but we are not committed enough to lay aside those things which withhold us from fully living out the gospel in our communities and world.

2) Discipleship is worthless when you hold on to this world. In verse 34 & 35, Jesus explains that salt that is no longer salty is useless. What does that mean to us? In part, I think it means this: if you are not able to be the right kind of person to impact this world for Christ, you are useless as an ambassador. In other words, you are wasting both your time and His.

Take this image and consider this. If that salt were worthless, the man has a handful of nothing. However, it that salt were of purest quality, then the man in the picture has the best enhancement for his sustenance that anyone could hope for. The reality is, he won't know unless he tastes the salt. In the same way, people won't know what Christ has to offer them until they interact with you, a Christian. Therefore, you must ask yourself this question: do I give people the best of Christ when I deal with them, or do I give them something else? Unless you are committed to Christ, you really have very little to offer this world that is of any lasting value. It may sound harsh, but it is true. Either you live for Christ, or live for Satan. You either exemplify Jesus in your life, or you are doing exactly what the devil wants you to do.

Just think about it.

The 5 Minute Check-Up

There is a point for every Christian when they will get caught in a difficult situation without time to sit down and study their Bible or engage in deep meditative prayer. A certain coworker is having a bad day and is taking it out on everyone else, your child just broke something expensive or seemingly indispensable, or maybe your car broke down as you were on your way to work. How do you handle these moments?

Well, this is not the end all of suggestions for getting through those moments, but this is a tactic that I use that I have found to be helpful. Perhaps, some reader might come across this post some day and it might be helpful.

1. Quickly ask God for wisdom. James 1:5 tells us that God will give us wisdom if we ask for it. He has all the knowledge of the universe, and even more importantly, He wants to use it to interact with you. Asking God for wisdom is your way of acknowledging that He should be allowed to call the shots in your life.

2. Focus on scripture that you have studied and memorized. Psalm 119:11 tells us that memorizing Scripture can help keep you from sinning. In every situation of your life, it is important to learn to apply and utilize the Bible in how you respond. By so doing, you will fulfill the concept of meditating on the Word of God day and night as presented in Psalm 1.

3. Thank God for being there, and for things past He has brought you through. By taking time to reflect on God in thankfulness, you will find yourself less worried about the situation at hand. Also, Philippians 4:6-7 shows us that thankfulness is part of how we let go of our anxiety to approach God in prayer.

These steps are only effective if you live a disciplined life and make regular time to seek God in His word and talk to Him in prayer. Basically, the suggestion of these steps help you refocus in a situation so that you can get through God's way rather than letting your natural flesh respond. Maybe it will help some of you, maybe it won't. But, it is something that helps me... when I am wise enough to remember to do it. We've all still got a long way to go.

Blessings

What is a Christian?

I sat in a Bible study last night and the question was asked: "What do people think of when they hear the word Christian?" There was quite a list of things, but strangely none of them once mentioned a people that were imitating Christ Jesus with their lives. It makes you wonder, what is a Christian really? Do we know, do we understand, and do we live it?

First of all, I think that most Christians do know what it really means to be a follower of Christ. But, I think they also choose to ignore a lot of things that Christ commands them to do because it is either inconvenient or it is uncomfortable. This is not all Christians, mind you, but it is enough that the world has noticed. Do we ever feel guilty that we are associated not with the loving God of the universe, but are rather associated with a selfish, sometimes snobby community? I have had many times when I though to call myself something other than a "Christian" just to get the stigma off of me, but I have to admit that I am no better than the rest of my brothers and sisters.That's when God hit me... right in the heart.

Christ told us that loving God with our entire being and loving others was the basis for all of God's laws and commandments (Matt 22:37-40). In other words, the very central theme of Christianity is a deeper love for God and an outpouring of love toward our fellow man. Notice here, that personal ambitions are ignored. In fact, Paul includes selfish ambitions as part of the list of things not to do as a Christian (2 Cor 12:20, Gal 5:20). In Philippians 2:3-12, we are told that laying aside ourselves is what it means to follow Christ, who laid aside His majesty as Almighty God and became human flesh. And not just that He became man, but that He suffered and died despite His authority over the universe.

Love is considered the greatest virtue and the most important aspect of the Christian life, to the point of bringing unity (1 Cor 13, Col 3:10-14). It is the only commandment that Christ gives that is specifically pointed out by John in his letter to the churches (John 13:34, 1 John 2:7-11). In Galatians, we are told that the whole law is fulfilled in the statement, "you shall love your neighbor as yourself (Lev 19:18). In fact the entire theme of the Bible is to love each other, and even to love those who are your enemies. By doing so, you fulfill the Law of Christ, making you a follower of Christ.

Two points then, to consider. First, if we are supposed to overflow with love, where does that love come from. 1 John tells us that God is the source of love, and it therefore stands to reason that a deeper relationship with Him will give you that abundance of love. Perhaps I'll do a post on drawing from the source another time. Second, don't expect to just start loving people because you have Christ. It is natural to classify people as acceptable or unacceptable. But, Christians must work beyond their natural tendencies and aim to accept people for who they are. You do not ever have to love or condone the sin that a person commits, but you should always love the sinner. And then, when news such as that of when Osama Bin Laden was killed comes, you can feel the regret in your hearts that he is cursed to an eternity without God. That is what God's love does for you, it makes every life precious, and makes every person important... just because God made them. Think about it.