higher.

When I was flying back to NoVa from NY, i was looking out my window, & a song came on my ipod called "Higher" by Hillsong [look it up.. it's a great song!] some of the lyrics are this:

For unto us a Saviour came
Amazing grace that takes the weight
His name is hope for all the earth
His name now and beyond this life
'God with us'

And You shall be called Almighty God
And we shall declare
Your name is higher, higher
Jesus Christ Your name is glorious
Your name is greater, sweeter
In all the earth, higher, higher

As I'm who-knows-how-high up in the sky flying on this plane, she sings "Your name is higher" & i started to think about that. His Name is higher. higher than i was at that moment up in the sky.

now, this term isn't being used in the physical, or distance sense, rather, it is being used like "greater" or "more favorable", etc. but if you could measure greatness by distance, the greatness of God would be higher than 30,000 feet, amongst the clouds, higher than the birds.. etc. that's a pretty great God, if you ask me!

it was such a great reminder to me that He is in control. He is SO great! & greatly to be praised.. so lets do that this week. lets praise Him in our lifestyle & in the hard or easy times remember how high his Name is.

wait.

And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you. Deliver me from all my transgressions.

-Psalm 29:7-8a

Isn't a lot of life about waiting? Especially in the Christian life. A lot of time is spent trusting in God & waiting for Him to move or direct us.

Earlier in this Psalm, David talks about the fleeting vanities of the human life - things that men & women hold onto & cling to. He talks about the "things of this world" & how the Lord despairs those that find happiness from these things. He basically increases the readers' awareness of how vain & frail the "things of this world" really are.

At this point in the Psalm, David is responding to God, & appealing to Him about this subject. He is essentially communicating: "Why do I wait since I know there is nothing on earth worth waiting for? Oh well. I will put my hope in you & whatever you have for me on this earth."

Matthew Henry writes in his commentary about this passage of Scripture: "The consideration of the vanity & frailty of human life should deaden our desires to the things of this world & lower our expectations from it."

So true.

David expresses later in the Psalm how much he desires God over the "things of this world." He also gives a warning: that we cannot put our identity or our trust in the "things of this world." We must put them in God alone.

What we can ultimately extract from this short passage is this: though this world offers nothing to our expectation, God is worthy of all confidence nonetheless. He is worthy.

We must get to the point where this is more than just head knowledge.

We must seek to daily:

1) recognize the seriousness of our human nature

2)put our fleshly desires & vanity aside

3)consider how to put all confidence & hope in Him

4)trust that He will continue to give us grace as we grow through sanctification

weary.

The man declares, I am weary, O God, & worn out. Surely I am too stupid to be a man. I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One. - [Psalm 30:1-3]

These verses had become my prayer for so long. "Lord, I am not doing a good job. Lord, I keep messing up. I must be so stupid. What am I not getting?"

But I have discovered verse 5 of this passage:

Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

The first 3 verses start out by saying what MAN declares. These aren't facts, but rather, lies that I have been believing & telling myself.

But on the contrast, every word from God proves true.

In order to really know what this means, to really know what exactly IS true, we much know what God says. We must know the truth of his Word. Through this, he will shield us from the lies of the evil one.

When we take refuge in God & in the truth of his word, we will be shielded from these lies.

So the question then, is this: what does it look like to take refuge in God?

imitations.

"Beloved, do not imitate evil, but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God' whoever does evil has not seen God." ~ 3 John, verse 11

Some translations use the word "follow" instead of "imitate". I like the word "imitate" better. I gives us a clearer picture of what John is talking about here.

We are all imitators of something.

We are who we are because God created us to be exactly who we are, but also because we are influenced by the culture we are raised up in.

In this case, we imitate what we have been taught by our parents.

For example, when you hang out with someone a lot, you begin to use a lot of the same language as they do. This is the "imitation" that I'm talking about here.

So the hypothesis is this: if we are going to end up imitating something or someone, then who are we gonna choose to imitate?

God or the evil one? you have a choice.

You know, your friends will begin to imitate you, if you let them.

So, choose.

I hope it's not a hard choice. For me it is as simple as 1 Corinthians 1:11:

"Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ."

holy.

"even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy & blameless before him." [Ephesians 1:4]

"I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called." [Ephesians 4:1]

"..put on your new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness & holiness." [Ephesians 4:24]

"whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked." [1 John 2:6]

"No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, & he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, & who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother." [1 John 3:9-10]

"Do not sweep my soul away with sinners, nor my life with bloodthirsty men, in whose hands are evil devices, & whose right hands are full of bribes." [Psalm 26:9-10]

This is the will of God, that you should be holy: you must abstain from fornication; each one of you must learn to gain mastery over your body, to honor it as holy, not giving way to lust like the pagans who are ignorant of God; & no man must do his brother wrong in this matter, or invade his rights, because, as we told you before with all emphasis, the Lord punishes all such offenses. for God called us to HOLINESS, not to impurity. anyone therefore who openly disregards these rules is disobeying, not man, but God who bestows upon you his Holy Spirit. - Elisabeth Elliot, Passion & Purity.

children.

I know that not everyone in this world shares my opinions or my views on life, God, politics, football [go Steelers!], theology, or ministry, just to name a few. I don't expect everyone I meet to respond to situations in the same manner as I would & understand my reasoning behind them either. We live in a fallen world, a good friend recently reminded me. & boy, do we!

I meet with a small group of girls once a week at my church as part of my job, & I absolutely love it. These girls not only challenge me in my faith, they not only seek advice from me & ask me questions, but they also teach me as well.

My heart has been breaking for these girls recently. Although I don't know what it is like for them to continually seek after the Lord & stand up for Him in a public high school, I do know what it's like to stand up for Him in a fallen world.

A world where nobody around you understands His grace & love.. the free gift that He offers to eternity.. the hope & peace that we can find in Him.. & most importantly, the relationship that we have with Him- where He not only listens, but speaks in return.

God cares for us so much. & not just for "us" as Christians, but for us as His creation. The world. All of us. Christian & athiest, muslim & buddhist. He cares for all of us.

Even the orphan children in India of whose faces I remember daily, God loves. These pictures bring back those feelings of joy & compassion as I had the opportunity to minister to them in India last year. Their smiling faces amidst their physical poverty help with inspiring me to find joy amidst our spiritual poverty here in America.

But as a follower of God, as a believer in Jesus Christ, we can be encouraged by this statement:

Little children, you are from God & have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. [1 John 4:4]

We may not be understood because of the way we live our life, or worship God, or because of our political values. We may be misapprehended because of what football team we are faithful to, what our theological views are, or because of how we do ministry. Whatever the case, we can be encouraged to know that our opponents have been overcome by God.

We live in a fallen world, but Christ has overcome it when he overcame the grave.

If Christ lives in us, then we know that this same power lives in us.

Therefore with this power, we can overcome the world!

the house.

Psalm 23. The most well-known Psalm in the Bible, in my opinion. Most often used at funerals & grave sites. We know it, see it often, have it memorized. I have to admit that I even let these words become commonplace in my life at times. Reading it again today encouraged me, especially the last verse:

Surely goodness & mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, & I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

I want goodness & mercy to be with me all the days of my life! How was David [the author of this Psalm] so sure? How do I assure myself that this is true for me too? Through researching this question, I discovered that my answer can be found by simply inverting this verse.

If I dwell in the house of the Lord forever, goodness & mercy will follow me.

Goodness & mercy will follow me as I dwell with God.

Jesus tells us in John 14:2-3 that he prepares a place for us in his Father's house because it has many rooms.

2 Corinthians 5:1 tells us that God has made a house for us with his own hands.

1 Timothy 3:15 refers to the house as "the household of God, which is the church of the living God"

The house of the Lord can be found both eternally, as well as earthly.

God has prepared a place for us in eternity with Him upon our salvation. Meanwhile, his kingdom is here with his people on earth. We, the church, believers, are the household of God. As we dwell with each other & dwell in His Word & deed, we will find His goodness & mercy.

steps.

Sometimes in the christian life I can get caught up wondering if I'm on the right path; if the Lord is pleased with me; or what in the world God is doing through a certain circumstance. I often forget that God has it all under control. If I knew what was going on in God's world I probably wouldn't even begin to comprehend it all anyway.

A man's steps are from the Lord; how then can man understand his way? - Psalm 20:24

I shouldn't mull over trying to understand what God is doing in my life. If I am following God, then I will not usually understand the path He is taking me on. This is part of trusting God & having confidence in Him.

new.

hey guys, just an update: so, i know i haven't written in a few months now! so much has been going on & my mind has been so jumbled that i haven't been able to focus on one thing long enough to even know where to begin! i've given my blog a new look; a new theme; a new title; for a new beginning. i'm going to focus on the little things that God is doing in my life, as opposed to trying to write lengthy insightful entries every time. i'm going to strive to write daily, & hope that you will follow me as i embark on this journey.. again. please comment on my posts.. i want to be encouraged in my writing & hear from my friends & family as much as possible. it makes writing worthwhile when i know it is being read. i also love feedback; it helps me grow, both as a writer & also as a person. so here goes nothing.. hope you enjoy!

Godliness #2

Continuing in 1 Timothy 2:9-11 - "Likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty & self-control, not with braided hair & gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness--with good works. Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness."

Paul mentions women with "respectable apparel," "modesty & self-control," "good works," & quietness, when he speaks here in regards to "women who profess godliness." Oh, how I want to be a woman who professes godliness!

One will never know if Paul is writing out his own personal yearnings for a godly woman here or if these are indeed God's holy standards for the female gender. Regardless of this conflict, one thing I do know is that even for those who argue this as being simply Paul's opinion, I would take his views on the subject very highly anyway considering the nature of the man that he was - a man of wisdom & dignity!

I have been pondering these verses for weeks, trying to extract some practical wisdom from them, but all that I have been able to find are the flaws that shine clearly from my own heart & my own life. These verses do nothing but convict me & urge me to strive to be a more godly woman. I want to seek after godliness, therefore I must urge myself to continue to seek after the One who exemplifies these godly character traits that I strive to imitate. Focusing on each individual trait of what I feel a Godly woman should possess is not the key to being like Christ. One can only imitate the person in which they study carefully & know well. Therefore, we must strive to find our motivation & identity in Christ alone.

Godliness #1

It's been a while since I've last posted something on this here blog, but it's not because I haven't been learning anything. The fact is, I've been gaining an enormous amount of wisdom these past few months, so much, that I've hardly had time to think or even breathe, let alone spend the time to type out a full-length page concerning it all. Fortunately, I finally have room to breathe & actually collect my thoughts concerning the lesson I have been learning recently! I hope you are thrilled to read these words!

These lessons I have been learning have been partially extracted from my readings in First Timothy. Recent happenings in my life have also contributed to these, mostly involving a few personal struggles & broken relationships.

Since I have moved here to Reston to come on staff at RBC, I have seen & met many examples of a Godly man, much like I believe Paul was after his conversion. Whenever Paul gives advice about godliness to those he writes to in his letters, I always strive to extract this wisdom from Scripture. Paul writes in 1 Timothy 2 about Godly men & women, & what they should strive to exemplify. He says in verse 8 that "in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands." I see it so much in this place: men of valor praying for their brothers & sisters in Christ. Where was that in college? Where was that among the halls of my Christian University?

And the dilemma even continues into the kids lives that I minister to on a daily basis who come from such broken homes - where are these men in the household? Where are these fathers & brothers?

This dilemma has caused me to realize that this kind of man is the one I want leading my future household. This is the kind of man that I want to raise up in my own family & that I'd like to see my future daughters come to marry someday. This is the kind of man that I hope the youth in our youth group are learning from & growing up to be, even if they don't have one modeled in their home.

If you are a man, this is the type of man that I hope you will strive to become.

Love #3

I will start this post with a story. Jesus is teaching:

"A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?"

Simon answered, "The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt." And Jesus said to him, "You have judged rightly."

Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven--for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little."

The lesson God has been teaching me this last couple of weeks is one that I think is also apparent in this passage. It is one that I have been learning BIG TIME. It is this:

Love comes first out of a yearning for it.

Jesus says in this story that obviously the one who loves the moneylender more is the one who has been given the most by him, which was the one who had the bigger debt. He was given the bigger gift because he had been freed of the bigger debt.

Then, as Jesus refers to the woman who had kissed his feet, He says that she loves much because she had been forgiven of many sins. Then he says "But he who is forgiven little, loves little."

Basically, I can some this story up in one sentence: The more that we recognize our need for God, the more we will grow to love Him.

And I have definitely been learning this.

The more that I realize my NEED for God in my life, the more that I can actively love Him and others around me.

Love #2

Upon striving to strengthen my love for God on a daily basis I have come to this important lesson:

Lesson #4: Love is contagious.

That seems like a simple concept, but in fact my meaning behind this lesson is a little more complicated.

There are many people in ministry that are hard to love. Some at specific times, and some all the time. We all have our days. But I've learned that when I am focused on loving God, my love for others comes naturally.

It is easier to love the difficult people on the days that my love for God is overflowing.

We know that in Matthew 22 God tells us the greatest commandment, which is to "love the Lord [our] God with all [our] heart, with all [our] soul, and with all [our] mind" [verse 37]. But we also see in verse 39 the second most important commandment being to "love [our] neighbor as [our]self."

I think commandment #2 comes out of commandment #1.. that's why they are listed in this specific order.

So if I am striving to love God with everything that I have and striving to make that known by the way I live my life, then the more I do that, the more I will be overflowing my love onto to others and seeking to love them in the same way. Then as I am loving others, my actions will be noticed by those around me, and they will follow.

I've seen this dynamic concept of love in action, and it has continued to be my motivation to continue in this path.

Whenever we, as Christians, are struggling to love someone in our path, we must simply remember the love that God has for us, and be reminded of how much we love him in return. This should cause us to re-focus ourselves on how to love those tough people that we may come across.

And boy is this kind of love needed in ministry.

Besides just loving those that are hard to love sometimes, I feel so convicted [guilty] lately about not properly or actively loving those around me.

The Bible teaches love to be an action, not a feeling or simply an entity. Rather, love is, like i defined in my last post, a daily choice.

I want to show Christ's love in every detail of my life, and I am not doing a very good job of it. I put myself before others in a lot of aspects. I want to pray for people in my life more than I often do. I want to send thank you letters and birthday cards to people that I care about. I want to actively pursue how I can pray for strangers that I interact with when I am in public, like waiters, pizza delivery guys, check-out counter people, and drive-through employees. How can I do that? How can I leave the fingerprints of God on the lives of those around me in a more practical way?

This is something that has become a daily struggle for me. I battle with the feelings of reluctance to get past myself and my daily list of things to-do and to actually take action in the lives of those around me.

The result is not instant, but actively loving others will eventually cause a Domino effect.

Love is contagious, so why not get up and move in the lives of those around you?

Love

I've realized that loving God is a daily battle, or more like a daily decision that I have to make.

Lesson #3: My love for God should be evident in everything that I do.

Deuteronomy 6:5 says: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." - but not only that...

"And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart." - Deut 6:6

"You shall teach them diligently to your children.."

"..and shall talk of them when you sit in your house.."

"..and when you walk by the way.."

"..and when you lie down.."

"..and when you rise." [Deut 6:7]

"You shall bind them as a sign on your hand.."

"..and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes." [Deut 6:8]

"You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." [Deut 6:9]

So I not only need to love God with everything I am, I also need to keep this command on my heart always.

I need to teach this to the youth within my ministry, and talk about this love in my house. I need to remember my love for Christ everywhere I go, remember it when I am going to sleep and when I am waking up.

I need to remember my love for God in everything that I do with my hands, and everything I see with my eyes.

I need for people to know of my love for God when they come into my house as well as into my room.

My love for God should be evident in everything I do.

Community

i surprised my mom for mother's day last Sunday. this is what i did:

first of all, i wrote her a card telling her one of the things she has taught me. she has taught me so much about how to be accepting of every kind of person. i also made her a picture frame and put a photo inside that was taken last summer of us and my father. on the way home i stopped and got her a bouquet of lillies as well.

when i got home to Charlottesville, i put the flowers, card, and bag on the front stoop and knocked on the door very loudly. i ran to the back door quickly and waited for my mom in the kitchen. after she came back that way from answering the door, i could see that she had her present in her hand and so i yelled, "happy mother's day! i love you!"

we then spent most of the day together just sitting around watching TV and talking about life. afterwards we went out for a family dinner. i really miss these moments with my mom.

recently i have been realizing my next lesson: Community with others is important.

when i first moved up here to Reston, i was ready to be on my own. i was excited to start over, make new friends, build new relationships within my ministry, and thrive in change.

i always embrace change [for the most part]. i tend to like to change things up often. change is good, in my mind.

so that's where i was. i couldn't wait to get my own place and live on my own for a while.

but since then, and through my mother's day experience with my mom, i've realized that community is key. not finding friends my own age, or getting involved in a small group of ladies, or having Tommy around all the time. what is key in my life [what has been and will continue to be] is that i have community with believers.

it doesn't matter how many close friends i have or how many small groups i am involved in, how much time i get to see my mom, or how many kids i interact with every week. what matters is that i have community with believers, where i worship with them, rejoice with them, and suffer with them. having this kind of community with other believers is what has made my move so easy and so exciting.

Colossians 3:16 says to "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in al wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God."

yes, we need to be in the Word, reading it and letting the Words we read effect our actions, but through this we should be led to community with one another.

we interact with God personally so that we can teach one another. we interact with God personally so that we can admonish one another. we interact with God personally so that we can worship in song with one another. we interact with God personally so that we can give thanks to Him.

seems to me that the major point in all this is this: we interact with God personally so that we can have community with one another.

so in conclusion, don't think you can do this on your own. we need God, first and foremost in our lives, but we also need each other. this is how God thrives among us!

A Manner that is Worthy.

Lately I've been taking notice of my responsibility to God and feeling it weigh on my shoulders a little bit more. I've been realizing the great and mighty calling that He has for me as a child of God. I've been compelled by His Word to step my life up a notch when it comes to pleasing Him and representing Him well.

Philippians 1:27 has been on my heart this week:
"Let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ."
Wow. That is a crazy powerful statement to me.

It doesn't just say "live Holy because God is Holy" or "take after Christ's example in the way you live your life" both of which are what we are taught to do elsewhere in the Bible. Rather, this verse says "Let the way that you live your life be worthy of what Christ has done for you."

Basically, "Live in a way that is worthy of Christ's death."

Is there anything I can do that is worthy of Christ's death?

I mean seriously, there is no possible way that I could even remotely live in a way that deserves any form of His grace.

And this is the realization that I have been coming to almost every day of my life these days.

It seems like a harsh reality to be in. And it is, but it's also comforting. And it also challenges me.

So every day I wake up and ask myself what I can do today to act worthy of His grace. And maybe all it is, is to pour into the lives of those around me. And maybe He wants me to spend extra time in prayer. And maybe He wants me to call my parents, or an old friend, or write a letter to someone I haven't seen in a while. And these are all things that I am willing to do for Him, and examples of what I have been doing.

But what has changed, is that I'm opening up to Him more through this realization. I'm constantly asking Him what I can do and constantly looking for opportunities to act in a manner that is worthy of Him. And He never fails to open up doors and teach me more than I could have learned before.

This life is a privilege. I'm tired of living it within the realm of my own selfishness.

So ask yourself this: How can you live in a way that is worthy of the Gospel?

Lessons in life & love..

As you can see, I've given my blog a face-lift of sorts: New name, new background, new theme. I've decided to devote my blog to a "life lessons" type of template and list lessons in each entry. I think this will be more helpful in the future when i want to look back on these first years in ministry: all that i learned and went through during this time. i was inspired by some events this week that have plagued my mind and have caused me to begin a list of these "lessons in life & love".. so here goes:

Lesson #1: Ministry is hard.

~ this may seem like a harsh statement to make, but to all you people out there who think my job in youth ministry is all just a bunch of fun and games, i urge you to think again. yes, ministry is fun. yes, ministry is rewarding. but ministry is more than just a job. i do more than just hang out with teenagers and get on facebook all day, and plan crazy activities. ministry becomes hard the minute you have to betray someone's trust in order to get them the help they need.

its not easy telling someone they can confide in you and then later realizing that they need to talk to a more trained individual who can better counsel them. it's not easy telling your supervisor the prayer requests of some students, knowing that it is something that was hard for them to tell in the first place. nothing in ministry can ever be completely confidential. and it's hard to try and explain that to a girl who just poured their heart out to you. "by the way, everything you just trusted me with.. i have to tell someone else because they can better assist you. thanks!"

yeah not an easy task.

but ministry is all about loving and intentionally pursuing others. as long as you are doing that, they will come around.

and i know my girls will come around. i will never turn my back on someone because they turn their back on me. Christ doesn't do that, so i will take after Him and show his love in this way.

Pleasing Aroma

I'm currently reading through Numbers [STILL! but I'm finally almost through it!] and I'm going to admit that sometimes it's hard to pull things from it. It can be pretty boring at times, but my ultimate goal when reading the Bible, is to read something over and over until I can pull some sort of application from it. [This is why it has taken me so long to get this far in it.] But something super simple in chapters 28 & 29 has caught my attention this week.

God wants His children to be a "pleasing aroma" before Him.

I will explain this.

In Numbers 28, God tells the Israelites about sacrifices and offerings. He mentions six times in this chapter to do these things in order to be a "pleasing aroma" to the Lord. IN chapter 29, this subject is mentioned five times. I mean, if something is mentioned eleven times it must be pretty important, right?

Since Jesus was sacrificed on the cross for our sins, we no longer need to make burnt offerings to the Lord in the temple as our sacrifices to Him. Jesus took our place. Because of this fact alone, we can have a relationship with the Father directly and don't have to go through a priest anymore.

We don't have to prepare a burnt offering every time we sin and take it to the temple with the hopes that we did it perfectly and that the priest will accept it and offer it before God on our behalf.

Jesus paved the way for our relationship with the Father in the sense that now we can speak with Him directly. This is what "prayer" is and essentially what it does. We can now ask God for forgiveness directly because we know that He hears us when we call on Him. [Isaiah 65: 24 ~ “It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.”] This is what we call "repentance" which essentially means - asking for forgiveness with the intention of actively turning away from that sin.

This leads us to what we call the New Covenant. The New Covenant is what comes from Jesus changing it all up after his death on the cross. Since we have all these new privileges through his death, we are no longer under the law of the Old Testament. The New Testament teaches us all about this New Covenant. The more you read the New Testament of the Bible, the more you learn what God calls Christians to do as part of this New Covenant. Instead of sacrificing animals to bring God our offering, we bring Him our offering through our lives and the way we live it.

God tells us all about this in the New Testament.

But the cool thing is that the Old Testament can teach us a lot about this as well.

It's like God set it up before the whole "Jesus" thing before it ever even happened.

AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT HE DID.

The Old Testament paves the way for the New Testament. That's why we can definitely learn from these two chapters in Numbers by paying attention to what has been written these eleven times.

We must offer Him a "pleasing aroma" as we live for Him.

The question then is, what does a "pleasing aroma to the Lord" figuratively smell like? What does it look like for us to live this way?

[[I encourage you to comment on this post with your answers as to what your response is to these questions. I'll post a conclusion to this in a few days.]]

Parables from Ephesians 1 ~ Part Three

Do you ever have those days where you just feel kind of down in the dumps? I'm talking about the times where you might have had a good day, had a great time with God that morning, hung out with some great friends, got encouragement at work, but then you get home and you just feel disconnected somewhere and discouraged somehow. I have had my fair share.

It's not always happy or easy to live a Christian life. Having God in your life is an exciting thing, but that doesn't always mean you are going to be cheerful and bubbly. Fortunately, there are many passages of Scripture in the Bible that can be encouraging to us during these weird "I don't know why I'm feeling down" kind-of days. Here is one of them-- Ephesians 1:22 & 23:

"And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all."

These are the last two verses of Ephesians chapter one. Paul writes in lofty language sometimes, but let me explain the brilliance of this message in the words of the New Living Translation:

"God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself."

To summarize these verses in my own words:

God has it all under control. Everything He does is to benefit us, his beloved children. Christ has authority over us and his life was sacrificed for our sake.

This we Christians know, but we really should find encouragement in it. So smile, today is a good day! God is control.. He knows what He is doing.. and He is doing it because He loves you!

Parables from Ephesians 1 ~ Part Two

There is some interesting terminology that Paul uses in Ephesians 1:13:

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.

Paul is saying that when we first hear the gospel and are brought to a point of salvation where we put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, that we are then sealed with the Holy Spirit. And this isn't just something that happens randomly, this is a promise that God fulfills every time someone comes to know Him.

He comes through on His promises.

Awesome, eh!?

Question: what does it mean to be sealed with the Holy Spirit?

Answer: it means that the Holy Spirit holds everything together about our lives.

Above is a picture of a sealed envelope. Nowadays we don't see envelopes sealed like this very often, instead we lick the adhesive and seal them like so. This, however, is a wax seal, and was used to secure the envelope. Most often you may see stickers or labels serving this purpose as well.

When Paul speaks of a believer being sealed with the Holy Spirit, this is the picture that comes to my mind.

The definition of a seal [not the animal] is:

1) anything that tightly or completely closes or secures a thing, as closures or fastenings for doors and railroad cars, adhesive stamps and tapes used to secure the flap of an envelope, etc.

2)ownership and security, together with destination

So we can only assume that the Holy Spirit secures us, and that when one comes a believer, the Holy Spirit has now taken ownership of them.

God holds everything about our lives together and He does that through fulfilling His promise to us of receiving the Holy Spirit.

YAY Holy Spirit! :]

Florida [Part Three]

Please make sure you are reading these "Florida" entries in order. They have been written according to a series of events.

Part Three [4.1.10]

2 days ago we stopped at a fire station for lunch & worship in the middle of our 2nd 45 mile biking day. For me, I think this was one of the best days so far. All week I've just been realizing how weak I am. Seriously, I think I am the weakest link here when it comes to biking! I even had some weak days mentally. I was drained in almost every way. But what has constantly kept me going was seeing all these kids, even with their pain, screaming for ME personally. They've been cheering me on & encouraging me because they can see that I've been struggling.

A group of us girls at the fire station for lunch..

& John, the head Navigators guy

[the Nav's plan the trip for us every year]

Worship at the fire station today was SO great. One of the songs we sang was "Your Grace is Enough" & during the song I had a God moment.

In the 2nd verse of the song it says "You use the weak to lead the strong." That line just spoke to me because I was obviously the weakest when it comes to biking. I realized that that I taught a lot of people about humility and encouragement through those weak times. And as far as leading them goes, well I at least led my team to a point in which they bonded together and helped me, both mentally & physically.

A picture of my team mid-biking

As for now, I've been enjoying God's creation. Even yesterday I awoke to a beautiful singing mockingbird. I knew it was a mockingbird because it sang in many tongues. It was as if it was worshipping the Lord in every language.

And as I listened, I wanted to be like that mockingbird.

I want to worship God, not only in everything I do, but in many ways, many languages, and among many cultures.

I know that mockingbird was praising Him.

The view from my bike as we started off in the morning

What a beautiful sunrise!

Last night we watched the sunset on the beach by the lake here at Disney. We had worship & then watched a light show that Disney puts on after dark. A fireworks display entertained us afterwards. All I could see while we worshipped there by the water was God's glory. I kept singing the lyrics to the song "Everything" by Lifehouse:

How can I stand here with You & not be moved by You? Would You tell me how can it be any better than this?"

These words were the prayers of my heart! It was so evident to me that God's presence was everywhere. It is these kinds of moments that I want to remember.. these kinds of moments that I want to take with me always & share with everyone across the world.

How can it be any better than this?

Florida [Part Two]

Do not read this entry until you have read Part One.

Part Two [3/29/10]

Yesterday I struggled a lot biking. I hate to say this but I've realized that I am a complainer when things are hard! I've also realized that I let a lot of stuff go to my head & I believed a lot of the lies that Satan was putting in it yesterday. I can't believe that I gave Satan victory over me in those many moments that I wanted to give up. I was in tears at one point during the day. It is almost as if I forgot part of the reason why I am here. There are more reasons that I'm figuring out as the days go on as to why I am here as well.

One of the bike paths

Today as I finished the 30 mile trek [much shorter than yesterday's 45 mile ride!] my knee was killing me so it held me back as far as my speed. The Lord protected me today from Satan's schemes and lies being implanted into my head, at least!

I feel refreshed and encouraged just to be with these students & know how much they respect me & love me already. They really have [some of them] become like my family. I am realizing my love for these kids so much right now. Some of these girls my heart aches for. I want so bad to see their lives change & to be there for them in so many ways, but I know in a lot of ways only God can really be that for them. I've realized the importance of growing up & being a role model for these girls.

I am starting to really focus on getting into the lives of these girls. I want to be more than just a friend-- I want to be a mentor. I want to be a better leader. I want God to continue to teach me & keep me humble while He gains my confidence in Him as well.

Hayley, Amy, & I during a break

I really enjoyed worship tonight. For the first time in a good while I felt free again. I want to feel that all the time. It's totally the presence of the Lord all around me that makes me feel this way.

I've had so many mini-victories today with God, that I've realized that they are what keeps me going.

The love of my life.. hahaha

I've decided that I'm going to keep going until I reach the finish line. I'm going to waiver in speed at times, but I'm going to get there eventually. Some with my ministry-- of course I'll have hard days, but God is with me in my ministry. I know that with His help I will get there someday. He is my all in all & more than enough for me.. & I want to live like it!

I want to understand when & where I am needed, & in what capacity. I want to trust Him to lead me in every & any direction. I want to learn to better discern His voice over Satan's lies. I want to become more dependent on Christ in my life as well.

I pray that the Lord shows me the balance between living for His glory & living for others. I choose Him!

My bike team during a snack break :]

Florida [Part One]

So as most of you are wondering, I obviously haven't been blogging for over a week now. What I have been doing, however, is journaling while I was in Florida on a week-long bike trip with the youth at my job. I had a great time, and every couple days I spent some time writing about it so that I could update you.

First of all, a little about the trip: every 2 years Reston Bible Church's youth ministries goes on a Bike trip to Florida. This is not a mission trip, however the students are encouraged to bring their friends. During the week we stay on several camp grounds in tents, as well as have devotion time and small group time. This gives the students an opportunity to minister to their friends, and gives their friends a chance to hear about Jesus. This week we biked over 155 miles in 5 days, starting at Jacksonville and going into Disney World on the last biking day.

Part One [3.27.10]

Yesterday morning I left for the bike trip with RBC. I was really nervous up until a few days before departure. I was actually pretty excited a few days ago. Now that I'm here, I've biked 15 miles, built a tent, eaten GROSS canned chili, & guess what? I've made it this far! I've survived!

I'm in a tent right now with some awesome girls: BreAnna, Erinn, Ashlyn, Amy, & Hayley. Erinn & Hayley are friends of 2 of the girls.

Me & Ashlyn ~ my bus buddy!

I was just thinking tonight how much courage I have. Sometimes I just have these moments where I realize how "on my own" I have been since I've moved to Reston. I literally knew nothing about the area before I moved & knew no one who lived here. How do I do it? [A question that I ask myself often!]

Answer: GOD.

He really has taken over my life. He really does make life what it is. He really is encouraging me and filling me daily. If HE wasn't in my life I don't think I would be this strong. I don't think I would have moved somewhere new & started over as a stranger.

I can't believe how much I've grown over the years. He is amazing. I pray that He continues to be the Center & Ruler of my life. I love stepping out in faith for Him :]

A view of the Florida beach!

Dreamer

I have a lot of dreams. For some reason lately I have really been searching my heart for these things that I hope to accomplish in my lifetime. There are some things that I've been discovering about myself that I really had no clue I had such a passion for. I've decided to list them out so that I can always look back to them as a reminder. And so that you, as my readers and friends, can hold me accountable for accomplishing these things that really make my heart beat faster.

1) Someday I hope to run a 5k. And then keep running them, like it is a hobby. Well, I'd love to turn running into a hobby.

2) I want to learn how to ride a horse. I mean, really ride a horse. Bring the horse to a gallop and everything. I've always thought they were beautiful creatures but it's time to make that a hobby too.

3) I'd also like to join an adult swim league sometime soon. I miss swimming- I really enjoy doing it, and especially enjoy training for competitions.

4) Sooner even, I hope to enroll in guitar lessons. I keep realizing how much I really need to learn about the instrument and playing it. I love to sing, and think I'm pretty darn good at it, but I'd love to have the resource of playing the guitar to better my musicianship skills and be able to lead worship more efficiently.

I'll add more as they come to me. But right now it seems as if I need to commit to working out more routinely. All the goals I seem to be listing involve being physically fit in some sense at least. You'll have to hold me to it!

Parables from Ephesians 1 ~ Part One

Ephesians is one of my favorite books in the New Testament. This book gives me such a passion for life. Especially for living for God. His character and love is shown so many times throughout this book, that it is important to focus on. I'm going to share with you a few insights that I have gathered from Ephesians 1 alone.

Upon reading the beginning of Ephesians 1 for the first time, depending on what version of the Bible you read, it can be pretty confusing. Since Paul writes in run-on sentences a lot of the time, it can be hard to follow him at times. I spent a lot of time in the first paragraph and managed to sum it all up in a few complete sentences:

Ephesians 1:3-10 ~ Blessed be the God that blessed us[v3]. This God chose us before he even created the world. He chose us for the job of being holy and blameless before Him [v4]. He purposed for Christ to shed His blood for us [v5], and through the death of Christ, blessed us with His grace [v6]. Because of this grace, He forgives us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ [v7]. This grace has also been lavished upon us even while He had all the wisdom about us and knew the decisions we'd ever make [v8]. He lets us know about His will for us [v9], which is to eventually unite everyone and everything according to His Name [v10].

I think it's important to see the nature of God in this passage of Scripture. I've listed a few:

1) God BLESSED us. [He obviously cares about us]

2) He wants us to represent Him as HOLY and BLAMELESS. [He is Holy]

3) He sent His Son to die to BENEFIT us. [He is giving]

4) God gives us GRACE. [He is merciful]

5) He FORGIVES us of all our wrongdoing. [He is forgiving]

6) He knew EVERYTHING we would ever do to wrong Him. [He is all-knowing]

7) He COMMUNICATES with us. [He knows us]

8) He is POWERFUL. [He can do anything]

All of these statements really describe God's love for us. He really loves us. He loves us enough to care about us, give us a holy example to follow, give us grace and mercy that we don't deserve, forgive us when we hurt Him, communicate with us, AND to top it all off, He can do anything else we ask if He wants to! Do you know anyone else that can offer this abounding heap of love for you? I'm pretty sure God is the only one around that fits these characteristics. And look, all this encouraging stuff just in the first paragraph of Ephesians 1!

Something to think about.

Today I was finishing up Galatians and I came across this passage in chapter 6 verse 10:

So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

I don't think I've ever paid that much attention to this verse before. It really took me by surprise.

Don't we [Christians] often do the opposite? We focus so much on helping the needy and doing good to those who aren't believes in Christ because we know it is a good witness and a way for them to see Christ in us. But man, God says to do good especially to those who are within the family of God. Hmmm.. that's something to think about! We need to be helping each other out first and foremost, but also doing good to those who really need to know Him.

I get it.. but I think as Christians, we really miss out on this a lot.

Shadowfeet

This song by Brooke Fraser was on repeat on my iPod all day today. These are the lyrics my heart is singing right now:

Walking, stumbling on these shadowfeet
Toward home, a land that I've never seen
I am changing
Less and less asleep
Made of different stuff than when I began
And I have sensed it all along
Fast approaching is the day

When the world has fallen out from under me
I'll be found in you, still standing
When the sky rolls up and mountains fall on their knees
When time and space are through
I'll be found in you

There's distraction buzzing in my head
Saying in the shadows it's easier to stay
But I've heard rumours of true reality
Whispers of a well-lit way

When the world has fallen out from under me
I'll be found in you, still standing
When the sky rolls up and mountains fall on their knees
When time and space are through
I'll be found in you

You make all things new

You make all things new

You make all things new

You make all things..

When the world has fallen out from under me
I'll be found in you, still standing
Every fear and accusation under my feet
When time and space are through
I'll be found in you

Waiting, following, trusting

So I have a question for you. Have you ever felt like you were in the spiritual wilderness? The wilderness is often depicted of a place where we experience stress, doubt, or even a time when we feel distant from God. I praise God that I haven't felt this way for a while, but I know I found myself in this place last year. It was as if no matter what I did or how hard I tried, I felt like I wasn't hearing from God and that He wasn't speaking to me. I was stuck, I was surrounded by darkness, and I was stressed out all the time! Luckily this past summer I was able to pull through all of this, primarily because of my trip to India, as well as the encouragement that surrounded me during my internship. I am reminded of this experience today because I think it is a place that we all find ourselves in at some point throughout our life. The key to pulling out of it is to have patience and to trust in the Lord and never give up trying. It is a process that can sometimes be very slow. When you give up on yourself and on the Lord, that is when you end up getting stuck there for who knows how long.

I am reminded of this time because of what I read through in Numbers 9 the other day. I was reading about when Moses and the people of Israel had been in the wilderness for a year, and the Lord still spoke to them. Often we think of the wilderness as a place where God is stagnant, He just isn't there. I believe that He is there, we are just not often looking for Him or even focusing on Him. When God spoke to Moses and he spread the word to them, they absolutely did not question Him. They listened to God despite their unpredictable, impatient, tired state of being in this dry, dark, and lonely place. During this time they even had the Passover meal like they had been instructed, and honored God even though it was by His leading that they were there in the first place. They didn't know why God had them there or how long they would be stuck there, but they still glorified Him in their Passover meal.

I am just in awe of the patience and trust that the Israelites showed during this time. God's presence was with them in the form of a cloud by day and fire by night. This is how they knew when to move and when to stay. They followed God's physical presence in the cloud and the fire even though it was unpredictable when the Lord would allow for them to go. Sometimes the cloud and the fire would stay over the camp for days at a time, signaling for them to stay, not knowing when they'd be able to go or why the Lord was keeping them where they were. But through all of this, they never questioned God. They simply waited, followed, and trusted God's leading even through blindness and anticipation.

I feel like most times that I am struggling and when I am crying out to the Lord, that it is so easy to just give up and to do the opposite of what the Israelites did. I always second guess what I'm thinking and feeling and what I know the Lord is calling me to do when I am in situations like these. It is the hardest thing in the world for me to trust Him in the waiting, to follow Him in the blindness, and to trust Him when I am impatient and just downright stuck! It kind of reminds me of the Galatians. Paul writes to the Galatians because they were giving up on God and turning to other religions. It was as if they were ignoring the very God that had called them! How often do we ignore Him when we're doubting Him? How often do we turn to others when we are tired of waiting?

This past month I have just been feeling extremely blessed by God. Since He has led me to Reston, He has been so faithful to make everything fall into place and provide for me daily. I never could have imagined any of this if I hadn't have trusted Him through my doubt last semester. Just a few months ago I was crying out to Him, wondering if Lynchburg was where I was supposed to be. I was trying so hard to be content and to love it there, but I only loved parts of it. It was just a waiting period, a miniature wilderness in my life. But my friends and my faith in God were what pulled me through, and I'm so glad I didn't give up, because I ended up here. Now I see the blessings that the Lord has put in my life, and I pray every day for the Lord to help me see them and not take them for granted. He is SO good to us if we simply strive to persevere and never take our eyes off of Him. The Galatians should have learned from the Israelites experiences in the wilderness.

I don't want to ignore the calling God has on my life. I want to always go after it.

Counterfeit Christianity - THE CONCLUSION

In order to understand how to NOT be a counterfeit Christian, we have to look at what it means to be a Christian. The definition of "Christian" is a follower of Christ, or someone who believes in Christ's teachings. Okay so how do we actually follow Christ? Is it by acknowledging his existence and living our lives the same as we would if we didn't know Him? Is it by simply striving to be the best we can be because we know that we are supposed to? Neither of those are the correct answer. What do you think it means? To really know, we first need to look back at the culture during the time of Christ. At this point in time, Rabbis were the most respected members of the community. Boys would begin schooling to become a rabbi (which means "teacher"), and by age ten, if they weren't able to memorize the Torah, then they were out. They went on to the next level of education of the Torah and the Jewish traditions while the rest of the students who couldn't keep up simply began to learn the trade of their family.

Rob Bell explains it best in his book Velvet Elvis. "Those remaining would now apply to a well known rabbi to become one of that rabbi's talmidim (disciples). We often think of a disciple as a student, but being a disciple was far more than just being a student. The goal of a disciple wasn't just to know what the rabbi knew, but to be just like the rabbi.. When a student applied to a rabbi to be one of his talmidim, he was desiring to take that rabbi's yoke upon him. He wanted to learn to do with the rabbi did. So when this student came to the rabbi and said, "I want to follow you," the rabbi wanted to know a few things: Can this student do what I do? Can this kid spread my yoke? Can this kid be like me? Does this kid have what it takes?" The rabbi would grill the student with question upon question about what he has been taught, simply because he wanted to know if the student could handle the training, and knew his stuff. If the rabbi believes that the student has what it takes, then he would say to him "Come, follow me."

The reason why they would say "Come, follow me," is because the student would actually follow the rabbi everywhere. He would leave his home and everything he has ever known in order to learn everything the rabbi knows and do everything the rabbi does. This is what it means to be a follower of Christ. He is our teacher; we are his talmidim.

I think a lot of people would be disqualified by the rabbi's standards. In order to truly follow Christ in this day and age, we have to constantly search for ways to do so by reading the Word and studying it daily. We need to pull our advice from the Bible and discuss every decision with Him before we make it. We have to really pay attention to what we learn about Him in the Bible, and when we are in difficult situations, we must seek Him to show us a way out.

So back to counterfeit Christianity. We know what it means to be a Christian, so how do we do that without making it counterfeit? Well, first we must start at the antonym of counterfeit: GENUINE. The word genuine means: truly what something is said to be. If we say we are a Christian, which now we know what that truly means, then we should act honestly in the way that a follower of Christ would. We must follow Christ with all that we are and seek to imitate Him in every way. But is that really possible? Can we actually be who we say we are 100% all the time?

In one sense, we are always going to be covering up something. It is practically impossible to be completely transparent with people all the time. But as far as the authenticity goes-- we don't need to act like the most knowledgeable Theologian or the best Greek scholar. We don't need to act is if we are equipped for the most hard-core debate of all time or even that we are invincible and don't have struggles. It matters that Christians do still struggle spiritually and that we sometimes doubt God. It matters that Christians still make mistakes and that we don't have the answer to every Theological question that comes our way. It matters that we aren't perfect--because only Jesus was.

The world needs to see that we have struggles but that we are forgiven. Others need to see that we don't know it all, but that we are willing to find out. Some need to see that we are accepting and loving even when someone doesn't know as much as we do or struggles with something more than us. The fact of the matter is that the key to being genuine is to understand Christ and to understand ourselves. We beat being counterfeit by realizing who we are, where we came from, and finally, acknowledging God's hand in our life every single day. He called us to be who we are for a reason, so why would we choose to be something else?

Counterfeit Christianity - PART TWO

Judas joined in with the disciples at the table when they were wondering which one of them would be the betrayer. Judas had clearly thought the plan through, talked money with the chief priests, and then tried to cover it up by chiming in among the disciples. I feel like they all must have forgotten that Jesus already knew who it was. He could have told them right at that instant if he wanted to. I just wonder what expression Judas was wearing on his face during this conversation. He must have really been acting if he fooled them all.

Well this performance that Judas was putting on continues not only in his life, but also in the lives of many Christians today. Probably a majority of people that call themselves "Christians" don't know what it truly means to follow Christ. Some know what it means but have a hard time living it out, which is unfortunately what has helped to nail down the negative reputation of Christians. Judas definitely had this problem, and we can see more of it in verses 43-46 of Mark 14.

Jesus is praying in the garden of Gethsemane with Peter and John, after he asked the rest of the disciples to sit and wait. "And immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, 'The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard.' And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, 'Rabbi!' And he kissed him. And they laid hands on him and seized him."

This verse definitely implies some prior planning. Judas had to have snuck off and told the chief priests to meet him at Gethsemane, as well as given them the sign at that point. No matter how Judas managed to sneak around and get them there, up until that point he knew they were coming, and he still went to the garden with Jesus and the rest of the disciples without saying a word about his plan. But what Judas does after that is the real clincher. He went up to him at once and said, "Rabbi!" And he kissed him. Judas didn't just go up to Jesus with the chief priests behind him and kiss him, revealing Jesus to them as the one they were looking for. It seems like Judas jogs up to Jesus quickly, crying out with affection for him and calling him "Rabbi" which means "teacher." He runs with a false admiration towards Jesus, trying to make the act look authentic. He chose to use his affection for Jesus as the sign for the chief priests so that the disciples wouldn't know it was him who betrayed Jesus. He had to make it believable so that they would simply think it was all a coincidence.

He was clever, that Judas Iscariot.

So how do we relate to this story? What do we do that we try to cover up to our Christian friends? I've seen Christians try to talk like they know everything about the Bible and even about Theology. They do this because they think thats what is important and that is what their Christian friends respect. I've seen others cover up the fact that their family has problems because they are afraid that their friends will discredit them if they don't have it all together. I've even struggled myself with covering up my personal sins and struggles because sometimes I try to be super human and act as if I have everything figured out.

It's one thing to do these things because we want to please God with our lives, but it's another story if we do them because we crave for others to respect us and to think highly of us. There is a constant struggle between pleasing God and pleasing man and this is the hardest struggle to deal with sometimes. But don't worry, there is no way that I would write a series on a subject like this and not offer a means of escape from it. There are numerous steps that a Christian can take to find their way out of the "counterfeit" world. I hope that my next post will accurately address this and give readers a positive outlook on seeking this authenticity in their Christian life.

Counterfeit Christianity - PART ONE

PART ONE

I believe that the number one mistake that Christians make is that their lifestyle is not authentic and their so-called "Christianity" becomes null and void. This is what gives us the reputation that we have to the world.

Judas was one of the twelve disciples. He wasn't just a Christian, he was one of the ultimate Christians. He walked with Jesus physically, watched Jesus' many miracles, and even witnessed His death on a cross. I could only wish to have been there; how deeper their faith must have been to have seen it all happen! But what made Judas different from the other eleven disciples is what he did on that last night he spent with Jesus. I believe that counterfeit Christianity started with Judas Iscariot and his actions to betray Jesus to the chief priests.

Mark 14:10&11 ~ Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. And when they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him money. And he sought an opportunity to betray him.

I think this is when the temptation begins to stir in Judas' mind. The chief priests offer Judas money if he betrays Jesus so that they can arrest Him. Once they "promised to give him money," Judas "sought an opportunity to betray" Jesus.

[SIDE NOTE: Judas betrayed Jesus for money- don't we (Christians) do the same? Anything that we do that involves instinctively choosing to earn money over serving our Lord falls in this category.]

But Judas' example of counterfeit faith doesn't come until verses 17-19, after the temptation had already begun in his heart. ~ And when it was evening, he came with the twelve. And as they were reclining at table and eating, Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me." They began to be sorrowful and to say to him one after another, "Is it I?"

At this point, Judas had already plotted in his mind to betray Jesus when he got a chance. He knew that he was going to do it. And so when he's sitting at the table with the rest of the disciples and Jesus tells them that he knows one of them is going to betray him, it seems predictable that he would join in the unbelief of the disciples and try to cover it up this way. Judas conceals his plan to betray Jesus by falsely joining the curiosity and wonder of the other eleven disciples at the table. He obviously didn't want them to know what he was planning on doing. Judas wants them to think he is something that he's not. Isn't that what most of us do? Act a certain way around our Christian friends because we want them to think we're something that we're not?

Judas' actions supporting his counterfeit Christianity continued to grow, and with that came spiritual apathy in his life. This growth is evident more throughout the chapter, as Judas' actions go down hill from here. I urge you to continue reading as I continue to write about this Christian trend that I believe began with Judas all these years ago.

Counterfeit Christianity - DISCLAIMER

DISCLAIMER

Christians have a bad reputation. I'm going to put myself in with this so-called stereotype. They call us hypocrites, corny, out of touch, naive, boring, you name it, they've said it. And maybe you too are reading this and find it all to be a bit hypocritical and fictional. Well, I hope these next few entries clear some confusion up for you and that you understand a little more about what Christians believe and why others have this negative view towards us. I don't care if you agree with me; I'm not going to judge your beliefs. All I ask is that you don't judge mine. In these next few posts I hope to clear up the stereotypes and the reputation that the world puts on Christians.

What you need to know before you start reading is that as a Christian, I know that I am far from perfect, and most Christians would agree with me. The difference is that even though I make mistakes all the time, I believe in a God who forgives me and who forgets my iniquity, all in the same instant. Counterfeit Christianity is a struggle that many Christians battle their entire life and don't even realize it. I honestly believe that what I am about to address is the sole reason that the word CHRISTIAN has the negative connotation that it does.

Please give me a chance and commit to reading the posts that I will upload within the next few days. Christians AND unbelievers will likely gain insight from the words that I believe the Lord has given me.