Psalm from the heart

I was fortunate to have some time to myself today and spend some time with God. During this time I simply just reflected on life and blessings and just began to pour my heart out to God. I ended up writing down the main prayer of this time and it came to be somewhat of a poem/song/psalm if you will. So here it is...

i laid down at your throne
asking You to be my own
i have fallen, yet again
O, please Lord be my gain

take it all from me
so that i can see
take it all from me
so that i can see

i am now on my knees
asking You, "forgive me"
restore me, yet again
O, please Lord be my gain

take it all from me
so that i can see
take it all from me
so that i can see

i want to be with You
every moment with you
life is Christ, death is gain
O, please Lord be my gain

take it all from me
so that i can see
take it all from
so that i can see
here i am, here i am
here i am, before you

That was simply what my heart was crying out as I thought about where I am now and where I was before. What is your heart saying?

Sin's Round

Have you ever wondered when sin starts? Maybe you've phrased that question like this: How far is too far? For a long time I was under the impression that sin began with the actual physical process of sinning, in whatever fashion that was whether be gossip, etc. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Matthew 5 discusses this issue of sin and when it truly begins. In verses 21-22 Jesus tells us, "You have heard that the ancients were told, 'You shall not commit murder' and 'whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell." Furthermore in verses 27-28 Jesus explains again, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery'; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." This passage out of Matthew explains it very clearly, sin begins with your thoughts. For me that is troubling. I control what I am thinking and sometimes it is anger, hatred, gossip, lust, this list goes on and to think, those are all sins. My first objection, which I believe comes from Satan, is "wait, I only thought those things, I didn't actually say or do anything!" According to the Christ that died for my sins, the sins he suffered for began in my mind and unfortunately some I carried out through actions. It is important that we realize that sin begins with the mind and when we find ourselves thinking about sinful things that it is time to then confess and repent. The following poem was written by George Herbert and the title is Sin's Round and it portrays perfectly the beginning of and the execution of sin in our lives:

SORRY I am, my God, sorry I am,

That my offences course it in a ring.

My thoughts are working like a busy flame,

Until their cockatrice they hatch and bring:

And when they once have perfected their draughts,

My words take fire from my inflamed thoughts.

My words take fire from my inflamed thoughts,

Which spit it forth like the Sicilian hill.

They vent their wares, and pass them with their faults,

And by their breathing ventilate the ill.

But words suffice not, where are lewd intentions:

My hands do join to finish the inventions.

My hands do join to finish the inventions:

And so my sins ascend three stories high,

As Babel grew, before there were dissentions.

Let ill deeds loiter not: for they supply

New thoughts of sinning:

wherefore, to my shame,

Sorry I am, my God, sorry I am.

George Herbert

That poem portrays it perfectly, sin begins in the mind and before you know it your sin has grown threefold. My Lord sorry I am, that my sins function in this process. Once you think it, it has already been put into action and it is already sinful. Between these two passages in Matthew Jesus explains to us the importance of repentance and forgiveness. Matthew 23-24 tells us that if we are presenting an offering, wanting to grow in our relationship with God, taking communion, etc. we must "first be reconciled." If there is a personal grievance or bitterness then you have to take care of that before you come into the presence of God. It is important that we love in all facets of our lives including our thoughts, take care of that before it is too late and you are standing before God on judgment day. We are held accountable for our attitudes, our thoughts, and our actions. Are you aware of your thoughts?

"Love 'em..."

For the past year I have been very convicted about something. I have tried to seriously think about how I treat and even think about other people. Unfortunately, that is what I have been convicted about, not that I haven't treated people with love, but what do I really think about them? Have you ever heard or even said, "I love them, I don't like them/can't stand them, but I love them?" I found myself saying that a couple of times over this past year and it never really meant anything to me until I sat down and thought about what exactly I was saying (also by being in prayer and listening to God's word being preached I was able to recognize this). What I have come to realize is that to say that is to completely refute yourself. "Love 'em, don't like 'em, but I love 'em." Really? What does it mean to love? To love somebody is the greatest commandment according to Jesus, so it is nothing to take lightly. Again, 1 Corinthians says that the greatest thing is to love. So what does it mean to not like somebody, can you really love them if you don't like them? I think the answer to that question is no. Love is something so powerful that it should overcome any 'imperfections' that someone might have or even annoyances. Yes, people in my life annoy me and can get on my nerves and do things that I do not like, BUT love is something that overcomes those petty emotions and overrides my initial thoughts. 1 Corinthians 13 defines what Love is and what all Love overcomes; therefore, to say that you don't like somebody but you love them is incorrect. Everybody will do something that annoys you and that you don't like, but Love can and will overcome those feelings so embrace it, pray for patience, and learn to love as Christ Loved us! When we sin we directly disobey and even offend God, yet he looks upon the sacrifice of His SON and Loves us enough to forgive and accept us. When you experience the forgiveness, grace, mercy, and LOVE that was shown to us only then will you truly understand what it means to love. I can only love because HE first loved me. Patience will come, be in steadfast prayer, learn what love really is and surrender to it. Will you choose to Love as Christ loves?

Humility

What does it mean to be humble? Is it enough to just say that I am not proud or arrogant? Personally I think that it is not enough. Being humble means so much more than to simply state or think that you are not proud or arrogant, isn't that arrogance in and of itself? Humility is not simply just a statement, rather it is a state of being. It is knowing the truth but at the same time know that that Truth is greater than even you and your knowledge. We are working through a series in studentLIFE that is called "Jesus is Greater Than..." Through this series we are showing and teaching the students about other worldly religions and cults and showing them why Jesus is better/greater than all of these. I know what you're thinking, that is far from humility. But, we are teaching them that Jesus is greater than ourselves/them and that while yes Jesus is greater than all things, we are to deliver this message with love. 1 Corinthians says that faith and hope and love are very important, but that the greatest of these is LOVE. Through all of these teachings we are portraying that humility comes through love, and though Jesus is greater than all of these worldly religions the best thing that we can do is to LOVE each other and LOVE the world and know that Jesus is greater than we are! That is what humility is. Having a reason for the hope that we have and sharing that through love and gentleness (1 Peter 3:15) is what we are called to do. Humility can be such a tough thing especially when pride is something that we are taught to have in everything that we do. So how do even begin to have humility? I'm glad you asked. Humility is not only gained through love, but it is gained through prayer! Prayer should be the basis of everything that we do and prayer should lead us to humility. The reason this is so is because to be in prayer is to fall down on your face in complete reverence of the Almighty God and to SURRENDER to Him. To be in prayer is to say, Lord I can't do it, I need you. Prayer leads you to humility. I once heard it described in this way: the gate into heaven is a short gate and those who stand tall cannot enter, only those who are face down can enter the gate. To be in prayer is to surrender all that you are and to admit that you cannot do anything without Christ, and that my friends is humility. Pray boldly, pray consistently, pray specifically. Are you ready to pray?

Line in the sand

Since I have been working with youth there is one thing that I have begun to notice not only about youth ministry but about churches and other ministries as a whole and that is we have very low expectations of them. Simply put, we are not challenging people to rise above and make a difference. This is one thing that we noticed this past summer after talking to some of the youth ministers that came to camp. Many of them told us that they merely skimmed over scripture and didn't want to go too deep because they were afraid that the students wouldn't get it. Wow! The reason they aren't maturing already and deeply knowing the scriptures is because we have no confidence in them that they can do it. This is evident in college ministries and some churches as well. The reason Christians of all ages aren't growing and maturing in Christ is because those teaching them have set the bar so low and have left it there since the beginning not allowing them to grow further. What this causes is apathy and it causes many Christians to fall asleep.

Martin Luther described a dream he had about hell in this way: he envisioned Satan sitting on his throne and demons were coming to him and reporting back to him. The first one came to him and said, "some Christians were on this caravan through the desert and I caused some tigers to attack them and kill them." Satan said, "that does nothing for me because their souls are with Jesus." Another demon came up and said, "Satan there were some missionaries on a boat and I caused this great wind and these waves hit the ship and killed all the Christians." Satan said, "Again you don't get it, I'm after their souls!" This wise demon came to Satan and said, "For 10 years I've been trying to lull this guy to sleep, and finally he went to sleep." And with that hell began cheer and applaud because ONE person had fallen asleep.

Don't fall asleep! God is drawing a line in the sand and saying "WAKE UP!!!" It's time for us to wake up to the power and grace of God or else we are going to miss out on it all and miss out on the amazing things that God is doing in our churches and in our cities. If you fall asleep then there is no use for you. Continue to grow and do this, not by joining another Bible study, but do it by serving. Serve in your local church, become committed to it, become a member of their family, and dedicate yourself in every way. Furthermore, serve your community show them the love of Christ that they have been missing because the church has been sleeping. "Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." ~Ephesians 5:14~ Wake up, don't be left behind, raise the bar and offer all that you are. Are you falling asleep?