YouthFire Blog

Alright, so it’s been quite awhile since I’ve written, and I know it’s been over a week since Valentine’s day, but I wanted to write a little bit about love. I’ve just been thinking a lot about it lately. Two weeks ago we did a podcast and talked about love, but my thoughts have continued on the subject and I have MORE TO SAY!

I was thinking the other day about one of my friends. He just…loves me. He does so much for me because he loves me, whether it be to spend too much on a rose for me for Valentine’s day, take care of me when I’m sick, or encourage me when I’m frustrated with school. There’s just this purity in his love for me that I’ve never experienced before. Every time he tells me he loves me, I know he’s honest and sincere. Every single time there is meaning behind his words. He makes me feel loved even though I know I don’t deserve it. There are times I can be so selfish and moody when I’m around him, but he looks past that and loves me anyway.

Now let’s rewind and look at the Bible. Hosea, under God’s direction, marries a prostitute named Gomer. She cheats on him…a lot. While Hosea is hurt, he still loves her and never seeks revenge. It’s kind of a parallel to what was happening with the Israelites at the time. Israel was being unfaithful to God. They were sinning and turning their backs on Him. God continued to love Israel, and welcomed His children back to Him with open arms, if they were willing.

In an historic Jewish courtship, the groom would offer a glass of wine to his bride during the betrothal ceremony. If the bride drank from the cup, it was symbolic of accepting the offer of marriage, establishing a covenant between the bride and groom.

Now, skip forward to the Last Supper. Jesus is surrounded by his disciples and is telling them there’s going to be a change soon. He breaks the bread, hands it out, and tells them that it represents his body, and to remember him. Then Jesus takes the wine and says, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you” (Luke 22:20b).

Now think about that. Could that sharing of the cup and the establishment of a new covenant parallel the Jewish custom of marriage? The offer for the disciples is the same as His offer for us. He’s going to love us even if we don’t deserve it. Even if we act like Gomer. Even if we’re selfish and moody. He’s offering His pure, honest, sincere love for us. Are you going to accept His love?

Writing about this topic has been on my mind for nearly two months now. I kept pushing it back and pushing it back. Now it’s been a couple weeks since I’ve written a post, and I really don’t have anything else to write about. This is just one of those topics that I don’t really want to write about, but that I feel the need to write about.

In last week’s podcast, Beau asked me about what I liked most about at YouthFire, and he also asked what I wanted at YouthFire in the future. We have all these great resources and stuff here, but it’s the community that makes YouthFire what it is. So really, I just want a stronger sense of community.

I know there are many strong friendships within YouthFire, and I think that’s awesome. However, it just seems to me like there are a few people who want to pick and bite and tear friendships apart. There are people who want come come in and disrupt the sense of unity within the body of believers. I’ve seen people come who ask questions or make comments that tear the body down rather than build it up. It just…saddens me. I’m not even talking about non-Christians here. There are Christians who come and they just want to point out errors, complain, slander, etc.

I don’t think this is the way it should be, and it frustrates me. I know several of these people, and I like several of these people, but sometimes I’m just saddened at the way they promote disunity at times.

Philippians 2:1-4 says, “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

We’re not always going to agree on everything, but we shouldn’t let this divide us. These verses mean that we shouldn’t be pointing out the flaws of another person’s argument just for the sake of argument. I’ve known several people who are more concerned with showing that they are right rather than actually being right. I despise when people get this condescending tone and try showing how much the other person is wrong. I have to admit, I’ve done it before, but it’s not something I want to continue doing. This is not putting others’ interests before my own.

I also don’t like it when people come in and complain about this and that about YouthFire. Somehow, to them, there’s nothing good about YouthFire, but they still come. I guess I just don’t get it. If you don’t like YouthFire, just don’t come. What’s the use of coming just to complain? I’ll be the first to admit that YouthFire isn’t perfect, but sitting in the chatroom complaining all day about it won’t do any good.

Anyway, I know I’ve gone off on a few tangents here and started ranting. I’m sorry about that. Now you know why I really didn’t want to write this post. I don’t want to condemn anybody, but I do want to bring this issue to light, because I do think it’s a problem. If we all work to promote unity, I think YouthFire will be a much better place than it already is.

“But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.” ~ James 1:22-25 (Emphasis by me)

Look familiar? It should. This is how I started my blog post on October 19, 2006. I would recommend going back and revisiting that post (or visiting it, if you haven’t read it before). So, have you looked at yourself in the mirror, walked away, and forgotten what you looked like? In other words, have you seen a problem, walked away, and not done anything about it?

I have. Back when I watched “Invisible Children,” it really got to me and I wanted to do something. I never did though. Though I’ve thought about the problem off and on, the issue has mostly been in the back of my mind; I’ve forgotten.

I watched the movie “Blood Diamond” today. Now, I’m not advocating going to see it or anything, but it again brought to my attention the issue of child soldiers. It’s a sad situation!

I also read something in Relevant magazine today. Jason Boyett was writing about how he got pretty angry at a couple he saw on a plane who were complaining about the little issues in life. Jason Boyett was merely thinking about his recent trip to the Dominican Republic where he visited a ministry that provided clean water to the urban poor. He related his story to a friend, who said, “The problem is that anger you feel about it usually goes away after awhile. And before long, you’re acting the same way, and you don’t even notice it.”

Philippians 2:3 says, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.” Sometimes we start thinking so much about ourselves, and we forget about the people who really need help. It could be your next door neighbor, or it could be the child soldier in Africa. Either way, does getting the newest CD or the coolest clothing really matter anymore? Just last night I spent $50 on CDs, a movie, and a book. It’s not like I needed all of that stuff. I just wanted it. What about the family in Africa who only wants clean water, who only needs clean water? That $50 could have gone someplace else, someplace where it could have made a difference.

I close the same way I closed in my October 19 post:

I know this verse I’ll close with is kind of a punch in the face, but it needs to be said. James 4:17 says, “Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.” We all know we ought to help others. I feel the tug. Do you?

I’m normally not one to make New Year’s Resolutions, but there are so many things that I want to change in my life right now that I decided I might as well begin in the new year.

While there are many things I want to change, I’ll share one with the rest of you. In the coming year, I want to spend more time in prayer. It seems like I just don’t spend enough time conversing with God. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says to “pray without ceasing.” While I don’t think we’re meant to shut ourselves in a closet to pray for the rest of our lives, I don’t think we should cut the phone line to God either.

Not only should I be conversing more with God, I also just want to talk to Him about so many things! I wrote in an earlier post about how we ought to be more thankful. From the time you wake up to the time you leave for school or work or wherever, you could probably thank God for 100 things as diverse as your warm bed or your running water.

Recently I’ve realized how many people need prayer. I’ve also recently realized how much more powerful prayer can be than anything else we can humanly do. I can’t single-handedly defeat poverty or the AIDS epidemic in Africa or terrorism. But I can pray about it. I can’t force a friend to become a Christian or stop a friend from smoking or prevent a friend from getting drunk. But I can pray about it. So I will pray about it…and continue praying about it.

James 5:13-18 says, “Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.
Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops.”

I challenge all of you who read this to spend more time in prayer this year than you did last year. I also urge you to write down some of your prayers and prayer requests. Look back in a year and see what God has done!

About a year ago, two important things happened in my life. The first was that Brianna, a girl in my campus ministry, died in a car accident as she was coming back to school after Thanksgiving break. The second was that I saw It’s a Wonderful Life for the first time.

For those who haven’t seen the movie, it’s about a man who has the opportunity to see the world as it would be if he had never been born. By doing so, he realizes how much of an impact he’s had, and how many lives he’s changed. This really got me thinking deeply about life.

I started thinking about Brianna and why she died and not me. She loved God so much, and she had plans to become a missionary nurse. Her life truly reflected the light of Christ in a way that I’ve seen in so few people. What about me though? What had I done? Whose life had I impacted? What great plans did I have for serving God? If I had never been born, would it really have mattered?

That was a year ago. About a week ago, I started thinking about this again, and I’ve been pondering it ever since. I decided my thinking from a year ago was rather flawed. I came to three conclusions. First, I should never compare myself to others. Ever. Second, I may never know what kind of an impact I had on someone. Third, I still have the present and the future to change lives.

Yesterday I picked up Relevant magazine and started reading an article by Cameron Strang. In it, he talks about how to live with an eternal perspective. He says, “I want to live a life with eternal impact–not out of fear of death, but out of a pure desire to serve God and be the person He’s calling me to be. I don’t want to squander the opportunities He’s given me.”

Yesterday I also picked up The Purpose Driven Life because I decided to read it again with a friend. Chapter 2’s Point to Ponder is “I am not an accident.” I was born for a purpose. While I may have regrets or failings from the past, I have the future to change things and impact lives. Philippians 3:12-14 says, “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us” (NLT).

It’s not by accident that you are here on earth. You have the power to change lives. So do it! Live each day to the fullest, because you never know which one will be your last.

I’ll close with more words from Cameron Strang:
“Your legacy is completely up to you. Is your life one of impact, love and outward living? Or is it one of selfish ambition, laziness and doubt? I for one want to suck the most I can out of this life. I want to know, love and pursue spiritual things. I want to see God for who He is, and I want to have lasting impact. I want to be used to touch others.”

I recently read through Luke 17:11-19. It’s about 10 lepers who are healed by Jesus, but only one returns to thank him. Since it is Thanksgiving, I thought I would reflect on this story.

So, nine of the former lepers take Jesus for granted and don’t go back to thank him. How often do we take things for granted? How often are we thankful for the little things in life…like elbows, a beating heart, and a working toilet?

Fred Craddock, a minister, said, “It is often the outsider, the stranger, the visitor who sees and appreciates and responds for countless gifts that we have come to take for granted. The visitor in my home talks with and enjoys the children I hardly noticed between coming home and reading the evening paper. The visitor thanks my wife for the meal I have eaten 1,000 times in silence. It is so often the stranger who notices and expresses appreciation for what familiarity has blinded us to. This is the truth that hurts. But it is also truth that can heal. He (Jesus) is not just someone who shows us up for the ingrates we are. He is one sent by God to give us new eyes and ears. And hearts.”

Anyway, I love Thanksgiving. It’s one of my favorite holidays. I love to be around my family at that time and have some good food. I’m really thankful for that. However, we shouldn’t restrict our thankfulness to Thanksgiving day. Don’t take things for granted in your life. Thank God and others for what they do for you. Thank God for your elbow and your beating heart, for providing food for you, and for sending Jesus to shed His blood for you. Thank your parents for taking care of you. Thank your friends for being there for you when you need them. We have so much to be thankful for from the moment we wake up to the moment we go to sleep.

Be thankful…always. If you want to do some further reading, check out Psalm 16, Psalm 103:2, James 1:17, and Philippians 4:10-13.

Happy Thanksgiving!

So, last week I wrote about confession. I must confess that my relationship with God lately has been…bad. I just haven’t spent the time with Him that I should. It’s been a few weeks since I cracked open my Bible, and I haven’t really put prayer at the top of my priority list. I keep making all kinds of excuses about how I’m too busy or too tired or I’m not in the mood.

As a result, I’ve been feeling distant from God. I’ve noticed that I’ve been doing some things that are against my better judgment. Because I’ve been distant from God, I’ve been following the desires of my own heart rather than what God desires for me. Now I’m left feeling guilty and ashamed. If I had been spending time with God, listening to God, I don’t think some of these sins would have happened.

I urge you all to go spend some time with God. Making God priority and spending time with Him is something I don’t regret, but sinning is something I do regret. I’d rather not have regrets…

…so I’m off to spend some much needed time with God.

I’ve been meaning to blog on here since about Friday, but I’ve just been busy or not in the mood or distracted or whatever. In fact, I don’t even remember what I was going to blog about. Then something came up today that I deemed more “blogworthy.”

Tonight I was at my campus ministry meeting, and the praise band was leading worship. The songs were great and seriously, the praise band was probably the best that I had ever heard. I was standing and singing…and…that’s just it…I was just singing. I was not worshiping. I felt like there was some sort of barrier between me and God.

I left the room, found a secluded spot, and just spilled my sins to God. I had done some pretty bad things during the day, and I’d been doing some pretty stupid things with my life in general. I just needed to confess that and get it out to God.

I went back to the group to listen to the lesson. Guess what the minister was talking about? Confession. There are just things in our lives that keep us from having a healthy relationship with God, and those things also prevent us from having honest relationships with other people. Remember how I wrote about the church last week and how we thought the church should be about openness, honesty, and vulnerability? Sin is just one of those things that we need to get out in order for us to be true to God and true to those in the church.

There are things we can do about the sin and guilt in our lives. First of all, we can confess it to God through prayer. Not only should we confess our sins, we should confess them right after they happen. I know sometimes we wait until right before Communion to “get ourselves right” with God or that we wait until our special “prayer time,” but I really don’t think we should wait that long. That sin can affect a relationship with God until the time of confession.

Next, writing about sin and temptations is good. Talk about how it made you feel, how you should respond next time, that sort of thing. Keep it private and really let your feelings out. You can burn the paper later if it makes you feel better. Writing about things just helps to sort stuff out. Later on, if you happen to save your journal, you can look back to see how you’ve overcome something or how you’ve grown or how much you still need to learn.

Finally, it’s good to talk to others about what’s going on in our lives. James 5:16 says, “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” Also, in Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 it says, “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.” It’s good to have someone around to share the load.

Confess.

I just got back from a “Whiteboard Society” meeting. Basically, three of my friends and I got together around a whiteboard and discussed deep thoughts, questions, and ideas. It ranged from baptism to private schools to shaving and we ended our night talking about the church. We made two categories on the whiteboard. One section was about what’s wrong with the church and the other section was about what the church should be. We brainstormed and wrote and wrote and brainstormed and wrote some more. Then we discussed.

We decided to focus on what the church should be rather than to whine and complain and go off on tangents of what’s wrong in the church. It was rather interesting. I think the things that jumped out to me most were comments on how the church should be open, honest, and vulnerable. The church should share things with each other in a place where they can feel safe doing so without being judged.

I think the church should be more than just a building we go to on Sundays. It’s a community of believers. It’s fellowship, it’s service, it’s worshiping together. I recently blogged about how blessed I am to be a part of several wonderful churches. I have my home church, which I feel is kind of an extended family to me. I also have the campus ministry I’m involved with and a small group Bible study. It just seems to me that while we’re not to the point of complete openness and honesty, we’re getting there. We share our struggles, our joys, our sorrows. And I think it’s incredible.

Anyway, I think YouthFire is also a church. It’s a group of believers who get together and share their life experiences. I hope all of you who read this can continue being open and honest with each other, loving one another, lifting one another up, and serving God together. Come talk to me sometime! I want to hear about your life and share my life with you.

In closing, I leave you with some more of my thoughts on the church that I blogged about a few weeks ago:

“Sometimes Christians don’t always agree with each other, and I think that’s okay. The early Christians didn’t always agree on things either. We haven’t figured things out. It’s okay to question things. What matters is that we trust and believe that Christ died for us and rose again. When we have unity in that, isn’t that what matters? Philippians 2:1-4 says, ‘If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.’

I think this is the beauty of the church. When we can put aside our piddly little differences and focus on Christ, it’s an awesome thing. When we can look out for each other, it’s beautiful. I see this in the churches I belong to. I think I forget this sometimes, so it’s just really cool to be reminded of how blessed I am to be part of a wonderful group of Christians.”