"Be holy, because I am holy."

I've been reading through the Old Testament of the Bible. More specifically, I just finished the book of Leviticus. For those of you who aren't familiar with this book, it's a book of a bunch of rules. Basically, it can be simplified down to God telling the Israelite people, "Do this, this, and this. Don't do this, this, and this."

Some of the rules seemed ridiculous to me. For example, when making a sacrifice, you need to sacrifice a clean animal. But it gets more specific. You need to skin the animal, sprinkle the blood here and there, boil certain body parts, etc. Then you have to make sure you burn the sacrifice completely, and then you have to do more stuff. 

FYI: I inaccurately described the process. But you get my point... It takes forever to do.

Then after describing all these rules, God says something along the lines of "Be holy, because I am holy." After reading all this, I get the impression that God is a jerk. Seriously, anyone would think that God made all these rules just to prove that He's God and can do these things. But let me finish. God is, in no way, a jerk.

"Be holy, because I am holy." 1 Peter 1:16 (Just so you know, 1 Peter is referring back to the Old Testament.)

If you read through Leviticus, God repeats this phrase a bunch of times. 
"Okay God, we get it. You're super awesome, holy, powerful, etc. Stop bragging......"
If you're thinking something along those lines, you've got it all wrong.

God repeats this phrase out of love. Now bare with me, let me explain my crazy statement.

We are children of God. He is our heavenly Father. Father's always know what's best for his child. This is exactly what God is doing here. God is telling us to do this and not to do that because He knows best. He wants to make sure you get the best things. The best thing for each and every one of us is God Himself.

So what do we need to do to have the best thing? What do we need to do to have God? We must be holy. We must be holy in order to have a relationship with God. A relationship with God is the best thing anyone can ever experience. The great thing about this relationship is that it's eternal.

Do you understand now? God tells us to "Be holy, because [He] is holy" out of love. Here's what I think God would say if this verse continued... "Be holy, because I am holy. I want to have a relationship with you because you are created in my image. I love you. So be holy because I cannot be with something that is not holy."

So throughout the Old Testament, God is telling the Israelite people to "Be holy, because I am holy." But guess what, they don't listen. We don't listen. We're always rebellious and against God. So what does he do to make us holy? He sends himself to cover us in His perfection.

We are made holy because it is no longer us who live. It is Christ who lives in us. We are made anew. We are a new creation. We are no longer sinful, defiled images of God. We are holy, perfect images of God through Christ.

The Bible is a narrative of love. It's not a rulebook with do's and dont's.

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Radical - Modern Christians

A few days ago, I finished a book titled "Radical". It was written by David Platt, and this book is a "Christian book". This book made me reevaluate my life as a Christian under the "American Dream".

First of all, the "American Dream" is a lie. I know that's an extreme statement, but that is what I believe. Now let me explain because my statement can be interpreted in many different ways.

The American Dream is achievable, and it makes logical sense. If you work hard and put in the time and effort, you will reap the benefits later on. No pain, no gain. Sure that makes sense. But Christians today are blinded by this false dream. We are so narrow sighted.

The average person lives around 70-80 years old. So according to the American dream, you need to work hard until about the age of 60. Then you can reap your benefits and chill for 10-20 more years and die. Cool.

Think about eternity. 70-80 years is nothing compared to an eternity. As a Christian, why would you waste your short life chasing money, fame, and power? And even if you did, you would have fun for 20ish years. After that, you'd be suffering for eternity. So why not work hard for 70-80 years and chill/have fun for an eternity in heaven?

This brings me back around to my statement. The American Dream is a lie. It is a lie created by Satan. He wants you to lose focus of the eternal perspective of God's plan. Look, if you're saved and you know that you are a child of God, then Satan can't bring you down to hell. HOWEVER, what Satan CAN DO is to make your time on earth useless. He's created this lie of materialism, power, fame, wealth in order to make you a useless servant of God.

So don't get caught following the trend. Forget pursuing wealth, power, fame, etc. Keep an eternal perspective. I'm not saying to not be rich, have some possessions or whatever. As long as you evaluate what you do and check if it's ultimately for the glory of His kingdom, then it's all good. But don't go chasing your own dreams for your own sake. 

Spread the gospel because that's what we've been told to do. Make disciples of all nations.

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Andy Mineo - Christian Rap?

So I've been looking around for some new music, and my cousin introduced a rapper named Andy Mineo. He's an italian rapper who is a Christian. Let me just say, I already respect this guy. My respect doesn't come from the sole fact that he's a Christian but how he goes about rapping.

After "youtubing" him for a bit, I understood a bit of his perspective about life and his rapping career. I'll try my best to summarize his idea.

First, he defines himself as a rapper/artist who so happens to be a Christian. That is different than being a "Christian rapper". A Christian rapper would try to force the gospel and message into everything he/she produces. But the way Andy Mineo approaches it is that he tries to depict Christ in everything that he does. He glorifies God in all aspects of his life. Rapping just so happens to be a part of his life. Therefore, he glorifies God with the abilities and talents he's been given in the art of rapping. By the way, he's pretty good at what he does.

Second, he comes to make a point about this, so called, "Christian rap". He doesn't define his music as "Christian rap". He defines his work as rap/hip-hop that so happens to have a positive message in it. He wants to bring positivity and bring something new to the table. 

We've come to identify hip-hop/rap as a negative thing. It's come to be defined with money, cars, women, drugs, etc. But who says hip-hop/rap has to have that as its content? That's Mineo's perspective.

Finally, to those of you still reading and are not really all that Christian. Give Mineo's music a chance. He makes a statement about Christians. Here's what I mean. Just because you have a bad encounter with a Christian doesn't mean all Christians are like that. You can't make an assumption about an entire group through the experience of a few individuals. In the same way, you can't assume that all apples are bitter because you've had a few that are bitter. You can't assume that all Caucasians hate Africans because of the KKK. The examples can go on and on.

Andy Mineo makes that argument for his music. You can't write off his music because he's Christian. He wants you to respect him as a hip-hop/rap artist because that's what he's making, hip-hop/rap.

Anyway here's his interview and some of his music. It's pretty dope. And make sure you check out the lyrics.

Interview:

 
Music:

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Sonny.

Since January, I have had the privilege to have a penpal. His name is Sonny. This is the first time I've had a penpal. We talked throughout the semester, and he's quite a funny kid.

At first, I had no idea how to talk to an elementary kid. I'll be honest, I'm not good with kids. So I started asking the basic questions: what he likes to do, what's his favorite color, etc. Soon, it became so simple to relate with him.

Today, I got to meet with him at his school. We had some lunch together and got to play together at recess. I wasn't sure how competent kids are at the age. But surprisingly, he's a smart kid. The way he spoke and presented himself was so... professional and respectable. I don't mean to brag, but I saw a little bit of myself in him. He knew when to joke around and when to become serious and professional.

So we talked a bit about what he enjoys doing. He wants to be in the NFL as a running back. He enjoys fishing with his dad. He has a big heart and big dreams. He's a good kid. It made me remember how I was like then. We always dreamed big as kids. Nothing seemed impossible. And now reality has hit us with what we can and can't do.

"And he said: 'Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.'" - Matthew 18:3

Sonny reminded me of this verse. Who is society to tell us what we can or can't do? It is God who is in control of all things. We are not limited to what society accepts and rejects. Our Father in heaven dictates what is "successful" or not. As long as you trust in Him in all that you do, you'll be empowered to glorify Him in all that you do. Dream big for the kingdom of God. Don't be discouraged by the standards and responses of this world.

Sonny lives in an area where most kids don't finish school. I hope and pray that I will continue to stay in touch with him. I want to encourage to dream big. I want him to understand the love of Christ for him and his family. I want him strive to glorify God with the abilities and passion he's been given.

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Graduations of Spring 2014.

This weekend has been hectic with college graduations. Who knew it would be so tiring to walk, sit, clap, and cheer all day long. But regardless, I am so thankful and happy to see my fellow friends, brothers, and sisters in Christ finish another chapter of their life.

Everyone is separating. Each individual is going down a different path that is set before them. Some friends may not see each other for a while. Others may still be living together. I guess you can say it's a bitter-sweet moment.

But a strange thought entered my head last night. It was quiet at home, and I was sitting at home thinking. People were out celebrating with one another. Everyone was having a good time, and I'm so happy for those who were celebrating.

But, in the future, there will be nights where you'll be by yourself. You'll be home alone. I know it sounds kind of depressing, but it's true. During those times, you may not have anyone with you. You only have one guy there for you. God.

It got me thinking. If it comes down to everyone disappearing in my life, will I still be joyful? Can I still be thankful, glad, and happy that I still get to have a relationship with my Father in heaven? Is my relationship with Christ that strong?

In the end, all that matters is you and God. Do you have a relationship with Him? Can you be confident and sure that He is everything and all you need in your life?

Honestly, I don't know if I can say that with full assurance. I pray and hope that I can deny all things for Christ. Just some thoughts.

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What does Love mean to you?

About two weeks ago, I made a video. Originally, it was for a mini competition without my college fellowship. But the video project turned out to be much more than that. For my video, I interviewed random people across the UT campus on a Saturday. In addition, I interviewed some of my own friends. Everyone I asked had a similar response.

No one knew how to answer the question: "What does Love mean to you?"

The majority of these people were college students. The surprising thing was that no one knew how to answer the question. They didn't have a response. The idea or thought of love never crossed their mind. To me, that was sad. But nonetheless, I may have sparked that thought in their head after I left them.

It's sad how so many people don't know what love means to them. My personal experience made me understand how there are so many people without love and kindness within their lives. Just this past week, someone committed suicide on our campus. People are empty. They have a void in themselves and don't know how to fill it up. It breaks my heart.

If people could experience love, then they wouldn't be so depressed, sad, lonely, etc. Love is the theme of our life as human beings. Let me explain from a recent sermon that I listened to by Judah Smith.

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True Love.

The Gospel. 
Most us have heard it or are familiar with it. It's that one story where Jesus, who is God, comes down to die on a cross to save us from our sins. After 3 days, He comes back to life and returns to heaven.

So many "Christians" think of this as just a story. In their minds, it's just like a childhood story they read and hear from any novel. It never becomes a reality to them. However, this story is real.

I'll admit that I was once like this. As a kid, it was just a story to me. I memorized the facts. I knew all the information. Then, over time, it became very dull, boring, repetitive, or whatever to me. I had become desensitized to the story.

 
But then I read it for myself again and again and again... it slowly become more and more real. I read the Bible trying to imagine what it would be like if it happened today. This passage has always struck me in awe.

"Going a little farther, [Jesus] fell with his face to the ground and prayed, ' My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.'" -Matthew 26:39

"And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground." -Luke 22:44

The story of Jesus coming down to save us isn't a simple story. It's not about a happy, giggly, jubilant Jesus coming down to do a little saving here and there. It's not about Jesus telling the Father, "Hey dad, I'll be right back. I need to go save mankind real quick. I'll brb with this errand." No.

Let me try to put this into a different perspective. Imagine the moon coming down from space. And then imagine that moon crushing a porcelain cup. If the moon came crashing down onto a porcelain cup, there would be nothing left of that cup. Magnify this proportion by 10000000000000 billion (then add 10 billion more zeros to that number). That is the wrath of God that Jesus had to face to save us. You think it was easy for Jesus to face the FULL wrath of God?

Even Jesus asks the Father, "...if it is possible..." please take this cup from me. Jesus is asking, "IS THERE ANY OTHER WAY TO DO THIS?" He was terrified of facing God's wrath. He sweat drops of blood just thinking about it.

But nonetheless, Jesus obeys the Father. Why? Because He loves us that much.

Jesus could have easily backed out of this. He could have quit at ANY MOMENT. But He obeyed the Father's will because He loves us. That breaks my heart every time.


This song by Phil Wickham always reminds me of that story. It reminds of those details that I become desensitized to.

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