Re-evaluating Grace.

I have a confession to make. I can be a prideful person, and I found myself becoming very prideful/arrogant/self-righteous over the past year or so. I'm not a perfect person. There is nothing that's righteous about me. Sure I may do some nice things here and there, but I'm still a sinner.

With that being said, I came to re-evaluate what grace is. I was challenged by Judah Smith's book titled, "Jesus is ____".

I have good days and bad days, and I evaluate them on what I did that day. If I did something nice, kind, or productive, then it was a good day. If I gave into temptation and sinned, then it was a bad day. Let me tell you this. That mindset is terrible. It will make you beat yourself up on the bad days, and it will make you prideful on the good days. But here is what's worst of all, everything is centered on what I/YOU do. You're completely ignoring the grace that we have received through Christ.

I'm ashamed to say that I lost sight of this. I took pride in what "rules/laws" I followed. For example, I fed the homeless and gave to the poor. And I punished myself when I failed to do what was right. Basically, I was just like a Pharisee.

Then I realized that it doesn't matter what you do. Here's what I mean. You can't do anything to gain grace. And you can't do anything to lose it. You can't change that. When Jesus said "It is finished", we received the fullest extent of forgiveness and grace.

The acts of kindness/forgiveness we do shouldn't be out of pride/self-righteousness. It's a manifestation of the grace we know and have received. I do these things because I know I'm loved by God. I know that may sound weird, but I hope one day you'll come to understand what I've recently experienced.

Now here's a huge topic that many people struggle with. People ask, "If God will always forgive me, then can I go sin and do whatever I want and then come back and repent?" If you're asking this question, you've already missed the point. But technically, the answer is yes.

Here's where Judah Smith comes to explain grace. Grace is not a concept. Grace is a person. Jesus is Grace. Let me share Judah Smith's analogy.

Imagine your spouse. If you don't have one, then think about the person that loves you the most (your parents, grandparents, girlfriend/boyfriend, etc). Your spouse loves you for who you are. He/she will love you no matter how much you mess up. He/she will still love you if you cheat on him/her. He/she will still love you if you lose your job, house, car, etc. So if you know you'll be loved no matter how many mistakes you make, would you willingly, lose your job, murder, and cheat on your significant other, etc? No, that makes no sense.

Grace is a person. It's not a concept. When we understand that, then the playing field changes. You don't want to do horrible things against the person who unconditionally loves you. That's just terrible. But there will be times when you mess up, and that's okay because you'll be forgiven and loved.

Don't think about not messing up. Focus on Jesus.

{ Continue Reading... }

"Live a life that demands an explanation."

That sounds like a deep, inspiring quote doesn't it? Unfortunately, I didn't think of it. I recently heard it from Francis Chan. As a fellow brother in Christ, I wanted to encourage you all with that quote.

I don't think the purpose of our life is to: "fit in", "be normal", "follow the crowd", etc. And I'm not saying we should constantly live in an outspoken manner either. As Christians, there should be something different about us. There should be something different in how we live, not necessarily how we speak/preach/proclaim. Our lifestyle should stir curiosity.

Here's a wake-up call.
I think many Christians today, including myself, have lost our "focal point". And that focal point is Jesus. Christians today identify themselves as Christians in what they DON'T do. For example, many Christians believe they are Christians because: "I don't do drugs", "I'm not an alcoholic", "I'm not prostitute", etc.

But I think what defines a Christian is what they DO do (Yes. I know, I said doo-doo). Christians should find their identity in Christ. And what did Christ do? He loved the worst of people. He had compassion for the prostitutes, mobsters, druggies of his time. 

Jesus "[lived] a life that demanded an explanation." Nobody understood why he hung out with the worst of people. Think about it. The Pharisees were the "holy" priests at the time. They pointed out the wrongs and mistakes everyone had made (similar to many churches/Christians today). The Pharisees had NO IDEA why Jesus, the chosen messiah/savior/king, was hanging out with the scum of the earth.

So long story short, don't be a Pharisee. Don't become self-righteous and condemn others in what they're doing wrong. Be like Jesus, who loved the sinner, the wretched, the sick, the broken, etc. "Live a life that demands an explanation" by what you DO, not by what you DON'T do.

"I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ." - Philemon 1:6

Testifying your life through your actions is proven to allow you to understand more of the goodness of Christ.

{ Continue Reading... }

Numbers - The 12 Tribes.

A few weeks ago, I finished the book of Numbers. And as you know, it's pretty dull. For example, all of chapter 1 is a census of the 12 tribes of Israel. I'll be honest. I skipped all of it. However there was something unique about chapters 2 through 4.

In the first few chapters of Numbers, God tells Moses to take a census, assign land to each tribe, and give roles to each tribe. All 12 tribes of Israel had their own plot of land, and they did their own thing. But of course, they did everything according to God's laws and decrees. As long as they didn't disobey those laws, they glorified God. Basically, all the people of Israel lived normal lives while glorifying God.

I'm not a theologian or anything, but I assume that the majority of the Israelite people were farmers, shepherds, moms and dads, soldiers, and other normal things. The minority of the Israelite people were the "holy" people who were the Levites.

The Levites were the chosen people to be priests of the holy tabernacle. If you think about it, they were like the pastors, missionaries, and preachers of today's time. So from my analysis, the majority of God's people were normal/average people while a small minority were special/chosen/holy people.

This lead me to the thought of our roles as Christians in today's society. Not everyone is going to be a pastor, missionary, or preacher. The majority of us will be normal/average people. Now if you're reading this and think that this is an excuse to not go into seminary, then you got it all wrong. You may or may not be called to be a "Levite". What I'm saying is that there are many parts of society that need average/normal Christians.

If we all became pastors, then who would we preach to? The point goes back to how all the average/normal Israelite people glorified God and obeyed His commands in their everyday lives. In the same way, we should be glorifying God and ministering to the people in the lives we live.

Just because you're not a missionary, pastor, or preacher doesn't mean you can't live for God. Even the Old Testament shows how the normal/average Israelite people lived for God as farmers, shepards, moms and dads, etc. 

That means you can glorify God as a businessperson, doctor, musician, artist, writer, teacher, etc. But be sure to be wise in prayer and scripture to see what you're really called to do for His Kingdom's sake.

{ Continue Reading... }

Neverland.

There's this rap artist named Andy Mineo, and one of his songs is title "Neverland". If you haven't heard of him, then you should check him out. He is a rapper who is also a Christian. Don't be so quick to judge him, though. Just because he's a Christian doesn't mean he's a boring, bible thumping rapper. He speaks applicable truth in his raps.

Here's an example from his song "Neverland".

Verse 1:

Everybody wanna be on top

I don't think they know what that means 

Once you get there you can't stop

Everybody gunning for ya spot

Mineo is talking about the American Dream. Everyone is fighting to be the richest, most famous, best, etc. But he's telling the audience to stop and think about it. The American dream is not what it seems. Once you start pursuing it, it'll ruin you. There is no end.

Verse 1:

Everything change when you go from seeing it all

Big screen to behind the scenes

If you look past the American Dream, there is a surprising thing behind it all. It's a lie. It's misleading. It's not as great as it seems in the front.

Verse 1:

You know the rich and famous

Kill themself to stay rich and famous

Very same thing that they built their name with

Be the same thing that they be enslaved with

Pursuing the American Dream is a poison. It causes you more stress, pain, and suffering to keep your status. Your own fame and wealth are enslaving you from doing what matters.

Verse 1:

I don't want want rap you can have that

Heading for another throne can't have that

It's a Kingdom where my Dad's at

And I'm His son I sing on

So death won't have that last laugh

Huh, child of a King, royalty

That's ASCAP

Mineo confesses that he doesn't want to pursue fame in the rap industry. He's aiming higher. He's looking at the eternal perspective of entering the Kingdom of God, who is his Father. Btw, ASCAP is a not-for-profit organization for composers and artists.

Verse 1:

They want glory, money, and power before you go

I promise you it's empty we aiming just way too low

I know we own things we don't need to impress people we don't know

Then we go broke trying to look rich

I can't do it, I just won't

My new goal is to be close to the One that made my soul man

Them other highs will gon' let you down

I'm trying to get so high I'll Never Land

Mineo is trying to share the truth in the Gospel. He's telling people to open their eyes and see the eternal perspective of things. Pursuing wealth, power, and fame is worthless. It all fades away after you die. We're wasting time aiming for such a pathetic goal when we could be pursuing the eternal Kingdom of God.

All the things on this earth will get you temporarily "high". It only gives temporary satisfaction/pleasure. However, Mineo is telling the audience that he's pursing something that provides eternal satisfaction/pleasure/happiness, which is God. 

There's so much more truth in this song. But I'll let you listen to it for yourself and look up the lyrics.

{ Continue Reading... }

The Worth of a Human Being.

On Sunday, I was reminded of the beginning of our existence. The sermon mentioned the days of creation. As I was listening, I was reminded of other aspects that I learned about creation

We all know the story of creation. God created everything in 6 days and rested the 7th day. But if you think about it, creation is broken down into two categories. There is nature, and there is mankind.

God created all of nature in the first 5 days. He saw that everything that He created was good. If you don't believe me, read through Genesis 1. At the end of every creation, "God saw that it was good."

"And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light. God saw that the light was good..." Genesis 1:3-4

"God called the dry ground, 'land,' and the gathered waters he called 'seas.' And God saw that it was good." Genesis 1:10

All of nature was inherently good in God's eyes. But here's the amazing thing. God says something different when he creates man.

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." Genesis 1:27

"God saw all that he had made, and it was very good." Genesis 1:31

Mankind is set apart from the rest of God's creation because we are created in the image of God. Also, God saw that we were very good. Here's a unique analogy that Jefferson Bethke shared.

If we are created in the image of God, we are a reflection of God's glory. Think of it this way. We are like mirrors. As God looks down upon us, we reflect His image/glory across all of creation. We are what completes God's 6-day masterpiece. Our job is to shine His glory all across nature.

But when Adam and Eve sinned against God, they became corrupt and broken. Think of it this way. The mirror is now hit with a hammer. That mirror is shattered. Everything that mirror reflects is distorted. So how can a broken mirror accurately reflect the glory of God? It can't. 

In the beginning, everything was perfect. Nature was inherently good. Man was a perfect image of God. But once mankind sinned against God, everything became ruined. Think about it. The human race is destroying everything on earth. If mankind was never corrupt, there would never be wars, global warming, human trafficking, drug abuse, etc.

We ruined everything. And yet, God still wants to have a relationship with us. He sent his only son to fix us. We can't fix ourselves. A broken mirror can't replace a broken mirror. Only a perfect mirror can replace a broken one. So that leads me to a song that I've been listening to.

"the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." Genesis 2:7

God gave us His breath of life. And He never regretted doing so. Even though we messed everything up, even though we are completely broken, pieces of junk, flawed, He still loves us. He wants to have a relationship with us, still. Take a listen to this song.

"It's your breath in our lungs. So we pour out our praise. We pour out our praise."

{ Continue Reading... }

An Unordinary Haircut

So I went to get my haircut today. I know what you're thinking. "Cool story bro." And actually, it turns out to be a pretty cool one. My day was normal until I walked out into the parking lot to leave from the barbershop.

As I was walking to my car, a man calls out to me. I look up from texting, and see an older African American man and a younger man. The older man asks if I could spare any money. He was persistent in asking, but I didn't have any cash on me. So I offered to buy him and his nephew some food.

As we were walking to a local burger joint, the older man mentioned that his sister-in-law and brother were with him. Apparently they had been walking around asking for cash to rent a motel room for the night. I'll be honest. I was a bit overwhelmed by the company and didn't expect to pay for so many people. But nonetheless, it's just food. It's the least I can do to help someone in need.

So we sat in the restaurant and started talking. Louise and John were the married couple. Larry was the old man I first met. And the young man was John (he was only 16 but looked like he was a college graduate). Anyway, I assured them that they can order anything that they wanted.

Louise
I struck up a conversation with Louise, who was the only female of the group. She told me all about how her father-in-law passed away in Houston a few weeks ago, how their family has been struggling recently, how she's barely managing to pay for her storage unit, how she's trying to keep her part time job as a nurse, etc. It became more real to me how blessed I am.

So as we continued our conversation, I was upfront and honest with them. I told them I was a Christian. And that I try to do what is written in the Bible. I continued on to apologize for any bad experiences they've had with other "Christians" who may have been hurtful, judgmental, or whatever else. But Louise interrupted me and responded with complete understanding.

She began to talk how she went to church weekly, read the bible, and prayed earnestly. Of course, I didn't take her for her word. I was a bit skeptical. I wasn't sure if she was trying to get on my "good/trusting" side. But then things felt different.

Louise explained how it's so difficult to keep God prioritized in our lives. We get so caught up with other things in life, and we forget who brought us, and everything, into existence. Especially at her point in life, she admits that she needs God to bring peace in her life. She says that going to church instills a peace/comfort.

She continued on to mention how so many individuals go to church for the wrong reasons. Some people feel that going to church once a week cleans the slate. As long as you go once a week, you can do whatever you want. I was amazed at how she understood that.

We switched topics to the "American Dream". I told them my opinion about how it's a lie. It creates selfishness in every individual to pursue something that's non-existent. Louise began to talk about her brother. He's a very successful business man, and he's making millions. She told me how she asked for some financial help, but he saw her as a burden. It hurt me as I listened.

Look, all these individuals don't beg because they want to. I asked Louise, John, Larry, and John. They all admitted that they don't want to ask for money. It's the most humiliating thing to ask for help. I mean, John is just a 16 year old kid. If he's already out in the streets, then who knows how long he'll even live.

Finally, they asked for one more favor. They wanted some help to get a motel room for the night. I didn't know what to do. I don't make any income, so I called to ask my dad. He told me to use my best judgement, and I truly believed that these individuals were honest people. So long story short, I drove to a nearby atm to withdraw some money. I handed them the cash and a few missionary tracks.

And I'll never forget what Louise said... "Please pray for us." Never have I heard that from a homeless individual. They always ask for food or money. But Louise asked for prayer. So if you've read this far, please pray for a fellow sister in Christ.

I can continue to talk about other things. But think about how blessed you are. What are you doing with the resources you have? Don't waste them. I'm not saying to go out and give money away, and I'm surely not trying to brag for the deeds that I've done. Do something that matters. Do something for the Kingdom of God.

{ Continue Reading... }

"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.

{ Continue Reading... }