The Voice

Tonight, we watched The Voice and I have to admit that when i watch programs like that I want to audition to be on the show.  I have sung and played music just about my whole life.  I have dreamed of making it big since I was a little boy.  Unfortunately, I seem to have one big thing in my way.  I am to afraid to tryout for something like The Voice.  I don't know what scares me more, succeeding or failing.  Honestly, part of the reason I would love to do something like that and win is to be validated.  I want to know I exist and that I matter.

In the world we live in, we are told that we must succeed, stand out, or become famous to matter.  If you aren't on TV, a boss, a manager, a politician, or rich, you don't seem to matter in this world.  Much of this world seems to have the perspective that you are only worth something if you have something to offer them.  I know this may be generalizing but at times this feels true.

As a Christian, I know that my validation shouldn't be dependent upon the world's view of me but who I am in Jesus.  I struggle with this at times because I want so much to be accepted by and matter in this world.  Though I know I am making a difference in the kingdom for Jesus, I want worldly gratification too.  I constantly have to give the reigns of my heart over to Jesus because I have a tendency to want to be in the drivers seat.


Paul says in Philippians 4:11-13, "I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do all this through him who gives me strength."  Philippians 4:13 is very familiar to most of us but did you know that it is tied to a passage about contentment?  Does knowing this change your perspective of Philippians 4:13?  It does for me.  I find such peace in knowing that through Christ, I can be content in all things.  He is the one that will give me the strength.  


Though I still hope to have the courage to try out for something like The Voice one day, it will be for the right reasons and not my own glory.  I want everything I do to be for Jesus' glory and not my own.  If I were able to get on The Voice, I would be comforted in knowing that his grace gave me the voice to make it.  Perspective truly is everything and you can only have the right perspective in Jesus.  No tv show, news program, competition, raise, job, amount of money, fame, person, book, or movie can give you more contentment than Jesus.  


Blessings,


Greg

My wife and I feel an intense calling on our lives for missions and full-time ministry.  We have created a fundraiser to help us overcome one hurtle to us being able to go to the mission field.  I pray that you will take a moment and check out this link.  I thank you for your consideration and ask that you seek the Lord's guidance in considering contributing to this fundraiser.  Thank you.

http://www.youcaring.com/fundraiser_details?fundraiser_id=3437&url=roadtofreedomforproclaimingchrist

Broken Past, Hopeful Future

There is a fine line between hate and love.  Unfortunately Christian history is filled with "Christians" proliferating hate in the name of love.  What seems so obvious to us today was not so simple at different points in history.  We now live in a time where everyone in the western world has access to the Bible and we each have the ability to read and understand it.  This has not been so for most of Christian history.  Imagine trying to be a follower of Christ and only getting input from a priest.  Most of the people in Christian history would not have been able to read the Bible even if it had been available to them.  There have been many times in our history where "the church" spawned more hate and murder than the most sinful of nations.  Oh how well the devil has been able to harm the world's view of Jesus through jaded followers.

I would like to believe that since we now live in an age were the Bible is readily available and accessible to all in the western world that we would no longer have the problems of our past.  Unfortunately, we all know that this is not true.  We still have people who twist the Bible and then teach their twisted perspective to willing followers who chose not to read and understand the Bible for themselves.  What is even worse is today we not only have hating, bigoted, vile people who profess Christianity, we also have many Christians today that believe Christianity is no better than any other religion and is only one way to find peace and heaven in this world.  The devil is still at work in our churches and there is still a large majority of people who have chosen not to read the Bible for themselves but to be swayed and wooed by men who intend to use the Bible for their own purposes.

Though I have to admit that I struggle greatly with both ideologies in our world today, I know that the only answer to truly battle the false teachings within the Christian realm is to truly live Christ authentically and boldly.  Hatred plus hatred does not equal love.  Vile words plus vile words does not equal peace.  judgment plus righteous anger does not equal living Jesus.  We have to live love.  We have to live truth.  We have to stand for the principles that Jesus set in place.  We have to love our enemies and let Jesus be the judge not us.  We have to be willing to humble ourselves to serve.  We have to be willing to go the second mile with the one who forced us to go the first mile. We have to be willing to lay down our lives for our brothers.  We have to be willing to sacrifice everything we are for the love Jesus lived and died for.

Jesus did not reach the world for himself by fighting the world but by dying in the place of sinners that they may have salvation available to them.  We have to learn from Jesus, Paul, and the disciples.  We have to stand up and be  different from the world.  We have to live love even when the world wants to perpetuate hate through intolerance.  We have to want to speak the truth when the world want all truth to be equal.  We have to live counter culture.  We have to authentically live Jesus daily no matter the consequences, which may include: broken relationships, lost jobs, and persecution.  Jesus intended for His followers to draw the world to Him not repel the world from Him.  It is our time to live authentically in Christ!  I challenge you to stand up and live Christ fully today.

Blessings,

Greg

Intolerant Tolerance

In listening to a sermon by David Platt, he spoke on tolerance and got me thinking about the ways of this world today.  I find it interesting that we live in a culture today that champions the idea of tolerance of all religions and yet is intolerant of intolerant religions like evangelical Christianity.  We live in a culture that does not believe in spiritual absolute truths and yet lives by absolute truths daily such as 2+2=4 and the law of gravity.  Does it not seem convenient for the world to make all spiritual truth equal?  This would never work in the realm of science.  If I decided to walk off a bridge because I didn't believe in the law of gravity, I would still fall to my death anyways.  Though this is true of science beliefs the world says that it is not also true of spiritual beliefs.  The problem is that, if in fact Christianity is true, then all other religions really are going to hell without Jesus whether they believe their spiritual beliefs are true our not.  If there is not absolute spiritual truth and we all have to be tolerant of everybody else's beliefs, then none of us has to feel conviction of sin or anything contrary to what we want to believe.  I find it ironic that this world, especially the modern college campus, champions the idea of religious tolerance so loudly and yet seek so passionately to destroy the claims of Christianity.  How can supposed tolerant people be so intolerant.  

In a sermon I was listening to by David Platt  called The Gospel and Homosexuality where he said this about tolerance in our world in all context, "We have created the idea, the belief that every idea in the world is equally right, equally true.  so to disagree with some one is intolerant but the reality is tolerance in and of itself implies disagreement.  If you and I agree on every single thing, I don't tolerate you.  I don't tolerate your beliefs if I agree with all of them.  If you believe that Jesus is the Lord of the universe then I don't tolerate you for that. On the other hand, if you deny that Jesus even exist then, yes, I would passionately disagree with you but it is at that point that I would tolerate you."  Our world has so confused the meaning of words such as tolerance that we all feel we are bad for standing up for our beliefs.  We have come to believe it is wrong to believe in absolute truth.  Many of us have become to scared to proclaim Jesus as the way and the truth and the life because it is infringing on other people's truth.  

We have to be so careful not to be drawn in by the ideas of this world.  If we allow ourselves to not proclaim Jesus due to fear of being viewed as intolerant then we are quietly allowing people to go to hell.  Jesus was not afraid of absolute truth and he was not afraid to challenge those who spoke against His Father.  We have to stand up for our beliefs and proclaim them with boldness and compassion.  We can no longer allow this world to keep our mouths shut or allow this world to scare us into their view on tolerance.  We must be the salt and light to the world and trust that Jesus' truth will ring in the hearts of the people around us.  Stand tall for Christ brothers and sisters and stand for absolute truth in Christ this moment.  

Blessings,

Greg