Very important update

Hello everyone,

I have recently hosted my blog and updated it to a new domain name. My blog is now at the link below. I will be posting on that link from now on.

http://discipleslife.com

Come on by there and check it out.

Have a great night.

The Importance of Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday can be seen as an unimportant holiday. We don’t get gifts and typically don’t have a huge family feast, so what is so special about it?

Palm Sunday and the week following is the Holy Week. It is the most important week in the Gospel story. Palm Sunday marks the beginning of that week remember the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.

Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:28-44, and John 12:12-19 all record the account of Jesus entering Jerusalem. This event is so crucial as Jesus enters Jerusalem praised by everyone and by the end of the week, he has been killed by them. Jesus fulfilled the Messianic prophecy in Zechariah 9:9 on Palm Sunday.

So, today, I cry “Hosanna in the highest”. Have a great Holy Week.

Christianity=Always Being Happy?

For some reason, today’s Christians have developed the idea that they are supposed to always be happy and always keep a smile on their face. My church recently had a revival. I was only able to be there for the first service, but the man who gave the message used the stupid cliché ”I am too blessed to be stressed.” Now, I have been seeing that on the Facebooks of several of the people from my church. (Insert facepalm here)

I think it is ridiculous that Christians think we are always supposed to be happy. So, does that mean if we lose everything and all kinds of bad things happen to us, we are just supposed to smile? Job didn’t even do that. Job didn’t question God, but he did sit in silent remorse for a week.

Look at Jesus. He walked into the temple and overturned the tables and ran people out. Oh, but he was “too blessed to be stressed” so I guess while he was doing this, he had those pearly whites showing as if he was the Burger King man. Jesus wasn’t just this happy man that held lambs and played with children that we have made him out to be. That kind of image comes from reading a children’s picture book about Jesus, not Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

We create an impossible image of ourselves if we act like we always have it together and never have any problems. I am not Joel Osteen. I don’t claim that my best life is now. The only way my best life could be now is if I was going to hell. I am going to have problems in this life. I am going to cry. I am going to get angry. God does too. The Bible records examples of God being sad and angry. There is a whole book called Lamentations. (Duh) We are made in God’s image and likeness, that is why we get sad and angry.

I hate corny Christian clichés that are not rooted in scripture. They are clichés that Christians try to develop to deal with their problems, but are not true. The Bible does not say that Christians are supposed to always be happy and walk around with a smile on their face. Just ask Paul.

For more information and clarity on this topic, check out this rather funny and entertaining sermon excerpt from Mark Driscoll.

Amazing Testimony

I got to hear a great testimony tonight from a Christian magician that came to my college campus. I wanted to share that testimony with you. Here it is. It might bring you to tears. It did me.

Turn On the Light

I got up this morning and went to make coffee. Upon opening the refrigerator to get creamer, I saw that it was dark. Not knowing much about home appliances, I assumed something was wrong with the fridge. It even didn’t feel cold to me. My perception of the fridge was affected by the fact that the bulb had blown.

Then I got to thinking, that is exactly how most Christians are. They claim to follow the light, but live in darkness, causing others to think that they aren’t Christians. Jesus made it very clear that the church is the light of the world (Matthew 5:14-16). We are the light because we also follow the light, that being Jesus (John 1:5). Knowing that, why do some Christians try to live in darkness?

Light is amazing, isn’t it. The smallest particle of light can completely destroy darkness. Darkness itself can be overcome by very little light at all.

Like my perception of my fridge this morning, thinking it wasn’t working because the bulb had blown, the world does not know that we are Christians if we turn off our light. We must live as the light. You cannot be a disciple of Christ if you don’t turn on the light and leave it on. Darkness will not be overcome in this world until Christians turn on their light and vanquish the darkness.

Christianity is not a Political View

I was walking through my college campus today and I saw something written on the sidewalk in chalk. I didn’t really stop and read it as I was in a big crowd of people, but what I saw of it was that it was a message speaking out against abortion. It said something to the extent of “killing babies is wrong.” It might not have been a Christian group that wrote the message but it got me thinking about Christians that speak out against abortion in this manner.

This is not the way to do it. Too often, we make Christianity a political philosophy rather than a mercy system. Don’t misunderstand me. I am pro-life and I believe strongly in the sanctity of life, but if you go around telling people “killing babies is wrong,” all that you are going to get is a political debate that will mostly be a yelling competition, accomplishing nothing.

If we look at the Gospels, Jesus never called us to approach matters like this. In fact, if we look at his life, Jesus did things completely opposite. Look at the story of the woman caught in adultery found in John 8:1-11. The religious authorities, who were sort of the political authorities of the time as well, bring a woman before Jesus and tell him that she has been caught in adultery. They tell him that their law commands that she should be stoned and they ask Jesus what he thinks.

Now, I’ll bet you can guess what happens. Being the sin hating, conservative, Republican that he was, Jesus stands up and tells them to strike the woman dead right in front of him. NO! That is not at all what happens. Jesus tells them that the only person that can condemn her is he who has never sinned. Jesus does not make this woman feel like garbage. He believes in her despite her iniquity.

With issues like abortion, instead of being political bigots, we as Christians should better examine the issues. I am not sure that the unborn are the victims with abortions. Perhaps, it is rather the pregnant women. You must understand that barely any women go into an abortion clinic thinking, “This is going to be the most fun thing I ever do.” Most women get abortions because they see it as their only option. And then you have bigotted idiots that throw animal blood on to them as they are entering the clinic.

Jesus never handled matters in this way. He didn’t make the sinners feel like garbage. He rather built relationships with the sinners and made them see that there is redemption for them and that they are valuable. 

We need to stop making Christianity about completing a political agenda and rather making it about healing the broken, believing in others, seeing value in the worst people, and bringing them to redemption.

What the Bible says about Sex

Christians believe that sex inside of marriage is a very wonderful thing. However, we believe that it is meant to stay inside of marriage. I think because we believe sex is not meant to be outside of marriage, people think that we are completely anti-sex.

As a Christian, I am not anti-sex. I want to lay out what the Bible says about sex. Listing every single verse related to sex would probably take an entire book, rather than a blog post, so I am going to keep it a bit shorter.

Collectively, the Bible gives 3 purposes for sex.

First, sex is, of course, for procreation. When God created Adam and Eve, he told them “Be fruitful and multiply.” (Genesis 1:28) The first commandment God ever gives mankind is to have sex.

Second, sex is for pleasure. All through 1 Corinthians 7, you see Paul instructing the Corinthians that a husband and a wife are to please each other sexually. Paul is often seen as a hater of sex because he said “I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another.” (1 Corinthians 7:7) Paul was just giving his opinion here. He wasn’t telling people not to have sex. For the entire remainder of the chapter, Paul gives Christians instruction on how to handle sex within a marriage. He was not anti-sex.

Third, sex is for oneness. When a husband and wife have sex, they become one. Sex is the most connecting human activity. Genesis 2:24 states that a man shall leave his father and mother and become one flesh with his wife. This is done through sex.

Most non-Christians in the world are against the Christian belief that sex is intended for marriage, but I think they see the belief in the wrong light. God does not intend for sex to be for marriage to suck the fun out of life. He intends for it to be for marriage because it is such a special, connecting, sacred act that it is intended to be with one person and one person alone.

It’s like a fire. Inside a fireplace, a fire is a source of warmth and energy. If it gets out of the fireplace and into the house, it brings destruction to the house.

Now, does that mean that you are a bad person or a piece of garbage because you have had sex with multiple people and outside of marriage? Westboro Baptist Church would say yes. But I say no.  There is redemption for you and God sees you as valuable. It is through Christ that we are all redeemed. I, as a virgin, am in as much need of redemption as a prostitute who has been with 100 men.

The Bible never says that sex is not allowed. It says that inside marriage, sex is one of the most special things two people could ever do.

Do You Really Believe John 3:16?

It is heartbreaking that the very words of Jesus Christ have caused so much damage to the people. It is not Jesus’s fault that this has happened, but rather the people. Both preachers and congregates teach that the essence of the Christian faith is John 3:16. And I would say it actually is, but what Jesus is actually saying in that passage is not what most people think.

When Jesus calls us to become his followers, he is asking us to believe in him with all our being, not just our minds. He doesn’t simply want us to acknowledge that he exists and that be the end of it. Studying Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John collectively, we find that he calls for something more. We find that most people actually don’t believe in Jesus because their lives don’t show it.

It is not a list of rules that you have to keep (i.e. read your Bible every day, pray at meals, go to church, don’t sin, etc.). It is utter surrender of everything that you are.

Jesus makes it very clear what you have to do to be his disciple (a true Christian). You must deny yourself. You must hate your own father, mother, sibling, spouse, and even yourself in comparison to your love for Jesus. You must completely surrender everything to him. You must give up all your own possessions. You must become, in essence, his slave. You must be willing to suffer for him. You must be willing to die for him.

There is a cost to following Jesus. It is not a simple decision made at the front of a church. It is a life decision. It is a choice, not to just believe in Jesus, but to surrender your entire life to him. It is crucial that churchgoers realize this.

If you do not surrender your entire life to Jesus, you are not and cannot be a Christian.

“Not a Fan” Book Review

 A few weeks ago, I posted asking if you were a fan or a follower and I said that I was currently reading the book “Not a Fan“ written by Kyle Idleman. I have now finished the book and would like to review it.

Being as blunt as I can, I would call “Not a Fan” the greatest Christian writing since the book of Revelation (that I have read). And it is very hard to say that, having read Francis Chan’s “Crazy Love.”

“Not a Fan” is, in essence, a book about what true discipleship is. It talks about having a relationship with Jesus, rather than just being a happy fan of him, cheering on the sidelines.

The book is divided into 3 sections. The first section looks at the difference between a fan and a follower, the second section examines Luke 9:23 in depth, and the third section looks at Luke 9:57-62 in depth. These two passages in Luke 9 are enough in themselves to examine discipleship at a pretty deep level.

I found myself falling in worship throughout the entire book as Idleman touched on some points to following Jesus that have greatly changed my life over the past two years. The book will call you to be a completely committed follower of Jesus, holding nothing back. It will stretch you to give your life to Jesus and learn to die daily.

Discipleship will become clear to you through this book. You will understand that following Jesus means going wherever he calls you to go, even if that is the hard places and even if you have to lose your life.

Do Signs of the Times Indicate it is the End?

It never fails. People start talking about the coming of Jesus in a church and at least one person will say “It could be any day.” Then you have the nutcases like Harold Camping that try to predict the coming of Jesus. Some people, knowing that Jesus said no one knows when he will come, will say that they don’t know when it will be, but they “believe” it is close.

Going off of what the Bible says, I have to say that I have no idea when the coming of Jesus will be and I don’t know how close we are.

Jesus lays out a list of signs in Matthew 24 of what the world will be like prior to the end of the age. Wars, famines, disease, etc. What most Christians fail to realize is that all of these things have been around since Jesus was here on earth. Some would argue that it is worse today than it has ever been, however, I would have to disagree with them. The genocide that took place at the time of Hitler and Stalin was clearly much worse than anything in that manner today. The pestilence of the bubonic plague was much worse than today.

Jesus said that no one knows when he is coming back and that it would be unexpected when it happens. He also gave us a bunch of signs of when the end would be close. However, those signs have been around for ages. Maybe that was to better illustrate that no one knows. Why would he give us a bunch of signs to be clues and then tell us his coming will be unexpected? If there are clues in the world that he is returning, then it isn’t unexpected.

As disciples of Jesus, we should stop worrying so much about when Jesus is going to return and start actually trying to show the love of Jesus to the world. Our job is to love and serve, not to predict the future.