Broken Love

Two months ago, I drove to Steak 'n Shake and sat at a table by myself. The waiter seated me where I was facing an empty seat and a wall. I pictured someone sitting across from me and that all was well. But in truth it was not and I had went out to eat to get some solace and some time to think. So as I was thinking through my own issues, I looked at the window and saw something that changed my perspective on life a little bit. I saw a mother dropping off her son so that he could spend the weekend with his father. Through the glass window I could not hear their words, but their expressions on their faces showed it all. The mother embracing her son and not letting him go, not wanting to lose him even for a few days. On her face showed the pain that she had faced so many times with this man she was letting her son go with and those cracks were showing through. I saw the father's attempt to show his son that he cares through a gentle pat on the shoulder. He loves his son but he doesn't know how to get through to him because all the while the 10 year old boy was going through the motions. His expressionless face showed that he had done this many times before, and that there was anger and bitterness walled up inside his heart that would not be easily cured. He's been through this before, so he puts on the show that he knows his parents want. But he's tainted, to him love was never shown. He is another casualty of selfishness, and of sin. How much of this could have been avoided if the parents had just tried a little harder? 

To tell you the truth, I don't know how much of that is true only because I was only watching through the window, and I don't know their stories. But in this culture divorce is so commonplace that men and women struggling in marriages view it as an easy way out. Because in truth, divorce seems so much easier on the surface than healing a broken marriage. Struggling couples should try to mend that break, and those cracks though, because if they have children, it is not themselves they are hurting the most, but their kids. And what more does Satan want than to deny children a good example of a father, so that when Jesus comes in and says that God is his father and we who believe that Jesus is the only way are his children, those kids will turn away. Because the only thing they've seen of a father, is that man who left that family for his selfish desires, and left a young woman to run a household by herself. What's left is only broken relationships, broken hearts and a broken women crying in her room alone because there is no one there to help her. Think before you act rashly, because your actions will affect not just you, but those around you. Don't create another 10 year old boy who is lost in this world because his parents were never there to show him what love truly was. 

Palm Sunday

^"8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

“Hosanna^[b] to the Son of David!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”^[c]

“Hosanna^[d] in the highest heaven!”

¹⁰ When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

¹¹ The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”" - Matthew 21:8-11 

Today is Palm Sunday, and as much of a celebration it is of Jesus and the praise he ordained, it is a warning and an example of the hypocrisy and fair weathered-ness that us humans are capable of. The reason I say this, is because less than one week from this day, the people, the same people who praised his entry into the city, were crying out "Crucify him." How often do we as modern day Christians go from worshiping God on Sundays at church, to saying "crucify him" by the way we live our lives? To me, Palm Sunday this year should be a time of reflection of the way we our living our lives and how we could change that to reflect praise for Christ. 

Also, the section immediately after Jesus enters the city, says that he went to the temple. Jesus, for the second or third time, ran out all those who were selling doves and changing money. He then quoted both Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11. "¹³ “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’^[e] but you are making it ‘a den of robbers."" When I saw this I immediately thought of the Church. Too often do Christians try to make really expensive churches with neat stuff and cool looking designs to draw in non-believers. They see it as "outreach." But shouldn't our outreach be concerned with prayer like Jesus says here? I mean, its cool to try to reach out to non-believers but the way we do it should not be bought with money, but done by the people living lives reflecting Christ. I am trying not to be confusing because it's late and I may not be writing as clearly as it is in my head. 

What I am just trying to say out of this, is that I do not want our worship to be done one day out of the week, or even just two. It should be done the entire week. I'll leave you with this, if Jesus walked into your church, would he call it a den of robbers or a house of prayer? 

Ministry and Spiritual Warfare

This morning at church my pastor announced that he will be stepping down as senior pastor to take on a missionary position in the SE Asia. God has put a burden on his heart for Japan specifically and with this position he will be able to impact missions in Japan. When I first heard about this I was so happy for him and the ministry because I could see it coming and he is setting a great example for our church body. I feel as if my church has needed a revival of some sorts and I believe that this could be it.

Another thing that makes this even more interesting to me was the spiritual presence I felt during the service. A couple of years ago I would have made excuses for weird things happening but there came to a point where I began to see that there are powers at work beyond what we as humans can see. That angels and demons are battling on earth for something greater than anyone can comprehend. Before I go on I must say that Satan does not want us as Christian to go into the ministry, to follow God's will for us. He will try to do whatever he can to disrupt, distract and dismantle the lives of anyone going into ministry for God. Anyway, when my pastor was speaking and pouring his heart out to us, the church started creaking loudly and it was somewhat distracting. This is normal on windy days because the church was constructed in a way that makes it prone to creaking. But today was not a windy day, at all. I could feel a burden on my heart to pray at that time and I prayed for protection and for God to work through my pastors wonderful opportunity as well. Did I say that Satan will go to any lengths? Well later in the service after the creaking, out of the blue a kid just threw up, so loud that it made my pastor stop talking. And he paused so they could deal with it and get it all cleaned up. I'm not saying that this kid had a demon or anything like that, but there was something at work in that room this morning that I still can't explain. As if I could feel the good and evil battling. I could imagine that Satan was trying hard to embitter the church body toward the pastor to make this transition go badly. Especially considering that my pastor is an extremely Godly man of whom I have utmost respect and praise for. Satan doesn't want him going to Japan and having an impact there because Japan is one of the most spiritually lost nations in the world. But I have faith that God will protect him and prayer is the best way I can help.

This was really eye opening for me too, because I have been noticing more spiritual warfare than I ever and even though I couldn't see it, I could feel it. My mom and I have also been talking more about it and it's been really cool to see how God is at work in both of our hearts. And I think this is God's way of preparing me for the ministry in some way. Some of you may know that I want to go to college to study to be a pastor. What happened today made me even more ready for that day to come. I know that Satan will come at me and attack me because he wants to repel anyone who wants to go into God's work. But God has opened maybe not my eyes, but my heart to this. It is not a war over flesh and blood, but over the spirit and the soul.

There are powers at work in our lives that we cannot see, but they are there. And there is a battle over your soul. Satan wants to rattle you, to discourage you. But...

"This is what the Lord says to you: 'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's.'" - 2 Chronicles 20:15

"When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city, 'Oh, my lord, what shall we do?' the servant asked. 'Don't be afraid,' the prophet answered. 'Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.' And Elisha prayed, 'Oh Lord, open his eyes so he may see.' Then the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha." - 2 Kings 6:15-17

Stand strong in the faith, and do not lose heart.

The Christian Cliche

So often I find myself getting frustrated with Christians becoming complacent, and being ungrateful. If we serve a perfect and fulfilling God, why are we settling for something less? Why are we as Christians not letting God work in our lives? If we truly believe He is good, then why do we not let Him rule our lives? I want to see others serve Christ be just as passionate about God as I am. 

The reason for the title is because in our world today, Christians are often looked down upon because we are seen as fanatics and old fashioned. I don't blame people for thinking this because the face of Christianity is now Westboro Baptist Church and that pastor who keeps trying to predict when the world will end. Then the typical Christian is seen as one who goes to church on Sundays and maybe midweek, and lives their life contrary to what they say they should do. But as the song "Jesus, Friend of Sinners" by Casting Crowns says, "why don't we put down our signs cross over the lines and love like you did?" That hit me hard because I too often will find myself not loving, not living like Christ. I also see in America the decline of acceptance of Christianity. Some may find that disheartening, and at first I did. But after thinking and praying about it, I realized that this may be something that can spark Christians into living it out. David Platt said that Satan will use suffering to discourage us but God will use suffering for our sanctification. It will make people become unashamed of the gospel. It will make you buy in to the gospel, or sell out. It will force us Christians to break these cliches. I have so much on my mind, part of it is frustration with what Christianity has become to so many people, but another part of it is I want this passion inside me to spread to those around me. I am tired of seeing those around me not worshiping God and I want that to change. And I want those around me to see that God is the most important thing in everything, whether it be relationships, school, work, or anything else. God comes first and everything else is less. Maybe if we started acting like Christ commanded us to in the Bible, and put God first, maybe those Christian cliches wouldn't become so cliche, but rather real life living.