The Train Station

Standing in the bitter cold with a bunch of strangers isn't exactly what someone might call "a rager of a Friday night", especially with Christmas coming up in just a few days. 

I was watching the people around me peer down the train tracks waiting for the train car so that we could climb out of the cold (because the light rail cars here in Denver are very well heated, I assure you). And once we were inside the expectation of heat and a time to rest began to wear off. And before you know it we are all sitting in silence completely absorbed in our own worlds. 

How similar to the human condition.

Let me explain; as usual I tend to look deeper into things. You see, in my mind I am now talking about the history of the human race as we know it, and more specifically the night before Christmas. You know, the night where a virgin lay sweating in a barn with her husband by her side, holding her hand as the baby is coming. Her cries in the darkness heard only by the cows and sheep, and maybe a midwife. I think this peering down the train tracks shows us the faithful people, who are believing in the promises of God even when the cold sets in. Tonight the train was coming, we knew it was, and we knew that it would take us where we needed to go; much as the people of Israel knew and believed that God would come to deliver them. And this warmth, oh the warmth! The thawing out of hands ears and noses. Just like the thawing of our hard hearts and minds.

But, there is also the self-centered-ness that is to come. We lose sight of how precious this gift is, and start treating the warmth as if we deserve it. All the while new stragglers are hoping on, feeling the warmth and reminding us of the world that is outside. And who knows, we may even think that we would be better off off of this train (mistake). I mean it stops in the places we don't want to stop and lets on new and unfamiliar people. We come to expect that this is all for our comfort and not for the salvation-or the gathering- of Gods children back to His kingdom.

So I urge you, my brothers and sisters, to remember this "train". Remember how it felt before you knew grace and all you could feel was that biting cold. Remember the darkness so that you can sit by the door and cry out to those still wandering in it. And remember our Savior, our direct line to God, who came down from heaven into the cold and darkness so that we might live. Merry Christmas from line E, Denver light rail. 

Scars

We all have them.

They lace their way around our bodies and our souls.

We look at ourselves in view of Scripture and see them quite clearly: we see our scars. We see all the past mistakes, failures, sin, and pain. The stories that are buried in every one of those scars seem to define us: having a struggle with this sin or that sin, been through a divorce, victim of a sexual abuse, etc. etc. 

I know that I definitely have my scars. I have those past mistakes and sin that have cut deep into my soul, and there have been times where I ask God if there is any way He still can/still wants to heal me with how utterly broken I am. 

But then I read and remember that not only do we have a Savior that empathizes with my weaknesses, but we have a Savior that has scars too. Jesus has them littering His back, small scars on His forehead, a gash in His side, and those disgustingly beautiful holes in His hands. 

The difference is that He could have healed His scars. He is the Son of God, raised from the dead. Making a little new skin wouldn't have been hard at all. But yet, He still has them. He has them as an eternal reminder of what was accomplished at the cross: our salvation. Read this out of Isaiah 49:16...

"'See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands...' Declares the LORD"

We have a Savior that has scars, showing the most torturous pain anyone has ever gone through. Yet He is still concerned with ours. He knows our stories, He knows our pain. And someday in Heaven, in view of all He has done, our scars will finally be understood.

Saved Bomber?

First of all, this is going to sound a lot like a post from a friend of mine named John Wylie, so if it sounds like his it's because his post rang so true.

Second, this is going to make some people angry. People in my own family will probably be upset with me, and almost certainly friends will be too.

Third, this is my true position on this event, and all major events: that I beg for the salvation of the terrorists and all those affected by the tragic events.

I can't begin to know the pain families in our country are going through right now. This was a horrible event brought upon by a sin-laden world. There are many people whose lives are drastically altered, and some children who did not deserve to die. Their deaths plague my heart and have left me heartbroken; from the bombing in Boston, to the explosion in Texas, to those men and women who die everyday in car bombings as they fight for our freedom. It is tragic and makes us wonder why, and I don't have those answers.

But I can tell you this: that this call for this man to burn in hell makes me sick. It makes me sick to see others, which claim to have been changed by Christ from the inside out, calling for the death and eternal death of this man. He surely has earthly justice to undergo, but why would I wish a fate (hell) which was upon me, to anyone else? I would not and I will not.

Here is a point that will surely make people upset. Those who did not have Christ in their heart and were killed in the bombing...well...they are in the place you are condemning the terrorist to. This is why this is so important. God does NOT sin rank. Jesus came to forgive ALL sin, if we have His all-covering grace in our hearts.

I am having a hard time with this issue. It was a tragedy in every sense of the word. I agree that the terrorist needs to undergo our earthly judgement. But I am tired of these people who confess the love of Christ utter with the same lips the eternal punishment we were all destined for without Christ.

So to ahead, be mad, but this is the love of Christ. He covers all sin. He loves all of us. And I am praying for the salvation of every soul, and I believe that is something the entire Christian community should agree on.

Post, Tweet, Snap, Stop.

I am no stranger to social media, and in fact I have accounts to most of the major social media sites. The thing about social media is that it can be a good thing...in moderation.

Everyday I see girls and guys in class snap-chatting (which includes making ridiculous faces into their crotches...yeah its pretty easy to pick out you guys) as well as sneaking their phones under the desk to let out one not-so-desperate-tweet halfway through Spanish, only to be seen minutes later by the teachers who have the same social media accounts that we do. And perhaps what is most troubling is the way that we allow these parasitic sites to destroy time with God.

I am blessed to go to a school were we have in-school chapel three times a week. The speakers are up and everyone's heads are down...but they aren't praying. They are checking up on the social media sites during a time they don't find important. And this is the time where the WORD OF GOD of is delivered to us. So what is the solution to this problem? It isn't as clear cut as you may think.

The main verse I find guidance in for this issue is found in Psalm 19: "May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in Your sight" So....what are our hearts saying? Is it screaming: FOLLOWERS! Or is it screaming I AM A FOLLOWER of Christ? Is it telling the world that you just posted to instagram or is it telling the whole world about our amazing God? Is it concerned with meaningless "likes" or is it putting Christ on the throne in our hearts?

Food for thought, especially in the wake of the Boston bombings. Pray for them, don't post about it. Focus on Christ, and don't let the meaningless social network realm influence you away from our Heavenly Father, the Father of Lights.

(P.S. I don't discourage using social media, just know the difference between a healthy use for God's Kingdom and an obsession that turns it into an idol.)

Under Siege

Last night I came across a psalm that is now one of my favorites. That psalm is psalm 31, and if you don't know it by heart I demand that you do that right now. Just kidding, I can't demand anything out of you. But the point still stands that this psalm kind of fits in with my life perfectly as it is.

You see, my life has been at a standstill, like I am running in place on a treadmill (see my last post, Passing Through). I feel like I am focusing myself on Christ, yet I am staying put. But not until yesterday did I understand that maybe God wanted me to learn something in my time here on this "plateau". Perhaps there is a reason that I have been in the same place spiritually for a while, and after weeks of searching do I believe that I finally got an answer.

A lot has been happening in my life recently, family matters, school and the like. Moments of pain are still being eclipsed by God and my soul is being refreshed in the eternal waters of Christ. But I have been taking steps around the true matters and serious situations that God has put me in; I am calling it "denial". I am denying the fact that my "city" is under siege.I am being hard-pressed to stand under this siege of situations and temptations. My life is being shifted and morphed around me and that can be scary (because if you haven't been through it yet, I promise you that you will). But one fact, perhaps the only true fact in life, was eluding me during these past weeks; and that is that God is with me and with you and with us in all situations. the 21st verse of psalm 31 reads:

"Praise be to the LORD, for He showed me the wonders of His love

when I was in a city under siege."

This was the verse that made me stop. I stopped and stared. God, the God of the universe that came to earth to die for us, shows us His love even when we are under siege (and for clarification a siege was a time when an army would enclose a fortified city and basically starve the inhabitants out). Even during the times of doubt and despair, God is showing us more and more of His love. His almighty love, that rescued us from the grave.

You have heard it said that God whispers in the good times and uses the mega horn during the bad. That is true, so don't give up. He is the same God now and forever, and He never stops showing us His love, even when we forget that.

All glory for Christ! Who saved me, a sinner.

Plateau-ing (Part 1)

Lately, I have been striving after my relationship with God.

Not saying that I am not constantly striving after God, but sometimes we hit what I call "plateau" areas of our faith. I am sure you know exactly what I am talking about. Its that time of your faith where you want more and more and more yet you are staying at the same level with God, as if you are on a plain and there is no rise in sight.

I am definitely in one of these areas right now. I am not falling away from God, but I am just at a standstill, as if I am unable to move. As I have been squeaking out prayers for growth and a revolutionary step toward my Lord, I am humbled by the fact that I have that revolutionary step in my possession. I have it in my pocket, I have three on my bookshelf, and I have one on my nightstand. Can you guess what one of the best gifts that God has given to us is? That's right! The BIBLE.

Some find it hard to believe that God really is present on the actual pages and actual ink that makes up the Bible. But I can personally testify that He is. He of course is with us at all times and carries us through our daily lives, but He is ready to speak in the pages of that ancient book.

 It bothers me when people say that "God won't answer my prayers." Because often when I ask if they are reading their Bibles, they say no. I feel like this generation is geared toward mysticism and desire an encounter with the Holy Spirit in the forms of visions, moments of awe, etc. There is nothing wrong with that, but I do think it needs to be rooted in the very thing that God consistently speaks to us through. I absolutely believe in the power of the Spirit to work in ways outside of the Bible, but I know that we are beckoned to hear God in the very pages that He wrote.

I have been struggling lately with reading the Bible consistently and whole-heartedly, as if it is a check list assignment that I do before I go to sleep. Here are a few things that I found that help me:

1. Read the Bible with your heart, and not just with your mind.
2. Try reading in different settings, read in the morning outside, and read by candlelight at night, its amazing what changing the setting can do for your reading.
3. Read the same chapter everyday for a week. Its amazing what deep studying and meditation can do when you are searching God's word. Because most of the time life changing verses don't just slap you in the face.
4. Switch up the translation, it may have you more aware to the subtleties of a verse.
5. Get into a quiet, non-distracting environment. Turn off your phone by faith. How can we expect to hear from God when the phone is ringing and the TV is blasting in our ear?

The plateau isn't a fun place to be. But God is more than ready to consume you once again. James 4:8: "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."