Lifehouse Everything Skit; Romans 5:7-8

Romans 5:7-8

"But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." -Romans 5:8

     The truth behind this skit is intimidating and powerful. However, this skit goes right along with Romans because I think most of us including myself don't walk with Christ even in the beginning of our lives. As the main character has Jesus pushed out of her life, and eventually Jesus rescues her from the lowest, saddest most desperate place. In my life, Jesus came to me at a church camp that I got invited to. Jesus did not just meet me that day, instead he welcomed me into the family. 

     So many people hang on the fact that Jesus died for us. Of course, if he had not died on the Cross and conquered that grave Christ have no power behind His name. But the true power behind the work of Jesus Christ is he died for me, while I still sinned against Him and did not know Him. So a recent mentor of mine pointed this out because no one is ever too lost or broken to find Christ. Basically, Christians including myself discriminate and selectively share the Gospel. As I have learned Christ did not come for some people, He came for ALL people. As I found out everyone was broken and lost to Christ, but he still came for us.

Application

     In the world today about 2 billion Christians live, work, and operate everyday. If each Christian mentored, shared the Gospel, and discipled just 1 Non-Christian a YEAR our world would changed drastically. In around 4 years, almost our entire world would be Christian and following Christ! So this week make a new friend and slowly talk about what Jesus could do in their life!

P.S. Have a wonderful week, and God Bless!

Are you Faithful in the Little Things?

Are you Faithful in the Little Things?

Matthew 25:14-30 (Parable of the Talents)

-Summary-

     If you have read this passage, I will be taking a look from a different perspective. In this passage, a Master leaves his servants with varying amounts of money. The passage basically describes what the reactions of the servants to this property and trust. 

The first servant: This servant is entrusted with 5 talents when the master leaves. The first servant immediately puts the money in a bank, so that his Master's money can start accruing interest. In the end, the servant brings his master 5 additional talents with the original 5, so increasing his money.

The second servant: The master treats this servant similarly, but gives him just 2 talents. He is responsible with this money as he also doubles his masters money.

The third servant: The last servant was only entrusted with 1 talent. This servant feels so distressed and misguided that he buries his money in the ground, and basically returns his initial investment and that is it.

-Application-

   What did the third servant do differently? What Jesus said was, are we walking in obedience with the little things in life. If we are not walking in obedience with the little things, how should we be expected to be trusted with the big things in life. The Bible is not say their won't be times of doubt, but that is what prayer is for. Bringing our struggles and concerns to the throne is something that cannot be parallelled.


     In my life, I have seen this faithfulness become reality more recently. I was called to the King's Domain Summer Project for Inner-City kids from Cincinnati, Ohio. I tried to push God off, but then this passage put so much perspective in the situation. How can I expect God to change my life, if I try to push out the opportunities he gives me to change my life. Honestly, I realized that sharing the love and desire to love Jesus is incomparable. For most people, they shove all kinds of little things into the gap in our hearts that only Jesus fills. The feeling of telling people that the emptiness and burden of hopelessness is gone in my life because I love Jesus has so much power behind it!

    So fill my trip will be about sharing with kids, that Jesus Christ gave me a hope and he took all my pain away! Thanks for reading!

An Image of Justice?

My Image of Justice

How?

     Justice in current definition means, “fairness” or “equality”, and Jesus was the ultimate form of fairness and equality. In John 4, Jesus, an upright Jew, shows this Justice and reaches out to a poor Samaritan woman. The Samaritan woman was corrupt, disgusting, and unclean in the Jewish culture, but Jesus saw through that and realized she was just broken.

#1 Jesus as Justice

John 8:3-5,7, 11:

“3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, ‘Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?’… 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, ‘Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.’…11 “She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.’”

Why would Jesus still Love Her?

Jesus not only understands all the things this woman has done sinfully in her life, but he looks past it and forgives her. As the others looked at her, and wished to kill her, Jesus wishes to complete her and change her life. The most important phrase is in verse 11, as Jesus tells her to leave her sin behind. All those times of missing the mark and falling short, he says stop sinning.d Jesus knows that being sinless is not possible without him, and eventually this adulterous woman understands and acts on her faith in Christ. In this section of John, Jesus doesn’t discriminate or judge her because of her life story. He shows love for her, as her struggles are just like how we struggle.

Similarly, Christ did not just get on the cross for the rich people, the successful, the “holy”, the poor, the lame, the men, the woman, or the broken. Instead, Jesus got on the cross for all of them, and he saw each one of them as incomplete or broken. When he was on earth, he described this level of equality and fairness in John 3:16 perfectly. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” In this verse, all of humanity is lumped together as “whoever” and asked, “Will you believe?” 

#2 Jesus as Justice

Christ came for those who will give everything to him, and hold nothing back. In Luke 23:39-43, another amazing example of Christ’s forgiveness and equality to all people.

“One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, ‘Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!’ 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.’ 42 And he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ 43 And he said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’”

Have a great day, I hope this encourages your day, as Christ never discriminated! He came for every broken person on this planet!

Comment if you have any thoughts, questions, or comments!

Avoiding Comfort Christianity!

 Today's Verses: Isaiah 58:9-12, 2 Timothy 2:1-2

   The passage for today describes a believer taking the "yoke" and burdens of life, and casting them aside. Now in addition, the judgments and wickedness will also be cast away in a way of humbling ourselves.

   As we are more honest and humble with ourselves, we can honestly pour ourselves into discipling others. This holds true with all areas of life, and as v. 10 describes, "if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday sun." 

    No where in this passage is the believer described as comfortable, instead the writer describes them out of their comfort zone feeding the hungry and satisfying the afflicted. This process of becoming uncomfortable starts with v. 9a., "then you shall call, and the Lord will answer, you shall cry, and he will say, 'Here I am.'..." This whole process of staying uncomfortable and concerned occurs by staying humble and honest, while responding to God's direction in our lives.

2 Timothy 2:1-2  "You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. ² And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others."

In addition, both of these passages describe what the true heart of growth in Christianity is. If we humble and free ourselves from the pain and sin of the past, we need to pour our lives into the people around us as a result. Mentoring people that don't see the hope and joy from Christ as a result of him taking control. If we are honest with God and our community the raw passion from Christ will spill into our work, home, and day-to-day life.

Purpose

Current Goal

This is a way for me to reach as many people for Christ as I can and the verse below is my motto. If I am living with the Passion and Love that it took for Christ to get on the Cross for me, then I will hold nothing back and reach out to everyone I can. 

1 John 3:16-This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

Future Goal

So first off this Blog is for anyone to get questions answered about Christianity and special devotion to what Jesus says a Christian looks like. These topics are not easy and I want to cover them to help develop my own walk with Christ. Relative future topics:

1. How does a Christian grow and develop in a world, so broken?

2. The heart of Jesus was focused on? How that pertains to the Philippines?

3. What does it mean to be an inspired Christian rather than a fan?  

4. What does the difference between a secular leader and a Christian leader?

5. Can a Christian be a homosexual?

    Just a few to start off the semester... Ultimately I want to write these not as stumbling blocks in your lives, but in response to an amazing Cru Conference I went to over Christmas break. The speakers challenged me in several ways, and one way that really stuck out was the word witness. When I first became a Christian in 10th grade from that day forward, I have always thought of the word witness as a verb. 

    Instead, the speakers up at conference challenged us to revere the word "witness" as a noun because the Bible does. Revelation 2:13 "I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness..."See the word is not something we go do, but something we are and have to continually be faithful at.