Relationships

The last major series that was preached at Elevate was a series on relationships.  Unlike the normal series on relationships.  In most relationship series, the main topic has do with some sort of guy/girl, purity type of idea.  This relationship series was not on those type relationships.  Instead, it was on 3 types of relationships that a person needs in their Christian walk.  Over the next few days or week, I am not only going to redo some of the series, but I am also going to go over some important aspects of a relationship with Christ.

Life

This morning I had a shock.  I went to bed last night with the idea that I was going to wake-up at 7:30; therefore, I set three alarms; one at 7:20, one at 7:30, and one at 8:45.  These alarms were all purposed to wake me up before my first class at 9:30.  

THINGS DID NOT GO AS PLANNED

I ended up waking up at 11:00.  I was upset.  I was not upset that I had missed my class but more because of what it meant for me.  For the last few years one of my life verses has been Romans 12:1, "Therefore I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God."  Because of this, lately I have realized that this means I should offer every part of my life to Him.  This morning, I realized that I don't.

Unity in the Spirit

I don't know about other people out there, but I grew up in a conservative Southern Baptist Church, and while it was not as bad as other churches, I've experienced my fair share of "Church" arguments.  Everything from the clothes people wear to church to what night (or day) the church business meeting should be on.  For those who didn't grow up in church, I'm sure you've either heard or said something to the effect of, "I thought those Christians were about love.  If that is what love is then I don't want it."  I have heard and been involved in these scenar1os my entire life, but now, I would like to set it straight.

Ephesians 4:1-6: I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.

After reading this, I began to think.  We as Christians sometimes (most-times) get into petty arguments because of two major reasons:

1. They don't understand what they believe completely.

2. They aren't Christian.

I honestly believe that the main reason we get into these arguments is the first reason.  No offense to the church, but we have been really good at developing surface Christians and stopping there.  I challenge Christians who read this to not get mad but to look at where they are in their walk and to dive deeper.  Also, I am not saying that all arguments are bad.  For example: we should know where we stand on many issues and should not waver, issues like the deity, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, and many others.  

This scripture is very clear that we should all walk in the way we are called.  If we walk in this manner, while we might have different ways of doing things or ideas, we should still be working toward the same goal- Glorification of Christ.

The second reason church people get into these arguments is because they are not Christian.  It does not matter if you have grown up in church your entire life or have Christian parents.  The only way to be saved is, "that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved." Romans 10:9.  This is the only way to salvation.

In closing, I would like to encourage you to know what you believe.  I'm sorry this blog was so long, but I felt like this need to be said.

Glorious Revelation

This past weekend, I attended a conference in Myrtle Beach known as Converge.  While there, I began to debate with myself about many different issues.  Lately, I have been asking God to just allow me to see Him.  One of the reasons that I have been praying on this is to just alleviate doubt in my mind. Doubt of who God is and also of His position in my life.  While I believe that God is Sovereign and that without Him I am nothing, sometimes I just need to be reminded, I hate being like this and don't like it, but it still seems to happen.  Then, one our second night at the conference, the group I was with got back from dinner around sunset.  

A friend of mine and I then decided to try to go to the top of the hotel.  When we got there, the sun was setting and the view was incredible.  It was at this time that I began to realize something.  I had been wanting God to show up and do something spectacular like heal a sick person or give me A's in all of my classes, but in reality, God was and is demonstrating Himself and His glory constantly.  A few passages that speak of this very issue are Psalm 8 and Job 38.  Job 38 especially speaks concerning God revealed in creation.  Isaiah 55:8 says: "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways my ways, " declares the Lord.  Now, I have a question, if God truly is Lord of all, who am I to question Him? And if I doubt, God provides everyday revelation for me to see His glory.

Identity

This week, we started a new series in our weekly worship surface at CSU.  For those reading who do not attend CSU or who have never heard of CSU, every Thursday night at 8pm, Campus Ministries hosts a worship service intended to bring people closer to each other and to God.  This worship service is known as Elevate.  The new series that I mentioned earlier is entitled, Identity Crisis.

Last night we held our first service, and our Campus Minister, Clark, started the series by outlining the different types of personalities.  Throughout the entire service I was continually trying to profile myself and determine my personality type.  Not only that, I also found myself dissatisfied at what I was figuring myself out to me.  It was not enough for me to just be myself, I wanted to be the best of every personality type and be every personality type.  I have always driven myself to be as well-rounded an individual as possible and thanks to last night, I have come away with a few lessons:

1. God created me exactly as who I am.  While this may make me dissatisfied, the more I consider this truth, the more I realize how outrageous it is for me to desire to be any other way.  While it is okay to strive to my best in everything, I must remember as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10:31 that whatever I do, I should do it all for the Glory of God.  God in His perfect will created me, and who am I to be dissatisfied with God?

2. Dissatisfaction with God is Pride.  I know that pride is not a good thing and honestly, I have struggled with it for years.  In my quest to be the best (not just the best I can be), I many times have ignored God and trampled those around me.  For those I have done this to, I am very sorry.

These are just a few lessons I learned last night.  Now, I realize that it is not who I believe that I am that matters; it is who I am in Christ that matters.  Philippians 1:21 says, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."  In Proverbs it also mentions that "Pride comes before destruction."  In the end it is not the treasures that I store up for myself on this earth that matters (grades, popularity, girls, money), but it is those things of eternal significance that matter and whether or not I follow God.  I guess the best way that this can be explained is Romans 12:1-2, "Therefore, I urge you brethren, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.  This is your spiritual act of worship, and do not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you can proof the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God."