Author: Heather Lea Campbell

Give Me Your Eyes

christianity, music, sin

Sometimes I hate that I’m so transparent with my readers, because a post like I’m about to write is one of those where I’m DYING to share with people, but at the same time am afraid that people will just laugh at me.  I don’t mind the laughs (I laugh at myself all the time), yet I hope that some conversation and contemplation will spark.

This last week, I have been overly emotional.  I know this is due to a LOT of things, including spending time with my family last week, reading a book recreationally for the first time in a LONG time, just being a woman with hormones, and my cat dying last night.

Every time I see someone hurting, even when it’s supposed to be “funny”, I hurt inside.  I turned on Maury the other day, which I haven’t seen since middle school.  It was showing the top 10 guests of 2010, and every single story broke my heart.  Baby daddy drama, people cheating on each other, best friends stabbing each other in the back; I couldn’t take it all!  So I started bawling like a baby!  Friends would talk to me about the hurts they were going through, and the tears just started jerking!  I couldn’t watch the ASPCA commercials with all the animals needing to be adopted, because it hurt me to see them hurting.

Now, I’m not having an emotional breakdown (yet).  I think that it’s due to my increasing sensitivity of pop culture and how it glamorizes sin and hurt.  I don’t find a lot of things funny anymore.  I really don’t enjoy movies that curse every few seconds.  It hurts me when I see children cursing on television or Youtube, and parents think it’s funny.  I just find a lot of things unnatractive.

My challenge to you is to think about things that you have been desensitized to, and really just cry out to God to make those known to you.  Pray that you can have a heart for the things God has a heart for.  I hope that this week of increased emotions lasts and stays with me, even if that means that I do a whole lot more crying (FYI, I’m not much of a crier).

Here is one of my favorite songs, just for good measure ;)

Reflections of 2010

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January–I opened this blog. I had blogs before, but I vowed to be consistent with this one!  My 20th birthday was in January, which I spent alone.  I took a Pre-Marital counseling class during Jan-Term, got to strengthen my relationship with a few people, and also got to see the true character of a particular person. I ended a friendship with a manipulative person, who still finds ways to make me miserable.  I got to spend a lot of time by myself, which is actually a good thing. I got a lot of time to think!

February–A pretty chill month. Don’t think I learned any major lessons, didn’t really do much.  I don’t get all weird-obsessed over Valentine’s Day, so it was just a normal, apathetic month!  There was a dance for all us “single” people at a friend’s house, and I loved it!!  My closest girls and I went to Olive Garden, which was also pretty hilarious.

March–This was probably the hardest month of the year.  I had a fight with my mom and didn’t talk to her throughout this month, my grandpa was in and out of the hospital and began to die, one of my roommates attempted suicide, I had to quit my job because of my boss, I began having terrible migraines, I was stood up during spring break by my best friend, I had a fight with my mentor, applied for RA which I thought I was going to get with all my heart and then didn’t, my Facebook page for my business was deleted, and a woman moved in with my father. All in the same month! Actually, most of this was in the first two weeks! I had a lot of blows to the face, and throughout it all kind of just trusted that it would all pass.  I also had the opportunity to do a DNow–something I didn’t really want to do but in the end blessed me.

April—SoulForce came and changed my life.  I don’t feel like re-capping that whole experience, so you can click the link.  I was dealing with the repercussions of everything that went on in March, so it was a month of dealing and learning.
May–My grandpa died, and the whole experience was tough.  I finished the end of my sophomore year, and had a smoothie party to celebrate!  I also had a huge fight with my home pastor, who was preaching heresy and I was convicted to approach him and talk with him about his lack of presenting scripture.  He told me that if I wanted more scripture in my sermons, to find another church. So I vowed not to go back.  Very hard decision, considering I had gone there for 13 years (and saw it go through a lot of things and stood by it).
June-August–I grouped these together because I did one thing: Intern.  I interned at an amazing church where I got to really see a large community after God’s heart.  I worked with some amazing girls that were eager to have me in their life, as well as a few girls who decided before they ever met me to not like me, and spread their dislike to other girls.  With girls, there’s always drama, but there’s always those moments of fun and of serious conversations that I will never trade for anything.  I learned a lot about myself and got to understand a little more what ministry is about.  God showed to me how faithful he is to me, even when I have nothing to bring to our relationship.  I got to go to Tennessee and Kentucky, adding two more states to my very short list of states I’ve gone to.  I also go to go to a Cardinals @ Royals game in KC! And alas, I started school again, armed with knowledge and NOT the desire to learn.  I learned that I was beautiful too :)


September–After a summer of full-time minstry, I found it impossible to just get back into the normal school schedule.  A group of friends and I were all very bummed, because we just spent the summer doing nothing by serving God, and now we had to go back to school.  I was determined not to let myself just sit there, so I began applying at different churches and scored a position at the church I now serve at as Youth Minister! Crazy.
October–I started ministry here.  It was a month of learning to adjust, getting my socks blessed off, but learning SO much.  I began to become genuinely happy.  Honestly.  Nothing has ever fulfilled me so much than working with youth. :)  I also didn’t trick-or-treat for the first time in my life! Which is crazy because I LOVE Halloween.  My costume was a Campbell soup can! :)
November–Bowling, Hand Turkeys, SO MUCH! There was just so much going on.  A good friend of mine from high school died a very tragic death, and that was really difficult to see. I blogged a LOT that much, because I was consistently learning new lessons.  I think that I was really vulnerable with my readers that month.
December–I was overwhelmed, but I had a great month! I had a lot of parties going on that I had to plan or attend.  I got to plan a Christmas program for the youth, which turned out good!  I went home and learned that it wasn’t my home anymore.  Christmas was the worst yet, but I’m okay about it.  It’s weird, really.  I learned a lot of lessons this month, and I’m still learning.  And at night on Dec. 31st, I found out the cat that I’ve had for 10 years passed away. This hit me hard; he was seriously my bestest friend and only friend for a long time! So I’m now dealing with that.
What does 2011 have in store for me?
Well, I turn 21!  So that will be a challenge in itself.  I will be planning a lot of things for my youth.  I will be beginning a new job in the game room.  I will be having my own room in a house with 4 other girls!  I am going to eat healthier, now that I don’t rely on a cafeteria.  Do I have an resolutions? Not really.  But I want to vow to let God use me in whatever way possible, and not to hinder it. (As I type that, I’m realizing that what that may entail, I may not like and that scares me).  I really just want to grow.  2010 was a year of extreme growth for me, as I learned a lot of truths about who I am.  I want next year to be even crazier, I want to learn even more.  And if that means that I have to go through a lot of junk in the process, I am okay with that.

Joe’s Story

christmas
I generally like it when pastors put a spin on Christmas, and this year I found to love the theme.  Joseph–the guy who was told that his “virgin” wife was pregnant, and kept getting bossed around by angels to go places.  A guy who really had to trust in God and in God’s plans.
I love that God always finds a way to shake me and speak to me, and this Christmas was no different.  I was really struggling with a particular decision, and God made it clear to me what I have to do.  I listened to two sermons on Joseph the two last Sundays (different churches), that got me thinking about Joseph.  Here was this guy who was engaged to a woman who became pregnant, not by his doing.  You can see that he already had a worthy character, as he planned on divorcing Mary privately as to not disgrace her and get her stoned.  So right off the bat, we have a guy who is noble and Godly.  Then, an angel appears to him and tells him to get married anyway!  So does he argue it? No! He woke up and did what the angel said to do.  Then, after the baby is born, an angel appears again to Joe and says, “Herod’s trying to kill all the babies! Leave and go to Egypt!” So what does Joe do?  He got up!  Then later on, an Angel appears AGAIN  and tells him to return to Israel.  And Joseph goes.  He doesn’t argue, he doesn’t fuss at the angel or try to negotiate with it, he just goes.
Joseph is a man who does what God tells him to do without arguing.  He just “gets up” and does it!  I started reading “Radical” by David Platt, and I feel extremely convicted that when Christ called his disciples, he called them to do radical things, like leave whatever they were doing and follow Him (there will be a much more extended post as soon as I finish this book, trust me).  I don’t think we do that.  We rationalize, try to bargain with God to let us finish what we are doing, and THEN follow him (and not even the right way!).  But even when Christ was born, his earthly father had to leave everything he was doing in order to follow God and let the Messiah be born.  Crazy Amazing.  I think that the story of Joesph also shows us that God knew what he was doing when giving Jesus Christ an amazing earthly father!  I think there is a lot that we can take from Joseph and apply to our lives–trusting in God’s plan and following him at whatever cost it takes.
It’s funny because after I heard the first sermon on Joesph, I kind of brushed it off.  Then I started reading “Radical” and was convicted of a certain thing that I have to drop in order to follow Christ.  I didn’t drop it.  Then I heard the second sermon on Joseph at a completely different church!  I am now convinced!  At least I just heard a sermon and wasn’t swallowed by a whale in order to get a hold of :)
Also, another random side note…I heard this week something amazing:  Jesus died on the cross at 33-that is 33 years that he had to wait to die, knowing that he would have to do it.  33 years! It makes things that I am waiting for seem much less dramatic.

The Purpose

youth ministry

I just wanted to reiterate the purpose of this blog.  The other day at lunch  one of my friends asked what a blog was.  Well, it’s anything you want it to be.  Some people use it to help get business for a company, so use it to rant about people they don’t like, some use it to connect to others about sports or cooking, etc.

So why do *I* blog?  I blog lessons that I am learning.  I blog because I want people to know what’s going on in my life.  I blog because I have to sort out all the things that I am learning, and share them with people.  I blog because I like to talk.  I blog because I like to teach.  I blog because I feel like God wants me to share particular things with people.  I blog to get things off my chest.  I blog because I am vulnerable.  I blog because I want people to share in my imperfections.  I blog because I love to.

I’ve been contemplating one thing in particular that has taken over my thoughts the last month…Since I am a legit youth minister now (still weird to say), I have been thinking about the example I want my youth to follow.  When I listen to music, or watch a television show, or speak, I think to myself, “Is this the way I want my youth to behave?”  If not, then I reform it.  It’s quite interesting to me, and I’m realizing that I still don’t have all my cookies in the jar (I think I just made that analogy up).  I’ve been thinking about the people I hang out with, and all sorts of stuff.  I think I’m going to start a fast from secular music soon, just to see the way it impacts me (not because I think it’s sinful…and this is kind of an aside).

I don’t think that I am a terrible person by the world’s standards, and I think that God would even say that I’m a young woman after His heart.  However, there is still sin in my life, and although there always will be, I don’t want to cause anybody else to stumble…ESPECIALLY my youth.  They are the most important people in my life, and my God-given purpose is to train them up in righteousness.  So there are things in my life that I’m going to have to get rid of in order to train them up.  This is going to be hard for me because I’m realizing that I’m still very much impacted by the “secular world.”

Besides my youth, I know a LOT of people who don’t know Christ… a LOT.  And I know a lot of people who have been trapped by legalism, telling them that they have to do certain things in order to be a Christian, and live the most perfect life or they’re not “Christlike”.  If you believe this, please go read Romans.  We are freed from the grips of sin and the grips of legalism.  However, if we want to lead people to Christ, we should probably try our hardest to live like Him, or our testimony could wither and our ministry hindered.  So even things that I don’t see as a “big deal”, I want to try to correct in my life, because someone else probably does see them as a big deal.  And if I want to reach them, maybe I should get rid of this.

I ask that anybody who is reading this pray for me.  I really want to impact the next generation, that is my specific calling.  So I’m going to really have to reform some things in my life.

This whole thing makes me think of 2 passages:

“Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.” James 3:1

“But not everyone possesses this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food they think of it as having been sacrificed to a god, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.

 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 1For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols?  So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.”  1 Corinthians 8:7-13

Sorry for the randomness, guys.  This is my heart today.

Facebook Speaks Up!

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Today in my last class of the semester, a guest lecturer came and talked to us about our resumes and job interviews, and things of that sort.  She started a little bit about the impact our Facebook page has in that kind of thing.  So I started thinking, what does my Facebook page say about me?  What does your page say about you?  What kinds of things do you want it to say about you?

Here are a few pointers she gave (and that I am adding through my “expertise”) to help clean up your Facebook page and clear your name!

  • If you are tagged in a photo that is provocative or sexual, untag it.  Better yet, if you are tagged in a photo, people can typically view the rest of the pictures in that album too. If there is anything in the entire album that can be misconstrued, untag yourself from the album itself.  Or go to your settings and block people you are concerned about seeing it from seeing photos you are tagged it.
  • Remove friends that could ruin your image.  If there is someone who posts on your wall and curses, talks about some party you went to, etc., then you have a few options: (1) Tell them to not post in that tone or talk about that bad thing you did on your wall. (2) Delete them as a friend. (3) Go to your settings and make it so that they can’t post on your wall period. (4) Go to your settings and make it so that the people you are concerned about reading it can’t read posts by other friends on your wall. This setting doesn’t prevent them from seeing their comments on your statuses.  (5) Block posts from friends on your wall. (6) Block your wall completely so that you basically don’t even have one.  I just deleted 300 friends recently, and many were for this reason.  I got in trouble once with a parent of a church because someone posted a joke about Viagra on my page.  I thought the joke was hilarious, but it hurt my rapport with the parent and that summer interning was miserable afterwards.
  • Remove pages you are a “fan” of that could hurt too. If that means music that could hurt your reputation, that might mean you have to delete it. Use discretion.  This goes for groups too. If I click on a group and there’s a bunch of cursing on it, I might think poorly of you.
  • What are your quotes listed?  Are any of them suggestive? They might be funny to you, but it won’t be funny when you get in trouble for them.
  • If you are really that worried about your page, make it so that no one can view anything on your page–pictures, posts, interests, etc. Then your page serves as a place where people can message you, like email, and where you can stalk other people.
Facebook seriously tells a lot about you.  People are watching, trust me ;)  Don’t think for a minute that by blocking everything, that an employer, professor, or someone else can’t still see anything. There are ways to get information off your page.  Also, go ahead and Google your name and see what you come up with.

Great is Thy Faithfulness

faithfulness, god, testimony

I had a rough day, so I need to remind myself of all of the things that God has specifically done for me as an individual to exhibit his Great Faithfulness.

God showed his grace to my sister, and she is now a passionate follower…and sometimes gives me great wisdom :)

When I prayed for an internship, he gave me one that rocked my world, changed my life, and affirmed my passion in ministry.

When I prayed for Christian fellowship while home in STL, it was granted in ways I never expected. I found new friendships and strengthened old ones.

I asked for more Christian brothers. And I now have a plethora, and that list grows seriously daily.

I begged God to send me Christian women. Through my internship, I met some wonderful women who constantly bless my life.

God sent a few people recently who revealed that I had blessed their Christian walks when I was young. Like, real young. One remembered my name from meeting me when I was 12 and contacted me.  Another was a Sunday School teacher.  God showed me how I have developed since. Amazing :)

God granted my prayer and has sent me some truth-tellers who tell me like it is. I can now reform.

God always provided when my parents couldn’t.

After my internship, I asked, “Now what?”  And God showed me what I desired most, and then gave it to me. I am a youth minister now. Still weird to say out loud.

When I was mad at God for not letting me be an RA this year, he showed me that’s not what I really wanted. I desired true discipleship, and there were much greater ways for me to do that.  Then he gave me this amazing discipleship group that I get to hang out with. And they like listening to me talk. whoa, God is crazy good :)

God gave me the most amazing rainbow of my life in the middle of a time where I was distressed.

For years and years and years I begged God to help me get rid of my depression.  I read a chapter of a book (and i don’t EVER read, unfortunately) and almost overnight I was better.

Every time I’ve ever prayed for a job, I’ve gotten one.

I’ve prayed away heartaches, headaches, hunger, and lack of heat. God always provides.

I get comments on my blogs sometimes. Always a prayer answered, that maybe something I have said resonates with someone besides myself :)

Confrontation

bible, christianity

Confrontation. A dreaded word for most. It’s uncomfortable, it’s awkward, and most think it’s unneeded. Our culture makes it seem that if someone approaches you and expresses discontent with you, that makes them a “b-word” or rude. People get easily offended, and often lash out on the person who is “offending” them. So what do people do instead of confront problems with another? They talk about the person behind their back. They bottle up all of their anger. They physically harm the person, or get revenge in a social way. Ellie Wiesel, a famous Holocaust survivor, once said, “Violence is a language. When language fails, violence becomes the language.” This means that when people can’t find the words to express emotions, they turn to something else. So instead of confronting each other, we harm each other, whether it is emotionally, physically, or socially.

Is this healthy? No! Psychologists are constantly saying that we need to confront our issues and talk them out. In family/marital/premarital counseling, the hardest part is getting the people fighting to communicate their emotions and discontent in things that the other person is doing. People just don’t understand how to communicate anymore, and maybe that’s becuase of technologies like texting and social networking that make communication “easier” and less confrontational. One of my favorite quotes is, “The more means of communication we have, the less we communicate (what we mean).” It’s so much easier to confront someone on Facebook than to go to them in real life and express an issue in words.

What does the Bible say?

Before you come to God, make sure you are right with others.
· Leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Matthew 5:24

Do not sin out of anger…pray about it. 

· Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger…Ephesians 4:26

Ask, what have I done in this situation? Have I sinned?  What is the problem here?
· What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this,that your passions are at war within you? James 4:1-6
· You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. Matthew 7:5

Confront in a calm and respectful tone…don’t get too emotional!
· A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1
· “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. Matthew 18:15
· Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. Ephesians 4:15-16 ESV

Forgive! You have been forgiven for much worse.
· Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Colossians 3:13
· Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. James 5:16
· Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:31-32

If they don’t react well, then move on. Treat them like a brother.  
· “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Romans 12:20

· “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Matthew 5:9 


If it’s serious, get others involved.·
But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Matthew 18:16-17

I used to react terribly towards problems and confrontation.  I grew up in an environment where if you had beef with someone, you fought them.  But that is not correct.  Some people gossip about the person behind their back. Again, not right.  The Biblical method is talking with a person about your discontent and maturely resolving the issue together.  This is hard, I know!  Many people are not raised to do this!  I encourage everyone reading this to grow and learn how to approach problems in a healthy, Biblical way.  And remember, if someone is confronting you with an issue, they don’t hate you! They desire to mend the relationship with you.  And if you desire to mend the relationship with your brothers and sisters, you had better learn how to maturely and effectively confront.

My Identity: Affirmation

christianity, identity, testimony
(PS, 50TH BLOG POST! :D)

If you knew who I was before this summer and compared it to me now, you would recognize that I am a completely different person.  Really, I have been constantly reforming my life and personality since my senior year of high school.  The difference this time is, I am truly happy and I credit that to the discovery of who I am.

Freshman year of college, I took a class called Spiritual Formations, and in that class we talked a lot about identity.  This is something that I have been constantly hearing and contemplating on—what am I putting my identity in?  I generally figured that I hadn’t been putting it in Christ.  Well, I have finally realized what I put my identity in.
I put my identity in affirmation from others.  I always have.  Affirmation, for me, comes in forms of attention, gifts, time, and more.  I find that whatever we put our identity in, we become irrational about the subject.  So if a few people couldn’t come to my birthday party because they had the flu, I would decide that they hated me and that I was a piece of crap.  If someone wouldn’t text me back, it’s because they didn’t feel I was important enough to contact.  If someone who called me their close friend didn’t invite me to every single thing they did, it was because they didn’t want to hang out with me.  For some reading this, this might sound irrational and crazy.  To others of you, this is your reality.
I’ve never felt “loved”, not by the world’s standards of love at least.  I was never the most popular or the first pick for anything.  I never felt the kind of love I felt I should get (or honestly deserved to get) from my parents, my friends, or anyone.  So I would whore myself out to get love.  I would put myself at the center of attention to feel affirmed.  Whether it was putting myself into inappropriate positions with boys, fighting hard to become the leader of an organization, or having a temper tantrum to get my parents to notice me, I tried to grant myself love and affirmation.
The thing is, I didn’t have to fight.  I knew where to find love all along.  That’s what drew me to church when I was five.  I realized that just recently.  The one place where I feel loved and affirmed is in my Lord’s arms.  The reason why I’ve been so genuinely happy lately is because my identity and purpose are both finally being fulfilled in my work through the church (that’ll probably be another blogpost, haha).  I finally feel like I mean something to the world, because the Lord is constantly affirming my calling and using people to affirm it too.
Affirmation is a wonderful thing, and I find that I am getting affirmed constantly and more so than when I was seeking it myself.  However, this kind of affirmation is different.  It’s a genuine kind of affirmation that I don’t have to ask for.  When people affirm my beauty, it’s not because I had to dress a certain way to gain it.  When people affirm my work, it’s because I’m working for the Lord and not for myself.  My identity is in the Lord, and any affirmation I gain is because of that identity.  So it really proves to me that my identity is finally in the right place.  I don’t need to whore myself to the world for affirmation.  I sold my life so that I might truly gain it.

Faith ♥

christianity, faith
Now for one of my absolute faaaaaaaavorite topics, faith.
((Lately in church, the pastor has been preaching out of James on the passage about Faith and Works.  This happens to be one of my most absolute favorite verses.  My friend Brandi also talked about this idea a bit in chapel last week, and I had a fabulous conversation with her before she spoke and amazing conversations with people following her “sermon.”  This summer, I faced the difficulty in teaching the idea of faith and works, because it’s a hard thing to teach without sounding legalistic.  So I feel like it’s about time for me to write about it!))
So I’ll begin :)

Faith without works is dead.  What does that mean?  It means that you cannot have a true, saving faith without repercussions afterwards.  Salvation is more than just praying a prayer; it has to have after-effects.  Think about a marriage—they make a promise, sign a piece of paper, and go on with their life living the same way, right?  NO!  Every day when they wake up, they renew their commitment and strive to please their spouse.  A relationship with Christ is the same way.  You make a commitment to a relationship with Him, and this love for Him should radically change your life daily.  I believe very deeply that it is impossible to get into heaven without a transformation in your life, even if you “pray the prayer” and “ask Jesus into your life.”

Am I being harsh?  Some might think so.  Let’s examine the word “faith”, though!  The word faith in Greek is pistis.  The word in itself means “an active, working faith.”  It is used hundreds of time in the Bible, and if you took a look to examine each of these times, usually you will see that in the context of the passage around it there are actions supplementing the faith.  I think that some people mistake “faith” and “believing.”  James says, “Even the demons believe, and they shudder.”  Does believing in God get you to heaven?  No.  Faith does.  What’s the difference between faith and believing?  The action put into faith.  Faith then, by its definition here, “is an active belief.”  If you take away the actions or works from faith, all you get is “belief”, and belief gets you nowhere in eternity.  When looking at the two words behind “faith” and believe” in Greek, the difference is the conviction behind “faith”, and the actions put into it and not into “believe”.  Faith without works is dead, not only in the fact that it is no longer death, but it doesn’t bring you Eternal Life.
In our modern Christian attempt to draw more people to Christ and show that Christianity is not about legalism, I think that we have produced an apathetic Christianity.  Christians are too comfortable in their lives and aren’t doing anything about their beliefs.  (Listen to Lecrae’s “Send Me!”) I think this is incredibly sad!  When Jesus called his disciples, what did He say?  GET UP and FOLLOW ME.  He didn’t say, “Just, um, believe that I exist and we’re good!”  They believed in Him, but by their actions they gained true faith.
Let me be clear here, you do not obtain salvation through actions.  You obtain salvation through faith.  Faith is an active, working belief, meaning you believe in it and thus are driven to do something about it.  Example:  I believe that my bed does not have snakes in it.  To have faith in it would mean that I would actually get in the bed.  We believe in God, but to have faith in Him would be to follow his commands and to live out his promises.

So how do we have an active, working belief—Faith?  First of all, following His commands.  We are commanded to Love God with everything we got, and to love our neighbors as ourselves.  This is the summary, to me, of living out faith.  James talks about how true religion is helping out the orphans and widows, and if we see anybody in need to help them in a physical and tangible way.  I think tithing is a good way to act out your faith in God and His church; it shows that you trust in the church the same way I trust in my snakeless bed.  Evangelizing, spreading the Gospel, is an amazing way of spreading your faith by living out God’s commands of making disciples.  Discipling a younger believer, getting involved in choir, attending a camp or retreat; these are all good ways of acting out faith.  Making war with sin and trying to overcome temptation is necessary.  The great thing about living out faith is that there is not “cookie-cutter” way of doing it, which eliminates legalism.  Each person has their own special gift; make sure to use it when you live out your faith.

The bottom line is, if you believe in Jesus Christ and call Him your Lord and Savior, that HAS to have an effect on your life…it has HAD to have moved you!

I hope I have done this topic justice.  Please read James 2, Hebrews 11, and Romans.  And then go do something about what you believe in.

Glad I didn’t miss chapel…

college, god, identity, love

Today God really reminded me of how much he loves me.  His love for me is extravagant and just more that I can ever imagine.  His love is more intimate than any other friend’s love for me.  I don’t even choose to be loved by Him, He loves me no matter what.  His love is amazing, and stronger than any other love I have ever known.  It’s overwhelming and enticing.  It’s irresistible.  It’s grace-filled.  It’s mighty.  It covers all of my sin and is greater than all the “good” things I have done put altogether.  It’s not contingent on what others think of me.  It is not dependent on any other factor than God’s mercy.  It’s just…God.  God IS love.