It always confuses me when people dislike others just because they're bold in their faith. I understand that people get annoyed when others throw every fact they know about the Gospel and how important it is to be saved in their faces. But does that really mean every Christian is like that? Definitely not.
Here's the thing though: Christians are supposed to be bold.
You have 2 jobs as a disciple:
- To worship and glorify God
- To bring others closer to Him
You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. --Matthew 5:14
A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Jesus is making it so clear that as a Christian, you will stand out. You are different from everyone else.
One time a friend flat-out said to me, "I don't like Christian. I just don't do the whole Christian thing. Christians are so annoying."
Ok, I'm hardly ever speechless, but when I heard those words come out of her mouth, I honestly had no idea what to say.
The more I think about it, the more I realize how many people are turned off by Christians. It bothers me to no end, but then again, you have to view it from both sides. We view them as ignorant and judgmental people, but they see us as just plain judgmental.
Do you consider yourself a bold Christian? If so, admit it: you've judged someone for doing things wrong or having a little too much fun at a party. I'll be first to admit that I do all the time.
Who are we to judge? What effect does our judgement have on that person? Only God is righteous enough to judge them and how they live their lives. Only God's judgement matters, ours does not. We fail every day, we are all sinners. Just because we proclaim our love for Jesus does not, by any means, give us a license to judge.
Think of the impression that gives my friend on Christianity. It seems pretty unwelcoming and scary if someone judges everything you do, right?
It is our job to show them what God's love is truly about, but we must go about it in appropriate ways. I truly believe with all of my heart that each person comes to Christ differently and we must find that door and lead them through it.
If you want to be a bold Christian, do it with intentions of love and humility.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
It's More Personal Than You Think
"I love God a lot, but I don't have time to worship Him or anything. I guess I'm always just too busy."
I hear these words so much when people ask me for God advice. My answer is always that worship doesn't have to be as official as you think it does. You don't have to be in a church, with your youth group, or at summer camp to worship a God who is grateful for your praise always.
I don't have one specific way of worshipping, either. I don't think anyone does. If we did the same things all the time, we'd forget their meanings and just go through the motions.
You feel this too--I know you do. I do. Don't you ever just sit in church and think, "This is so boring....get me out of here....I'd rather be sleeping"? WE ALL DO. Every single one of us has probably felt that way multiple times, I know I have (hey, I'm not gonna lie about it!). But great news: there are other ways to spend time with God.
God loves our attention. Hey, if I created the universe, I'd love recognition too! But He also loves it because we're taking time to think about Him. When I hear "worship", I automatically think "spending time with God". They're synonyms.
When I interviewed for my job at Sky Ranch Christian Camps last year, they asked me what my favorite way to worship God was. I thought about it for a moment. What was my favorite way? I had done a lot, but my favorite was just simply having a conversation about Jesus. Seriously: that's not only my favorite way to worship, but my favorite thing to do ever. Wanna get to know me? Just say "Hey...you like Jesus, right?" and we can talk for 3 hours. Is this worship? YES!!!!! The question is, how is it not? You're spending time with God and diving deeper into His love. The best part about it is that you're sharing what you know about His word to other people and you're getting insight on what others feel, too.
Another thing I do (okay, I try to keep up with it, I really do) is prayer journaling. Working on books of the Bible, dissecting verses, writing to God...you get more out of it when you write it out. It's a slower and more thoughtful way. You have time to digest everything as you fill those pages with ink.
Music. Alright, this is a runner-up to conversing. Did you know that they're such a thing as Christian music? Okay, well if you did, did you know that if comes in literally every genre imaginable? Some people are so opposed to it. Why? It's literally just a normal song you'd hear on the radio...just with better lyrics. I try to listen to it in the morning when I wake up so that I can start my day of right before I go to school. My favorite Christian music is worship music, though. At night, I blast it in my car and those are some of the most prayerful moments I have.
Check out some of these worship songs...I know a million but these are the ones that truly leave me in awe of what a powerful God we serve.
"Cannons" by Phil Wickham http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_GNVWAo1pY
"After All (Holy)" by The David Crowder Band http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXElUPuIDTw
"Overcome" by Jeremy Camp http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqXZD_z3eCc
"You're Beautiful" by Phil Wickham http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zg4cYdP1ngw
"How He Loves" by The David Crowder Band http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCunuL58odQ
Invisible Tattoos
The title of my blog is Invisible Tattoos, and I guess I should explain why.
I have a lot of scars. Some are physical but most are emotional. Either way, they're all part of my story.
At the beginning of my story, I had only tattoos. Ok, no, they aren't literal tattoos. "Tattoos" are what I consider to be wonderful memories and milestones about my journey in Christ. Tattoos are voluntary. They're picked out carefully and are usually made in memory of something remarkable... a loved one, a special date, a piece of scripture..... They never come off and we know that: that's one of the reasons we get them!
I received my first tattoo in June of 2009 when I accepted Christ for the first time.
I received my second when God gave me a glimpse of my calling in 2010.
I received my third in 2011 when I preached in front of 200 people for the first time.
All of these moments were so special to me and I always considered them to be part of my "peak" as a Christian.
I considered myself an awesome Christian for a long time and was always happy with whatever God threw at me. The only thing was that everything God was throwing at me was positive.
My sophomore year, things became negative. I went through my first heartbreak, for one. But I was also bullied. The two things together took such a toll on me that I spiraled and lost grip on everything I had held onto so tightly before: including my passion for God.
Now there is a lot to this story that I'm not going to post on my blog, but the most important thing was that I got better.
January through June of 2012 were the hardest months of my life and I would never choose to go back and relive those days, but I am so happy they happened.
Those days were scars in my mind. Everything bad that could've happened did and I reached rock bottom. I considered myself a bad Christian back then. But looking back, those moments aren't scars to me anymore. They are tattoos. Those hard times molded me into the person I am today and, to me, make the most beautiful tattoos.
That's how I got the name Invisible Tattoos. I hope to use this blog as a way to share with you what God has proven and taught me. Part of my calling is ministry, and I hope my words minister to you all.
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| Sitting in the spot where I accepted Christ for the first time and received my calling...my 1st and 2nd tattoos |
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