Miniature Eden

We are members of a broken world. It has always been broken, and it always will be. Take the events that took place on Friday in Newtown, CT. Many innocent children as well as men and women lost their lives at a date and time when they least expected it. We, as a country, are mourning for these people and many are throwing out ideas about gun control as ways to prevent events like this from happening again. But here is the reality, and I want you to understand this: It will happen again. As much as we try to interfere, we cannot prevent others' sins. Tonight at service, our pastor explained how we must always remember that

Man cannot solve what is wrong with man. 

It's impossible. How can imperfection solve imperfection? How can sin and hate estinguish hate and sin? Our hearts are hardened and made of stone. That's what the Bible describes a Godless heart as: stoney. 

But the great news is that we have the oportunity to be given new hearts. God offers us Divine surgery in which He willingly gives us a whole new heart. Take Ezekiel 11:19-- 

"And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their bodies and give them a heart of flesh."

When you accept Christ, he transforms you. Your heart is now tender, awake, sealed with Divine empathy...it runs to the spiritually thirsty with open arms, and most of all it is ferocious in wanting more of Christ. 

But God doesn't only transform your heart...He also transforms your mind. In Luke 24:25, Jesus says that when you come to Him, your mind is awakened. 

You can't truly pursue Christ unless your mind and heart are new. There are so many people who call themselves Christians, but in reality, don't know anything about Christianity. There are so many people who collect Bible verses and can recite the Bible backwards and forewards, but they do not know God. 

The new heart God gives us is extremely powerful. It WANTS to go into the dark places of the world in order to give light. It gives us the compassion we need in order to be true disciples. This new heart is a miniature Eden for those who are lost. It's the glimpse of God that others see when you preach to them. It is what draws others to Him. 

Is your heart made of flesh? Or, more importantly, have you invited God to transform it? He is willing to if you would only accept. 

Song: "Forever Reign" by Hillsong

Shoutout to my best friend Caroline! Having to take finals while being sick..... Good luck babe! :* 

Not A Fan

What if someone told you that they were not a fan of God?

I remember driving home one day with my mom Freshman year. Every day, we passed by a church that has one of those small billboard things that talk about upcoming events or a random Bible verse. What really caught my eye one day was that it said "We are not fans of Jesus".
Obviously, this stood out to me, and I found out later that that was the whole purpose.

I ended up Googling "Not A Fan" because I figured it had to have some sort of meaning other than that they were a church that didn't like Jesus because obviously that doesn't make any sense whatsoever. I ended up finding out that Not A Fan is actually a movement. They have videos, online stories from the "Non-Fans", and a book. So.....I bought the book.

It opened up with the definition of a fan: an enthusiastic devotee, follower, or admirer of a sport, pastime,celebrity, etc. A fan is someone who goes to every football game to support the Cowboys. A fan is someone who wears a lot of Cowboys t-shirts, has a Cowboys bumper sticker, and dresses their baby in a mini Cowboys cheer uniform. A fan is someone who really really likes it when the Cowboys win. But what do they do when the Cowboys lose every game of the season or if he or she moves to a different city? Are they still going to support the Cowboys? Chances are, they probably won't. 
When I was in middle school, I was obsessed with the Jonas Brothers. Obsessed. Like, it was really weird. I had all of their albums, went to 2 of their concerts in a span of 3 months, and had a lot of giant posters on my wall. But, needless to say, the Jo Bros have gone out of style. And, as in madly in love as I was with Nick Jonas, I'm not anymore. 

Are you seeing a pattern here? A fan is someone who is 100% devoted when things are going great, but their passion fades when their object of adoration is forgotten or unliked. 

The book went on to explain that the majority of people who claim to be Christians aren't really completely devoted followers, but just fans. The fine line between fandom and devotion can appear blurry on the outside, but God is never fooled. He knows where you place Him in your heart. 

Matthew 7:21-23: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’  And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’"

So many people who think they love God, don't see that they're actually just fans. They profess with their mouths that Christ is their savior, but they fail to live out their faith.

Maybe fans just want to get to heaven....or maybe they want to seem like a devoted Christian. Either way, they don't truly love the Lord.

A completely devoted follower is one who loves God more than anything. Their life truly proves their faith. A true follower is told constantly that they don't need to "take this whole God thing this far..." One of my favorite quotes made me thing for a while about what category I could possibly fall under:

"The critical question for our generation--and for every generation--is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there?"

I sincerely hope that you think long and hard about which category you would fall under: fan or completely devoted follower. Your decision makes a difference of eternity.

P.S. Faith Noah- you've had my Not A Fan book for over a month so I hope you've read it by now ;)

Matthew 6:19-21

I don't know about you, but my motivation comes in waves. One moment I will feel driven to finish everything school-related with the goal of getting an A, but the next I'll just sit there and think, "What good is this going towards?"

We're taught that certain things are important: grades, manners, healthy eating habits, how we dress, who we hang out with... Everyone tells us that each of these things are what we should focus on the most, especially grades. But think for a moment: when it's just you and Jesus standing face-to-face, what will you have done in this life that He will be sincerely proud of?

There is so much that we have put on such high pedestals. We lose track of the fact that none of these accomplishments will go with us to heaven. 

Sure, great grades are important. We all need to focus on getting into good colleges. But who said we needed to dedicate 100% of our being towards it? I know most of us don't always work on getting that A, but I know that my fellow procrastinators are always thinking in the back of our minds: "I have so much to do and I need to do them all perfectly."

Why do earthly things need to be perfect? Whose approval are we trying to gain? Your parents'? Your teacher's? Yours? 

None of the above offer pure joy and love. God did not create you to spend all of your time focused on grades, self-image, and being well-liked. He created you to love. All of the stress in your mind disables you of loving.

Take a moment to think of all of the distractions in your life. Now take another moment to consider all of the distractions that you put on a pedestal. Will these things affect the good you do for others or for God?

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." 
--Matthew 6:19-21