What is the Point?

So let me start by apologizing for any illogical flows of ideas...I just want to say that I write these things as they come to mind. My posts may be written poorly sometimes but I hope it doesn't take away from what I 'm really trying to say. I do pour myself and my heart into what I write, please keep that in mind as I share my feelings with you.

Anyways, I've been thinking a lot lately about this particular question. And so to begin I will ask that question again...what is the point? What is the point of life if it's just going to end? What is the point of getting up in the morning if I'm just going to go to sleep? What is the point in eating when I'm just going to go hungry ? Do you ever find yourself asking these very same questions? Sometimes, after leading worship at my youth group with my 2 best friends Jesse and Ben...I ask myself what is the point of this if no one really listens to what we sing? After, much thought and prayer I have much to say.

First of all, when you think about it...there is a reason for every little thing in life. For example, you brushed your teeth this morning to avoid another dentist visit (or maybe you just like clean teeth). You woke up this morning because you have things to do (hopefully). You go to bed because you need rest in order to get the things you need to do, done. But, you live to make a statement.

The statement you choose to make depends solely on you. God made you to make a statement for Him but you don't have to do that, there are not very pleasant consequences that accompany this decision if you choose it, but there still is, undoubtedly, a choice. There are only 2 choices that you can make..

1) Make His statement

2) Make your own statement

Let's explore option 2...now if you're a normal Christian, I'm sure you've already done this but for the sake of this post, I'd like to explore what that means. Now, wanting to make your own statement is somewhat natural, seeing as how we seem to be selfish in our very nature. We are out for our own personal interests and goals first...if anything or anyone gets in the way of that, better watch out, cause it won't be pretty. We also want to be recognized for OUR own achievement. This means we want people to know that we are awesome (at least in our own heads). Since, we are out for our own goals and personal interests we will try to achieve those things by: working hard, cheating, stealing, lying, gossiping, crying, complaining, studying, discovering, ascertaining, entertaining, contemplating...you get the point, we will do anything to get it. And if we do get it, we want to be recognized for that achievement (20 gamer points for you), because WE did it and WE DIDN'T NEED ANYONE ELSE. We want to be self-reliant. We want to be self-sufficient. We want the glory and honor for ourselves. But if or when you achieve that goal, ask yourself...are you really happy that "YOU" did it all on your own? Are you really, truly, honestly, satisfied with yourself? If you are like most people, your answer would be NO. No, I am not happy that I did it all on my own. No, I am not truly and honestly satisfied with myself. In fact, I am unhappy. The satisfaction is fleeting. In the end, I am left alone with no happiness and no true direction. This is option 2 and after exploring this, which we all have, the question is asked...what is the point? Well, let me try and explain it with the first option.

The first option is the choice to make His statement. Now, let's get some questions out of the way before we get into what that means. First of all, why make His statement? He died for you and even when you were His enemy, when you spat in His face, when you turned your back...He still loved you enough to forgive and die for You, yes you. When do we make this statement? The time is now, there is no time to waste for time is already running out. Now the big question...How do you make His statement? Maintain a strong connection with Him constantly...you do that by always being in prayer and by reading His message to you (the Bible) daily. If you want to get to know the Author, you need to read His material. Submit to His PERFECT will and give up your own. You will only find your life when you lose it for His sake (no, it doesn't mean literally die). Now, you know the whys, the whens, and the hows, so now what? LIVE OUT LOUD. Make His statement, not always necessarily with what you say but what YOU DO. What you say and what you do should always agree, when they conflict...people start callin you a hypocrite and things like that....we don't want that. Avoid this by being the same wherever you go, it's quite easy when you always have Christ in mind, if you truly realize the depth of what it means for Him to die for you, you would want to make Him proud. This is option 1.

Bringing it all together, what is the difference? The difference lies in where your allegiance lies. The difference lies in your motives. The difference lies in your heart. The difference is you. Do you want to be heard? Or do you want Jesus Christ to be heard through you? The main difference is where you place the emphasis. If you place it upon yourself...you will end up disappointing yourself cause let's face it, you never do anything absolutely perfect (if you know me, that's hard for even me to swallow). You will never be good enough for yourself. There is no point to this choice because it disappoints, it leaves you well-short of satisfaction. The only choice left is making His statement. If you place the emphasis on Him, lives WILL inevitably change ,most importantly, your own life. This is where the nail is hammered into place...making His statement gives you PURPOSE! Your life has meaning...so no matter what you do, do it for Him. When you get up, it is because God has something planned for you that day. When you brush your teeth, it is because God wants you to impress that girl/guy with your amazing smile. When you go to sleep, it is because God wants you to rest. People, nothing you do on Earth is purposeless, it is all apart of His will. Don't get me wrong though, there are things that, if you do chase after, are meaningless (read Ecclesiastes or ask Jesse). But please, for the sake of Jesus Christ, if you are a child of His...when things don't go your way, don't give in. When someone you love dies, when a family member is diagnosed with an incurable disease, when you fail a test, when you break a bone, when nothing goes right...He is there to hold you close. Don't turn Him away. Pull Him close. Let Him mold you into the man/woman of God that He wants you to be. Jesus loves you. He has the plans, not you...His dying breath gave you life. Make His statement.

John 16:33- "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

True Worship

Well today began with me, waking up late...as usual. I get up and hurry to get ready for work while waiting to get picked up (considering I was supposed to be doing the "picking up"). Long story short I get picked up, I work 6 grueling hours with 2 of my best friends, we eat pizza together, then I go home to find out it's our family friend's birthday, so finally we go out to eat. After we all ate that grubalicious (oh yeah, that's my word) food my brother and I were encouraged to sing, considering that it was Christian karaoke night (woohoo!) So he played guitar while I sang along with Him and I must say, it was one of my favorite worship moments with God. We sang great songs such as How He Loves, Come Thou Fount, Who Am I, True Love, How Great is Our God, and O Praise Him. Wow, I just feel the presence of God flowing through my voice as I put my heart and mind where it should always be, with God alone.

I have found that when one gives themselves over to God completely, it is in that self-same moment that the person experiences what I call true worship. I define true worship as complete surrender of oneself in order to glorify the God above. This surrender can be achieved through just about anything you do.

1 Corinthians 10:31-"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."

So as I sang my heart out to God, I surrendered myself to Him and I realized how important that really is. I have observed that people will know whether you are being sincere or not, maybe not in a particular moment...but from your day to day life and attitude. They see how you treat your job, your family, your friends, and even how you treat your church family. If you are not the same person glorifying the same God in all those aspects, you will be criticized, and I believe, that there is something lacking from your walk with God. What you lack...now listen...is true worship. I believe if you are not the same person wherever you go, you are lacking complete surrender for the sole purpose of glorifying the God above.

People...if you are saved by the blood of Jesus Christ you are a new creation. No matter you do, do it for God's glory.

2 Corinthians 5:13-21-"¹³If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. ¹⁴For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. ¹⁵And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

¹⁶So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. ¹⁷Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! ¹⁸All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. ²¹God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

How He Loves

Well, today I got back from High Sierra Scholarship Camp and what a week it was. It was filled with emotion, learning, meeting new friends, reuniting with old ones, and just basking in the love of Christ. This week was literally saturated with the revealing of God to me and his undeniable, unfailing love. Words will never express the awesomeness and power of God.

Anyways, one of the most cool things about it was the people, as always. Having that many Christians in one place united for the same cause is just flat-out breathtaking. Almost everyone had the same mindset and heartset as you did, and that feeling...is indescribably incomparable to anything else I've ever experienced. I've been to mission trips and "mountain-top" trips before but never have I felt the presence of God amongst so many believers to this potency. The last night made this fact the most evident. Basically, on this night, all the high school campers would gather around the bonfire and talk about what God did in their lives during the week. After a few would give their testimonies, the worship team would come up and sing a song or two followed by more testimonials. One of these songs was one of my favorites...How He Loves. This song has so much emotion and heartache poured into it and you really feel it full blast. It gets you thinking about the true love of Christ and how unbelievably amazing it really is. It is unthinkable. It is incomparable. It is unconditional. It is nothing you have ever experienced before. When we sang that song, visions of what Christ went through for us went through my mind and I tried to comprehend what or why He did it all for us.

I have come to this conclusion. His love is beyond understanding. It is incomprehensible. How could it be when an infinite nature is so in love with finite beings? So what is love?

1 John 3:16-"¹⁶This 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." From what I have learned and experienced, love is something that seems to be very similar to grace. Grace is a free gift which we do not deserve (eternal life/children of God). In this way, love is something we do not deserve. None of us, no matter how important we may think we are, deserve to have someone die for us.

Romans 3:23-"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

We always come up short, but through the death and resurrection of Christ that gap is bridged and our connection to Him is made possible.

1 John 4:18-19-"¹⁸There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.¹⁹We love because he first loved us."

Who possesses perfect love? Only our God above. It is He who takes our fear away and makes us fearless. It is He who takes the pain away to make our strife bearable. What a God and How He Loves Us!