The Motions!!!

Yesterday instead of AWANA at church we did a roller skating night at the Aurora Skating Center and we roller skated, well I roller bladed (what a rebel I am), the night away.  Also I volunteered to do the devotion and planned for half-an-hour... I got ten minutes.  So I really kinda had to improv what I had planned.

My plan was to briefly state how roller skating/blading relates to life.  We are just going around in circles just like in life we are doing the same things over and over again.  There is a wonderful song out there called "The Motions" by Mattew West and in the chorus, he tells us that he doesn't want to wish his life away wishing that he gave God his everything!!!

There is a link for the song, in case you havent heard it ever or in a long time.

Really what I wanted to get into was the "giving God our everything" part... surrendering our lives to the will of Christ and doing it, key word here, WILLFULLY!

I am convinced that God does NOT want us to read our Bibles and pray 24/7 because then the Great Commission would not be fulfilled.  Instead we as believers should be set-apart, Romans 12:1-2, yes sir, by the things we say, do, the way we dress, etc.   People should know that we are believers without us having to wear a shirt that says "Hey guys, I am a Christian" or by us telling them verbally.  When I say set-apart I mean set-apart to the fullest meaning of the words and what the Bible means by it.

Right now I should emphasize that I am not perfect and I struggle with the very things I am telling y'all.  This is a daily struggle with me too.

There are an endless nuber of excuses that people will give.  I touched on three, which I have heard personally, and then I have used one of them too in my life.  The first is that "I have committed so many sins, God cannot possibly forgive me!"

The first problem is this, they are limiting God.  The second thing is why did Jesus die on the cross? Oh that's right, to die for OUR sins, I Cor. 15:3-4.  Thirdly, look at many believers and their past lives... not pretty.

Second excuse: They don't want to surrender their lives to Christ because He will make them do things that they don't want to do.  My question for them is this:  Do they think that Christ was happy when He was being led to the cross, when He was whipped, mocked, cursed, beat, spat upon, and the nails were being driven into His wrists and feet?  Matthew 26:39 says that He wasn't very glad about what was to take place.  But He submits to the will of God the Father!!!  So remember what Christ did for you before you tell God "No"

Finally and the excuse I have used.  "He will make me get rid of the music, movies, games that I enjoy.  For somethings I can ask, "Why are you doing these things in the first place?" for others He will change our mindset.  But again from personal experience, you will forget about it all anyways.

To leave y'all with this question.  My job is not to change your lives, that is God's job and He does a fantastic job at it.  I want y'all to think about the way you live your lives and are you set-apart from the people around you?  My question is this: How are you living your life and WHO are you living your life for?  Is this really your life or is it God's?

A Living Sacrifice!!!

This morning I was listening to Relient k's album MMHMM and seriously enjoying the lyrical geniusness of Matt Theissen.

Any ways that was totally unrelated.  I figure that I should probably explain the meaning behind my blog title and the verse.  You may have recognized the verse Romans 12:1-2 and the title being the whole point of the verse.

Ever seince I had to memorize and learn the verse for Awana during my high school years it has become a favorite, if not my favorite verse!  Just in case you do not know the verse, here you go: "¹ Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

The meaning I gather behind the verse is this.  The Apostle Paul, the author of Romans, is obviously talking to fellow believer, assuming that they are all followers of Christ.  He is telling us to be set-apart from the rest of this world and the people around us who may not know or follow after Christ.  They should be able to see and know clearly that there is something different about us as Believers!  They that we are believers by the way we act, the things we say, the things we do, the places we go, the thoughts we think and even the way we dress.  The examples can easily go on!  But we are to be transformed, to be changed because of Christ indwelling in us through the Holy Spirit.  Accepting Christ is not a ticket to heaven, it is a lifestyle we are to embrace.  Our minds should be renewed because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit

So that is what I get and understand from the verse Romans 12:1-2.  My prayer is that I apply it to my life and I hope that someone reading this can apply it to theirs as well.  Don't think that a Christian cannot listen or read or watch things of this world but we are called by Christ to be set-apart, so think about what you are watching, listening to, or reading.  Think about your life that only you live.  How do people think about you?  If they don't know me and I asked them about you, would they say that you are a follower of Christ?  If you do not know me, could I tell that you are a follower of Christ by they way you dress or a first impression?

That is what I believe should be our calling!!!  Do I follow it 24/7?  Psh... NO not at all.  I struggle cause I am human.  But I urge you to think about this!!!  Just as I will also think and act on!!!

Figuring out the Kinks!

Although at first glance there really ain't much to it... please be patient with me as I figure out the kinks to the whole blog and everything!!!  I'll work on it regularly... hopefully

Introduction... Prologue... Chapter 1 or whatever you want to call it...

Here we go again.... yeah after a period of thought... five seconds... I thought that maybe I could really get into this.  Another thing to try to update periodically.

Anyways I thought that this could be fun and interesting.  My goal is for people to read and comment for thoughts and opinions.