Have you Died Yet?

   You know how hard it is to follow the saying “treat others as you want to be treated?” I know I do; and I know that, even though it is hard to follow, I still say it to my students every week. It is hard to treat others the way you want to be treated because sometimes people don’t treat you the way you want to be treated. You could do the nicest things for someone and he still may not treat you the right way. But, we are still called to be kind to others.

   At this point you are probably wondering what exactly this post has to do with Easter. Well, I hear my students say things like: “that’s not fair” or, “why should I be nice to her if she is mean to me?” Since I am in a public school I cannot say this answer: "because Jesus was still kind and loving to others."

   Jesus is our ultimate role model. He did something that no one else could do. He made it possible to be with God. He loved us enough to die for our sins. He was whipped, beaten, mocked, had thorns put on his head, and nails put through his hands and feet. And you know who did that to him? We did. You may be saying “I wasn’t there so how could I do that to him?” Well, you did do it to him. Because of your sinful nature you are dead. You belong to the Devil and deserve everything you get in Hell. But, because Jesus died we have life. We become dead to our sins when we accept Christ into our hearts; and he washes us clean as snow. We become born-again.

   That is exactly what I was getting at when I said we don’t treat others the way we want to be treated. I mean, would you want to be sacrificed on the cross for nothing you did wrong? I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t; and yet, because of your sin Jesus allowed himself to be sacrificed for your sins. He didn’t have to do it. But, he did because that’s how much he loves us. Sometimes I feel as if we don’t grasp the torture that Jesus put himself through on our account. We just think as the events in the Bible as quaint little stories that we tell to children and hear about a few times every year. But, they are so much more.

   So, on this Easter I encourage you to think about the gravity of what Jesus went through for you. Are you thankful that he went through that for you? Are you following his example and treating others the way you want to be treated?

   1 Peter 3:18, 1 John 3:16, Isaiah 1:18

Following the Crowd

   If you ask most people what they could not live without, what do you think they would say? I’m betting at least 50% would say they could not live without some sort of technology. And, for some people that technology may be related to social media. What is it with social media? I mean, it’s been around for how long? At first, it was great for people to see what is going on in other people’s lives; but now it has been taken to the extreme. Kids are being cyberbullied for crying out loud! Then there are other people who are just worried about how many followers they have. So is social media really that great of a thing?
   I believe that social media can be a good thing, if used properly. It can be used to help witness to others and people can use social media to catch up with people they normally do not see or talk to. But, according to The Telegraph which is an online magazine, the average person spends about 1 hour and 40 minutes on social media sites per day. And we talk about not having time to do things, ha! Then we have people who complain about how much time is spent on social media; and how kids should be doing something more active. I’m not saying I disagree with those people but I do have something to say to them.
   If you want children to stop spending so much time on social media, you need to give them something else to do. You cannot say to a child “get off Facebook” and expect them to do something else. Like I said before, social media has become our lives. Children are worried about how many followers and likes they have. It is where they find their identity; and that can be a very scary thing. We have become so disconnected that it takes a screen for us to get connected. Children need to have social interactions with other people, face to face in order to understand the world around them. We wonder why children are not developing properly; well it’s because we are not doing our job! We are called to mentor the young. We need to develop every child socially, emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually. If we continue to follow this path, we are in for some rough time my friends.

   So what can we do to combat social media? Well, first off we can be disciplined; and we can discipline our children. We need to limit our time on social media; because, not only is it taking away from our jobs and relationships, it is also taking away from our time with God.
   When most people are asked "do you spend time with God every day?" I bet they say they just don't have time. Is that really true? Maybe instead of spending ten minutes on social media we should spend that time with God. After all, he created us so maybe it's time we give him a little bit of our time.
   Also, we wonder why our country is going downhill. It is because people find their identity in things other than God. Many times I hear children bragging about how many likes their post or picture got. But, when someone doesn't have many followers they are picked on and bullied. It doesn't matter how many followers they we have! What matters is that we are children of God. He loves us and cares for us; and that is what should matter to us.
   So, rather than spending time on social media are you going to spend time with God? Where do you find your identity? Is it in the things of this world, or in God?
Genesis 1:27, 1 Corinthians 12:27, 1 John 3:1-3

My Crazy Dream About a Wedding

   Have you ever had a strange dream? That dream you just cannot understand what went on, or why certain things happened. Yeah, I’ve had those. In fact I had one the a while ago.

In the dream I was at my grandma’s house getting ready for an event. I didn’t know what the event was at first until I came into the main room. The room was decorated and there were snacks out. There were a lot of people from my past there like friends who I have not talked to in a while, deceased relatives, current friends, and family members. Finally, someone congratulated me on my impending marriage. I have no idea who I was getting married to; but I could tell that there was some uneasiness in the room.

   But, you know how sometimes things happen in dreams that you cannot explain? Yeah, that happened next. Suddenly, I had a revelation that many of the people in the room did not like who I was getting married to. And, I also found out there was another suitor who was interested in me. Now, if you know me, I am very loyal. So I have no idea why there would be two guys interested in me; but I have to remember that this is a dream. Anyhow, the people who did not like the guy I was getting married to liked this other guy better. And, like most of my crazy dreams, I woke up before the dream ended so I have no idea what happened after that.

   So, why am I telling you about this dream? I tend to think about my dreams after I have them because typically I find hidden messages behind them. And, as I’ve stated before, I believe everything happens for a reason, even dreams.

   This is my interpretation of the dream: there are two suitors in the dream. The one who I am getting married to is the one who represents all the distractions and idols in life. The second suitor represents God. We all have something we tend to love more than God. It could be material possessions, money, or something else. But, in loving that thing more than God we bind ourselves to it. In essence, we are worshiping something other than God.

   What I found interesting in the dream is that everyone knew about both suitors, including the suitors. The idol comes from sin. And, we all know sin is something the Devil loves. So, the Devil loves when we love things other than God; and the Devil knows that we try to love God, but we typically fall short. God knows that we love things other than him; and he is a jealous God. He loves us no matter what; but he wants us to love him. And, we should love him above everything else because he created us.

   Also, as I said before, everyone at the party knows about both suitors. It is just like in life. If we are Christian, people are going to look at us and watch what we do. If we say we love God; but people see that we love something else too much that isn’t helping to spread the gospel. Whether we like it or not people see our actions and hold us to a certain standard. We may not live up to that standard; but that is why we need to emphasize that we are sinners and we will fail. But, God will forgive us.

   So, do you love something else more than you love God? Has something become an idol in your life? What can you do to get yourself back in a good relationship with God?

   Exodus 20:3-6, Colossians 3:5, 2 Corinthians 11:2

Fixing My Eyes

   At Lancaster Bible College we are encouraged to keep improving ourselves; and grow in God. One way that is done is through character contracts. Basically, what happens is we pick a specific character trait that we feel we need to work on. Then we come up with a few assignments in order for us to grow in that character trait. We have until the end of the semester to complete this assignment.

   When I did my assignment I chose the character trait optimism. It is not easy to be positive in a negative world. Nevertheless I knew I needed to work on being more positive. So, I did different activities through the semester. One activity we had to do is pick a song that made an impact on us. For a while my “happy” song was Good Morning by Mandisa. Every time I listened to it in my car it reminded me that each day is a new day. I woke up that morning for a reason; and I was blessed with another day so I should be happy. It is a great song; but then I began to realize that I was typically only happy in the morning. So I needed to find a way to be happy throughout the day.

   That is right about the time when the song Happy by Pharrell Williams came out. I know what some of you are thinking: “that song is so annoying,” or “that is a secular song.” Well I used to be annoyed by it too. But, then I listened to the lyrics one day. And, they actually made sense. We are to be happy through the good and bad times. So that song became my new “happy” song. But, one day I realized happiness wasn’t enough.

   Some of you may be familiar with a movie that is still popular today: Frozen. I did not used to like a certain song from that movie because it was on the radio all the time. Say it with me now: “Let it go, let it go…” But, about a year after the movie came out I started listening to the song again; because, at that point, the hype had died down a little. That’s when I realized the problem with my “happy” song being Good Morning or Happy. Those songs made me put a mask up; and I did not even realize it. I don’t like masks. But, in pretending to be happy and positive through all things I was putting a mask up. The song Let It Go made me realize that I cannot just pretend to have no problems. I need to give my problems to God, because he has a plan for my life. I just need to trust him. That song got me through a lot; but then I went through something else that made my “happy” song change again.

   One day I had a problem and I kept telling myself to let it go to God. It was not working. That’s when I realized that I was focusing too much on my problems and not enough on God. I had recently started making mix cd’s for my car; and one song I came across was Fix My Eyes by for King and Country. It was through that song that I realized that I need to fix my eyes on God, not on my problems. Because, no matter how big my problems seem, I can always count on him. I mean, I should have realized this a long time ago when I watched Veggie Tales and heard the song “God is Bigger than the Boogie Man.”

   Anyhow, that was a journey of about 4 years of my life. And, I’m telling all of you this so that you don’t run into the problems of putting a mask up or focusing on the problem and not God. In the end I realized another important lesson from my character contract; but that is a blog for another time.

   So, are you putting a mask up so that others do not see what you are going through? Are you focused too much on your problems and not on God? 
Matthew 6:34, Proverbs 3:5-6, Matthew 14:22-33

It's a Roller Coaster Ride

   When you live near Hershey Pennsylvania it means two things. One: that you usually smell chocolate in the air. And, two: that you visit Hershey Park. I have been to Hershey Park a few times; and each time I go with my family my dad tries to get me to do something. He tries to get me to ride a roller coaster.

   I do not like roller coasters for a few reasons. First of all I’m not a big fan of heights. Next I do not like feeling like I am going to fall out. And finally, probably the biggest reason, I do not like the highs and lows of being on a roller coaster. I mean, I don’t know about you, but I feel like my stomach should stay in my body; and it should not feel like it is leaving my body.

   There is one more reason I do not like roller coasters. I do not like them in life. I have found that life is like riding a roller coaster in more ways than one.

   We can have emotional roller coasters in life. One day we may feel like we are at the top of the world; and then the next we feel like we are at the bottom. I do not like this because as Christians we need to be thankful for what we have and optimistic. I know there have been times where I have been in a low part of the roller coaster where I do not feel thankful or optimistic. It isn’t easy to be thankful all the time; but it is what we are called to do. And, I want to point out that being optimistic doesn’t mean you look happy all the time. It means that you are joyful in everything that happens. You don’t have to be happy to be optimistic. It just means you are positive in everything that happens.

   The other type of roller coaster is faith roller coasters. We have times when we are on fire for God; and other times when our relationship with God isn’t that great. I love it when I am on a high for God; and I don’t like it when I am on a low. So how can we stop the roller coaster pattern?

   We need to remember who we are. We are children of God. We are called to witness to the other children of God; and, if we are not on fire for God, that is difficult to do. We need to have a relationship with God and rely on him; because, he is all we need.

   So, are you on any roller coasters in your life? Do you need to remember who you are in God?

   1 Peter 2:9, Proverbs 3:5, Matthew 6:25