Where Is Home?

   This year at missions conference (an event at Lancaster Bible College that occurs every year where the focus is on missions) one event was called “Home Sweet Where?” Before I even went to the event I began to think about home. What exactly is a home, or home? For twenty one years now when people have asked me where I was going I was able to say I’m going home. Now that has come into question. What, or where, is home really?

   There’s an old saying that goes: “Home is where the heart is.” When I was thinking about the word “home” this saying automatically came to mind. But, then I began thinking about the heart part of the saying. Where is my heart really? Yes, I know it is in the middle of my chest; but I mean where is my attention, devotion, love, etc. really at? It also got me thinking about where I belong.

   There is a song called “Where I Belong” by Building 429. The first time I heard it, it got me thinking about where I really belong. I thought about it so much that my mom and I thought about creating a Vacation Bible School around the idea of where we belong. So many times in my life I have felt like I don’t fit in. I felt like I don’t belong here. I began to wonder why I feel like I don’t belong. Then one day it hit me.

   Home should be a place where you feel comfortable. At least, that’s what my classmates say if you ask them. They say they want to create a classroom that is homey. It seems like a good idea but not everyone has the same home or idea of home. I do agree that home should be a place where one feels comfortable.

   With the ideas of home being where the heart is, figuring out where I belong, and home being somewhere where I feel comfortable I formulated an idea of where home is. If home is where the heart is and I know my heart belongs to Jesus then home is with Jesus. I don’t feel like I belong here; and that’s because I don’t. I belong with Jesus. And, if home is where I feel most comfortable, then I know that I feel most comfortable in my alone time with Jesus.

If you didn’t know where I was going before, you probably do now. Home is heaven. That is where our hearts are. That is where we belong. That is where we will finally feel comfortable and totally safe.

   So, is your heart with Jesus? Are you doing his will here on earth? Do you know where you belong?

   John 14:12, Matthew 6:19-21, 1 Peter 2:9

Hot and Cold: A Blazing Fire

   There’s a song by Katy Perry that has the lyrics “Cause you’re hot then you’re cold, you’re yes then you’re no, you’re in then you’re out, you’re up then your down.” In the song she’s talking about a relationship. Now, I’m going to connect it to another relationship. Not a guy girl relationship like she does; but the relationship between God and us.

   Christians all have a relationship with God, whether they know it or not. Typically, when a person first accepts Christ they are on fire for God. They literally have the hots for God and what he did, and still does, for us. But, as time goes on, the fire dies. Our candle for God begins to lose its wax, the wick becomes smaller, and the flame gets dimmer and dimmer. The fire never really goes out because we tend to do the bare minimum. We go to church, pray at meals, and maybe spend one minute on devotionals each day or week. But, that presents a problem: we become lukewarm.

   It is in those times we become like the church of Laodicea in Revelation 3:14-22. Jesus is speaking to this church through John. He actually speaks to seven churches in all; and most of the churches get commended for something and rebuked for something. Laodicea does not get any commendation. They get rebuked because they have become lukewarm. Jesus says that he spits them out of his mouth because lukewarm tea, coffee, hot chocolate, water, etc. does not taste that great.

   Jesus tells the church that he would rather have them be hot or cold. Because, if they were cold someone could come and reignite the fire in the church. But, the danger of being lukewarm is that these Christians think they are doing well enough. They are doing what is required; and doing the bare minimum. This means that they are no longer of use to God and his mission.

   We need to wake up and see that we are no longer on fire for God, if we are not. We need to wake up other Christians. We need to invest in other Christians, keep them accountable, and help them grow in God. And, we need to go to unbelievers and show them how on fire we are for God.

   So are you hot, cold, or lukewarm? What can you do to reignite your fire if it has dimmed?

   Acts 2

Missional Living

   Oswald J. Smith once said “we talk of the Second Coming; half the world has never heard of the first.” On March 3^rd I began an excursion to a new place: Puerto Rico. It was my first ever mission trip and it was my first time on a plane. Needless to say, there were a lot of firsts on this trip. This trip also got me thinking about a lot of things.

   Every year at Lancaster Bible College there is a week set aside to talk about missions. It is called Missions Conference week. Different activates are set up for us to do; and missionaries come. Each year the theme is pretty much the same message: some are called to go, others to send, and others to pray. Honestly, you kind of become numb to it because of how much we talk about missions. Not that I am saying missions is a bad thing. What I am saying is I never felt called to missions in another country. People can be missionaries wherever they are at.

   Romans 10:13-15 talks about how people who have not heard the word cannot accept Christ. I don’t know your thoughts on this, but I do know that there are people in the American Culture who have not heard about Christ. Or, they have not seen Christ through Christians. America is a missions field. Think about our culture. There are people impacted by divorce, homosexuality, abuse, sex outside of marriage, abortion, and so many other things.

   We are called to “go into the world and make disciples.” We are called to be traders just like in this YouTube video called Missional Living Becoming Traders (link at the bottom). The video talks about trading the message we receive in culture for God’s message. We need to stop being selfish and start helping others. See, many times we think that we can reach the lost in the same way everywhere we go. But, we need to differentiate how we tell others. We can go to other countries and give them hope by saying Christ died for you. In America we need to do more than that. Many people have heard the message from Christians but they do not believe it because “Christians are hypocrites.”

   I have found that people listen to others more when people actually seem to care about them. It is in the little acts that people tend to realize we are the real deal. Sure, as a “trader” we will need to sacrifice some things but we need to remember the things of this world are temporary. We need to show Christ’s love to others so that someday they may come to Christ. And, when we become friends with those people we need to be an example for them.

   So, I want to be clear I am not saying we shouldn’t go to other countries to be missionaries. What I am saying is that if you are a Christian you are a missionary. It does not matter where you are in the world. We need to tell others about Christ.

   So are you being a missionary where you are at? Are you showing the love of Christ to others?

   Romans 10:13-15, Mark 16:15, Matthew 24:14

   Link to Missional Living video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHa_d_8Wlgg

The Ticking Time Bomb

   I want to start off this blog by saying that this is a story that was told to me by a friend. I have permission to tell it.

   It all started in middle school. This girl had tried to follow God, but in doing so it made her stand out more. She was an introvert, a deep thinker, had a really good memory, and tended to over-analyze things. This is her story.

   In middle school this girl was bullied. She didn’t have any close friends and she wondered what was wrong with her. She would go home at night and cry herself to sleep. Eventually, she began to think that she should end it all.

   Some of her thoughts at this point were: “I’m never going to have a best friend who sticks with me,” “I must have caused others pain in their lives because no one likes me,” “nothing I ever do will be good enough for anyone,” “I’m broken and battered,” “I’m a ticking time bomb,” and “does anyone truly see me?”

   She continued to have these thoughts for a few months. Then one night she began to think of the things she had learned at church and throughout her life. See, at this point, the thoughts had gotten so bad that she imagined the devil was saying these thoughts to her. But, on this particular night, she heard another voice. The devil would say “no one cares about you.” Then she would hear a voice that spoke the truth saying “I care.” Devil: “you are never going to be good enough.” Other voice: “you are always good enough for me.” Devil: “you are not beautiful.” Other voice: “you are beautiful, I made you.” Devil: "you are not loved.” Other voice: “I love you with all of my being.”

   The girl knew the other voice was God’s. While she heard the voices she began to cry more than she ever had before. She began to shake and toss and turn; and her heart beat faster than ever before. After fifteen minutes of this she got the idea to talk to God. As soon as she did that the shaking stopped.

   So, why am I telling you all of this? It is not because the girl wants attention or pity. It’s because the girl told me that the only reason she made it through those nights was because of talking to God. Without him she told me that she probably wouldn’t be here today. See, God is with us no matter what we are going through. He reminds us of our worth, which is in him.

   I also want to point out that no matter what you have done in your life, no matter how you are feeling, no matter what people have done to you, and no matter how people feel about you remember that God is always there for you. People are going to mess up and let you down but God will never let you down. You just need to trust him.

   Finally, we need to realize that we have no idea what people are thinking or what they are going through. People don’t have thought bubbles over their heads that tell us what they are thinking. The only way you will know what a person is thinking, or what is going on in their life, is if you ask. We need to be there for one another through difficult times because that’s what God calls us to do.

   So are there any lies the devil is telling you right now? How has your relationship with God been lately? Do you know anyone who may be in need right now? Are you willing to reach out to them?

   James 4:7, John 1:10-13, John 10:27

Missing the Mark

   I like the game of darts. Granted, I’ve never played a full game of darts but I like goofing around with them. Typically when I play I just take the three darts and see how many points I can get. Normally, I start off by playing it safe and throwing the dart lightly; but, I miss the target. So, I throw it harder next time and it is too hard. The third dart I usually am able to get in the general vicinity of the middle.

   Our Christian walk can be like this at times. We either don’t commit, commit too much and hinder others from coming to Christ, or we are right on target. Not committing is bad because we lose what is most important to us: Jesus. Without him we are nothing. Committing too much can be good because you grow in your relationship with Jesus; but some people focus on the religion and not the relationship. Religion says that we need to do ________ in order to be love and blessed by God. And that is what these people who commit too much are telling others. They say in order to be a Christian you need to do ________. We cannot strap ourselves to the gospel because it's not about us. It is about God. Relationship suggests that it is a two way street. But the greatest thing about our relationship is that God reached down to us first. All we need to do is accept that we are a sinner; and ask Jesus into our hearts. 

   There are many different rounds in darts; and each time I get a different score. This is also just like our Christian walk. We can get close to our target one day; but farther away the next. What we need to do is focus on the target: Jesus. If we focus on him, trust in him, and do his will our relationship with him will be a lot better. And, we will be able to lead others to him.

   So, are you hindering others from coming to Christ? Are you just not trying to grow closer to him? Or are you right on target?

   James 1:26-27, Colossians 2:8, John 14:6