Do You Feel Like You Don't Belong?

   I had a friend who was a really hard worker. She worked hard to help others. She worked hard to get better in her hobbies. She worked hard to follow her career path. And, she worked hard to show the love of God to others.
   She got a job where she encouraged her co-workers, cared about those she served, and worked hard to improve every day. Now, this friend was fairly quiet and did not speak up much in group settings. Because of this, she was fired.
   I couldn't understand why she was fired but she told me the reason she was fired was because she didn't fit in with the culture of the workplace. Just because she didn't talk much in group settings she was fired! Now, you have to understand this friend worked behind the scenes. She did not flaunt her success, she gave people gifts without telling them it was from her, and did many things to make sure the workplace ran smoothly without telling anyone she did it. That's what I call character! But, because she did that her bosses didn't think she did much to work with her team.
   This reminded me of a story where there were a lot of misfits: The Greatest Showman. In the movie Barnum, the main character, gets an idea to have a show of people who are usually outcasts. He wants to bring them together and show them they belong. It worked, he created the circus. Now, some people still called the circus people names and were mean to them. But, it didn't matter to the circus people because they now had a home. They had confidence in themselves. They had a place they belonged.
   What struck me in the movie is that the circus accepted anyone. They had a tall man, a fat man, dog boy, a small man, a bearded lady, and so much more. It didn't matter what these people looked like, where they came from, or what they did in the past. They were accepted into the family just because they were who they were.
   This is exactly how God's family is. Everyone in their life has felt like they don't belong at some point. Maybe you don't have many friends at school because you choose not to involve yourself in questionable activities. Maybe you don't fit in at work because you refuse to hurt others to get promotions. Maybe you don't belong in your family or your country because you believe in Jesus and they don't.
   We are all hurt by this world. We all feel like we mess up or we are inadequate. But, God loves us no matter what we do, where we come from, what we look like, etc. We belong to him. He created us and loves us. That's what we need to remember when we feel like we don't belong. It's what we need to remember when we work hard and still get fired. It's what we need to remember when we look different from others and are rejected. It's what we need to remember when our faith is tested in the fire.
   So, have you ever felt like you don't belong? What can you hold onto when you feel like you don't belong? How can you help someone realize they belong today (at work, school, or the family of  God)?

   Psalm 100:3, Isaiah 43:1, 1 John 3:1

   Image from here.

Are you Naive?

   Imagine you are walking down the street. Then you see an old friend. You start talking and your friend says that he heard that science has proven that aliens are real. You seem to think that is strange. You ask your friend where he heard that. Your friend says he read it on the internet. Well of course you see now that more than likely that story isn't true. 
   Now picture you are in church and your pastor is preaching. He says that in the Bible it says that everyone will go to heaven. All you need to do to get to heaven is be a good person. You are so into the message that you think, "wow I am definitely going to heaven!" 
   If you are a learned student of the Bible you know this isn't true. But, some people would believe it to be true just because it came out of a pastor's mouth. Humans have a tendency to trust certain references over others. That's not always a bad thing but we are told in the Bible there will be false prophets. These people would tell you anything to get you away from the true message of the gospel. They may even try to make a more appealing way to enter the kingdom of God. 

   If you trust whatever any pastor says then you are like Tony Stark, at first. In Iron Man Tony is the CEO of a major corporation. He is talking with his second in command and he is ticked because his second in command went behind his back on a deal. Obadiah (second in command): "Tony, Tony you can't afford to be this naive" Tony: "you know what? I was naive before when they said, here's the line. We don't cross it. This is how we do business."

   Tony is realizing that he cannot always trust what those close to him, or what those he looked up to, say. As Christians it is our job to be detectives. When we hear a message we must ask ourselves a question: "is this biblically sound?" In other words: is this person speaking the truth? 
Tony Stark was beginning to realize that he had to become a detective. A person who he saw like a father betrayed him and lied to him. That made him look into other people and see if they were speaking the truth. He then learned who he could trust.
   We must make sure that we are detectives. We must make sure that whatever we hear is from the word of God. If we realize that someone is not speaking from the Bible we must let that person know. Otherwise that person is laying his foundation on sand instead of the rock. And, to make matters worse, he is helping others build their homes on sand! That could cause many to die. 
   If the person does not listen then it is our job to get others to realize that they need to be detectives. They need to know what is biblically sound. They need to know how to question those in authority, in a respectful way, when they hear something that goes against the word of God. They also need to know how to study the word or God. The way to do that is to be taught to spend time in the word.
   So, do you just trust what those in authority over you say? How can you make sure something is biblically sound? How can you teach others to know what is biblically sound?

   Matthew 7:15, Matthew 24:24, 1 John 4:1-6

   Image found here.

It's Not a Place, It's a People

   There are many people in the world today. We all come from different places, have different experiences, and have different ideas/opinions. Many people have very strong opinions about God and religion, which means they have strong opinions about the church.
   The church started back after Jesus' death. On the day of Pentecost many of Jesus' followers were in one place. Then the Holy Spirit came upon them. They were able to speak in different languages and many were saved that day (Acts.2).
   Now, when Jesus left, he told his Disciples to, "go and make disciples of all nations" (Mat.28.19). But, the disciples stayed in Jerusalem. See, these people where under the impression that the Jews were still the only ones who needed to hear about Jesus, or they may have been uncomfortable leaving Jerusalem. Whatever the case may be they decided to stay in Jerusalem. That is not what they were called to do so God caused Christians to be persecuted so that they would leave and spread the good news (Acts.8.1-3).
   Wherever the apostles went they preached the good news. Many came to Christ and churches were created. Now, here's the thing about these churches: they were not buildings. These churches were the people. It did not matter where they met, they met in people's homes and studied the word/listened to the word.
   This principle reminds me of a quote from Thor: Ragnrock, "Asgard's not a place, it's a people." We could truly say of the church "The Church is not a place, it's a people." Many times I think we get caught up in thinking the church is a building; or that if we are Mennonite or Pentecostal then we are against each other because we have differing opinions.
   It does not matter what denomination you come from, as long as we believe that Christ died for our sins and we must accept him in our hearts and follow him then we are united. Are there churches that don't preach that message? Yes, and those who preach that message will answer to God. But, the point is, many times we tend to focus on the differences of the church. It is time we focus on our similarities. We are one Church because we are one people who believe in Christ. It is time we unite to preach the message to all nations just as the early church was called to do. If we do not, we are disobeying God and hindering others from hearing about him. 

   So, do you believe that the church isn't a place, it's a people? Are you willing to unite with others churches to spend the good news? What can you do to spread the good news of the gospel today? 

   Image from here. 

The Proof of Love

   It's that time of year again when men are scrambling till the last minute to get gifts for their beloved, women are waiting for their beloved to prove his love (possibly by putting a ring on it), and children are looking forward to the candy shock they'll get from all their Valentine's. Whether you think that this holiday is just for the chocolate, flower, and card companies to earn more money or you actually enjoy the holiday many of us can agree that this holiday is about love. Do we actually know what love is?
   I've said it before and I'll say it again it is hard to define love. We use that word so much for many different things, like fries and our family. And, God tells us to love him and love others. Obviously this kind of love is different from loving fries (btw I recommend fries with a frosty [ice cream], if you try it I'm sure it'll change your world). How can we show love to people who are mean to us, falsely accuse us, steal from us, and sometimes even worse?
   For all practical purposes we cannot show that kind of love until we ask Christ for help and know that love, in this context, means showing respect.
   There's a song by For King and Country called The Proof of Your Love. How do we know that we are showing God's love to others? This song gives us some answers. The song says: "If I sing but don't have love I waste my breath with every song." Now, this is written by a singer. He is singing about God's love. He's seen in the public eye and known as a Christian. If he doesn't show God's love he's called a hypocrite. As Christians we sing about God's love and loving others a lot. Do we actually believe and do what those songs say?
   The chorus of the song says: "So let my life be the proof, the proof of your love let my love look like You and what You're made of how you lived, how you died love is sacrifice." We call ourselves Christians. That means followers of Christ. If we follow Christ that means we are to try to emulate him. That means we are to be the proof of God's love to others. Yet, we have Christians who don't help others, don't give money to the ones who need it most, and who think that they are better than everyone else! If Jesus had that same mentality we would be in big trouble because we'd be dead. Once we die, we'd go to hell.
   But, Jesus knew the true meaning of sacrifice. He gave others his time, he taught others about God's love, and he made the ultimate sacrifice for us. Talk about proving that you love someone. He died to save us, there's no greater love than that.
   It's time that we start showing others God's love. If we don't show God's love to others then what is the point of saying we are Christian? There is no point if we don't love! The reason we are called hypocrites most of the time is because we sin and don't show love. It's time for our lives to prove God's love as we are called to do.
   So, do you know what love means? Are you showing God's love to others by sacrificing of yourself? 

   John 13:34-35, John 15:13, John 3:16

   Lyrics for The Proof of Your Love by For King and Country.

   Image from here.

Tired

   To whom it may concern:
   I'm tired.
   I am tired of pouring my heart out only to get it crushed.
   I am tired of being taken for granted.
   I am tired of people not getting to know others and judging them.
   I am tired of people saying I have good character but then it doesn't seem to matter.
   I am tired of doing so much with soccer and school so that I become exhausted.
   I am tired of no one seeming to care about anyone except themselves.

   I am tired of feeling alone and like no one cares.
   I am tired of bad people succeeding and good people failing.
   I am tired of all the crap going on in this world.
   I am tired of this, and I am tired of that. I feel like I cannot handle all of it. I've been fighting for so long and I can feel the darkness closing in. But I have something that the darkness never will have, unless Christians stand up: light.
   God is with us even when it doesn't seem like it. When we accept him he gives us his light. Just like the song "This Little Light of Mine" we are to keep our light shining. That is hard to do on our own strength. But, we don't have to keep it shining alone.
   God loves us and walks through life with us. He carries us through the darkness. He was an example for us before we were even born. He rested one day as an example for us. Then he worked other days. It is good to take a break from the crazy of the world. But, then we have to get right back to it. While you are fighting remember when you are so tired that you are not alone. God is on the move on earth. We just have to look for him in the little everyday miracles.
   So, when you are tired who will you lean on? Will you choose to keep fighting no matter what happens? Do you see God in everyday miracles?

   Proverbs 3:5-6, Matthew 11:28-30, Isaiah 40:31

   Image from here.

The Pit

   Have you ever felt like you are in a pit? We are not just talking about a 10 foot pit where one little thing happens and you feel like you are in a pit. We are talking about bad thing after bad thing happens and you cannot do anything to control it. Let me give you an example. Let’s say all of this happens over the course of a year: you have problems at your job because of a disagreement with your boss, a person falsely accuses you of something you did not do, you do not get support from people you expect it from, none of your friends seem to care about you enough to check on you, your grandma gets injured, teenagers give you attitude, you lose your job, and the list could go on and on.

   Now, you are in a really deep pit. It seems like one bad thing happens after another and it is not your fault. You do your best and work hard to overcome these obstacles but it does not matter. Does this sound familiar? I know it does for me because it reminds me of a story from the Bible: Joseph.

   Joseph worked hard and followed God. Yet, he was thrown in a pit by jealous brothers, sold as a slave, falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife, thrown into prison for years, and forgotten by the people he helped in prison. All of this did not happen over the course of a year. This happened over the course of a lifetime. Joseph seemed to have every right to give in to temptation, to just give up because there was no way his dreams could come true since he was a slave, or to turn his back on God. But, he did not do any of that. Joseph kept working hard. If he was given a challenge he rose to it. It did not matter that he was knocked down multiple times. He kept doing his best for God. It did not matter that he was falsely accused. He kept doing his best for God. It did not matter that he was forgotten by his brothers, Potiphar, and the cup bearer. He kept doing his best for God.

   If Joseph would have given up Egypt would not have seen his testimony to God, prisoners would not have been reached, his family would not have been restored, and many would have perished during the famine.

   Many times we are like Joseph. We are in a pit that we cannot seem to get out of. Maybe it even seems like we cannot see the top of the pit or the pit keeps on getting lower. But, seeing Joseph’s example helps us realize that no matter what we cannot give up. We need to do what God calls us to do no matter how difficult it is. We need to trust in him and his plan just like Joseph.

   So, when you are in a pit what will your attitude be? Will you choose to do what God calls you to do no matter what circumstances you are in? Will you trust in God?

   Genesis 37, Genesis 39-45, Deuteronomy 31:6, Proverbs 3:5-6

   Image from here.