Tithing: More Than Just Money

It's a little bit funny to me; growing in a church you hear a lot of rules, views, and words and you never take the time to apply them to anything except the church. You tend to compartmentalize things. Everything you hear in church stays in your "church" bin while all the other garbage on the five days a week you don't attend church goes into your other bins. I suppose this is my conclusion to what I've done in some degree. Especially when it comes to tithing to the Lord. And I'm not just talking about money. If you grow in church you know that you're to give 10% of your earnings back to God. However, when we hear the word "earnings" most of us only think of solid cash. Up until a few days ago that's how I defined them as well. But after a late breakfast with a couple guys my age who are trying to live for God also, I came to the realization that our earnings span over much more than monetary wages.
Somehow during our conversation about areas of our lives we needed to improve, I was blessed with the wisdom to link tithing to other areas of life. Our time management especially. Tithing in its simplist sense is giving to God. So wouldn't it make sense to give our time to Him too? It's something that's incredibly hard to do though, so I stray away. I definitely can't drop the excuse "I'm too busy." That's definitely not the problem, I have a ton of free time between procrastinating homework. Which I should be doing at this moment but I feel this is important for others to see. But here's the thing, no matter how well I do in school, it won't matter next year if I fall into the pit of sin that's just waiting for me at college. I need to discipline myself to live for God now, while I still have physical accountability with people like Jake, Connor, and Andrew. Tithing time is hard to do because I have a tendency to be lazy. Like sit on the computer for hours playing WoW kind of lazy, when I can crack open the Book and learn His wisdom and teachings.
It's all a practice. I need to practice sitting and reading just like I need to practice stomping K-flips outside on my brand-spankin' new skateboard. I pride myself on going all out in areas of my life that I really feel passionate about. It's convicting because I'm passionate about my pursuit to Him, but I haven't done everything I can.
Lord,
Grant me the discipline and mindset to always make time for You. Help me train myself to always hunger for the Word. Beat my body until it screams for more of your wisdom. Thank you for being incredible.
Amen

Nothing is Impossible, for You

Let's set the scene: 1500+ high school and middle school aged students, packed into a high school gym, singing, dancing, and breaking free in the presence of God. Sound like something we make up to inspire people to come to us, doesn't it? Sounds like a big fairytale that we would like for us, doesn't it? All this sounds like something that is entirely impossible for a community to put together by themselves, doesn't it?
Study those questions for a minute. All of it does seem like a big, optimistic situation that a church community can dream of. In our social "reality" people say it's impossible. It's impossible for 1500 youth to experience something that makes them stop all the wrongs they've fallen into. It's impossible for a teenager that has become addicted to alcohol and drugs to find a way out of the hole and back onto a solid foundation. It's impossible for a high school relationship to go on without sex as a driving factor. I hear all of the above statements as I roam through our "reality." And, to be honest, all those statements are absolutely true. It's impossible for a teenager in our society to get through without making a huge, life altering mistake. By themselves. By themselves it's impossible for a teenager to make it through unscathed.

Here's the wrinkle in our social "reality's" thinking: The 1500 kids at Tumwater High School last night, were not by themselves. As much as some hate hearing it, the 1500 youth that crowded into the hot, stuffy gym were greeted with a loving embrace and gentle hands of Jesus Christ. Whether they felt it or not, everyone in that gym was changed for life. As I looked around during the crazy worship sessions, I could feel the tangible presence of God in the building. A building that had housed the full student body of the school merely 9 hours before. A building that is only thought of as a school. A building that has seen pain, suffering, and anguish. Just a school, not a church. But this building was hallowed last night. The presence of God made His debut to lives. 75 students publicly confessed their comittment to Christ, and I know more than that felt a little more than a knock on their hearts. I can guarantee that all of the 1500+ students knew that God was there. With God, they professed their love. With God, they experienced the absolute and awesome joy that only He can provide.
Last night, the "impossible" was accomplished. I believe that every student there was changed. All were forgiven. All were cleansed. All were listened to. The "impossible" was blown out of the water. Our societies standards of what is "impossible" or fake were given a sweet slap to the face last night. Because of last night, over one thousand youth can stand up and confidently challenge anyone to come witness all of God's glory. Last night didn't just plant a seed, it transposed a tree. The seeds were planted, watered and grown by the time everyone left the parking lot.

My Prayer:
God,
Help us realize that impossible is a word with meaning only when we forget you are there. Grant us the faith and courage in times of hardest anguish to go back to Your Kingdom and cry out for your wisdom. I pray that every student that was in that gymasium, and every student that couldn't make it be protected and blessed by You. I pray for your guidance to everyone there, and for the constant reminder that absolutely nothing is impossible with You carrying us in Your loving hands.

Amen

The End of Our Childhood Looms Ahead

Senior year of High School starts in a week. Awesome, right? In many cases yes; oldest kids in the school, skip days, prom, being looked up to. The things we expect out of senior year can go on and on. But here's what they didn't tell you about. After this, we're on our own. We'll split off, putting an end to most of our routines of hanging out with the people you've known for years, not to mention the easy comfort of your home. In 9 months we get to say we've graduated. And yet, in 9 months we get thrust out into the real world, the "work all day or else I can't afford food for myself" real world. Yes, many will go to college and many think that things will be the same. But they definitely won't. Tuition, housing, food, clothes. All of that is going to pile onto your mind and grind at you like a blacksmith grinds his blade. Before we know it, we'll need to break the habits of being a kid and start forging new ones. My point is, senior year is a big step in our lives, but we've got a lot of life to live after, and it's going to come fast.