Now is the Time to Rebel

Today provided a lot of insight to where I may walk within the next few years. I spent a good five hours just hanging around Pastor Andrew and followed him throughout his day. We ended up going to NCHS where he preached on how you can know Jesus without getting to experience Him and then went back to his office where we ate Panda and do whatever office work necessary. When we got back he checked his inbox in the office and handed me a magazine entitled Ignite Your Faith. Pretty normal if you think about it: Youth Pastor with a student hands the student a little insight in the form of a Christian magazine directed towards students. I took it because, well one, you don't deny something like that from Andrew, and two, it seemed interesting.
When I got home I spent some time looking through it and ran into a graph of Christian music and what they sounded like to their Secular counterparts. I always used to scoff at the idea of Christian Rap. The whole idea was just too hard for me to wrap my mind around. How can rap be "Christian-ized?" All secular rap does is "talk about where they're from, cars, and how many women they've slapped." So how can rap be used for good?
It's funny, I ask these questions and a counter-question arises: Why did Jesus die for sinners? Infinitely greater scale, but again, something we can't, as humans, wrap our meager minds around. But I digress.
I was reading the article and noticed a rapper who was being compared to names of TI, Ludacris, and Kanye in terms of how his music sounded. For some reason, this day it caught my attention and I had to check his stuff out. After hearing 30 second clips on my iTunes, I decided I had to get his CD. His name is Lecrae and if you appreciate the talent of rappers but can't stand the dumbness of the secular music, I recommend you check out this CD. I started listening to the songs on the way to FOS tonight and the first song was phenomenal. I got the album entitled "Rebel" and the first song was appropriately named "Rebel Intro." Basically, the lyrics paint the story that Jesus was a rebel in his time because He did things that went against what everyone conformed to. "He eatin' with sinners/ givin Pharasies ulcers/ He never got married, was broke and plus homeless" is just one of the lines in the song.
It's an awesome little play on words. When I hear the word "rebel" I think of somebody that goes against their parents, usually about a kid who's caught up in the wrong things. Throughout the song, there is a man quoting what seems to be part of a sermon directed towards youth. I would link it but for some reason, the source of the quotes stay hidden in the depths of Google. I'll do my best to bring it justice. Basically the rap ends and the beat goes on and then a man starts saying that the best way to rebel is to read your Bible. He says that the kids that "rebel" from our society to drink, do drugs, steal, and have meaningless sex are conformists. They're conformists because everybody is doing drugs and drinking, et cetera. He goes on to say a real rebel in today's world is a high schooler that dives into the Bible and learning the Word because nobody is doing it. After hearing these words in the car I cracked a smile and was in awe of how true they are. The man says if you really want to be a rebel, you need to read your Bible. That's the only way of being a rebel because it's the only real rebellion left. It's true. And it's worth it. Maybe one day I'll see this world where following God isn't a rebellion, but a natural way of life.

In lieu of that hope I encourage you like this song encouraged me; Read. Join in the revival and rebellion that is Christ. Live off His grace, love and teachings. God bless.

Sheer Frustration

So I successfully put off writing a 3 page paper about what careers are best for me to pursue. I am in constant argument with my mom. School sucks for me right now because I just don't care. I'm at a point in my senior year where I just want things to be over. There's too much crap that I have to be paying attention to and it's all stuff that I don't want to waste time bothering with. My future is solidified in the fact that God is sovereign. Nothing I do to "plan out my future career" is ever going to be put into action if it's not in His plan for me. That's why I don't want to write my Psychology paper on what career is best for me in the time of this economy today. Reality is, the economy can't touch me if I'm doing what I'm called to do. I will only get screwed over be the falling economy if I try to implement things in my life that are not supposed to be in it. I take this mindset into everything I do. Which is why I don't stress out about my future. My plans don't matter. It's all on His time. I wish I could write a quality counter-essay on how all this research is nothing but a rich waste of time. The fields I am interested in are Music Education or Pastoral Leadership. I will be called to serve in one of those fields but in both I will be laden with the responsibility to lead youth to a higher calling. Lead them out of living for themselves and into living for something that matters. Living for someone that can lead you through all peril and hardship. Having faith enough to stand up and say, "No, I have no idea what I will be doing next year. I do not know what He has in store for me but I do know that I will prosper and dwell safely." I don't know how to go about writing that essay. I can't just do it. I don't care how much money I make, as long as I'm doing something to further the Kingdom. I don't care about the economy, God will guide me. In today's world, pastors aren't very wanted. Nobody wants to believe that they are not in control. Nobody wants to believe they have to answer to someone better than themselves. Nobody wants to believe that helping others will come back and help you. No, not karma. A wise man in my life said "I do not believe in karma, I believe in a just God." However, good works don't necessarily equal blessing. Blessing comes when God extends it, not because of what you did, but because of your faith in Him. I wish I had the knowledge to stretch these opinions into a 3-page counter-essay, stating that money and economy does not matter. I do not know how I'm going to finish it by eleven tomorrow morning. But it is written "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." John 14:27

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.