Youth Pastor’s Blog

Our Adventure

There is one thing that all humans long for. Deep down, there is something that makes our hearts beat loudly. We are different in many ways; our appearance, our personalities, where we live and work. There is one connecting thread in all of our lives though. We all have the desire to discover an adventure. In all of us, we catch ourselves imagining our lives as a movie.  We imagine that we are the pirates that discover the buried treasure, or we are “Indiana Jones” finding the Ark of the Covenant. We love the adventure; it is instilled in all of our lives.  When we wake up from our daydream, we are still in our same job, same house, and same old life. We have the same destination every day. Instead of climbing the Appalachian Mountains, we climb onto our sofa. Instead of discovering a cure to diseases that will save humanity, we discover that we need to eat “whole grain” because we have too many carbs in our diet. Instead of discovering the “Lost” treasure, we discover that we need to run to Wal-Mart to buy more toilet paper.  We may dream of discovery, but we realize that we will never be Indiana Jones.

As Christians we feel that our walk with the Lord is the same. We feel that there is no great adventure or no discovery. Sure, maybe once in awhile there’s a great Sunday service that makes us feel different. Or we watch a YouTube clip of some kids in another country that need help, and we for a “little while” want to help. But that will go away after a tough day at the office.  We may get moved emotionally, but deep down we know we won’t change. The reason why we feel that there won’t be an adventure is because we don’t know our task. If I asked you, “What is a Christian?” You would give me a generic answer about someone that loves God.  That is great, and very much important as a Christian, but where’s the task? What’s the mission Captain? Where are we heading?

As Christians we have the greatest adventure of all time. I do not say this generically. I say it with excitement! The last words Jesus ever spoke to his disciples was not “try not to sin” or “be careful, there are bad people outside the church walls.” Matthew 28:18-20 says, “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.’”

Listen, our task, our goal, our mission, our assignment, our adventure is not safe. Jesus set before us the most crazy, scary, adventure known to man. You see the rest of the world can keep imagining. But he said, “GO” and that is the adventure. No longer I who live, but Christ who lives within me. Our mission is to be outward. To look for the lost. Our goal is to present the “cure” for the entire world. The cure is Jesus Christ. The world has an illness that needs the cure. Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to take the name of Jesus to your work place, to lay your hands on the sick and see them healed, to share Jesus even under persecution and to always be looking for the opportunities to present and give a cure to the sick. Let me remind you that this mission is not easy. Many have talked about it, but few have walked it. This message will self destruct in 5 seconds, good luck Christian.

Just Stop

Busy, busy, busy should be the new name for our culture. We are always on the move, trying to do this and do that. We can’t stop because we must figure out this and that. If we don’t do this or that, we won’t be able to drive this or that.

We have created such an impossible maze for ourselves. In this circus that we’ve created we have forgotten to “stop.” But I always tell my self, “I must do this one more thing before I can stop.” Then begins the never ending running, jumping, dancing thing that we call life. We’ve created this monster of a mess. So, I asked myself, “How can I stop my life from just being a mess of things to do and don’t do?” Then the Lord said, “STOP.

Stop, and look at the beautiful sunset I made for you. Stop and notice my craftsmanship around you. Stop and walk with me. Stop and talk with me. Stop and love me. Take time, and notice me.” We all have only one life to live. It would be a shame to work so hard, and at the end, you’ve missed your best friend, Jesus. Don’t let being busy take you away from knowing WHO HE is.

Why so tired?

Throughout my average day, I am constantly yawning while fighting to keep my heavy eyelids open and doing everything I can to make sure that I don’t have that “dazed” look across my face. I always make sure that I am in “go” mode, conquering my surroundings. If I have not accomplished a task or defeated some sort of enemy, my day feels like a waste. I must take on every obstacle, and even if it comes to it, destroy Rambo if he’s in my way. Finally at the end of the day, I fall into the couch and sulk and complain about how busy and miserable it was. I think to my self, “Do I make my day miserable?” I am in constant go and conquer mode, and I never rest. Then the Lord brought me to Psalms 23: “He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”

We so often feel the pressure that our lives “must be filled with work” and if not, we can’t have all the “stuff” we think we need. I do believe in hard work but not at the sacrifice of enjoying our lives. It says in the Word, “The thief comes to kill, steal and destroy, but I have come to bring life, and life more abundantly.” As we go through the short thing we call life, let us enjoy it as God has intended it to be. Let us take time and rest. Even if it means we can’t have everything. The truth of the matter is, when we stop and focus on Him, we gain everything.

A “love-sick” World

I have always loved the experience of watching movies. Growing up, our family watched a movie almost every night. It was the same routine; everyone would eat supper, grab a bowl of ice cream, and settle down in our exact same spot (mine was the lazy-boy in the corner). Then it begins. We focus all our attention for the next two hours on a square box that captivates us without any difficulty. Looking back, I’ve realized something; The majority of the movies had a theme of “love.” The plot encircled this almost perfect ideal image of love. It’s as if we’ve tried to fabricate this love idea through movies, music, anything we can think of. We all have a desire, a need, to be loved and to love. So we focus our attention on this made up love that the world has to offer, instead of finding perfect love in Christ. Jesus is not a movie; He’s not a record album. He is the true definition of love. Only in Him is true love found, not made up, and not fabricated. Just true love.

In an “I” world, where is “He” involved?

In our modern world, we have achieved greatness. We’ve created such technological advancements in the past 50 years that the world has never seen before. We created such instruments like the iPhone, iPod, iMac, iPad, ect. We’ve created a world to fulfill ourselves, focusing everything on self. Our dream, “the American dream,” is to create a world about I. The “I” is the ever wanting, ever needing, never satisfied, always trying to fulfill. So we have created a system where we focus all attention on the “I”. But still our “I” is never fulfilled. We still want, we still need, and we cannot find enough fulfillment in the “I”. The only fulfillment for the “I”, is replacing the “I” for the “He.” When we remove the “I” and replace with a “He” in our lives, we will be fulfilled. We’ll never want, we’ll never need, and we will always be satisfied. The “He” is Jesus Christ.