The Hardest Thing

Lately, I've been thinking about what the hardest thing a Christian in America is. If you ask four different people, you'll get four different answers to that question. Those answers could be complacency, the hypocrisy of Christians, the degradation we face, or the difficulty of the distractions the world hurls at us.

While all of these are respectably difficult to face as an American Christian, I wouldn't say that any of these specific things are the hardest ones we have to face. Gun to my head, the one thing that I'd say is harder for a Christian in America to face than any other is for then to lose their fire for God.

I want to make sure it's clear that I mean fire, not faith. The reason I would say that it's losing the fire is because as hard as the other answers are, losing your fire for God is a stepping stone that leads to other things. I'll use the four examples above to explain what I mean by this.

1. Complacency
When we lose our fire for God, it's easier to sit in the same place in life and just let opportunities pass us by. It can cause us to feel lazier, to take the easy way out instead of doing what we're called to do, or even to just make excuses and pass on the responsibilities we know were meant for us to someone else just so we don't shake up our current lifestyle. When we become complacent, we fall short of the mark that was set for us when we were saved. It doesn't strip us of our salvation, as there is no force in the universe that can do that, but it makes our faith stagnant and turns us next to useless until we fight our way back to that fire.

2. Hypocrisy
By losing our fire, we also decrease our willingness to listen to the voice of the Spirit and obey when it tells us that what we're doing is wrong. Mentally, we know that the Bible speaks against a specific action, but we also have an easier time than we should tamping down that knowledge and doing the opposite of what we know to be right. It also makes it easier to criticize others for doing what we know as wrong and ignore our own shortcomings and faults.

3.Degradation
The degradation we face as Christians from the public around us usually comes from the hypocrisy that the world sees from us. The people who give us the titles of "hate-monger, Bible thumper, close-minded" do so because that's what they see happen in the public light. Sadly, that is usually caused by losing the fire for God and allowing a fire for ungodly things to take its place. Usually we justify these actions by misquoting scripture, or pointing the finger at things done in the past. However, this is just another example of the voice of the Spirit being muted and listening to our own voice or the voices of the enemies of God instead. This causes degradation towards us amongst those who see us, and is also a cycle that can beat Christians down enough to have their inner fire quenched.

4. Distraction
In a world of technology, social media, television, instant movies and other services, if we lose our focus on God, it's easy to forget to pick it back up. The thing is, losing our focus on God is easier if we don't feel a drive or a passion to focus on Him, or we simply think of it as a chore we have to do to stay in His good graces. Without the fire that drives us towards Him and His plans or works for us, it becomes far too easy to allow ourselves to get immersed in things that don't matter, such as a new show or book series, or games and contests that make no real difference.

Again, all of the things I listed above are extremely difficult for a Christian to deal with, especially when they crop up together as they usually do. The biggest issue with it, however, is that they all stem from a common source: losing the fire or passion to seek God and to submit to His plan for our lives. I cannot honestly say that I've met anyone who has never succumbed to at least a temporary bout of this condition, and as a result has let one or more of these things into their lives. The hardest part about losing your fire is getting it back. It's as hard to climb back to the starting point as it was easy to go away from it. But it's not impossible, and it's definitely worth the journey back, even if you have to let go of some things that cause you pain when you do.

The Return

So, it's been almost two years since I've posted something on here. There's no special reason for that, other than I just haven't done it. However, recent events have caused me to take another look at this blog and, as a result, have decided to post something new. There have been a handful of interesting events that have occurred in my life over the last couple of years, such as some friends getting married, one of whom is now pregnant with her first son (poor kid). I would say the most interesting thing, however, is the people I've met. I've had the opportunity to be introduced to some of the most amazing people I've ever met in the last year and a half alone, through a mixture of mutual friends and church camps. I've had the extreme pleasure to be a counselor for some of the best kids I've ever met at the aforementioned camps, and while some can be a headache sometimes, I can't wait to get the opportunity and the time off of work to do it again. Not only have I met some great kids, but made some amazing friends. One in particular has helped me through some of the most difficult times in those two years, and no matter what, I'll always be thankful to her and for her because of that. Normally, these posts are more towards something I've gleaned through my reading or some specific situation in my life, but I think I'll save that for the next one. I'm closing this one out by simply saying that despite any drawbacks that have come into my life over the last couple of years, I've had some of the best experiences and best friends in my life through them as well, and I can't wait for the next group.

Keeping on keeping on

It's not often I'll post one of these two days in a row, but I figured this one has been stewing around in my brain recently too, so why the heck not.

One of my adoptive siblings asked me my opinion on Philippians 3:16 a few nights ago. In order to better give her one, I read the beginning of that section until I hit that verse, and it made me think a lot more.

That section starts in Philippians 3:12, which, until 3:16, reads: "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained."

That entire passage is merely five verses long, but it has a handful of different themes throughout it. Paul was writing to believers in the church in Philippi, so he was giving them advice aimed mostly at believers. It applies to my own life when I take a look at the last six months of it, as well as the lives of several people I know.

One of the themes that struck me first was perseverance. Look back at the second half of verse 13 into verse 14: "But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

Basically, Paul was encouraging the believers to ignore the pains and humiliations that they had suffered in their work for Christ. He was saying that despite the things they'd had to give up (family, friends, etc.) they should keep pushing forward with their lives, constantly aiming toward heaven and Christ.

I can easily see how this could have applied to my own life recently, and can quickly apply to other lives around me. This verse basically says no matter the heartbreak we endure, there is always a reason to keep going. It also says we can't dwell on that heartbreak, and that we have to be able to move on with our lives, even if we have to let go of a particular person in the process.

The other theme that I wanted to address in this blog was that of maturing as a human, as well as a Christian. Verse 15 addresses this issue by saying that the mature Christian should go ahead and accept that the pain they will go through needs to be left in the past. A lot of Christians can't seem to do so, and simply think that their lives must stop due to this "tragedy" that they have gone through. Verse 16 continues with this theme, stating that we must "live up to what we have already attained." In other words, don't focus on what God takes away from us, but instead focus on the greater gifts that He has given: our salvation, our brethren in Christ, the assurance of where we will go when we die.

It would be a flat out lie if I said that I was good about moving on from pain in my life. There are several pains that I have experienced that took me a long time to get over, and I know that this may happen again. But I pray that God gives me the strength to keep my head above the water and to focus on him.

So ask yourself this: What's holding you back from focusing on what God has given you? What pain are you focused on that you need to let go? Are you really trying to move on, or are you lingering in self-pity and doubt? I pray that you really are trying, and that God will help you move on.

To be as Mephibosheth

Recently, in my quiet time I've been reading through 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel. While reading 2 Samuel last week, a verse struck me that keeps reappearing in my mind, so I figured I'd make a blog out of it.

The verse was 2 Samuel 9:8. At this point in the book, David has become king of Israel and is looking for a member of the house of Saul to show the love of God because of all the kindness that family had shown him. When he asks his servants if there was no one left, because both Saul and his son Johnathan were killed, his servants tell him of a son of Johnathan named Mephibosheth, who was crippled in both of his feet, that was still living. So David summons him and gives him all of the land that was once owned by his grandfather Saul. When he is told all of this, Mephibosheth says something that just floors me.

2 Samuel 9:8--Mephibosheth bowed down and said, "What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?"

Wow. I mean, this guy is the grandson of the previous king of Israel, and has royal blood in his veins. If anyone should expect special treatment, it's him, right? But that's not how he saw it. He actually compared himself to a dead dog, completely disregarding his own heritage and any claims of significance or importance he might have had.

This verse was like a slap in the face when I read it. If the grandson of a king could have said that to another human, even though he is a king, then why in the world do so many Christians seem incapable of asking the same question before our God? In our culture, instead of realizing just how insignificant and unimportant we are on the grand scheme of things compared to God's glory, we act like He owes us something.

Really? We, the tiny, self-absorbed creations, are owed something by the Almighty God, the One who created all the heavens and the earth? What kind of sense does that make to you, because it makes no sense to me at all.

I am actually shamed by this verse, because it shows such a need in my life to have this same kind of humility all too often. It causes me to take a look at my own arrogance, and I am repulsed by it.

It shows me the need to just sit down and thank God for the things that I already have, and not to take those things for granted and just keep asking for more.

But this quality isn't just shown in myself. It's all over the human race. Most of us are missing that basic humility and the blatant obviousness of our own insignificance before the glory and holiness of God.

After reading this verse, I've started praying that I'm more like Mephibosheth. He truly understood how little he deserved in comparison to what he was being given, and I want that quality in my own life. I also pray that my family and friends start getting that quality, instead of just asking for more and more.

So ask yourself this: are you like the average American, simply expecting more because you've been taught to? Or are you like Mephibosheth, who understood the greatness of his gift and the fact that he was simply blessed and undeserving of it?

So it's been quite a while since my last post. There have been a couple of reasons for this; for example, since I've been home for the summer I've been working again so a little less free time to think. For another, I've had sort of a mental block on what exactly it is I wanted to write about. However, an issue involving my cousin has helped me decide to get on my soapbox a wee bit. My cousin has had a rather... interesting history involving the guy that she may or may not currently be dating. He has these moments where he decides he wants to be uber sweet and nice to her and make her feel like she matters to him, then over the most trivial reasons will suddenly cut off all communication with her and leave her wondering what happened. Now, while I am not directly connected to this situation, when my cousin comes to me on Facebook, clearly distressed and easily going insane from the rough treatment she's getting from someone she clearly loves very deeply and cares for more than almost anyone else, it immediately becomes my business. I promise, I'm actually going somewhere with all this, and it's not just a defense of my cousin. This situation is just one of several involving several girls I know with guys who mistreat them to at least this extent. Where in the world did all these people who are disgracing the term "man" come from? By no means am I a perfect man; far from it, in fact. However, I do realize I have my shortcomings and am working to overcome them. These people, on the other hand, are ignoring the blatantly obvious evidence of their own issues. I was under the impression that a man who truly cares about a woman will not a) string her along; b) treat her like garbage and make her feel worthless; or c) treat her like his own personal plaything to be thrown away at a moment's notice. From my perspective, a real man should do the exact opposite of these things. If this is the woman he loves, he should make her second to none but God. He should treat her like a queen, showing her how lucky he is to have her in his life. He should show her how much she means to him, how much he cares, and how amazing she is as a person. Now, do not misunderstand me. This does not mean that a man should fall to pieces as soon as the woman he loves leaves him. This can actually be construed as another form of mistreatment, causing feelings of guilt and doubt in the girl's decision. However, he should accept that she needed to do what was best for her at the time, and simply hope that she decides that he is what God wants her to have later in life, even if not at that moment. Once again, I know I'm not perfect, nor will I ever claim such a thing. However, I still feel that since no one else will do it, I need to say two things: To the women who will see this: I apologize on behalf of all the men in your lives who mistreat you. To the men who will see this: Take a good long look at yourself. See if you are truly being a man of God in your relationship. Find out if you are treating your significant other with the respect she deserves.

My Testimony, Version 2 (the theology version)

Nick Lambert Caner Theo 202 Throughout my life had been taken to many different churches by my parents. No matter which one they took me to, I constantly saw one thing: arguing within the membership, people trying to thwart each others plans, and general hypocrisy. So I stopped going from age twelve to about age sixteen. However, in my junior year of high school, I started going to church again because of a girl. She one day invited me to the high school group's service on Wednesday night, and in order to spend more time with her and impress her, I readily accepted. At this time in my life, I wasn't even sure of the existence of a God, let alone which religion had it right. I was constantly looking at pornography, as well as swearing every other word and a general hatred of the world. My relationship with my father wasn't that great, and I didn't really feel like anyone cared. However, when I attended this service, people I had never met seemed to genuinely care for me. This was because these people had seen love from God in their lives in various circumstances. Because of this, I realized there was a God who loved me in spite of the mistakes I'd made. I then decided to make God a part of my life by submitting to Him and asking Him to be in my life.

My Testimony

I should be dead right now. When I was ten years old, I discovered there was something wrong with me. This discovery came to me in the form of bloody diarrhea. Because I was ten, and all children have brain damage, I didn’t even consider it was blood; I thought it was the strawberry applesauce I had eaten that day. Like I said, all children have brain damage. Anyway, once we discovered that it was indeed blood and not strawberry applesauce, the next move was to take me to the doctor. The doctor told me to go to MCV in Richmond that same day.
Once I was there, it was discovered I had a condition called Meckel’s Diverticulum. This condition is present in only 2% of the world. Wasn’t I lucky? It was a bulge in my intestines, secreting acid and causing internal bleeding, thus slowly killing me. This requires surgery to repair; and due to the rarity of the condition, there are very few doctors who have performed this surgery. In fact, there is only one such doctor on the entire east coast; my doctor. Now what are the chances of that?
The surgery went without incident, and I made a full recovery, as you can tell. This near-death and full healing were all part of a plan God had laid out to get my attention. And it happened to fly roughly twenty feet over my head. In fact, over the next 6 years, God threw several such attempts at me, and I was oblivious to all of them. All, that is, except the one he threw me in my eleventh grade year.
In the September of that year, I developed a huge crush on a girl I knew. Eventually, she invited me to attend a Bible study at her church one Wednesday night. For desires that had nothing to do with God, and everything to do with impressing and spending time with this girl, I went with her and her family one night. It turned out that I knew a lot of the people there, and had a pretty good time. This was the beginning of my Olive Branch Baptist Church experience.
After that night, it became a regular thing for me to attend the Bible studies. For the next two months, I went every week and became friends with several others of the people there. The youth pastor, Anthony Wall, and I grew to be friends as well and started talking more often.
However, after those two months, some issues arose, and I was unable to attend until the following May.
Now during that year, and the two preceding it, my life had fallen into a very dark, evil place. My language was horrible, my mind and my heart were totally impure. I even had an addiction to pornography. And even worse than all of these, I had actually denied the existence of God; without a doubt, Satan had his claws me in deep!
Eventually, I managed to start attending OBBC again. During the months I was unable to attend, God began to work a change in me. My mind became more objectionable to the filth I had once coveted, and my language became cleaner as well. God did this in two ways: directly changing the inner me, and using the people around me to show me His existence.
Through these two devices, I started to realize just what was happening to me. And through the teachings of the Bible revealed to me anew through Anthony, I started to realize just how large of a gift I had wasted: the salvation offered to me by the death and resurrection of Christ. I finally realized that I was a sinner and that if something didn’t change, I wasn’t going to end up in “a better place.”
One night, after the actual lesson, when we were just hanging out and talking, I took Anthony Wall aside and told him I wanted to accept Jesus into my heart and become saved. He immediately took me outside the building we were in and prayed with me. In that moment, I felt something enter into me and take up residence in my heart.
My life hasn’t been wonderful since then, but it has been far from terrible. So many things have changed both in me and for me. One such thing is something I mentioned before: my beautiful and amazing girlfriend, Rachael Kidd. And I owe it all to my Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ of Nazareth.