The Harris Twins

I just got back from a book tour by Alex and Brett Harris (brothers of Joshua Harris, writer of "I Kissed Dating Goodbye") And it was one of the best things I've ever gone to -- I wish CHURCH was this good!!!

The seminar was from 9am to 4pm and did the Holy Spirit move!

Alex and Brett have started a movement called "The Rebelution" a movement targeted at teens. The Rebelution seeks to break the low expectations the world has set before us and change us into the best that God would have us be...

Alex and Brett have written two books thus far, their first being "Do Hard Things." "Do Hard Things" is really the core of the Rebelution. It gives insight and stories to a time before complacency and ways to become people of God driven excellence. This book shows that giving in to "the easy way" and accepting the attributes that the world had ascribed to us (rebellious, lazy, irresponsible, childish) is giving in to low expectations. Low expectations that channel the way our entire lives will move. And how having high expectations for ourselves will grow us and change us into real fighters for Jesus Christ, and true threats to the enemy.

Their second book, "Start Here: Doing Hard Things Right Where You Are." Answers many of the questions a person starting to seek high expectations and do away with the low.

As for the actual seminar, Alex and Brett are amazing speakers; their passion and energy flows into the room -- both entertaining and educating the audience. They share spiritual truths and don't hold back when it comes to saying what we may not want to hear. They led the room in the most beautiful alter-call I have ever heard -- not sugar coating anything for the new-coming believers. Their brother Joel led the band in several worship songs through out the day, and Joshua closed the evening.

I STRONGLY recommend these books to anyone who is sick of
a) sleepy Christians in the world
b) non-Christians in the church
c) both

Check out their website at TheRebelution.Com.

Are you part of the Rebelution?

School's on it's way...

With fall fast approaching, I was thinking about how many people whine and complain when it comes time to do homework or get up early to catch the bus. I understand that school isn't always fun, but we are called to be witnesses wherever we go. Do complaining, joyless people really convey the love that God has for us?

When we walk down the halls at school, try smiling to the newcomers, the people you've never really talked to, the bullies, the nerds, the preps... everyone no matter where they come from or what their reputation is. Since God is love and we are to love the way Christ loved, smiling is a simple way to show off God's love.

At my job, the simple act of smiling has everyone utterly baffled! No one can understand why I'm always smiling. Why should I? Pay is low, customers are rude, managers are demanding -- in school it might be, teachers are mean, homework takes hours, and my classmates are evil! -- so, why in the world should I smile all the time?

My answer is very simple: I am grateful that I even HAVE a job. I am grateful that I am even BEING paid to work. I am happy to be a witness to people in a dark world. I am joyful that I am a Christian, and that Jesus died for ME. I am grateful that I have a home to go to and food on in my refrigerator. I am grateful that I live in America where I can freely own a Bible. I am grateful that I can borrow my Mom's car. I am grateful that I have a room to myself, that I have my own computer, that I can paint my room whatever color I want. I am grateful that I can buy books and art supplies. I am grateful that I have tons of clothes -- that I have clothes at all! -- that I have shoes and make-up and friends... The list can go on and on and on...

The point I'm trying to make is why shouldn't I smile? I know who God is and He's in charge of where I am and how things go. I have so much and I don't deserve any of it! And even if I had nothing, I'd still have Jesus Christ and that is something I could never earn -- ever! When I put things in perspective like this, I find it hard to understand why so many people constantly complain about their situations -- especially minor ones.

So, no matter what's going on, or how bad things may seem, remember that Jesus is with you and that is a cause to smile for.

Define...

So, this morning I was doing a little project for my devotional time. I'm going through 1Chronicles and those super LONG BORING genealogies (blah, the son of blahblah, the son of blahblahblah!) Well, I know that every part of the Bible is important so there I was trying NOT to sleep through my way through the first chapters of 1Chronicles when Dad gave me an idea: for each name write down the definitions and make a list...

Adam -- man
Seth -- appointed
Enosh -- human

and so on. I thought that'd be pretty cool (if you want to try, here's the site I used for definitions) and off I went!

I go down a couple verses and something jumped out at me (odd, considering it was a genealogy.) This may get a little technical, so I'll try to break it down...

(1Chronicles 1:8-10)
"The sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. The sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabta, Raama and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan. Cush became the father of Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one in the earth."

Something funny struck me about Cush. (Remember, Ham was one of Noah's three sons? And you might remember that Nimrod build the tower of Babel.) It starts out saying that Cush is Ham's son. Nothing funny there. Then it says who Cush's sons are and moves on to Raama(h)'s sons. Nothing odd their either. BUT, then we go back -- it's like God wanted to add a footnote -- to Cush. I know that doesn't sound like much right now, but just wait.

I thought that that was a little bit weird considering that hadn't happened in the previous names, so I decided to pay a little extra attention to it. Instead of just writing down names and definitions, I decided to keep everything in the sentence.

(Before translating 1Chronicles 1:10)
"Cush became the father of Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one in the earth."

(After)
Darkness became the father of Rebellion; he began to be a mighty one in the earth."

Whoa! Like... WOW! When I saw that, I nearly jumped out of my clothes! Nimrod rebelled against God and built the Tower of Babel, but not only that, MANY people followed him. Rebellion became a "mighty one in the earth" And rebellion is surely the child of darkness.

As it turns out, this turns up EVERYWHERE in the genealogies. The definitions turn the names into sentences (I'll probably post more later.) I strongly encourage you to toy with this -- if only to make reading the son-of's more interesting ;)

Chicken or the Egg?

I just saw one of those "un-answerable questions" and I felt the urge to tell the world that I know the answer to the age old question, "the chicken or the egg?"

Ready?

SINCE God created the world and everything in it, He created both the chicken and the egg.

(Genesis 1:20) "Then God said, 'Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.'"

Chickens are birds, so we will group them with the birds (no brainer.) Therefor God directly created the chicken -- not the egg first.

This is a rather trivial question. What's important is that we know God created everything! He's in control of the world -- whether we like it or not. And we can get blessings by working with Him or curses by working against Him.

I for one want to be blessed. So here's the REAL question: How can I know if I'm working with or against God?

#1. Are you praying in accordance to his will?

That question sounds a lot harder than it actually is. To pray in accordance with God's will simply means that when you pray, "Thy will be done," you really mean it! If you want to go to NYC and become a supermodle and you pray, "They will be done," you have to be okay with the fact God might want you to scrub floors in a hospital in South Africa. Not that everything is always that "extreme" but we have to understand that if we REALLY want God to do His will, we've got to be okay with wherever He puts us, whenever He puts us there.

#2. (Do I really have to say this?) Are you being the best example of Jesus Christ that you can be?

WWJD I'm sure everyone remembers that from our 3rd grade Sunday School classes. But that acronym has many more ramifications than it is given. When Jesus saw people selling in the temple, he took the time to braid His own whip to drive them out (and who says Christian shouldn't get involved in the military!) When Jesus was eating with sinners, none of them felt scared or judged, rather, they loved Him. Now our big question is, are we behaving in the same way Jesus did? Do we "love the sinner, hate the sin," or do we wrap everything together and hate the sinner too? Do we allow people to walk all over out beliefs, or do we stand up and fight for what we know is right?

Those two points pretty much round everything off. Pray so that you know what to do, then behave in the best manner as you do it. (Told you it was pretty simple.) The hards part of all, however, is... You have to do this every moment of every day. Live the life. Sure, we makes mistakes and fail all the time, but as my youth pastor once said:

"Imagine life as a race. All of us Christians are running to the finish line (heaven). Don't run just to finish, run like you're gong to win. If you run like you're going to win, you'll try a lot harder than if you're just running to finish."

Motions

This might hurt, it's not safe
But I know that I've gotta make a change
I don't care if I break,
At least I'll be feeling something
'Cause just okay is not enough
Help me fight through the nothingness of life

I don't wanna go through the motions
I don't wanna go one more day
without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don't wanna spend my whole life asking,
"What if I had given everything,
instead of going through the motions?"

No regrets, not this time
I'm gonna let my heart defeat my mind
Let Your love make me whole
I think I'm finally feeling something
'Cause just okay is not enough
Help me fight through the nothingness of this life

("Motions" by Matthew West.)

I really like this song (even though it is totally out of my music genre). When I hear those words it makes me want to stand up and fight! It inspires me because I know that I do not want to go through "Christian Motions" -- no, I want to live Christ with every fiber of my being! As I like to say, "It is not me, but Christ IN me."

I was praying last night and I was feeling weak and insignificant. I started just talking to God...

"Lord, I feel so small. I feel like I don't mean anything..." I prayed, as I did, thoughts started filling my head, kinda like God was talking back to me.

"Well, aren't you small?" the thought came.
"No! I'm not supposed to be am I?"
"Are you?"
"Well... yes, I am small."
"Yes you are. Now that that's out of the way, what should come next?"
"Next? What do you mean?"
"We have established that you are tiny and helpless. Right?"
"Yes, I am helpless, there's nothing in me that is mighty."
"Yes and no. You of yourself are weak and helpless, but I AM in you aren't I?"
"Yes you are. You're HUGE! You made the world and everything in it!"
"Yes I did. And I AM in you. The less YOU you put in my way the more I can shine through you."
"I see. So, You are strong in me, even more so when I'm weak. Right?"
"You got it."
"Well then, Lord, I need You to be strong in me right now, and carry me through because I am too weak of myself to do it."
"Christine."
"Yes?"
"I've been here the whole time."

Our problem so often is that we pray to God, but forget to let him take the reins. We say, "Oh Lord, help me!" then go off and do our own thing. The most difficult part of prayer is really TRULY allowing God to consume us, to the point where people can't see "us" anymore but "God in us." That is why my motto is "Be the best example of Jesus Christ that you can possibly be." After that point God takes care of everything else -- literally!

But, that step is so frightening. Like Matthew West put it, "This might hurt, it's not safe." A lot of times doing what God asks it terrifying -- think of all the things he asked the men of the Bible to do! -- but no matter what God says, we have to obey because it serves his greater glory. Too often we ask God, "Why? Why are You doing this to me?" but as humans, we don't deserve anything. We deserve to burn in hell; so a much better question would be, "Why not? Why does anything good ever happen to me?"

Knowing how shortsighted even the wisest of humans are, I'm so glad God has my fate in His hands. I'd mess everything up (and quite often I do, be getting in God's way to me.) By far, the best life to live is the one where you allow God to do whatever He wants with you. Trust me when I say that you'll be AMAZED at how He works everything for the good.