The Slumber of Christianity

I am currently reading the book The Slumber of Christianity by author Ted Dekker. He is writing about man's search for happiness. More importantly, Christian's search for happiness. He talks about his quest for happiness. He writes about how God intended His people to enjoy the pleasures of this life, It is God's gift to them. It says this in Ecclesiastes. But first we need to have our hope in heaven before we can truly enjoy the pleasures of this life. Are we really excited about sitting down at a table before our Creator, and dining with Him? Why do we get so bored easily with praying if we say we want to have a relationship with God? If we want to have a relationship with someone then we shouldn't be bored with talking to them, right? Christians are in slumber because we are too busy trying to find pleasure in this life, that we forget to put our hope in the pleasures of our next life. It is then, ONLY THEN, that we will enjoy the pleasures of this life. Our happiness on earth will only last for a little while without having hope in heaven.

Now I am left with the questions, Am I happy? Is my hope for heaven greater than my hope for pleasures on this earth? Am I a Christian in Slumber?

As I continue to read this book, I am in awe at what Ted is saying, Some of it goes against what I thought I believed, but it makes sense. This quote from the book is making my mind think. The quote is this: "To Live is to Die; To Die is to Live." What he is saying with this quote is this, Living is killing us, we are all going to live for some 80-odd years and then die, but when we die with the hope of glory which is our salvation, then we are going to live eternally with Jesus. The New Testament is full of hope, but not for this life, for the next life. Am I talking about reincarnation, no, i'm talking about when we die, we will go to heaven and eat at God's huge banquet table, and this should excite us. Many times, we are not excited about dying. I can honestly say I do not fear death, but I don't fear death for the wrong reasons. I don't fear death because I know God has called me to be a Pastor, and He wouldn't call me to something and allow me die. No my reason for not fearing death should be this, It should be because when I die, I know that I am going to go to heaven, and spend eternity in the presence of my Creator. I need to wake- up from my slumber and realize that my hope is in my salvation which has not been revelaed to me yet. It will be revealed when I die. My hope needs to be in what is in heaven, and not my desires on earth. I pray that this is your hope as well. We need to run this race towards the finish line which is HEAVEN,ETERNITY,LIFE WITH JESUS, and not run this race for what we get along the way. Yes, it is amazing to be filled with the Holy Spirit, to be baptized, and to do many things in Jesus' name, but this should not be our focus while we are on earth. Our focus' should be on our hope in heaven. Jesus says in Matthew 6:33, "But seek first his kingdom, and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well." First we need to seek salvation, which leads us to his kingdom, and to his righteousness, which is how we should live, We need to have hope that one day we will enter His kingdom, and then all these things will be given unto us. So Wake Up, and seek after God's kingdom, your salvation, and his righteousness, and then you will be given the things you desire. Our desire should be spending eternity with God, and living a life that pleases Him. When we have this desire to spend eternity with God, then we are going to do whatever we can to please the one that has given us the way to Him.

How then are we suppose to live life? Before I answer this you must know that faith isn't about what you do; it is about what you believe. What you do will flow from what you believe. It is our desire for the tangible that leaves in a state of slumber. To sum all of this up: Our faith comes by hearing the word of God with our hearts, we should live by thinking on the things above, about heaven since all the pain of this earth will be gone once we enter heaven. We should empty our lives of the useless things on this earth, and fill them up wit the ideas of our Creator. What in our lives are keeping us from our hope of heaven? We need to be like a child and enjoy what God has given us while we desire to be with him. God has given us the pleasures of this earth, they become evil when we put them in front of our desire to be with God. God created all things for His glory.  So first off acknowledge your true condition whatever that is and then fix your mind on truth. Fixing your mind on heaven will change your life on earth.

History Never Changes

Here is an essay that I wrote for my english class. It was a comparative and contrast essay. I got an A.

History Never Changes
Time and technology have changed, but people are the same because history repeats itself. The people in ancient Israel kept turning their backs on everything they believed in, and modern civilizations have done the same. People never change; history just repeats itself.

Israel was a nation that considers itself God’s chosen people. The people of Israel came
out of Egypt because of oppression. They were not allowed to worship their God freely. So God raised up an individual to take them out of Egypt into the land that is now known as Israel.
During the time of the Judges, the people had given up on the true God, and turned to pagan
gods because other gods allowed them to do what they wanted to do, even if it meant giving up
what was right. They turned to these other gods and practiced paganism until things started to gobadly for them. During the time of Jephthah, the Israelites were taken to the nations of Philistia and Amon. They were forced back into oppression. That is when they began to cry out to God,and admitted that they messed up. They turned to God for help, and he elevated Jephthah to save them. God, through Jephthah, saved them by delivering them from their enemies. Israel did this many times. They would worship God, and then they would look around and find somethingthat looked better, even if it meant going against what they believed, but as soon as things wentbadly, they would turn back to God. God would then raise up a leader to save them. This pattern was repeated over and over.

The United States of America has done the same thing. We too, left England, our
homeland, to worship God freely. We came to the land of America and became a nation founded
on principles. As we have advanced through the years, we have given up God and our morals.
We have said no, people can’t worship God freely because you might offend someone. We have
become a nation of tolerance. Because of this, things have gone horribly. We keep turning to
something else we think is better. We have lost our morals and principles as we believe in
something we think is better than God. We have turned to other religions, cults, or the occult, or
denied the existence of God. Right now, I believe we have made money our god. We do worship
it we might not bow down to it, but we do whatever we can to have more of it. I don’t believe
that money is the cause of this. I believe the love of money is the cause because money leads to
power, and everybody wants power. Since we have turned to money, our nation is failing and
falling apart. Our economy is collapsing because we want money we do not have. We are at war
with a country that is controlled by terrorists. We think we can do everything on our own, but
really we can’t. Israel was the same way, in that they wanted more, and thought they could get it on their own. We have leaders who are either trying to help, and we won’t listen, or we have
leaders who are flatly corrupt, and we do listen. We are like Israel, in that we want something
we think is better, and that is going to make us happy. It is only going to lead to our deaths. The
only way to fix it is to do like the Israelites did, to go back to how it all started; to go back to
God.

History repeats itself over and over, but it simply keeps getting worse. America is just
like Israel in that they both want something they think is better. Israel chose to worship other
gods who they thought brought them joy and happiness, but all they found was war and
destruction. As Americans, we often choose ourselves and money because we believe the more
we have, the better off we are, but all we find is pain and desolation. So really, what is the
differences except for the time?

In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day

I just finished the book, In the Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day: How to Survive and Thrive When Opportunity Roars by Pastor Mark Batterson. It is an amazing book about how we need to face our fears and the opportunities that come our way. Mark has seven skills that we all need to take to chase after our lions. God has given us dreams, ideas, plans for our lives for His glory, and so many times we allow things, especially fear, to get in the way.

Mark takes the story of Benaiah, who was King David's bodyguard, and he became Commander- in - chief over the army of Israel. It is because he didn't allow stuff to get into his way. The story is in 2 Samuel 23:9, "There was also Benaiah son of Jehoiada, a valian warrior from Kabzeel. He did many heroic deeds, which included killing two of Moah's mightiest warrior. Another time he chased a lion down into a pit. Then, despite the snow and slippery ground, he caught the lion and killed it. Another time, armed only with a club, he killed a great Egyptian warrior who was armed with a spear. Benaiah wrenched the spear from the Egyptian's hand and killed him with it."

We all have lions in our lives that we need to look in the eyes and chase. It may be a dream, an idea, a degree, writing a book, painting a picture, doing something extravagant, but we need to chase after it. The seven skills that all lion chaser must have are:
1. You have to start by trying to comprehend the infiniteness of God so that you can believe.
2. You have to face your fears, or they will hold you back forever.
3. You have to learn to reframe your problems through bible reading, prayer, and worship.
4. Embrace uncertainty by focusing your persepective on God's greatness, and not your problem.
5. You must take risks.
6. Seize opportunities. You can't see opportunities if your not in tune with the Holy Spirit.
7. You have to be able to look foolish.
These seven skills that all lion chasers need. I have many lions in my life that I need to chase, but I need to listen to God's still small voice and see what direction He wants me to take. I challenge you to read this book; you will not be dissapointed.