Some of my thoughts from over the last month

I have been full of emotions over the last month or so.  Not sure if it is that I'm getting older or if I'm just paying more attention to what is going on around me.  I have realized that I have been called to a certain place and been given a voice for some who are voiceless.  I know that I/we are right where God wants us to be.

A little over 3 years ago God called us to leave some of our comfort behind and move to the Keller Park neighborhood in South Bend.  This is not the worst neighborhood here in South Bend, with that being said we still have issues that I have never witnessed in the different places that I have lived in my life.  I love my neighborhood and all the issues that go with it.

A few weeks ago I was listening to Trip Lee's new album Rise (you should check it out if you haven't already done so).  As I was listening to a song called All Rise Up I was hit with a bunch of emotion and reflecting on where God has brought me over the last 7 1/2 years. Real quick for those that don't know alcohol consumed my life for the better part of 15 years. In June of 2007 I ended up in the hospital from drinking to much.  At that point I truly thought death was a possibility.  I obviously didn't die and I believe that it is because God had greater plans for me.  On January 25th, 2009 I gave my life to Christ.  It has been a roller coaster ride ever since and I wouldn't change it for a minute. Reflecting on where I was and then seeing where I am now lead to tears rolling down my face.  My time as a Christian has not always been a great time.  There have been lots of trials and tribulations over this time and even some anger at God.  During this time I have been thankful for a loving God who provides grace and forgiveness!

One of the main reasons we moved to South Bend was to be able to work with Transformation Ministries.  Check out the ministry here transformation58.com.  Every Wednesday I meet with 5 young men between 6th grade and 9th grade.  The group is racially diverse and represents our neighborhood and city well.  We have had to have some tough discussions and it is because we want more for these kids than what society says they are capable of.  They have raised up every time we have pushed the bar higher.  All they really want are people who care and that will push them to be better people.  This quote is fitting.
"People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care!" Unknown

I have some view points on Ferguson and what is going on in our country right now but this post is not the place for that talk.  My goal is to build others up and get them to think before they post or respond to something, so I'm taking my own advice and cutting this post short.  I will leave you with my life passage:

James 1:2-5New International Version (NIV)

Trials and Temptations

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds,3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

This has been written in my head for awhile!

So this post has been written in my head for awhile now!  Floating around in the mush that I call my brain.  It might not sit well with others but I have to get it out before it makes me crazier than I already am!  So here goes.

This year I have noticed how easy it seems to get a group of Christians to come behind something that seems to be an unjust situation.  Don't get me wrong I'm all for helping people and doing what is right as long as I have enough information to make a clear evaluation of the situation.  As that goes, the most resent issue that has attracted a lot of attention has been Chick-fil-A and all that has surrounded it.  Let me explain myself before you jump to conclusions on where you think I stand.

First and foremost I'm a follower of Jesus Christ who is my Lord and Savior.  I try to live each day to the best of my ability as a follower of Jesus.  As most of us know the whole Chick-fil-A issue stems from Mr. Cathy sharing his belief about same sex marriages.  As a Christian I believe that the gay life style is a sin, as is stealing, adultery, murder and a whole list of other things.  My issue is that the whole appreciation day in my opinion showed more hate than love if you attended it because "we have to stand up for God".  If you went to Chick-fil-A on August 1st to show support for First Amendment rights then I believe you where there for the right reasons.  That being said I also don't believe that any official that can legally marry someone should be forced to marry a gay couple if it goes against their religious belief.   As for my family and I we will continue to eat there as we love chicken and also their waffle fries.

I see so many more issues within the church than gay marriage but right now this seems to be where so many people are putting their stake in the ground.  It seems easier to look and say what is wrong with the world than to maybe look at the "church" (as the body of Christ, not a specific building) and see the issues that are going on within it.  I'm not, by any means, saying I'm with out sin.  Let's be real none of us are.  When speaking with a friend lately he talked about how 50% of high school guys that he had in a group admitted having an addiction to pornography.  How often is this brought up in discussions within the church?  What about spending money on the church to make us feel better rather than sharing that money or putting the money to feed the homeless?  An example that almost made me throw up was when I seen an episode of TANKED on Animal Plant. A church had built an aquarium that cost over $250,000 and it required having a full-time biologist on staff to take care of it.  That seems a little over the top to me.  This passage comes to mind when I think through all this.

Matthew 7:3-5

New International Version (NIV)

³ “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴ How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

As Christians we are called to show the love of Jesus.  I believe there is so much more that the body of Christ could do to show this love.  Will you join me in trying to live it out and being the light for others?  If so here is a daily check list that I came up with for myself. I'm not going to lie it not always easy to follow this list but it is how I need to define each day!

My new checklist:
1.  What have I done to glorify God today?
2.  What have I done to advance the Kingdom of God? 
3.  How have I shown the love of Jesus?