Messages from the Flock: A Message from a Dear Friend.

     So, this latest post is written by a dear friend of mine, Joel Chandler. The guy is a very dedicated follower of Christ and just one in a million. I hope you enjoy this latest post in Messages from the Flock, entitled "So You Believe?"...

So you believe?

"You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that- and shudder." James 2:19.

     What does faith look like? Is there a way to quantify it? I mean, faith isn't something that we can see is it? It's not something we can touch. So I ask again, what does faith look like? And what about belief? Is the act of believing enough? Does it matter if we believe something to be true or not? What does faith (or belief for that matter) produce, if anything?

     I have been thinking a lot about these things in this last year. God has truly impressed upon my heart to consider the activity of faith, and the fruit of a faith that moves. I have also found myself asking the question "Is it enough to believe?" In this life, are we called to believe? Is that where it ends? What separates faith from belief? Is there a difference? In this conversation (I hope you find yourself talking to me as you read what I have written) I hope to unpack these answers, and I hope to explain well why I believe that they are extremely important in our walks as Christians.

     What we first must look at is the object of our affection- Jesus Christ. He alone is the object of our faith, our belief, our trust, everything. To be called a Christian is to literally entwine our identity to that of Christ. And if Christ is the object of what we claim, then we should know who He was, and what He was about. What did He say? What did He do? What did He think? How did He live? Why did He live this way? What was said about Him by those around Him? How did He respond to these accusations? What was written about Him after He died (and again rose to glory!)? All of these questions have answers long enough to fill 1,000 blogs of their own, so I will not attempt to do this. I will give an overarching answer to them, however. Love. This is the very character of Christ. What He did, what He said, how He lived, what was said about Him, it all comes down to love. So, by default, the object of our faith/belief is Christ and His unbelievable love. This must be understood (I don't mean comepletely. That's NEVER going to happen. And I don't mean you have to have the seminary theological terms either!) before we can talk about faith and belief. If this is not understood as a precursor to the entire point, then this will simply be a philosophical topic, and we cannot, we MUST not turn faith into a philosophical topic, standing next to other philosophies and doctrines that do not base themselves in the perfect love of Christ. This is so much more than that. With this in mind, let us unpack faith and belief, and why I think that belief is not enough. It must be faith, active and moving, that we have.

     What do these two words mean? Is there a difference?

     Belief-confidence in the truth or existence of something not immediately susceptible to rigorous proof.

     Faith-confidence or trust in a person or thing (thanks dictionary.com!)

     According to dictionary.com, belief and faith both mean in essence a confidence in something else. Why then would I say that belief is not enough? Why would James write such a challenging verse in Ch 2 Vs 9? I would like to thank dictionary.com for its willingness to help, however I am going to slightly change how they are defined, in view of what I see in scripture. From a Christian perspective, I believe whole-heartedly that these two words do not mean the same thing. Though they derive from the same thing, having a confidence in something else, or, an object of affection, but I would like to argue that this is not a complete definition of faith. According to Hebrews 11:1 (one of the most well known verses of our generation) "Faith is the confidence of what we hope for, and the assurance of what we do not see." (NIV) This looks a lot like the dictionary definition, however, I think there is more to it than what we see at first glance. Faith is the confidence of what we hope for. What is it we hope for? To answer quickly, we hope for life eternal. We hope to live an eternal life for the glory of God in Christ Jesus. Now we know that eternity is forever, that's what the word means. Life eternal, therein, means a life lived forever for the glory of God. For some reason, from what I have seen/heard, this is treated as a future hope. It is treated as a hope that we do not live in yet. Now there is certainly some truth in that statement. We do live for the hope of life after death in eternity with Him, and that the completion of our hope will come at the bowing before Christ in heaven! Amen! But. And this is a big but. Like, it deserves its own TV show, big but. This hope that we live for, the confidence that we have in it, begins the moment God takes ahold of your heart. It continues through this life, and is COMPLETED upon seeing Christ seated at the right hand in glory! And if it begins now, if it is being persued now (this hope I mean), what does faith mean? Faith is the confidence of what we hope for. All through scripture, from the days of the first sin, through the last days described in Revelations, man's hope, man's cry to God is simple: Change me. He gives praise to God for saving him, for taking away his sin. He begins to see his heart change and that he hates his own sin as God does. He prays that God would be with him, that he might not boast about anything other than God. And did God answer these cries? Absolutely! Abundantly He answered them! And why? Because of their faith. Their faith was always accompanied with an action, proving that their faith was real, that it was more than talk. It was more than a simple "belief" or claim towards some all-powerful being that they liked. No, they staked their lives on God's provision. Many times over! The rest of Hebrews 11 goes on to describe many "heroes of faith" throughout the old testiment that did something faithfully, trusting that God was with them, that He was protecting and providing for them. It was accredited to them as righteousness! They were called righteous by these faithful actions! Faith is the confidence of things hoped for, the assurance of what we do not see. Faith is not simply believing that something is true. It's living like it.

     And this is the very reason why I have been thinking so much about faith and belief. I found myself asking this question- Do I live like I really believe what I say I believe? In many ways, I found I could answer yes to this very tough question. I also found that in many ways I had to answer no. No I am not living like I believe what I claim to be true. Why do we do this as Christians? We have been given the greatest truth anyone could ever know! We have been saved by a grace we could never deserve! We have been counted righteous by His blood, which atoned for the sins we have done! We have been saved, changed, moved, and enlightened by His very actions! And far too often we do not live like this is true. Let me tell you a story, a parable of sorts, to explain this better.

     A man sit on death row, awaiting a sentence he had received 15 years ago. You see, he was to be executed in one hour for brutally murdering his neighbor over a simple disagreement. As he sat in his cell for so long, he found himself growing sorry for what he had done. He longed to change it, though he knew he could not. He wished he could ask forgiveness from those he hurt, though that seemed as unlikely a chance as anything. As he sat here in his final thoughts, a man approached his cell. The guard walked up beside him, opened the man's cell, and took hi post once again. This second man, a stranger to the first, said nothing but instead took a seat beside him. "You probably don't remember me, but you killed my father." It was his neighbor's son, grown up from the years that separated this day and that. Before he could go on, the murderer fell to his knees sobbing. He grabbed the boy's grown hands and kissed them. "I am so sorry for what I did. I know now that what I have done is wrong. I don't deserve it, but can you forgive me?" The second man listened and thought for a moment before saying, "I came here today hoping for two things. I'd hoped you would say that to me so I could say this to you- I forgive you. And not only do I forgi you, but I have bought your freedom. I spoke with the judge, told him it should be me who sat in you bed, not you. I told him I was the one who killed my father. You are free to go." The first man wiped his tears, confused as he looked up. "Why would you do this for me? I killed the one you most loved! I ruined your life! You are innocent!" The second man smiled. "My life was not yours to ruin. I do this, so that you may go tell everyone what has happened here today. I have saved you because my life is over, but yours is not. Use this freedom to live as a changed man! Do not repeat the same mistakes that led to this conversation. Live differently." At this, the man smiled, pulled his hand back, and laid down. The first man stood up, thanked and kissed his savior on the head and turned around. He faced an open door for the first time in 15 years...

     I stop here to ask this question- What happens next? You might answer "Well duh, the man walks out of the cell a changed man! He's been given a new life! A story of incredible circumstances and timing that would be unbelievable if not for the fact that he was there, alive, telling the story himself! He lived differntly!" My response to you, then, is why don't we? Why do we allow our "belief" stop us from living out the faith to which we are called? I fear that we too often allow us to stay in our prison cells telling Jesus "Thank You for all You've done for me!" while He is all the while telling us to leave our prisons, to tell the world what He's done for us, and to live differently! Do we really believe that He has saved us from our prison cells? Then walk out of them. If we are saved from them, if the door has been opened, then take that step of faith. I mean, it has to be faith to walk through that door. In the parable the guard is standing post right there. He could easily kill the man for trying to escape. I mean, this scenario isn't necessarily very popular on death row, right? What if this guy was just his new cell mate, and was crazy? To take this step would require great faith. It would require going against all of the habits and lifestyles that he had grown so accustomed to. His prison bars were comfortable at that point. But they were still bars. And I fear that we are still living in too many prison cells that Christ died to free us from! I fear that too often we are praising Jesus from the beds He has now taken, instead of praising Him by going, living in freedom, telling the world of what He has done for us!

     My challenge for you is that your life would begin to look like you believe what you say you believe. That your beliefs would instead become active steps of faith, trusting and having confidence that God will provide! Because He has promised to do so!

     I thank you so much for taking the time to read this, and I hope it has if nothing else, allowed you to think. Please please please feel free to leave any questions, comments, disagreements, favorite parts, anything. It is a blessing when we can rejoice together, amen?! Thank you and God bless.

Messages from the Flock: A Word from an Anonymous Lamb

     Sorry, about not having a post up last night, I was very busy here at school. I must warn you that today's post is slightly graphic, but because it is someones testimony about God and His forgiving grace I feel an obligation to share it. Even the scariest story must be shared if it will show Gods love. Sometimes even the most extreme tales convey the message better. Maybe someday I will share my story, but until that day, I hope you enjoy this next installment...

This is A Word from an Anonymous Lamb...

     I, like everybody else, have baggage that I don’t show on the outside. I’ve lived a life full of pain, and I’ve overcome it in unhealthy ways. Like a bad stitch on a wound, the blood still seeps out, and I’ve got bigger scars than I need to. I suppose I should start with my story. My testimony.  My first true friend was made in late grade school. Fifth grade, it was. In seventh grade, he betrayed my trust and used all that I had ever told him to mercilessly bully me, in order to fit in with the cool kids. It lasted for quite a while, until I made myself numb. I refused to feel anything, and since then, I’ve never trusted anybody with any sort of depth. I made a few other friends after that, but never got close to anybody else. Perhaps a reasonable reaction, but it meant I went through middle and high school with nobody to talk to. I dealt with all of the stress and hormones and ugliness of life all by myself. I felt incredibly lonely and got involved with porn. That struggle is something I still haven’t completely recovered from. Everything I ever looked at only made me feel worse. Loneliness quickly evolved into absolute self-loathing.

I became more withdrawn and quiet. Depression was a serious issue, but I can’t stand sadness. I didn’t want to feel sad all the time, so I turned into something else. Hate. I overcame sadness with hate. It made sense to me. I discovered that if you learn to hate a person with every fiber of your being, they can’t hurt you. I didn’t feel loved by ANYBODY though, so I grew to hate EVERYBODY. No girl would look at me twice, unless it was to tease me. So I grew to be bitter and hateful toward women. I had no close friends and trust issues that prevented me from making any. So that pretty much covered everybody else. I hid it all of course. Nobody was the wiser. On the outside, I’ve always been quiet, respectful, church boy. Wouldn’t hurt a fly. But that wasn’t me. I was quiet because I was seething. Respectful so I didn’t have to deal with people. Wouldn’t hurt a fly was just wrong. A gerbil bit me once, and in anger, I snapped its neck with my bare hands. Typing that sentence, I can still see its eyes staring up at me. It doesn’t sound too bad, but there’s something about killing in cold blood, and watching life drain out of something’s eyes. It just doesn’t leave you alone.

This all brings me to my topic. Hatred, people, is a virus. It comes in through a wound that isn’t healed, and not properly cared for. From there, it goes to your heart and anchors there. It rests, small at first, at the center of your soul. But it multiplies quickly, and before you can react, it spreads to every part of you, and takes over. It’s dark. I don’t know how to describe the sort of darkness that comes with hate, unless you yourself have been there. It’s inside. You can still function just fine. You see the same as everybody else, and you can even tell lighthearted jokes. But inside, there’s a raging fire burning. All this doesn’t even replace depression, by the way. It’s still there. You still feel alone and unloved. The hatred only serves to give you hopelessness. It makes you feel not just that you’re unloved, but that you’ll NEVER be loved. Then it reminds you of how hateful you are and uses that to convince you of your worthlessness.

I wish this were a testimony with reconciliation at the end. I’d love to tell you how to fix yourself, but I cannot. God can though. He offers forgiveness and redemption to all who seek after him. So seek him. Go do it. Dig and dig and don’t stop. Don’t settle. That’s the only advice that I can give, and it’s tough advice. I don’t even follow it very well. I still struggle with trust and with bitterness and hate. In fact, I’m going to great lengths to be anonymous, because I’ve never shared ANY of this before. I’m far too afraid to say any of this publically. I still often feel as though I’ll never be loved. I question whether or not God even exists sometimes. If you want to pull a lesson out of here, it’s that being the lonely, bitter person only LOOKS like a good idea. In reality, human beings are wired for interaction with each other. Not EVERYBODY sucks. We NEED fellowship and trust. If you deny yourself that, it corrodes your soul. Talk to people. Put yourself out there. Both science and God agree with each other on that point. Fellowship is important. Forgiveness is important. And most important is love. God’s greatest commandment. It’s the opposite of hate. When you live in hate, you’re as far away from God as you can ever be, and that is a dark, dark place. 

Messages from the Flock: Genevieve Ozman

     
This is the latest post from one of the flock, hope you enjoy what God is doing! 



     On January 25th in 2012. Was the most scary thing that happen to me and it has change my life. I see differently with hope and see clear. I thought I always had faith, but when this happen to me. I realize how important it is to have God in my life. In Oct of 2011. I was diagnose with diabetes. So they put on medication. I wasn't surprise because both of my parents have it and a sister. About a few weeks went by and I started having problems speaking, called nurse she ask me question about how my sugar levels where and so on. She didn't say much just to check my sugar next time it happens. Weeks went by at the Mall with my 8 year old twins. I felt my body weaken. I could not talk well, my left side of my body I was not able to control well. I sat down and waited until it passed. I was so scared. The next day, I went to urgent care. They did an MRI told me I had a brain tumor had to be removed within two weeks. They wanted to do it the next day! But I had to see my kids first. I went home and told the news to my family and friends and we all prayed.  I had so many people pray from church, family even strangerS. I felt so blessed. I felt the peace for the first time in my life the peace that God promises us, it was amazing. I was not afraid anymore. I knew God was in control. Doctors told me I will need speech therapy. I had my tumor removed in was in a area that affected my speech. It was a success almost 5 hours surgery and I had no problems talking. My faith has grown so much. God is real and He loves you. Give it all to Him and He will take care of you. Thank you Heavenly Father for being in my life. 

Without God I am nothing, Amen! 

Love, Genevieve Ozman

A Bittersweet Motif

     We are a bittersweet motif, aren't we? We go day-by-day living lives of joy and such, but in comparison to our God, we are only fleeting ideas in the grand scheme of things. And on top of all of that, we live lives of sin. Every lie, cheat, and folly another nail in our Saviors hands. It's all bittersweet. We love our lives, and we love our savior (well...some of us do), but by simple instinct we attempt to murder Him on a daily basis. God strives day in and day out to give us better lives, but we by ourselves tear down the kingdom which He builds for us. He makes our lives holy and wonderful, we make our lives sinful and terrifying. It is a bittersweet thought because we want to be happy, but we don't let ourselves. A friend and I have been talking for the last week about over thinking things, a topic we meant for something else, but that follows perfectly into this. We over think things to the point where we unconsciously force ourselves to make the wrong decision rather than what we know to be right.

     What happens when we let God take over our lives? Do you want the simple answer? Nothing but good. Have you heard that Jesus Culture song "Your Love Never Fails"? The bridge goes, "You make all things work together for my good." IT'S TRUE!!! Through Christ there is nothing that is done that will end just as badly as it begun. Let me give you an example. About seven months ago (exactly seven months this friday) my families house burned down. While most people would react may break down, I was forced to rely on Gods strength rather than my own and for the first time in a long while I felt truly joyful. My whole family did. We no longer had to worry about the stupid little things that worried us because we no longer had those stupid little things. We were cared for by other followers of God, and eventually we were called in the middle of a church service to be told that we had had our rental application accepted for an even better house than we had before. God used a horrible event for our good.

     Do you realize how easy it would be for God just to forget about us? Easy. That's how easy it would be. We are just a motif to Him. A motif. The dominant idea in His grand plan for the universe. We are His motif, we are the ones who add the tag bittersweet. We all strive for happiness, yet simultaneously walk in the complete opposite direction. God brings happiness, we want happiness, but we convince ourselves instinctively that our un-Godly actions will bring us happiness.
   

Messages from the Flock: Words from a Grandmother

     "Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to the garage makes you a car."

--

 Lawrence Peter

"It cannot be emphasized too clearly and too often that this nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religion, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason, peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here."

--

Patrick Henry

"The light in the eyes of Him whose heart is joyful, rejoices the heart of others."

--

Proverbs 15:30

"My aim is to move from asking, 'What can you do for me, God?' to, 'How can I serve you, Lord?'"

-- 

Mark Brown

     These quotes all pertain to different things but each in their own right are equally important. The last one for instance, how many fathers do you know that have given up their only son to save everyone from their sins? I know of none, God has already made the ultimate sacrifice, how could I not serve him.

     Number 3, Proverbs is named the book of wisdom and it tells us how to live a Godly life. Have you ever been around someone who is happy, it makes you happy doesn't it? God wants us to be happy and to make other people happy.

     Number 2, this quote means to me that we are not to judge. Our nation was built on Jesus' word and it is clear in the bible that the right to judge others is not ours.

     Number 1, well, to me it is funny and makes me laugh, however there are a lot of people that go to church on Sunday or special holidays just because it makes them look good and the rest of the time they spend doing what ever feels good, never praying or reading the bible etc.

Note from Nintendawg: 

     This is a post from my very own grandmother, I hope you enjoy reading it! More to come next Tuesday!