1 Timothy 4:12 - Don't Let Anyone Think Less of You

Don't let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.

2 Timothy 4:12

I am a product of the Millennial generation. Since I fall toward the debatable beginning of that time span, I feel that I understand the concerns of the older generation and the younger generation even as I feel misunderstood by both of them.

I have desired to serve God to the fullest extent I could, though obviously there have been mountain tops and valleys of that commitment. I have struggled with feeling that I am not taken seriously by older generations of Christians, whether that is rooted in the truth or not.

We Millennials DO need to be listened to. We understand the current culture, as tripped up as we often get by the traps the Enemy has set there. Those of us who want to see God move do want to be theologically sound. We do want to evangelize our friends and the world. We do want to see our churches grow. The committed of this generation do want to be connected and make a difference. We have passion. We want to know God in a very personal, relational way. 

Yes, we Millennials can be flaky and under-committed. At times we seek an emotional experience and make it all about us. We can demand to be heard in ways that are not always God-glorifying. Our opinions often are too secular, too relativistic, and too immature. We can be apathetic. We can't stay off social media or stop watching shows on Netflix. 

But... we are what's coming up next in the scene of this world. That scares me because things are getting darker by the day. We are tasked with passing truth down to the coming generation and often feel less than affirmed as to how well we are doing that.

I often find myself wearing this face - 0.o - at the whole situation. Or this one: :/ .

The burden of proof rests with us. We have to prove to the older generations that we are the real deal. We have to get up off our lazy, internet-addicted butts and actually do all the things our minds, hearts, and spirits connect with so intensely instead of leaving it an idealized image in our heads. Older generations have the position to cherish their ideals about the good old days and how things "should" be all they want. The Lord has given them the task of leading us, and they are worried, suspicious, and frightened by all the trends we are immersed in.

As much as we may resent this mentality, we have to honor it in some way because we do need the wise counsel provided by these believers. We can't always dictate the matters of style we believe would be more effective for us and our friends. We have to do what we think we do best - connect with this past heritage and validate the good in it - while finding a way to communicate our vision for what the future has to look like if Christianity is going to survive us.

Again, scary. 

Daunting. 

I'm tempted to go back to communicating with emoticons right now.

What can we do?

What can I do?

Paul gave Timothy sound advice: Be an example to all believers. This includes being extremely authentic and loving while at the same time remaining or becoming extremely pure. Being absolutely above reproach in the way we live, minister, and have fun.

We need to get serious about the Bible and its commands, esteeming others as better than ourselves and just going out there and sharing our faith, no matter what the cost.

Our mandate is to worship God in Spirit and in truth wherever we are planted.

We should be the most loving, the best at reaching out to others of all age groups, the most unconcerned with trivial issues that don't matter in the scope of the gospel message and the soon return of Christ.

All of this is starting to sound like a to-do list that no one is really capable of handling, but the truth is that if we are walking in the Spirit on a daily basis, confessing sins and seeking direction for all of our decisions, God will equip us to do far more than we could ever do on our own.

Psalm 3:5-6 - I Lay Down and Sleep

I lay down and slept; 

I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.

I will not be afraid of many thousands of people

who have set themselves against me all around.

Psalm 3:5-6

I have always had trouble sleeping. My imagination gets away from me, forming new ideas, plotting stories, making plans, and ... worrying! It's difficult to get certain mental pictures of what could possibly happen in the future out of my head. At times, it's simply the stuff of every day life, but recently I have been thinking about bigger themes such as spiritual warfare and the end times. 

Spiritual realities such as how real and how powerful the forces of evil are really disturb me when I think about them too hard and too long. 

As believers we are called to think about whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8). The difficulty for me with contemplating spiritual darkness and demonic influence is the fact that it is true. Since it does exist, in my opinion, a biblical worldview includes a belief in and awareness of these issues. 

Watching end time prophecy play out in all of my online feeds is disheartening and scary. Too much imagination applied in these areas is not constantly helpful or needed. Yes, evil is real. Yes, Satan is real. Yes, the clock is ticking.

So what to do when it's time to actually sleep? How do I feel the peace of what I believe? How do I lay down and actually sleep? I'm finding that I have to renew my mind to the truth.

Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.” No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. 

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35-39

Evil is not the only part of the story.

Evil has not won and will not win, no matter what happens.

God is the one who protects and sustains. He places a hedge of protection around those he has called by His name. Even if disaster strikes, His love is a constant reality in my life.

That is something that I can lay down into and sleep in.

John 5:6 - Would You Like to Get Well?

When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, "Would you like to get well?"

-John 5:6

I think that Jesus's conversations with the people he heals are so important. In this instance, he knows the man has been ill for an extremely long time and asks if he would like to be healed. The man doesn't instantly say that he does. He offers the details of why he hasn't been healed up to this point - he can't get to the healing pool in time. Jesus then tells him to get up, take up his bed, and walk.

I can definitely relate to this man's mentality. Instead of thinking about the answer to the question actually asked, he thinks only of the negative. What he can't do. This is probably due to a genuine disability to do so; he, in fact, cannot walk down to the pool fast enough in his condition. 

I know in my own life, sometimes the things I can't do start to look bigger than they really are as I focus on them. Sometimes, those things become excuses to not think outside the box or not do other things that I actually can do. I always wonder why this man hasn't already begged and pleaded with the people around him to put him in the pool or dragged himself a few inches every day. Maybe everyone was too selfish to help and his body was too weak to do even that. 

Weakness and infirmity are real and need to be engaged with compassion. Excuses need to be eradicated.

The only reason I insinuate this man could have been the cause of his own problem is what Jesus says to the man in verse 13: "Now you are well; so stop sinning or something even worse may happen to you." In either case, whether this man's inability to receive healing was completely legitimate or was caused by learned helplessness, Jesus doesn't acknowledge the obstacle the man presents. 

He issues a command: Get up.

The man is healed and obeys by doing just that. This is one thing I love about being in Christ. He heals us and enables us to do things we could never do otherwise. Did the man know he had been healed before he started trying to stand up? Perhaps he just had to obey what he was told to do having the faith that he would be able to do it?

Sometimes God's spirit moves that way, telling us to attempt something that seems impossibly crazy in the face of our own assessment of our ability level, real or perceived. Healing is from given from God, and we have to have clear sight and faith to see what areas He may be intending for us to walk toward.

Luke 19:10 - Lost

For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.

Luke 19:10

What does it mean to be lost? 

There is so much darkness in the world, and it's easy to forget that all unbelieving people are on their way to hell. 

I don't like to think about hell. 

But... the truth is that hell is real. It's not an abstract place disconnected from our experience. 

It exists. 

It is horrible.

No one, fully understanding what hell is, would want to take the path that leads there, yet many people do choose it because they are lost.

The definition of lost is:

 unable to find one's way; not knowing one's whereabouts

This perfectly describes those who do not know the truth. For all, life begins and we all sin and are sinned against. We're all both the wounded and the wounders. We believe the lie, whatever it is to each one of us.

We're miserable without knowing the truth.

Poor, wretched, blind.

The scary part about it is, in that state, we don't even realize the true source of our problems - being disconnected from all that is light, life, and love.

Jesus came to save each one of us from that state of being lost. Through his sacrifice, we can be made right with God and come to find our way in Him.

The idea of someone being on the road to hell just isn't fashionable and feels judgmental. It's not an easy truth, and for me, the idea of uttering the simple statement: "You're going to hell," just seems so rude and uncomfortable.

But am I actually being compassionate if I see someone bent on destruction and don't try to show them how to avoid it?

My sensitivity to the reality of hell has been dulled with time. It's hard to think about people who I worry may be there, to fight back my all-too-active imagination to construct what they must be experiencing.

Tonight, I was freshly reminded of hell's reality - the fact that it is dark, it is terrifying, and that people are going there. While researching for this blog post, I came across some YouTube videos about near death experiences where people experienced hell. I know some are skeptical about NDE accounts, but I believe that some are valid. I went through such a range of emotions in just watching a few of these videos.

No, I don't need to dwell on the details.

No, I don't have to fear going there.

But it's my job to believe - and act - as though hell is a real place.

Luke 8:39 - Tell Them Everything

"No, go back to your family, and tell them everything God has done for you." So he went all through the town proclaiming the great things Jesus had done for him.

Luke 8:39

This is what we see the man who had a legion of demons cast out of him doing in the wake of his miracle. The demons are cast into swine and fall off a ravine and die. The town is so disturbed by this miracle that they beg Jesus to leave. The one who was healed wants to stay with Jesus, but he obeys Jesus's directive to go tell others about what had been done.

His story is one that shook the foundations of what the people around him could understand. The idea of someone powerful enough to cast out demons they had long feared was terrifying. I can only imagine the responses to the man's story as he proclaimed it. 

Shock. Awe. Belief. Hope.

As believers, we may not have stories that are as dramatic as this man's life, but we do have our stories. 

They matter. 

Our job is to tell them with the intensity with which we feel them. We need to share the details of who we were before and who we are now and who we, with God's grace, may become. This is the kind of stuff that everyone on earth hungers and thirsts for - the idea that we are loved, that we can be redeemed.

Our prescribed "testimony" of date, age, and place of salvation is not bad, but it's not as moving or as compelling as our personal narratives, the ups and downs of our relationship with Jesus. We don't need to tell every gory detail we've ever experienced in our lives, but we do need to be real and honest.

The world is looking for someone or something to connect with, and stories are the absolute best. Especially the stories that are true.

Luke 13:12-13 - You Are Healed

When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, "Dear woman, you are healed of your sickness!" Then he touched her, and instantly she could stand straight.
Luke 13:12-13

What impresses me most about this scene with Jesus is how deeply He sees into each person and his/her needs in a very compassionate way. Jesus is teaching when the woman comes in, and he heals her of the evil spirit which had crippled her for eighteen years. He halts his important teaching (disregarding the legalistic company he is in) to deal with a person who had possibly been written off as hopeless by the majority in attendance.

I'm also moved by the woman's courage. The text doesn't say that she seeks Jesus out for healing, but ... she shows up. I'd think in eighteen years' time she had tried everything to improve her condition, perhaps even seeking healing in the very temple she attends here. Maybe she had lost all hope of being cured. Despite her physical problems, she is still in attendance at the temple, indicating that, in the midst of it all, she hadn't given up her faith.

This woman reminds me to never give up in the difficult places. Sometimes we have a thorn in the flesh that isn't going to go away and must learn to lean on God's sufficiency. Other times God decides to heal us for His glory. We don't get to choose which situation we find ourselves in, and we don't know what God plans to do with our struggles.

All we can do is continue doing what we know to be right and good, trusting that God knows best and that he does see us, including the causes of and cures for what ails us.

Life Verse: Isaiah 61:3 - Beauty for Ashes

To all who mourn in Israel,
    he will give a crown of beauty for ashes,
a joyous blessing instead of mourning,
    festive praise instead of despair.
In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks
    that the Lord has planted for his own glory.

ISAIAH 61:3 

I have so many verses in the Bible that I go to, that have defined certain times in my life, but this one always grabs me. When I read it, if I think about it deeply enough, I'm almost always moved to tears. 

You want my testimony, uh, um... read this verse. 

In its context of Isaiah 61 and echoed in Jesus's reading of it in Luke 4:18-21, it always fills me with awe. Jesus says HE is the fulfillment of these words. Whoah. It's his mission to replace all of our negatives with the light of his grace.

Call it a chemical imbalance in my brain or call it a lack of faith, but mourning, feeling a spirit of heaviness has defined a huge part of who I am. Most of the time I fight it with all I have, but I don't always win. Obviously, I don't enjoy the state of being depressed. It is such a devastated wasteland. I can understand why people mourned in sackcloth and ashes back in the day. It's a perfect symbol of what is going on inside someone feeling that kind of emotion. 

But according to this verse, Jesus makes some kind of beauty out of these ashes. He replaces all that we have with all that He has, which is far better. Instead of mourning, there is joyous blessing. Festive praise - fun, joy, life, light - instead of despair. These contrasts have always proven true. I know the cycle is not over. I am not convinced that I will ever see depression completely eradicated from my life, but I am committed to returning and returning to the truth of the one who loves me.

I am encouraged by the image of our righteousness in Christ making us like great oaks that the LORD has planted. It is a work that He has done, conveying a steady continuance in the faith. It reminds me of Psalm 1, with the beautiful verse: And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. 

That's the kind of abundant life I want to have.