Is Jesus Worth It?

Sometimes as Christians we need to take a step back and reassess our lives, goals, plans, and even our sacrifices. Are we being a true disciple of Jesus or are we merely cheering from the sidelines? As I look back at verses in the New Testament about Jesus' early followers and how they came to be followers, I see something that I don't see today....radical devotion. Were they responding to a still small voice saying, "Go for it"? Or did they know who this Jesus guy was and were more than happy to be apart of His mission. Or maybe it was a bit of both. All I know is that it took a huge step of faith to drop everything at their feet and leave. They left work, family, comfort, security....and didn't ask any questions. And for the few that came along later and DID happen to ask questions, Jesus was flat out harsh. He told them that they could either follow Him from that very moment, or they had to leave; they couldn't have both. The question really came down to, "Is Jesus Worth It?" For those early disciples, and hopefully for us, the answer is yes. But what does that mean? What does that look like? Well, is following Jesus something we're doing just to get a free ride to Heaven (which isn't how that works incase you didn't know)? Or is following Jesus something we're doing because we truly believe in Him and His mission in the world, and love Him enough to sacrifice anything we might have to in order to reach the lost and hurting. Am I willing to leave my job, leave my family, sell my oversized house in order to help someone else? That's partly what it comes down to. Are we all called to sell everything we own and live as missionaries? Maybe not the whole sell everything you own, unless that's what God's telling you to do. But no matter what our living conditions, or how comfortable we might be in life, we should all be living as missionaries. Missionaries in the office, in the house, in the neighborhood, missionaries in the library, missionaries in the store. That being said, does owning an over-sized house, or having way more money than needed to survive stored up stop you, or negatively effect your witnessing to Jesus? Are you so afraid of losing your money or house that you'll give up going to heaven? If you answer yes, then that's not being a true disciple. But don't be upset, most of us all have those times in our life. We just need to refocus our priorities and figure out where Jesus stands in our life.

New Outlook

I feel like I need to start taking the Bible for what it says. Like live it out, take it seriously and literally. I've always held the belief that the Bible was literal and true, but looking at my life right now and in the past, I can't see that belief in the way I 

was living. And honestly that bothers me, actually more like scares me. This election brought it to light. When Romans 13 says that God appoints all those in authority over us and 1 Timothy 2 says to pray for those in authority, it really means it. It's not like its something we can choose to do, as Christians we HAVE to do it. And in thinking about that I started putting everything else into perspective, like when Romans 12 says not to conform to the worlds way of doing things, it's not a suggestion, but a command in a sense. The same goes with Ephesians 4 and how we aren't supposed to let unwholesome talk come out of our mouths. I can honestly say I use negative, profane, or non-uplifting words on a semi-regular basis, and it's starting to bug me. 

"The Radical Question, A Radical Idea" by David Platt

In this book, David Platt hits us with a powerful, yet simple question. "What does Jesus mean to us". It's only 6 words long, but the underlying implications are far greater than you'd expect. Those of us in America are confronted with the reality that we take the Jesus of the Bible and submit Him to our ways, and conform Him to our image, making us more comfortable with Him. We twist the words of the Bible to fit the lifestyles we live, and the churches we build. While using the Bible as His source on how we should look as Christians, Platt also shows us just how far we have strayed from the clear words of Scripture.

"I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review."

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Religious Realization

I am sitting here and was discussing how being at home was different than being at school with my fiancé and I came to a huge realization. While being at school I feel free, thought provoking, and even more at peace or happy; being at home is almost the complete opposite. Then it hit me. Maybe Im trying to make my thoughts, and even my religious views cater to me and conform to my life in order to make me feel productive or thoughtful. Instead of me conforming myself to striving to find the peace and happiness that comes with being a true Child of God. Have you ever done that? Have you ever tried to make your religion conform to you? At least for me, it leaves a thirst and a desire to humble myself and take those feelings captive so I may have a deeper knowledge and love of my religion instead of hating it for leaving me empty. Truth is, if we're waiting for religion to come to us and make us feel complete, we never will. But if we seek God and yearn for the completeness that comes only through a right relationship with Him then and only then will we begin to feel complete.

Deployment Numero Uno

So we are about a month into our first deployment in a combat zone since WW2. The harsh winter is slowly retreating in its battle against the springs warmth. But with that warmth there is another more sinister, and deadly force joining in the endless war. The very people who have spent most of the winter in hiding and planning have now started to emerge from their hybernation. Their "Spring Break" is starting. Instead of flocking to a hot beach filled with alcohol and beautiful women, these men are rushing into a war zone from far distant countries. The very mountains that look like they belong in Alaska or on a postcard are about to erupt with a hail of gunfire, spewing death on anyone not ready. Who would have thought something so majestic and beautiful could be concealing such a dark and deadly secret? The very lands that bring life to so many animals and people also bring death. I guess in that way these mountains resemble people. Even though we may be beautiful beyond all imagination, we all hold something equally as dark and deadly within us.

The warbirds fly low in the sky
keeping us safe with their watchful eye
we look at them with hope and pride
praying within we might survive