Guest Post: Can Christian Men and Women be "Just Friends"?

Note from Sarah Faith - Today's post is by a good friend and long time follower of Shewithunveiledface.com, Matt Rose.  Matt and I met finally on Twitter and found that we have similar tastes in theology and humor as well as a shared love for God. He is a proud husband and Daddy. You can find Matt on twitter @MatthewSRose and follow his blog on Tumbr.  :)

I think we’ve all met “that” guy. After reading some book or “praying about it,” he decides it’s totally cool with God if he drinks alcohol like others drink coffee. Now his Facebook “Likes” are all breweries and local bars, and you rarely see him without a drink in his hand. Because, after all, he’s free now. If someone mentions to him about maybe toning it down, they’re usually met with an impromptu discussion on the evils of legalism and the beauty of grace, which implies that anyone whose opinion differs from his is probably just a legalist.

If you know that guy, I’m sorry. If you are that guy, I’m sorry I’m not sorry.

The alcohol conversation can certainly spark a lot of back-and-forth controversy among church-goers. 

Likewise, there are other topics that often end up going that same direction.

This isn’t one of them.

If the truth can be told, this isn’t one of them because most everyone already has his or her mind made up on the issue.  The issue gets shot down before it even gets brought up.

 And I can’t call it legalism, because there is no law for anyone to be “living by the letter.” 

The Bible doesn’t really seem to speak on the issue of discussion—which is why we shouldn’t necessarily call it “the road map for life” as so many seem to stereotype it.

 The Bible is not just the moral equivalent of  the popular diet book “Eat This Not That” as so many seem to treat it.

However, the Bible is the story of God’s people from one end of time to the other. 

It’s up to each of us to prayerfully find our place in that story and to determine how the Holy Spirit

 would have us walk in our culture—in our cities, in our workplaces, in our neighborhoods, and in our families.

With this being said, the topic up for discussion is this: whether men and women can just be friends. 

Whether they can be just friends. 

There really only seem to be two views. 

There are some people who say the answer is “No.” And there are some people who say the answer is “Yes.”

You’re welcome. 

Now, let’s take a look at the logic behind each of those.

Stirring, Stirring... You See Bones?

I see an Army.





So I spent a little time at the House of Prayer tonight and God just began stirring in me something I don't quite understand and yet absolutely understand.

First thing is - The mountain of God.

I'm not sure all that it will entail, but I want to know all about this mountain that the Lord wants His people to dwell on.

I'm excited because God is opening something up to me and I don't know what it is, but it all started with a phrase, and then a poem.

And, come to think of it, the phrase was birthed on a hillside.

I know there's significance.

Just gotta find out all that there is.


BUT! Tonight! Tonight I began to read the first part of Ezekiel 37, which caught my attention and the Lord began to show me things that I believe have much - MUCH! to do with Cleveland.

The hand of the LORD was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?"
I said, "O Sovereign LORD, you alone know."
Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.' "

So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.' " So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

Then he said to me: "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.' Therefore prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.' "

And as we prayed for the leaders and pastors of Cleveland, The Lord had already put on my heart the need to pray for the future leaders and pastors of Cleveland. And He led me to this scripture.

And as I read it through, the Lord began to speak to me exactly as He had spoken to Ezekiel, and I began to realize that, indeed, He was making a point in His very speaking to me: WE are the future leaders and pastors of Cleveland. WE are called. WE need to step up. WE need to prophecy to the dry bones and the helplessness of the valley by the water. HERE. In Cleveland, we are called to have the faith of Ezekiel, the Spirit of Elijah and the very breathe and anointed of the Spirit of the Lord within us.

I believe that Cleveland is an army waiting to happen.
I believe that Ezekiel was pretty average.
I believe that Jesus changes everything.

And, I believe that because of these 3 things, and because of who I am - who WE are in the Lord, that it qualifies us to speak and prophecy to the dryness of the Cleveland Church at large, the hopelessness of the lost at large and to be the very example of the goodness of a loving God to a dying culture.

Hah.

I don't even know what else to say right now.

Oh! Except I'll bring in the part about the mountains again:
The mountain of the Lord is the place that He has for His people - a "resting" place.
But there is one verse that I cannot help but be drawn to.

How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
"Your God reigns!" -Isaiah 52:7


Ha! And in Isaiah 40, after calling out how all flesh is grass and how the Word of the Lord endures forever, The verse after says,
You who bring good tidings to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, [c]
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
"Here is your God!"

I think there's a running theme here of the beauty of being on a mountain, proclaiming His wonders to the world.
Not sure what it means, but I'm going to be searching it out.

:)

I was too blown away by some of this stuff NOT to write, but I'm pretty sure this is by far, the most jumbled blog I've written in a while.

Enjoy!

♥

If Starbucks Advertised Like the Church, They'd Look Stupid.

This video is funny souly because of its irony. Starbucks doesn't advertise. By word of mouth and by the success of their company, they ARE the best coffee shop in the world. Yet the church feels they need to advertise God? Serve God, and they will come. Sigh. The truth behind this video kills my spirit that hopes for the Church. But it hurts just enough to define my heart for people just a little bit more: They come because they want coffee. If it wouldnt work for starbucks, what makes us think it'll work for a church service?



Hmmm.

Get back to Jesus, Kids. Grow up.

I've been feeling meloncholy as of late. Not because I'm depressed or having a pity party, but because I've been doing quite a bit of thinking lately.

I've been thinking about how religious so many people are. I've been thinking about how two-faced so many of the people I know have become. I've never thought I was two faced, but to be honest, I HAVEN'T been honest. I put on the "everything is okay in love and ministry" face and that was never right of me. Its NOT okay in love and ministry. Its WRONG when it goes against God's word. And its WRONG when it causes disunity between His believers. One thing that God has laid on my heart as of late is the unity God wants for His followers to have with one another. We will be known by our love for one another.

Interesting.


Another thing: True love is revealed when hard times come and when its hard to love the people you say you love.


I've realized quite a few things with this truth: FIRST, that if you ask God to show you how to love like He does, He WILL, and it won't look like what you thought. And SECOND, many people do not know how to love the way God does.

I never knew this until the last year of my life.

When people say they love you, they really don't know they do until they DECIDE to love you anyway and PROVE that love through their acts of love towards any said person.

It has been a deeply saddening realization that what I have suspected to be true is true. I often love people more then they will ever love me. My naivety is that I believe they love me back in the same way I love them.

Something that hurts me as I watch many of my peers is that to them, (and even to me, to a certain extent) love is conditional.

I'll love you only as long as things feel good.

I'll love you only if you agree with me ALL the time.

I'll love you as long as you don't hurt my feelings.

I'll love you as long as you stay away from the person I like.

I'll love you as long as YOU take responsibility for why our relationship didn't work out.

I'll love you IF.

IF, IF IF.


I HATE THE WORD IF IN THIS CONTEXT!!


its BS.


God NEVER used IF when He told us to love one another. He NEVER gave His people, His followers a choice - a preference.

I love you EVEN if I can't be your friend right now because I don't agree with you.

I'll only love you IF you continue to go to the same church.

IF you try to work things out (like they have the right in the first place to assume that you didn't.)

IF you'll sweep the issues under the carpet.

IF you'll suck it up and go back to the people who critisize you the most.

IF you match up to MY ideal of courage.

IF you do things MY WAY.


I'm sorry... when did God say IF when it came to the unity of His body?

"Now thumb, you only have to help the OTHER fingers IF they can cordinate to what you're trying to do. If they aren't quite as cordinated as you, you can just be limp."

"Now hands, you only have to put your hair up in a pony-tale IF it works the first time. If not, you can let your eyes and mouth deal with having it wave all in its face."


What


THE


FREAKING


heck, guys?




Since when did God give us permission to slander each other within the church walls.


Yes! the church walls.


Are we not TEMPLES of a Holy Spirit?


Whether we contain anger or bitterness and how it not only then DWELLS in your temple but will then COME OUT and be taken in by OTHER temples of a Holy God?


Church, GET ON YOUR FACE.


You are NOT exempt from Judgment! You WILL stand before a Holy God and account for every person you ever gossipped about - every thing you DIDN'T do. EVERYthing you did. Every Idle you chased after. Every man you laid with, Bride!

Each ONE of us is guilty!! So who are we to pass judgment on each other if it is nothing to do with encouraging one another to do the right thing or building up each other with positive rebukes and true love and fruit coming out of the way we show conCERN for each other?!


YES I'M UPSET!


I'm not HERE to feel comfy in this religion where we can answer all the right answers and pretend we've got it all together cause, you know, we're saints now.


NO.



We'd BETTER be on our face repenting before a Sovereign God and we'd better HOPE that we're one of the sheep when He is weeding us out because I can assure you, the harvest is nearing with each day we waste living the New and Revised 21st Century American Dream reading our new americanized, de-sexualized, watered-down versions of a Bible we only buy because the covers are cool.


Guys?


I'm a freaking, damned to Hell - SINNER.


The only thing that makes me different is God's Grace that, praise the Lord, is in the business of transforming my heart to be soft and more like Jesus.

Without that, I'm done-fore.


But just because someone writes a convicting blog where YOU ASSUME they're NOT doing what they say the church should do, doesn't mean that they're not doing it.


You don't know where they meet God alone in their room.

You don't know what kind of prayer they dive into for the people they dont even know.

You don't know if they obey God even down to the little "pick up that piece of paper"s.

You DON'T know.


Its just YOUR responsibility to respond to God.

When God gives a word to you, you need to go before Him and deal with Him about your issues with people, and to be honest, ME.


Stop going to your "best friend". You don't even know how long God will bless you with that friendship. Stop going to "Your Mom". YOu may not know what kind of HER issues are rubbing off of you.

Stop going to "YOUR thought patterns". You're NOT always right and you never know what or HOW you are thinking may get in the way of the sort of things God wants to teach your heart.


I'm done with people not going to God about stuff. I'M done with that.


Now stop caring about what some dumb girl is saying and start wondering if God wants to speak to YOU through it.




For God's SAKE.

Lord, forgive us, for we knew not what they see...

What we should be to the World:





What we look like to the World:





I understand that this is very graphic and I cry with a deep sob as I look at the picture right above my writing.
It was almost too inappropriate for me to post,
and so I must tell you, my dear readers, that is exactly why I chose to.

This is what the world sees, in essence, of Christianity.
The pure perversion so pains my heart that I can barely keep my thoughts together.

One object still rings out in my head: this is how we, The Church, look to most people.

Just as disgusting as the rest of the world, except we say we have Christ.

FILTH.



For those of us who think killing children - unborn babies, is okay, their blood is on OUR hands.

For those of us who don't pray against this terror, their blood is on our heads.

For those of us who choose to wear the christian garb as we blatantly live in sin - be it gossip, lust, jealousy, complacency, lukewarmity, and outright bitterness and pride - we look as disgusting as this man and bare the irony of his image.


My heart breaks.

I will continue my plea that God would so move my heart and so shake my soul that I can do nothing but work against what we've portrayed; that I can do nothing but love on people and actively live out what I believe.

I refuse to be UnChristian.

I will pledge myself to the call of Christ: to Have no other gods besides YHWH, and to love my neighbor as I love myself, even if it means to lay down my life - while I still live.



O Church - reveal the true Bride of Christ and separate yourselves from Babylon's Whore.

True Influence...

So last night was my last night at cornerstone chapel. My heart ached, my eyes cried. But it was one last, sad look on the place of, really, my spiritual youth.

I grew up in the way I should go, there.

But, though God is at work in the place where I've spent so much of my life, He's on to a new thing with me.


I scanned the place where I led worship so many times for so many different people. I took in the carpet that held so many of my tears as I sought some floor space.
I looked at the corner where I sat and prayed for so many people.
I sat in the chairs I never actually sat in very much because I was always in the sound booth running the computer or sound...

And I watched as my pastor - the one who showed me how to lead and pastor as I do now, get on his knees and wash both the new youth pastor and the new youth directors' feet.

I watched as 3 of the strongest men in my life openly wepped, being humbled in so many different ways.

I saw Jesus.


And so, as I took all of this in, I couldn't help but wonder - what sort of legacy did I leave?

None but a few people talked to be as I spent my last Wednesday watching everything go on around me.
I'm sure many have their opinions of me and my choice to leave. I'm sure many are glad. But then there were a few people, surprising as it was, whom I never knew would hug me with tears in their eyes and thank me...

My heart is overwhelmed with a sadness, a love, and a need to continue forward.
I loved these people. I still do. In so many ways I pastored them... as did all the rest of the youth leaders.

But God gave me charge over the 6th grade girls this year, thanks to Pastor Mark, and those girls were MY girls. :)

I grew so much as I taught them as best I could what God has been showing me. I probably grew more then they did.
But one thing I know... it meant more then anything to me when they each gave me hugs as I watched them deal in their own way with the fact that I wouldn't be there again.

Some were silly and acted normal.

Then there were just a few... just a few who sadly looked at me through those beautiful little eyes of theirs and told me they'd miss me and couldn't stop hugging me.

God!

THAT is God.

I could never have loved those girls the way I did without God's love... and that Love He first loved me with.

They mean soo much to me. Heh, no matter what I was going through each week, they were a constant reminder that I needed to just look past myself and my problems for a while to see the beauty of the Lord in each little heart as I listened to THEIR problems.


Influence.

11 years old and the Lord revealed Himself to me. I was 12 years old when He encountered me with His Spirit. 13 when I started thinking about missions. I was 14 when I knew I'd follow Him into the ministry. 16 when I began to lead worship. 18 When I began to truly pursue ministry as a life job... All of which Pastor Mark has only encouraged and helped develope as time went on. Now here at 19, the Lord thinks its time to move MY influencer on. He thinks I'm ready to be without him.

I think of how much Pastor Mark influenced my life... How much his life - the way he lived it, impacted mine.

And then I think of how for just the short amount of essential time I may have influenced these blossoming young women. What will they remember so many years down the line that may have impacted them?

I pray it was Jesus they saw.
I pray that the way I lived MY life, the way I conducted myself, is something they will consider, and that in some strange way, they'd imitate my faith, just as I have been trying to imitate PM's.

I hope that this part of my life would line up with Hebrews 13:7 -

Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.

I guess you could say that I'm blown away by all God continues to show me about how important it is to represent Jesus to the world.
But you can't just start with the world first.

You must start small. Start young. Start with what God gives you.
Its sort of like the promise of Abraham that we go by - God will multiply us. I may not see the fruits of my labor, but those girls may. Praise the Lord.

:)

What peace, to know that in His time, God makes all things beautiful?

As long as for me, that beauty is in producing fruit, It'll be worth all the heart ache.

It'll be worth every tear.

I stand humbled, but I stand none the less.

... so, God has really dealt with me since my last posting. Ultimately, if I want to call the "90%" out for what they're not doing, God thought I should probably know about those who ARE doing something of good cause. Not only did He show me some good BIG causes, but he also revealed the smaller ministries that are loving on people every day. Like the oaks family care center? Yeah, those people are loving on teen moms, homeless people and teens who just need a loving guide.

I am so totally humbled right now.

I suppose I get so passionate about things that I forget that there ARE people doing stuff!! there really are, and that if I'm going to bash things, I need to get going by supporting those who ARE doing good things... who are making a difference, both the small ministries and the big ones.


So I sit here in the intern office for the last time as an intern, today.
I feel.... like crying. So much has happened here... so much of my growth. The thing is though... no one really cares about how much I've grown here except me. Thats okay though. What scares the living daylights out of me is whats going to happen next.

For the last month I've been scared of what my life might hold after the internship, but its just been the last week that God has given me new hope: He WILL use me where He wants to, and guess what? I HAVE THE TIME TO BE USED now.

I feel like as I walk out of here, I'm walking away from a form of spiritual boot camp that I'll never want to go through again. Whether it means that it was my last stretch of true training before God throws me out there, I don't know. The last thing I ever want to believe though is that I've somehow arrived.

I know more then anything though that I haven't.

Hm.

I want to write songs again. I want to write poetry again. I want to be inspired. I AM being inspired every day! The problem? Its not coming out OUT!! It just keeps going in and my spirit, my heart, my soul keeps turning it over and over and over again, but nothing is coming from it yet. I hope more then anything that something absolutely lovely comes from this since, once again, I wait for something awesome to happen. Maybe though the thought of the day is: Am I supposed to MAKE it happen? Is the miracle not that its a new day but that I have another day to be better then yesterday?

Good question.


One thing I've been thinking about lately though is: I guess we'll figure it out. Today, I spend it with Christ. As long as thats the case, I'll be okay with whatever comes my way. Just don't take Him away.

I've never known Christ the way I do right now. I'm so blown away by the love I have for Him. I never knew I could love someone like this. My only real problem is trying to figure out how to love people the way He loves me. It takes SO MUCH EFFORT to love people the way Jesus does. Its so hard! Well... its not if they're lovable. I think the less you know about someone the easier it is to convince yourself that you love them like Christ. But the real challenge is when you know them deeper or better then before. The deal is that Jesus knows the parts of us that WE don't even know exist yet... and He loves us despite that. I can't even compose myself quick enough when someone is imperfect in front of me for the very first time!

I'm such a worm. but I'll quote Winston Churchill here, "We are ALL worms. But I do believe I am a glowworm."

I am a glowworm if I must be a worm.

But even God made the worms, and he provides for them. How much more does God love us then, being as we are human beings?

I cannot even fathom it. I cannot even fathom what is the width, the depth, the heighth, the VASTNESS of His love for us. I guess it'll be a life-long learning experience to love people the way Jesus loves us. I hope to love on HIM a little more like He loves by the end of my little life.


I love Him.


Nothing can compare to what I have with Him after this crazy 10 months of wishing I never had to come back to the church; of crying myself to sleep at night; of struggling with God to forgive again, for today.

I walk away from this place more a woman then I've ever been before, and more a child then I will ever be in later years. I hope to grow younger as I embrace the joy set before me to endure any trial...

I just wonder that I'm not walking away with more than I think I am. I bet God has instilled in me more then I realize right now.

But one thing I did get out of this: I questioned whether I was truly called to full-time ministry or not.
I truly questioned it and I've concluded after much pain, many tears, several hard-knocks and a few trying doubts that, YES. God has called me more then ever before. I could not be satisfied any other way but then to give my life to further the Kingdom of God through any sort of ministry God calls me to.

I don't know. I hope my writings can go into a time of simply desperate pursuit of God and true poetry of the soul.

sigh.


until next time...

O Tree where art thou Fruits?

The Stand still.

That's where I am right now.

I'm at the stand still.


I mean, I'm not standing still in anything.... my relationship with God, every day that goes by, my jobs, the intern program... everything keeps going and coming to a slow, quick end. Well, the things that mean the most to me, that is. So much change. I'll be ending the intern program in less then 2 weeks. Its so weird that something that stretched me so much, something that I once was so excited to begin, something that was a whole 10 months, is now coming to an end.

But so much is coming to an end.

My time as a youth leader.
my time as a worship leader at Blast, the Race AND Contact.
My time as an intern.
My time at Cornerstone?

I'm not sure.

But one thing I DO know is, God offered me so many options. I was so confused until I realized He was just looking for a willingness to do ANY one of them for Him!
And when I was willing, God spoke to my heart. In the midst of all the transition at the church, in the midst of what seems to be my EMERGING into the calling of God on my life, in the midst of so much opportunity for ministry work!... would I step down if He were to ask me?

I do not remember the moment this happened. But I do know it happened. And I also know that at that moment, God allowed me to be guided by His peace, because He had offered me the option He wanted me to take, and He knew that if I was listening, I would follow.

And so here I am.


Honestly?


I'm terrified that I have no hold on my life.

A friend said to me, "you know why God asked you to step down and out? Its because you've put all your trust in your 'call' into ministry for your future instead of God." maybe that's not the exact words she said... but that's exactly how I heard it.

She is right.

I've never thought that maybe God wanted something different for my life other than "full-time ministry" as I knew it.

But, here is my hope and peace: as I've decided to step down, God has put in my heart a calling stronger then EVER to full-time ministry.
The difference? It might be to something totally and completely different then what I thought full-time ministry meant.


Now, I need to wait.

argh. I'm bad at waiting. I mean, I'm good at it for a little while, but then I get antsy after a while and by the time the waiting period is pulling through full-term, I usually have myself near convinced that I'm going to die from not doing anything.

But here's a very very valid thing: dude, you're not supposed to just wait around while you're waiting. You're supposed to create a JESUS CULTURE. You're supposed to create an environment around you. You're supposed to create something with what you've got.

Hello?! The parable of the servant and the talents? We're not supposed to bury the moment God gave us and wait for Him to give us another OR to come back! We're supposed to DO something with it!

SO many times I listen to people talk, talk, talk about how we need a revolution. How we need people on fire for God. How if people were REAL believers, the atmosphere would be different, there would be a mass difference in our culture.

And you know what I see? NOTHING. Talk, talk, talk and book after book after book, but NOTHING.

People read those books and go, "wow, that is soo true! That was good." But you see absolutely NO fruits. None. And this is uniform throughout our country from those who live a normal every day life to those who title themselves preachers, pastors, evangelists, and ministers.

And then I get challenged, "well you can't make that generalization, Sarah. You can't say that."

Oh YES I can.

Statistics say that 90% of Americans call themselves Christians. 90%!

The Bible says that we are not to be judgemental, but that we DO need to judge good from evil and discern the spirits AND tell a good tree by its good fruit and a bad tree by its BAD fruit OR by no fruit at ALL, like the fig tree Jesus cursed!

People who aren't Christians aren't to be judged by the standards God has set for us. They don't count here. Why? Because they don't count themselves as that 90%. Thank God for a LITTLE honesty here!

WE'RE counting the 90% of "Christians" in America.

The Bible says if 1 person can slay (or reach) 1000 that 2 people can slay (or reach) 10,000.

So, if this is true, we should see an increase of Fruits of that by 9000%.

Ministries and Churches couldn't be started QUICK enough to hold all the followers and believers! in 2005 a Bible software company took a survey to see what the percentage of users were missionaries. it was about 13%.

Now, if 13% of ALL Christians in America were just missionaries, do you know what kind of IMPACT that would have on our WORLD ALONE?!

I think its safe to say that the Church in America isn't doing their job.

Fewer and fewer young people ever come back to the churches let alone study to be ministers or pastors.

according to statistics done by Battle Cry, just 3% of all American students will be evangelical Christians in the up-coming generation.




That sucks.


So you know what? I'm not going to let the Church misrepresent Jesus Christ this way.

God asked me to wait on Him.
But He never made me an exception to His call for us to be His witnesses in all of our Jerusalem's, Judea's, Samaria's and to the ends of the earth!

Or how about our Niniva's? The places you don't want to go or be?

Guess what! I don't want to just stay here!

But God wants me to wait.

And so I will.

But I'm creative. If He wants me to wait, then this is a test of what I'm going to do with this waiting period of my life. Will I prove myself faithful and give it back to Him doubled? He gives me something that seems like nothing, but if I just be myself, I'll make it into something and isn't that twice as great as what it was before?

God never calls us to be dormant.

Never.


In fact, it has been said that satan's greatest deception is Christianity as it America knows it - lukewarm, boring, dull and the eqivilant of a spiritual Kansas - dry, seemingly fruitless and plain, but a necessary way to get to Colorado from Ohio. :-p


Thats not a true believer's walk, by any stretch.

Kansas isn't anyone's dream spot to live, and neither is it very pleasant to kiss dry, crackling lips.


A true Follower's life should be ample with Joy, green from the Holy Spirit who's called the water to every part of the soul. It should be full of trees of life, and of all the fruits of the spirit.
YES, there WILL be weeds and prickle bushes and trees that don't bear fruit or even bear BAD fruit at times, but God works those OUT of our lives! He really, really does; if we let Him weed them.

When we allow God to be everything to us, all of a sudden we don't need to force ourselves to be witnesses. we ARE a walking, showing, talking witness! Notice how I said showing? It'll be SO EVIDENT that Jesus is you're center beCAUSE you're so full of Him that you're messy - you spill Him EVERYWHERE! When you walk, you leave Jesus-Love tracks. When you hug someone, you get Jesus all over them. Where you walk, you've taken back Holy ground!
The fruits of the spirit will be good and guess what? People will eat from them around you. You'll IMPACT them. You'll be planting seeds just because you can't help it, and esPECIALLY if people can't help but eat of the fruits!



Dormant Christianity? It stops here.

It stops with me. I'll either be hot or I'll be cold, but you can count me out if I'm going to be like puke in God's mouth.

I challenge the Church to do the same.


Are you in? Or are you out?


Simple as that, O 90%. Simple as that.

a Jesus generation

I've decided we're not real enough with anyone.


I've decided that we're really high on ourselves a LOT. I wish people would see this because I think a lot of the time the older generation of Church is so focused on trying to be righteous before God that they forget that the younger generation needs direction too.


You can't just force something to be when its not! Its a process to get to a place of such perversion, its going to be a process to become right before God!


Just because you're doing a great job doesn't mean others know how too!


I think the Church assumes that young people are just going to pick up on this, but the problem is that we tell people what NOT to do, and oops! We forgot to tell them what we're actual human beings too. So we're fakers. We brush things under a rug and either rape grace for what its worth OR pretend that we're not struggling at all.


Then you've got these young people who see right through it and want nothing to do with it because no one's really willing to

a. keep it real and admit that no matter how old you are, you struggle.


and


b. remember where you came from.



I know, a lot of people say, "yeah, but I'm forgiven for that and thats in the past. So lets forget about it."


Yes, you may be forgiven, but don't think God doesn't want to use that! Your biggest hurt, your biggest struggle, your biggest regret, IS your greatest ministry to people.


They need to know that even the most christianeze people struggle with every day things.

Its the only way people relate!


Its the way Jesus relates to us.

Don't think for one moment that Jesus was never sexually tempted, or that He never had steamy thought run through His head.

You know what made Him perfect? He knew how to grab it and cast it at God's feet, taking every thought captive and choosing to not dwell on those things.


He saw the bigger picture, so it wasn't a match for what His purpose was on the earth. But the point is that there is NOTHING that He hasn't had to deal with.


He was transparent with His guys. He taught based on how He knew people would understand.


Of COURSE He understood why He was there and what He was about to do, but no one ELSE did, so He taught on the terms that they would understand: Stories.


Thats how we should teach as the Church: we need to teach in a way that not only grasps people's attention, but also create personal relation between the story of the cross and the heart of the person.

We can't just expect people to be attracted to something they're not attracted to.


You know what the most timeless thing that will attract anyone in the world at any given time in the history or future?



Love.



simple as that.

They will know us by our love.


If you have it in your heart, it'll come out in all you do.



Love.



The more Love you have, the more people you'll attract.



The more God you have, the more you have Love.



The more you really love people, the more you'll upset your invironment and circle of influence - not negatively, but spiritually.



Seeds are planted, hearts are stired, minds are wreeling.

Curiosity sets in, questions are asked, you let the Son shine.

A passion is awakened, a respect is gained, more thoughts are stired.



its about meeting people where they are, not afraid to get your hands dirty, though wise enough not to allow your heart to be palluted.



Jesus gave His hand to the prostitute to lift her up.

He spit in the sand and put mud on a blind man's eyes.

He called a tax collector to be His companion.

He spent His time with a sailor with a big mouth.

They didn't influence Him, rather, they walked away, never to be the same.


Why? Because He truly loved them.


Not because He talorated their sin, but because He loved their heart.

Because of that, they walked away from their sins.

They followed Jesus.



The generation of today will walk away from their sins if the Church will love them enough to LOVE them like Jesus. To know them like Jesus. To show them grace like Jesus.



Are we up to it?





I gotta say:





we're not doing it if we're on myspace 24/7.

or when we're taking stupid surveys.

or when we're pining over who's our next crush.

or when we're gossiping with our friends.

or when we're writing a blog a day.

or when we're taking pictures of ourselves all the time.

or when we're busy gratifying our laziness.

what an oxymoron.



I write this because I'm doing it. I'm going to do it. I have been doing it.





And I'm writing this to challenge you:



How many people have you witnessed to about what God's doing in your life in the last week?

In the last month?

since the start of the new year?



Now think of how many people you have contact with a day.



Are you doing your part in being the church?


Are you loving people?


Are you worshipping God loudly with your life?


Or are you too busy loving yourself?


And is that love at all? Because that sounds like selfcenteredness to me.


And I gotta tell ya,


faith without love?







Its noise.



Its loud loud noise.








"You can fake a lot of things, but you can't fake the fruit of your life."

Who we are: Satisfied?

I've been truly contemplating a lot lately.

I think I am lacking a bit in my ability to write so profoundly, but the truth is, I don't care about being profound. I'm real. When I'm being real and I just happen to say something profound, good for me. I'll feel great about myself and I may treat myself to a nice tall cinnamon dolce latte.

Agh. I don't know.

What are we doing, really?


We come and go as we please, we live our lives for what we want and then we add to our overabundance of life that we love Jesus too.

And I've just been thinking. That is NOT what changes the world.
In fact... only someone who is willing to be uncomfortable in themselves is going to change the world... not because THEY somehow are so great of a person or such a Saint...

But its because they dared to make the difference. They dared to make UP the difference between what IS and what SHOULD BE.

I hate being uncomfortable. But then again, I can talorate it.
I was made to stand in the gap.

we were ALL made to stand in the gap.

And we're all afraid to.


Here's something else I've discovered. We wear or put on a facade, using either a mask of some sort that ISN'T us, OR we pretend that our true selves IS the mask so that we don't get hurt by people.

We all hide, and then we all pretend we're not and then ON TOP OF IT, we all think its okay even though we secretly wish we could just be ourselves.

then you get someone who dares to be themself. You get someone who doesn't act like they've got it all together. Everyone gets real defensive about people like that. You know what I think? If someone has a TRUE heart of pursuing God and has a little bit of ignorance or arrogance, allow him to be corrected and give the person some grace! If he's actively pursuing God, he's going to grow anyway! That is so big.

It is one thing to think we've got it all together and not let anyone see... its another when someone's willing to expose themselves for what and who they are and be open, therefore, to the correction that directly effects his character (which is a GOOD THING!)

I guess we just always hide.

We hide because we're scared that who we are isn't going to be acceptable.

But I think we forget something as we're all caught up in the "pursuit of civilians" as 2 Timothy 2:4 says.

I think we forget that it actually doesn't matter if we're not acceptable to the world. Because, quite frankly, we're not. And if you ARE acceptable, you're probably not doing your job as a disciple.

Thats my biggest thing right now actually. Why aren't we just sucking it up and being as bold as Lions already?

Why can't we be as wise as serpants and as gentle as doves? They can't believe if they have never heard and to be honest, we teach a limited gospel.

We teach that all you gotta do is ask Jesus into your heart and you're going to heaven.

You know what?

I don't think thats enough.

I think that along with your CONFESSION that Jesus is Lord, you must believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead and that it is only by GRACE you have been saved, that through Jesus, you have been [sozo] saved, which means not only from the destruction of death and hell, but ALSO from physical, heart and mental sickness and brokenness as well. When you believe, you are then also an heir TO HEALING TOO. But we never teach that! I never even heard that salvation message until now.

Folks, we are the church.

These are the last days.

Its been the last days for the last 2000 years.

There are false prophets.

There are partial teachings. It is time to begin to teach the truth. Without faith it is impossible to please God.
But faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
It is also by faith that you are made well. But how can you have faith if you've never heard what you're supposed to put your faith in?

Are we not supposed to be His witnesses everywhere, if the Holy Spirit is upon us?

Are we not supposed to have this same authority that Jesus had, and should be able to say that the Holy Spirit is upon us because He has anointed us to proclaim the good news to the poor, and to proclaim liberty to the captives? Are we not supposed to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord?

And yet we sit back, and the church in general (not all, but may I say it seems like most) have become the epitomy of Isaiah 29:13-14 which says

"Then the Lord said,
"Because this people draw near with their words
And honor Me with their lip service,
But they remove their hearts far from Me,
And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote...
And the wisdom of their wise men will perish,
And the discernment of their discerning men will be concealed.





Dear God, what have we become?!

We ARE the church!

It is imposible to please God without faith, and yet James says that faith without works is DEAD. Its not there. It means NOTHING.
So we may honor God with our lip service and SAY we have faith and SAY that our desire is to please God but without your works, you have no fruit. and if you have no fruit, then its not IN your life because its not coming out.
And we all know what goes on inside of you will come out at some point.

And you know what I've noticed lately?

A lot of ignorance in the church.

we get christians picketting outside of places saying, "So-and-so is in HELL!" blah blah blah.

I have a question. Would Jesus have done that?

Does that glorify God or gratify your own egotistical satisfaction? Doesn't the Bible say that Love does not rejoice in evil but delights in Good?

Shouldn't we be crying because another soul is lost to Satan?
Is it really furthuring the Kingdom of God to say that God allowed Heath Ledger to die because he played a gay cowboy in a movie?

Is that truly the Love of God?


Let me say one thing before I go.


The punishment for sin was satisfied upon the cross.

There is no need for God to want to strike down someone for their "sin" as an actor, playing a homosexual.

If that is the case, why hasn't God smited YOU for lying or for your pride for thinking that you are so much better then Heath?

Answer me this?

Who in the world do we think we are that we think we're so much higher than anyone else?

The only difference between us and any other person who is a non-believer is that WE FOUND GRACE, and we HAVE SOMETHING THEY NEED.

The love of God does not conclude that God brought this upon a man when it is clear that God so loved the WHOLE WORLD.


This is it, folks.

We are the church.


Are we satisfied?