Questions, Questions

So I have had a lot of questions thrown my way recently about what I believe. Some of those questions come from people around me or videos that I've watched on YouTube that ask some tough questions about Christianity. But the main one that seems to be a common issue with most of the people (or videos) that I've talked with (or seen) is the issue of faith. Just from talking with people about what they think faith is I have come up with a basic definition of how faith is being defined in the world today: faith is believing something is true, but can't be proven. So I asked myself, is that what my faith is? Am I believing in something that can't be proven? I will answer this question later, but to start off I looked up the definition for faith and found a total of 8 different definitions for it:

1. confidence or trust in a person or thing.
2. belief that is not based on proof.
3. belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion.
4. belief in anything, as a code of ethics, standards of merit, etc.
5. a system of religious belief.
6. the obligation of loyalty or fidelity to a person, promise, engagement, etc.
7. the observance of this obligation; fidelity to one's promise, oath, allegiance, etc.
8. Christian Theology. the trust in God and in His promises as made through Christ and the Scriptures by which humans are justified or saved.

So we can see there is a variety of definitions for the word faith. Honestly I would say the definition for faith, as it relates to Christianity, is a combination of all of the above definitions. Christians have trust in God (def #1), some things can be proven with facts but not everything can (def #2), Christians believe in God (def #3), Christians have a code of ethics (def #4), Christians have a system of religious belief based off of faith (def #5), Christians follow some fidelity for what it looks like to be a Christian (def #6 & #7), and obviously Christians believe that humans can be "saved" (def #8).

So back to my question I asked earlier: since I am a Christian, am I believing in something that can't be proven? There are things that I have seen and/or read and/or experienced that I would say are evidence for the Christian faith. Two books that I recommend everyone read, whether you're a Christian or not, are "The Case for Faith" and "The Case for Christ," both by Lee Strobel. Lee Strobel used to not believe in Christianity, and then, as a reporter, he began to investigate Christianity and what it stated. One thing that he mentions in his book is that the Bible is accurate in the placement of where a city was back then. He mentions that people have been able to find a lost city because of the Bible; a city that no one could find before has been found because the Bible stated where that city was, and people looked there, and they discovered that lost city. Does this fact alone make the Bible 100% believable? No, but it helps. He also mentions that all of the prophecies in the Bible came true. But he asks the question, "Is it possible that people wrote the books of the Bible after the 'supposed' prophecies happened?" In answering his own question, he did research on when the books of the Bible were written only to find that the books of the Bible were written hundreds of years before the prophecies came true. Does this fact alone make the Bible 100% believable? No, but that's pretty amazing. He talks about more things like this in his books. He talks more on the Bible in this video: http://www.leestrobel.com/videoserver/video.php?clip=strobelT1142. I say all of this to make one last final point: I've put out a lot of info in this blog (and honestly my mind is a little tired just from thinking about these things and writing them all out, LOL!) and the info I've given you is good and it's interesting and it gives some people some confidence in what they believe; yeah these facts are nice, and I think everyone needs to do research and look at facts and ask tough questions, but honestly the thing that makes me believe what I believe are the experiences that I've had; the things that have happened to me and people around me that I can't explain with any science or logic or facts. These things are the reasons why I believe in God.

A Look At The Other Side...

I'm not sure who reads my blog, but whether you are a Christian or not I'm hoping these videos will at least get you thinking about what you believe. I would like to do a series of these so get ready! Here is the first video:
This video is from the perspective of someone who is not a Christian.

Come To My Rescue, Part 2

So I've decided that I'm going to try to be happy about my life even though things seem to be pretty bad right now. Life is more fun when you're happy anyways! :)

Come To My Rescue

Honestly, there are a lot of things going bad in my life right now. Mostly they are things that are looming over me. I see that they are coming, but there's nothing I can do to stop them. Let me tell you, if you haven't been in this position before, it's the crappiest position to be in and you just feel crappy all the time...you don't even feel like yourself! But anyways I guess this is where I'm at right now. So if I seem to be acting weird or strange then that's why.

Honestly, it feels like I can't win right now...that my whole life will be a struggle that I will just have to trudge through. My heart is very heavy, and my shoulders are burdened. Where else can I go? There's no other name by which I am saved...then Jesus.

Respond If You're Alive, Give Me A Sign of Life

One thing I think about often is "How many people's lives have I affected in my life so far?" and "Who would show up to my funeral if I died right now?" Those are just some of the questions that I ask myself pretty frequently...I guess ones that I've been thinking about more recently are: is my life just another voice in a room full of talking people or is my life a loud scream in that same room? How does my life stand out from all the rest? Do people turn and look at what I am doing because I am choosing to be different or are we all looking at the same thing, waiting for something or someone more exciting to come along? I gotta say it......the time is now! If we look at our lives and we think, "Yeah, someday I'll change that," or "Eventually I'll get that taken care of," I gotta ask, what are we thinking?! Do we want our lives to end with a bunch of "somedays" or " eventuallys"? Or at the end of our lives do we want to be able to say "I am who I am supposed to be and I did what I was supposed to do on this earth"? My challenge for those of you who are reading this is to ask yourself questions like this...respond if you're alive.

I'm having to let go...

So Thanksgiving is coming up! I'm really excited and I've just been reflecting on the things that I have to be thankful for. My family, my friends, my dog, my God, the places that I've been, where I am now...all of it. My life has been an interesting, sad, happy, exciting ride so far. But as I've mentioned on Facebook I've been in the strangest mood lately. I wasn't sure why until about last night. A lot of people have been asking me what I'm doing for Thanksgiving. And I've told them that I am going to my friends house for Thanksgiving. That's not why I've been in a strange mood...it's because I can't answer that question with "Well I'm spending Thanksgiving with my family." Since the divorce a lot of things have been messed up. And I guess I didn't realize the weight of the effect it truly has had on me.

I do wish my family was able to spend Thanksgiving together. But I'm very thankful for the friends I have in my life who have become my family. They make my life so good. So thank you guys for being there and being my family. I love you guys and I don't ever want to do my life without any of you!

Just Some Random Thoughts All Thrown Together On One Blog

So last night was an intense night for youth group. We were talking about temptations. These kids are going through a lot...like more then I pictured them going through. The things that they face on a day-to-day basis are insane. It makes me realize two things: (1) how important what I'm doing is and (2) how much more prayer these kids need. I believe that the middle schoolers and high schoolers of today are a generation that can change the world. But they are getting so much thrown at them. There are so many things that can prevent them from doing that...and that's what confuses me. You would think the people in this world today would realize that soon our world will be in the hands of this generation risng up. That alone is enough motivation to me to help them and get them ready for the moment when we pass the baton over to them. But at the same time this generation needs to realize that they have the capability to change the world around them. Just sayin'...I know this is kind of random but it's just some random thoughts in my head that I've put all into one blog. What do ya think?

Sweetly Broken, Wholly Surrendered

Another song that's been on my heart lately is "Sweetly Broken" by Jeremy Riddle. I love this song so much...as simple as it is. (Before we get into this I just want to encourage you to ask yourself the questions that I ask in this note. It might be difficult to do, but I want to stretch you and hopefully the way you look at your life, at least a little bit. And also, don't be afraid to share what you think as well. A discussion would be great. I don't have to be the only one talking here.) The first line in that song is easy to relate with, "To the cross I look." It's easy for us to look to the cross during times of hardship. We look to God asking for his help or guidance. This is what I used to do, and still do on occasion. We shoot out those quick little prayers, "God I need your help. Amen." or "God I pray for so and so with this problem. Amen." Honestly, these are my favorite kind of prayers because they are so easy to just get out of my mind in an instant and they hardly take up any of my day. But the next line is a little harder to relate to, especially in today's world, "To the cross I cling." How many of us cling to the cross? How many of us cling to the cross on a daily basis? Not because we have problems on a daily basis or our life sucks on a daily basis. But because we realize we are so messed up without a savior, without the one who died and saved us, that we need to cling to what he did and his promises for our lives. I know this is something that gets repeated a lot and we all agree and then we go on living our lives. But I want to know when we will stop agreeing, and start living like we agree. Is Jesus the person we cling to? Is he #1? The chorus of this song is my favorite:"At the cross you beckon me, you draw me gently to my knees and I am, lost for words, so lost in love I'm sweetly broken, wholly surrendered." So the first song I talked about is about how God loves us. "Oh how he loves us." Now how do we respond to that love? What are we doing with that love? Are we just using it and using it? Or are we giving it back too? Out of reverance and out of gratitude and love for God we need to be on our knees; not physically but spiritually. I don't care if you physically get on your knees, but I do care about people getting on their knees spiritually. Is your life submissive to God? Is your whole life kneeling before him and saying, "God I am drawn to you, so much so that I can't even speak." It's easy to be lost in love from God, the hard part is being broken before him, and wholly surrendered. Let me ask you guys this. Is it possible to be wholly surrendered to God? Is it possible to have every area of your life given over to God? And if it's not possible to be wholly surrendered then why even try? Honestly, I'm not sure if it's possible. I think when we have those experiences with God, when we experience God in whatever ways we have and will, we have a moment where we are completely surrendered to him. We can do nothing but give our whole life to him completely in those moments. But what happens when that moment is over? When the time comes to move on to something else? We lose that moment with God and we take back control of our lives. I've done this so many times. I would go to camp or to church and experience God and be encouraged in my faith for him and be like, "God all I am is yours, I love you." And then that would end and I would go home and I would sin when I would get home...and I knew EXACTLY what I was doing......how do we take that moment, those moments in our lives where we experience God, and make them last a lifetime?! How can we experience God and be surrendered to Him on a day to day, hour to hour, minute to minute basis?! How do we not only look to the cross, but cling to it with everything that we are?! Like I said before, it's more than a feeling. It is the process of taking each situation as it comes and asking ourselves, how can I honor God with the decision I'm about to make? It's nice to feel loved, but are we willing to show that love back by the choices we make? Are we willing to show that we are completely surrendered to him by honoring him in everything that we do? I don't have it right, I don't honor him with everything that I do, but I'm going to try to the best of my ability. Who's with me?

Oh How He Loves Us

This song by John McMillian called "How He Loves" has really been on my heart lately. Just with conversations that I've had with people and seeing the hurt and the pain that people experience on a daily basis shows me just how much people need to hear that God loves us. But how do we have faith in a God when bad things are happening? How can we have faith? Faith is believing without knowing 100% that what we believe is true or right. Can we ever know 100% that Christianity is based 100% on fact? I don't think so. But that's what makes faith so hard for people is that it's never 100%. But then again can we base any belief on 100% fact? No. I was talking with a friend tonight about faith and what it means to have faith. Honestly I don't base my belief on the facts of the Bible. I go to the Bible to learn more about my God and my savior. I go to the Bible to prevent myself from straying from what the Bible says is truth. I don't base my belief on the accuracy of the Bible. I go to the Bible to learn how God used this earth and it's people to do his will. I go to the Bible to make my faith that much deeper and intelligent. I don't base my belief on the messages or teachers that I hear speak on the word of God. I hear these messages to learn more about my faith and I usually leave saying, "Wow, what an awesome God I serve." No, the only thing that I've based my belief on, the one thing that makes me believe without a doubt is the experiences I've had with God. It's the times that God has met me here on this tiny planet; here, wherever I was standing or sitting; here, in the depths of my heart and my soul, where God has said to me "You are mine, you are my child and I will never let you go." This is what I base my belief on. It's more than a feeling you guys. I have all the confidence in the world that what I believe is true because God has shown me in my heart that he is real. Because God has shown me, like that song says, "He is jealous for me." This song resonates with me so much. And I want to encourage you guys just to spend some time with God listening to this song; listening to the words without distractions, without people, or worries. Just you and God. Oh how he loves us.