This morning in Church, our Pastor talked about Acts 8:1-8. The passage is about the persecution that the church suffered in the early years and how, even in the midst of the persecution, there was joy and faith. The focus of the sermon was particularly on verse 8: "So there was great joy in that city."
He said that the life of a Follower of Jesus is not an easy one. There is persecution and there is a cost. However, a life lived in full submission to the calling of Jesus is one of joy and one that will be rewarded, whether it be in earthly life or life in heaven.
The main idea was that, if we want joy in our city and change in our nation, we need to be fully serving our God. We need to move in prayer and action and do what God calls us to do.
I'm overwhelmed by the idea that God wants His purpose for this nation and this world to be fulfilled through people like me, through people like you and through those who we would never expect to contribute anything to the world. God's thought's aren't mine; they're above and beyond anything I can imagine. The Creator of the Universe and the Greatest Power of all is calling me to fulfill His purpose.
That same God is also calling you to fulfill his purpose. He has a job for you whether you fell you're worth it or not.
Mind blowing, right?
At the end of the service, a video was played. It's a lyric video for a song sung by, possibly, my favourite worship singer. It's called God of this City and it's sung by Chris Tomlin at Passion. (It was originally written by Bluetree just to set things right.) The song is powerful and beautiful and it's the perfect way to round this whole thing off.
(And it appears that the video only works on YouTube directly. Oh well.)
"Greater things have yet to come and greater things are still to be done in this city."
Sunday, 15 April 2012
Sunday, 8 January 2012
Politics vs Faith
I've found that if you look up Christian music on YouTube (or better yet, Christian music from artists with a lot of non-Christian fans e.g Owl City, Skillet etc.) you will find that 99% of them have the comments flooded with debates about God. It's pretty stupid if you ask me.
Steps to creating unbearably ridiculous drama on YouTube:
1. Find a video with some kind of Christian content. It doesn't have to be a full-blown Gospel message. A song by Skillet would be a good option.
2. Find a comment talking about how believing in God is stupid. If the video has more than 10,000 views there will almost always be one there. You just have to look.
3. Respond to it in a holier-than-thou or angry fashion. If you want to REALLY get some drama going, put in some big words and talk lots about burning in hell. They love that.
4. Wait until they respond, and then repeat.
Now, in case you hadn't noticed already, that was a joke. Those are the very things you should NOT do. This is what will lead to an ongoing, emotionally tearing debate that, rather than getting the point across that God is a real, living God of love and power, makes both Christians and non-Christians look stupid.
Sounds a little harsh, but it's true.
Debating is politics. God is Love. God doesn't want us to be arguing with every atheist theory in existence. If I recall correctly, Jesus told us to turn the other cheek. To remember that we will be blessed for our suffering in His name. The first apostles were beaten and struck down for their faith, and they would come out celebrating it because they were able to suffer FOR JESUS.
Now, I'm not saying we shouldn't defend our faith when we are attacked. God should be important to us and we should be willing to declare our love for him publicly. What I'm saying is that we shouldn't be talking about God as if our faith makes us any better than anyone else. We also shouldn't be using God as an excuse to create drama or act smart. Because then we aren't seeking God's glory, but our own.
If you are to respond to those kinds of comments, at least do it with love. God loves them and so we should love them. At the end of the day, they're trying to cause drama and responding in a way that makes you feel superior is just as bad.
Faith is not politics.
So if you discover a comment or you receive an insult along the lines of "God doesn't exist. You're stupid, you Bible Basher. Religion is for idiots. DARWIN FTW!!!" you can do one of two things.
1. Ignore it and praise God.
2. Respond to it saying something like "Have a nice day :)" and praise God.
All in all, remember to praise God.
I never much liked politics anyway.
Steps to creating unbearably ridiculous drama on YouTube:
1. Find a video with some kind of Christian content. It doesn't have to be a full-blown Gospel message. A song by Skillet would be a good option.
2. Find a comment talking about how believing in God is stupid. If the video has more than 10,000 views there will almost always be one there. You just have to look.
3. Respond to it in a holier-than-thou or angry fashion. If you want to REALLY get some drama going, put in some big words and talk lots about burning in hell. They love that.
4. Wait until they respond, and then repeat.
Now, in case you hadn't noticed already, that was a joke. Those are the very things you should NOT do. This is what will lead to an ongoing, emotionally tearing debate that, rather than getting the point across that God is a real, living God of love and power, makes both Christians and non-Christians look stupid.
Sounds a little harsh, but it's true.
Debating is politics. God is Love. God doesn't want us to be arguing with every atheist theory in existence. If I recall correctly, Jesus told us to turn the other cheek. To remember that we will be blessed for our suffering in His name. The first apostles were beaten and struck down for their faith, and they would come out celebrating it because they were able to suffer FOR JESUS.
Now, I'm not saying we shouldn't defend our faith when we are attacked. God should be important to us and we should be willing to declare our love for him publicly. What I'm saying is that we shouldn't be talking about God as if our faith makes us any better than anyone else. We also shouldn't be using God as an excuse to create drama or act smart. Because then we aren't seeking God's glory, but our own.
If you are to respond to those kinds of comments, at least do it with love. God loves them and so we should love them. At the end of the day, they're trying to cause drama and responding in a way that makes you feel superior is just as bad.
Faith is not politics.
So if you discover a comment or you receive an insult along the lines of "God doesn't exist. You're stupid, you Bible Basher. Religion is for idiots. DARWIN FTW!!!" you can do one of two things.
1. Ignore it and praise God.
2. Respond to it saying something like "Have a nice day :)" and praise God.
All in all, remember to praise God.
I never much liked politics anyway.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)