My first instinct was to feign a smile and pretend like everything was fine and dandy. But deep down, I really wasn't fine. In that moment, I was feeling anxious about my future, not to mention lonely, sad, and confused. I couldn't really explain why. I just felt...down. And clearly I wasn't doing a good job of hiding it. But why was I even trying to hide it in the first place?

Somewhere along the lines I adopted this notion that being a strong Christian meant that you had to be happy and cheerful all the time. While it is true that God gives us supernatural portions of joy when we know Him personally, there are times in life when we will inevitably experience pain and heartache, suffering and trials of many kinds. The Scriptures give us more than enough evidence of this fact as well. Just read the psalms, or study the lives of Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Paul, Jesus, or any other major figure in the Bible. They didn't live lives free from suffering or struggle, but they endured and persevered through them by the grace and strength of God.

As I struggled to give my sister an honest answer that day, I heard the Holy Spirit whisper, "It's okay to not be okay all the time." I repeat the same statement to you: It is okay to not be okay all the time.

Here are a few things I have learned to help me through the 'not okay' moments and seasons of life:

Pour Out Your Heart to God. Psalm 62:8 says to pour out your heart to God, for He is our refuge. Whenever I am feeling down in the dumps, I literally imagine God lifting me up into His lap like Santa would an eager child before Christmas to listen to me as I empty myself of everything that is troubling my heart. Sometimes we assume God knows everything so there is no point in voicing it to Him. But when we truly trust God and look to Him as our refuge in times of trouble, we will go to Him and share everything that is in our hearts—the good, the bad, and the ugly—like we would a best friend. This fosters closeness and intimacy with our Heavenly Father, which then brings comfort and healing during our times of need.

Learn to Be Vulnerable. Yikes, this is the toughest one for me. In fact, it is terrifying. Who wants to admit to feeling down, defeated, discouraged, or depressed? But as I am learning (slowing but surely) to let down my guard and let my loved ones into my inside world, I have felt the most free I have ever felt. As Paul said in 2 Corinthians 3:17, where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. When we are living in the fullness of His Spirit, He will give us the freedom to be vulnerable, without fear of what others might think. We will be able to admit we need others to sustain us on this road of life and in turn, we will be able to receive strength and love from them. A true blessing that I missed out on for so many years!

Have the Courage to Cry. These past several months, I have probably shed more tears than I have at any other point in my life. Not because I have more things to cry about necessarily, but because I have learned to cry. I always thought crying was a sign of weakness so I held back my tears. But I now realize crying is a sign of our true humanness. It shows we are capable of feeling and expressing our feelings in a way that God created them to be expressed—through tear ducts! Jesus was a prime example of expressing His heartfelt emotions as they arose. John 11 records how His "soul was deeply troubled and moved" and how he "wept" after Mary came to Him about her dead brother. That one always gets me: Jesus wept! If the Son of God had the courage to cry, we should too. And we can be assured that while weeping may remain for a night, rejoicing comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5). Shedding tears can be a healthy release of emotion that can bring refreshing and renewal, turning our momentary sorrow into joy once again. Go on, let it out and cry like a baby!

Persevere Through the Valley. Jesus brings us assurance in our lowest times that He will fill us with a fresh fullness of His Spirit and exalt us to a higher plain with Him. I have experienced that it is often in the "valley" that God wants to do a deeper work in us. Although it might be tempting to shut out God during these times, we must persevere and continue to seek His face even when we don't feel like it. Be ready to receive fresh revelation of who He is and what He is doing. Perseverance is the key to greater intimacy with God!

Are you feeling blue? A little down and out? Depressed or discouraged? Whatever it is, take heed my friend because you are not alone. We all have times of feeling less than our best and sometimes there is no good explanation why, which can be frustrating. What we do know is that God doesn't want us to stay in that place forever. But we also shouldn't be too quick to run away from it or shove it under the rug either. Sometimes God allows moments of moaning, groaning, suffering, struggling, trials, and tears to achieve His higher purposes in us, such as character growth or learning greater dependence on Him. But Paul said we should do nothing other than rejoice in our sufferings because that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope (Romans 5:3-4).

So let me say it one more time: It is okay to not be okay today. May you have the willingness to pour your heart out to God, the humility to be vulnerable in front of your loved ones, the courage to cry a river of tears, the strength to persevere through the valley, and the hope that God is doing a deep work in you and He will bring it to completion!

*Share your thoughts and join the conversation! How to you get through the valley?

Ali is the newest columnist for The Brink magazine. Check out her first column in the Spring 2012 issue of The Brink! You can read more from Ali by visiting www.alismithonline.com.

Francis Chan is one of the most respected speakers and authors. His latest book, Erasing Hell, examines what Scripture says about Hell and how that truth should change our lives.

Why did you tackle the subject of the existence of Hell in your new book, Erasing Hell?

Honestly, from my own struggles about Hell. I would love to erase Hell from the pages of Scripture. How about you? Have you ever struggled with Hell as I have? Do you have any parents, siblings, cousins, or friends who, based on what you have been taught, will end up in Hell? What a bone chilling thought. Until recently, whenever the idea of Hell—and the idea of my loved ones possibly heading there—crossed my mind, I would brush it aside and divert my thinking to something more pleasant. While I've always believed in Hell with my mind, I tried not to let the doctrine penetrate my heart.

But I reached a point where I could no longer do this. I could no longer acknowledge Hell with my lips while preventing my heart from feeling its weight. I had to figure out if the Bible actually taught the existence of a literal Hell. How great would it be if it didn't? Then I would be able to embrace my grandmother again someday. So I decided to write a book about Hell. And honestly—I'm scared to death. I'm scared because so much is at stake. Think about it. If I say there is no Hell, and it turns out there is a Hell, I may lead people into the very place I convinced them did not exist! If I say there is a Hell, and I'm wrong, I may persuade people to spend their lives frantically warning loved ones about a terrifying place that isn't real! When it comes to Hell, we can't afford to be wrong. This is not one of those doctrines where you can toss in your two cents, shrug your shoulders, and move on. Too much is at stake. Too many people are at stake.

You wrote Erasing Hell with a co-author. Why?

I wrote this book with my friend Dr. Preston Sprinkle. I recruited his help because he can interact with issues at a deeper level than I can. His expertise in language, history, and the New Testament has helped tremendously in our effort to be thorough and precise. Preston studied first-century Judaism for his doctorate and has published many works in this area. We thought it would be a good partnership because we have different gifts but similar convictions. As we wrote the book, we decided to write it with one voice (mine). But, truth be told, the majority of research was done by Preston.

Is this more than just a book about Hell?

This is a book about embracing a God who isn't always easy to understand, and whose ways are far beyond us; a God whose thoughts are much higher than our thoughts; a God who, as the sovereign Creator and Sustainer of all things, has every right to do, as the psalmist says, "whatever He pleases" (Psalm 115:3 NASB). God has the right to do WHATEVER He pleases. If I've learned one thing from studying Hell, it's that last line. And whether or not you end up agreeing with everything I say about Hell, you must agree with Psalm 115:3. Because at the end of the day, our feelings and wants and heartaches and desires are not ultimate—only God is ultimate. God tells us plainly that His ways and thoughts are infinitely higher than ours (Isaiah 55:9). Expect then, that Scripture will say things that don't agree with your natural way of thinking.

How has writing this book refined your personal view of God?

I often hear people say, "I could never love a God who would . . ." Who would what? Who would disagree with you? And do things you would never do? Who would allow bad things to happen to people? Who would be more concerned with His own glory than your feelings? Who would—send people to Hell? 

It has taken me 43 years to finally confess that I have been embarrassed by some of God's actions. In my arrogance, I believed I could make Him more attractive or palatable if I covered up some of His actions. So I neglected speaking on certain passages, or I would rush through certain statements God made in order to get to the ones I was comfortable with. The ones I knew others would like. I am just now seeing the ugliness of my actions. Like the nervous kid who tries to keep his friends from seeing his [embarrassing] father, I have tried to hide God at times. Who do I think I am? The truth is, God is perfect and right in all that He does. I am a fool for thinking otherwise. He does not need nor want me to "cover" for Him. There's nothing to be covered. Everything about Him and all He does is perfect.

How should we treat those with whom we disagree, especially on theological points?

Jesus threatens Hell to those who curse their brother (Mattew 5:22). He's not warning drinkers or smokers or murderers. Jesus preaches hellfire against those who have the audacity to attack a fellow human being with harsh words. It's ironic—frightening, actually—that some people have written books, preached sermons, or written blog posts about Hell and missed this point completely. In fact, some people have slammed their Christian brothers and sisters in the process, simply because they have a different view of Hell, missing the purpose of Matthew 5: Whoever calls his brother a fool may find himself guilty of Hell.

Have you called your brother a fool lately? On a blog? On Facebook? Have you tweeted anything of the sort? So often these Hell passages become fodder for debate, and people miss the point of the warning. Jesus didn't speak of Hell so we could study, debate, and write books about it. He gave us these passages so we would live holy lives. Stop slandering one another, and live in peace and brotherly unity. Jesus evidently hates it when we tear into our brothers or sisters with demeaning words, words that fail to honor the people around us as the beautiful image-bearing creatures that they are.

To read more of this interview, check out the Winter 11-12 edition of The Brink magazine. To order The Brink, visit www.d6family.com.

I remember when I first started looking beneath the surface of things as a believer. You know, lifting the rock to see the world of life and dirt underneath what I had only walked by previously. The Bible had been a book I revered in ritual only. I would have never thrown one across a room but I also was not too interested in mining it for all it was worth. Before, the Bible was purely a place to go for devotional thoughts to help me through the day. But then something changed. I began to see it as the interpretive key for understanding. And not just for understanding the so-called spiritual parts of my life. It became the lens through which I made sense of everything.

Everything.

I wouldn't have talked about it like that. For it was only a beginning. A start of a long journey of looking at everything in light of this God who created everything, who we rebelled against, who took the initiative in rescuing us from ourselves, and who has promised restoration. Everything began to take on new hues and colors as they reflected back to me new less-well-known vistas of this God who loves and redeems and saves and gives so much so freely.

But like I said, it was only the beginning. There was a lot of stumbling through caves of legalism and caverns of liberty. But I was growing all the while. Fits and starts; but growing all the same. Growing in my love of thinking deeply about my life and its parts and how it all related to this God.

And then I read the book of Ecclesiastes.

The book of Ecclesiastes is a puzzle for most people. Just when you think you have heard something which rings true, you happen upon a phrase, verse, or whole section which sounds nothing like what you have been taught to believe or do for that matter. Just when you think the writer of Ecclesiastes is making a great point, he says something crazy like, "Everything is meaningless!"

Which is weird.

Or is it?

I mean, on the surface this sounds a lot like the nihilism so rampant in western culture. The philosophy which strips meaning from anything and everything. The belief that nothing really matters in this life or the next is not only popular in our world, it is also pervasive. Some get there by speculation and others by experiencing suffering to such a degree that meaning is like a dust particle in a pitch-black world.

But not us.

Evangelical Christians reject such ways of thinking. Don't we?

The proto-typical evangelical Christian finds it very easy to make sense of all the spiritual parts of their lives. Quiet times, Bible study, worship songs, sermons, prayer, baptism, communion, evangelism, missions and helping the poor are meaningful. We would never call these parts of our life "meaningless." It all has meaning because these are religious or spiritual acts we do which relate directly to God. They help us and others be connected to our Creator and Redeemer. And this gives us joy. And rightly so.

But what about the other parts of our lives?

What about the parts of our lives which do not seem all that spiritual? You know what I mean—the parts of life we must be about because they are, well . . . life? What about all those day-in and day-out repetitions? Do the routine and mundane parts of our lives have meaning?

Does work and play and leisure and sex and showering and yard work and texting and changing diapers and watching a movie and driving to/from work and budgeting and homework and getting dressed and making art and responding to Facebook messages and breathing in and out have any meaning?

And what about our work?

We all know that pastors and worship leaders and missionaries and youth pastors and campus ministers and chaplains and anyone else in vocational ministry are doing meaningful work. They are working hard for the expansion of the kingdom here on earth as it is in Heaven because they are spreading the gospel of Christ throughout the world. Of course that work is meaningful.

But what about everyone else? Is their work meaningful? What about the work of accountants and nurses and tellers and baristas and teachers and artists and woodworkers and gardeners and janitors and firemen and lawyers and stay-at-home moms and musicians and garbage collectors and architects and lab-techs and graphic designers and bankers and retail sales associates?

Can we call their work meaningful?

We just might be tempted to think it is meaningful . . . if we add an "if." If the money made is given to support missions and the work of the church. And if we are telling others at our workplace about their need for Jesus. If we are living very morally while we do this work. That's a lot of if-ing.

So our work—if it is not vocational ministry—is meaningless unless it is the means to another end? There is nothing intrinsically meaningful about it? We might be tempted to think this is the case.

Add to this the celebrity culture in which we live. Are our lives meaningful even if we spend all our time here in an unknown corner of the world where nothing newsworthy ever happens? Must we do something wonderful, grabbing the notice of others in order for our lives to have meaning? Do we need to "shine" for our lives to have meaning? What about all those lonely lives? Are they meaningless?

Meaningless, meaningless . . .

We may recoil when we read the writer of Ecclesiastes say "Everything is meaningless," but we far too often live as if this is close to being the case. We live as if only the overtly spiritual things are meaningful. We live as if only work that is religious in nature is meaningful. And we live as if an anonymous life is without meaning.

Or we are at least tempted to do so.

But I am not so sure. I know the temptation. I am intimately acquainted with these thoughts and fears. But I am not sure it is true.

Our celebrity-driven culture makes it hard to think any differently. And really, the church isn't a whole lot of help. Maybe it has always been the case. But it is hard to miss the celebrity zeitgeist of the modern-day evangelical milieu. Not to mention movements which will make the hardest working stay-at-home-mom think she may not be doing enough for the kingdom. "You need to change the world," sounds enticing while changing the third diaper before noon.

When Solomon made his pronouncement that life is meaningless, he was examining life "under the sun"—a phrase he used more than 25 times in Ecclesiastes. This was a look at life without God at its center. In such circumstances life is indeed meaningless. But by the end of the book Solomon had discovered life's meaning—to fear God and obey His commandments (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

So I ask, "Is most of life meaningless?"

I don't think so. I think there are clues throughout Scripture which help us see a beautiful picture of meaning in even the smallest of details.

Romans 8 is a favorite section of the Bible for many people. It's where Christians have gone for centuries in the midst of hardship and pain and suffering. Why? Because Paul not only gives us the promise that nothing—not even death, our greatest enemy—is able to separate us from the love of our Father because of what Christ has done, but he also tells us something strange. He makes it clear that everything is working for the believer's good.

Everything?

Everything. Surely if torture and death itself are working for our good, then we can assume all those parts of our life which are not all that "spiritual" are doing the same. And it does not say all things have the potential to work for our good. It says they do. It's as if God is orchestrating this incredible symphony of everything so it all works for our good and His glory. And it's beautiful. And it's meaningful.

It's funny really. Christians seem to always fall into the trap of dividing up work as spiritual and secular. Pastors and missionaries are doing spiritual work. Plumbers and doctors are doing secular work. Only a few are doing the spiritual stuff and getting paid to do it. But wasn't Adam told to work even before the Fall? In fact it is hard to walk away from the story of Adam without thinking he . . . we were created to work.

Indeed, it seems to be at the very heart of being created in the image of God.

And the message of the goodness of work stretches all the way into the New Testament—to the gnarled hands of a carpenter reaching for a piece of wood to fashion. We hardly have even noticed that the Apostle Paul—a missionary himself—never tells others to be missionaries in his letters to the churches. But he does tell them to work.

Why would he, under the direction of the Spirit of God, tell the Christians in Thessalonica in chapter 3 to do something like work unless it was meaningful? Are we to assume Paul, directed by the Spirit, would ask them and us to do anything that is without meaning?

Really, we have a problem. But it is not the problem we think it is.

The problem of finding meaning in all parts of our life lies not in what we can see but in what we believe. Our tendency is to label something meaningful if we can see the meaning in it. If not, we call it meaningless.

Remember Geometry? Diagramming sentences? Greek Mythology? We assume that if we cannot see the meaning, it is not there. It does not exist, at least for us anyway.

But we must remember that the very God we cannot see has promised to work meaningfully in all things. This God who has created all things. This unseen God who has redeemed us at the price of His Son's life, though we stuck a fist in His face. This invisible God who holds out hope to us in the gospel, that even the death we cannot yet see works for our good by ushering us into a bliss we cannot even imagine.

So, for those who are in Christ, who have been called according to His purpose, everything has some meaning. Bursting with it. Even when we cannot see it or imagine it, the meaning is there.

"Everything is meaningful."

Indeed, Blessings is the latest and fourth studio album from Story, but its title is a mixed bag for Story and her husband, Martin. Instead of referring to an abundance of fame and attention, the title concerns the ongoing battle waged each day as the Atlanta-based couple deals with the consequences of Martin's brain tumor nearly five years ago - something that Story says they're still learning to cope with.

""Blessings" was the last song that I wrote and it ended up being the title track," says Story. "It's definitely the synopsis of everything we've been learning these last four or five years. My husband was diagnosed with a brain tumor five years ago, and it very much affects everything we do."

Story says the struggle is a daily one that affects both their physical and spiritual life, giving a perspective in the midst of balancing a music career and growing fame with each new radio single.

"On a practical level, he has some disabilities that have really changed our life as far as a memory deficit that he has," she says. "On a spiritual level, we've wrestled with how God would allow something so good to happen to us—giving us this amazing platform in getting to share about God through music—while at the same time, taking us through the hardest time in our lives."

For Story, it's been relearning what she believed the word "blessing" to even mean, which makes it an appropriate moniker for the new project. Given everything the two have been through, the songs on Blessings mark a personal time filled with this new perspective.

"It's made us redefine what it means for God to bless us," she explains. "I think in the past, I would have said that God blesses His children when He answers their prayers in the way that they want. We're learning that that's not necessarily the case. We've learned there is also a blessing that comes in the midst of Him not answering our prayers the way we wish He would, when He's teaching us to trust Him in a different and unique way."

Not only does this affect them personally, but it also gives the live show a different perspective. Story says that most artists or speakers mention moments from their past as the obstacle they've overcome, yet for her and Martin, it's about the ongoing struggle.

"Before [something like this], you feel confident speaking about things that you've learned and you're on the other side of and you've tested them out. But this is different than that. We're not on the other side of it. We're choosing by faith to believe that these promises are true while still being in the midst of the problem.

"It does create weaknesses," she continues. "We're always in a place of vulnerability. Every night I do a concert, I say that I was faced again with choosing to believe in the midst of whatever struggle we faced that day based on Martin's struggle. The thing about being a believer is that we find our weakness is a place of strength. When we're weak, then God is strong. I want to see a strong God, so I have to acknowledge that it will happen when I am weak."

Story is most famous for writing worship songs, including the Chris Tomlin-sung "Indescribable" which became a No. 2 hit on the Billboard Christian charts. In the live setting, however, it's the personal moments of sharing from her struggle that hit home the most.

"There's nothing as affirming as people coming up and thanking us," says Story. "God not only uses the story to encourage and inspire, but also to make the audience ask those questions about the events in their own life that they might be calling curses right now. Perhaps those are the moments God wants to use to glorify Himself in it. Someone will say, 'I've lost this loved one and I've never thought of it as being something God will use to glorify Himself in the midst of it.'"

The interesting part is that even though the crowd comes to her afterward to share their support and appreciation for her own vulnerability, Story says she is actually the one who is ministered to the most in those moments.

"A lot of times people will tell me at the concert, 'Thanks so much for singing those lyrics. They really gave me hope. You sang that song for me tonight.' I always say to them, 'Well, I'm really glad that God used it, but I sang that song for me tonight.' I'm the one who needs to hear this stuff. We sing the songs every night because that's a great memory tool from God for me to sing His promises again and again. Also, getting to share our story is pretty therapeutic in terms of what we're choosing to believe in the midst of hardship and life."

Another struggle facing Story is dealing with the mounting pressures of her career as both a recording artist and a member of a church staff.

To read the rest of this story, check out the Fall 2011 edition of The Brink magazine.

"What would Jesus do?" some teenager responded when I asked him what the initials represented.

At the time, I thought it was cool (though not so cool that I was a sucker to fork over $5 for a 10 cent piece of circular plastic). The concept was gripping to me. I could just look down at my bracelet and ask that all-important question—and then do exactly what Jesus would do.

If only following Jesus were that simple.

The real challenge rests in determining what Jesus really would say and do. In actuality, we've got a slew of Old Testament prophecies about Jesus and then four short books in the New Testament with cameos in Acts and Revelation. That's not much to create a definitive answer for how Jesus would respond in every situation.

This fact becomes evident when you begin talking with people about Jesus. The concepts flow fast and furiously when you ask others to sum up the life of Jesus and the central message of His time on earth. A sudden murkiness appears about who Jesus was and is, as we thrust upon Him the things we believe Him to be—or maybe have even experienced Him to be in our own lives.

For the people who walked with the Messiah day in and day out, understanding Jesus wasn't so simple. In fact, they were downright mindboggling. He sometimes spoke in hard-to-understand parables. His teaching sometimes seemed confusing (the Kingdom of God is everything from near, here, to not yet). He healed people and told them not to tell anyone—and meant it. He "worked" on the Sabbath. He rebuked the Pharisees. He cleared the temple. There's no doubt that the religious leaders of Jesus' day would characterize the actions of the Messiah as "sacrilegious."

Jesus wasn't exactly easy to follow either. Nobody knew what He was going to do next. Would He blast the Pharisees or love the harlot? He was confusing at best. Yet in the twenty-first century, Christians have the audacity to delineate with ease what Jesus would or wouldn't do. But if Jesus were walking the earth today, would we have such a fond view of Him?

Labels of Love
In today's culture, we love to label everything. Right or wrong, labels make it easy for us to mentally catalog information, people, and ideas. Our adjective-happy society will stop at nothing to create a label for you, even if one doesn't exist. People try to do this with Jesus—and they fail miserably. There's only one category that He fits into neatly . . . and that is His own.

Let's take a look at a few ideas people have about attributes of Jesus we should emulate if we are to follow Him.

Peace-Loving, Hippy Jesus
Some people today think Jesus was just this really nice guy who performed amazing miracles for people and just talked about peace all the time. If only we could hold hands and sing "Kumbaya" to solve all of the world's conflicts.

To suggest that Jesus wasn't a peace-loving man is ridiculous for Isaiah called Him the "Prince of Peace." But Jesus recognized an important aspect of following Him—many people won't like you when you follow Him.

In Luke 12:49-53, Jesus suggested we need to prepare for conflict because it's coming. Jesus saw peace in our hearts that comes from knowing Him intimately. But peace that equates to a world without conflict? Not even the Messiah made such a promise for His time on the planet.

It's easy to shy away from conflict regarding your faith, particularly when people start blasting away at Christians. Who likes to be mocked for their faith anyway? So, it's understandably more comfortable to respond by tempering your responses and getting cozy with a watered-down version of the Christian faith. There are enough Christians out there creating conflict and making it difficult to portray a healthy image of Christ, so why become confrontational?

But Jesus welcomed confrontation. It was His opportunity to steer someone toward the heart of the Father. For all of Jesus' peaceful attributes, He was unafraid of confrontation. If your worldview leaned toward the Law, get ready for a blindside. If you wallowed in sin, you best shape up after you get a healthy heaping of grace. Think "Evangelism Linebacker" (a must-Google if you haven't see this video) without all the hitting.

Accepting? Yes. Confrontational? To the nth degree.

Culture War Jesus
Got a fish on the back of your car? Have a bumper sticker that antagonizes some other portion of the culture? Get angry and motivated when you hear someone on the radio talking about the culture war Christians are facing in America? This is a dominant attribute of Jesus many people view as worthy of following in our country today. Sadly, it only partially represents Jesus' approach to anti-Christian sentiments.

Jesus came to bring about change—but it was the kind of change that started in the hearts of men, not in the laws of the land. He understood that a society's values were reflected in their laws. Trying to change people through enforcing new laws was never going to work. Consequently, many people were disappointed with Jesus as the Messiah, even to the point that some flatly refused to believe. Many Jews held fast that the Messiah was there to set them free from tyrannical rule, not bring freedom to their hearts and minds from the devastating effects of sin.

The culture war pits "us" against "them," when in reality Jesus wanted "us" to serve "them." There He goes flipping that label on its head again!

What would Jesus do here? Would He start campaigns to have laws changed? Or would He invest in raising up authentic disciples who caught the essence of what He was trying to reach—and let them exponentially extend the gospel message?

The Love-God-Without-All-the-Distractions Jesus
The fact that Jesus frequently retreated for solitary prayer, whether to the mountains or across the Sea of Galilee, has led some to think isolation is the key to discipleship.

The notion that we can best love God by isolating ourselves from the world isn't a new idea. For centuries, men and women have chosen to isolate themselves and practice a pious life of serving God. For Christians in America, there are many who ascribe to this philosophy, although it may not manifest itself in four literal walls 20 miles outside of a city.

While there is nothing wrong with wanting to submerge ourselves with an environment that fosters healthy faith, what good is our faith if we aren't applying it to a world that desperately needs it?

When Jesus was questioned about spending time with notorious sinners, He said it is not the healthy who need a physician. After all, He came to call sinners, not the righteous, to repentance (Mark 2:17).

I find the easiest place to be a Christian is at church. Genuine or forced, smiles are on most people's faces. We can sincerely offer to pray for people when they share misfortune. We can sing songs about God's amazing love for us. We can get swept away by an awesome hour and a half with God as we learn more about Him. And then we have to leave.

It makes sense that we would want to sequester ourselves from the world. But that's not the way Jesus intended His followers to live. Nevertheless, it doesn't stop some Christians from making that their life pursuit.

Unshrinking Jesus
In his book Wholly Jesus, Mark Foreman sums up the reality of the attribute of Jesus we ascribe to:

"If we humble ourselves, we must admit honestly that we are drawn to the passages of Scripture that promote our particular expectation of Jesus. Even when we are in a convicting or challenging portion of Scripture, we emerge with a dismissal for the threat and a confirmation of our expectation. Our chosen preachers even help to keep our Jesus Jell-O mold strong.

"Sadly, we have ultimately shrunk the image of Jesus. Our personal wants and culturalworldviews have reduced and minimized Wholly Jesus and his wholeness message. Rarely, do we make him and his message bigger; instead, Jesus' message usually conveys just what we want it to."

When following Jesus, we must remember this important truth: Jesus was fully God and fully man. He can mingle with sinners and then judge the world. We're woefully deficient when we compare ourselves to Him—and we always will be until He completes the work He has begun in us. But that shouldn't dissuade us from pursuing His heart for our lives and for the world we live in.

We must also remember another truth: No matter what element of Jesus we're drawn to, the reality is Jesus is a little bit of all those labels—and many more. He wasn't one thing all the time, except the perfect Son of God who was fully human and fully man operating under the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit.

Asking ourselves "What would Jesus do?" is a great starting point, but it falls incredibly short in conjuring up the proper question. It's more about asking, "What is the Holy Spirit leading us to do in accordance with Scripture?"

Maybe God is stirring your heart to confront someone who is older than you about their sinful behavior. Or maybe God is prodding you to befriend your neighbor, the outspoken atheist. Maybe God is calling you to spend more time in prayer and contemplation. Or maybe God is urging you to serve the poor.

Some of these promptings may stand in stark contrast to what we are normally drawn to—and it may be a tad uncomfortable at first. But then again, that's the point. We sing about a great big God on Sundays, but then act as if He is powerless the rest of the week. If we're to unshrink Jesus, it's going to take some uncomfortable moments, moments where we must choose to shake off our preconceived ideas about what it means to follow Jesus and simply obey Him.

Instead of delivering a tidy mission statement about what it means to follow Jesus, we'll develop a new label for our relationship with Him: "Words Cannot Express."

Jason Chatraw is a writer and teacher, passionate about communicating the truths of Christ. After working as a full-time sports writer for nine years, Jason began writing and working for Christian ministries. In 2004, he started a publishing company, Ampelon Publishing, and has also written three books, including his latest with Eric Sandras entitled Mystics, Mavericks & Miracle Workers: A 30-day journey with some saints. Jason and his wife, Janel, live in Boise, Idaho, with their daughters, Faith and Julia.

First of all, the mission of the church is the mission of Jesus. This mission doesn't start with the giving of the Great Commission or at Pentecost. The Great Commission is when Jesus sends the church to the world with the authority he already has (Matthew 28:18), and Pentecost is when he bestows the power to carry this commission out (Acts 1:8).

The content of this mission is not just personal regeneration but disciple-making (Matthew 28:19). It is not just teaching, but teaching people to observe all that Jesus commanded us (Matthew 28:20).

This mission is not inconsistent with what we have seen already in the life of Jesus. His mission is defined by Old Testament expectation (for instance, Psalm 72), and in the gospel accounts in terms of redemptive love for the whole person, both body and soul. From the literally embryonic moments of the Incarnation, such terms are present in Mary's prayer about the coming of her Messiah (Luke 1:46-55), and then in Jesus' one inaugural words about his kingdom's arrival (Luke 4:18-19).

This mission is summed up in the gospel as a message of reconciliation that is both vertical and horizontal, establishing peace with both God and neighbor. The Scripture tells us to love your neighbor "as yourself" (Luke 10:27-28).

This is not simply a "spiritual" ministry, as the example Jesus gives us is of a holistic caring for physical and economic needs of a wounded person, not to mention the transcending of steep ethnic hostilities. As theologian Carl F. H. Henry reminded evangelicals a generation ago, one does not love oneself simply in "spiritual ways" but holistically.

Of course, Jesus' ministry would be about such things. After all, the Bible shows us, from the beginning, that the scope of the curse is holistic in its destruction—personal, cosmic, social, vocational (Genesis 3-11) and that the gospel is holistic in its restoration—personal, cosmic, social, vocational (Revelation 21-22).

Moreover, the biblical prophetic witness consistently speaks in such terms. Is Ahab's acquisition of Naboth's land (1 Kings 21:1-19) a matter of personal sin or social injustice? Well, it was both. Was the sin of Sodom a conglomeration of personal sins or societal unrighteousness? It was both (Genesis 18:26; Ezekiel 16:49).

The prophets never divided up issues of righteousness as neatly as we do in the "personal" and the "social." Isaiah speaks of God's judgment both on personal pride and idolatry (Isaiah 2:11) and the "grinding" of the faces of the poor (Isaiah 3:14-15). Onward to Joel and Micah and Malachi right through John the Baptist the witness is the same.

The new covenant church continues this witness. Even after the public ministry of Jesus, His apostolic church continues a message of both personal justification and interpersonal justice. James directed the churches of the dispersion both in terms of their personal speech (James 3:1-12) and the unjust treatment of wage-earners (James 5:1-6).

James defines "pure and undefiled religion" as that which cares for the widows and orphans (James 1:27). Of course he does. His brother already has (Matthew 25:40).

For those who might seek to pit James against Paul, the New Testament allows no such skirmish, either on personal redemption or on ministry to the vulnerable. When they received Paul, the apostles, Paul says, were concerned, of course, that he proclaim the correct gospel but also that he remember the poor. This was, Paul testifies, "the very thing I was eager to do" (Galatians 2:10).

So how does the church "balance" a concern for evangelism with a concern for justice? A church does so in the same way it "balances" the gospel with personal morality. Sure, there have been churches that have emphasized public justice without the call to personal conversion. Such churches have abandoned the gospel.

But there are also churches that have emphasized personal righteousness (sexual morality, for instance) without a clear emphasis on the gospel. And there are churches that have taught personal morality as a means of earning favor with God. Such also contradicts the gospel.

We do not, though, counteract legalism in the realm of personal morality with an antinomianism (the belief that the gospel frees Christians from obeying the moral law of God). And we do not react to the persistent "social gospels" (of both Left and Right) by pretending that Jesus does not call his churches to act on behalf of the poor, the sojourner, the fatherless, the vulnerable, the hungry, the sex-trafficked, the unborn. We act in the framework of the gospel, never apart from it, either in verbal proclamation or in active demonstration.

The short answer to how churches should "balance" such things is simple: follow Jesus. We are Christians. This means that as we grow in Christlikeness, we are concerned about the things that concern Him. Jesus is the king of his kingdom, and He loves whole persons, bodies as well as souls. Christ Jesus never sends away the hungry by merely telling them to be warmed and filled (James 2:16). What He says, instead, as He points to the love of both God and neighbor, to the care of both body and soul, is go, and do likewise (Luke 10:37).

This article used with permission and originally appeared at thegospelcoalition.com.

Dr. Moore is the Dean of the School of Theology and Senior Vice-President for Academic Administration at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He also serves as a preaching pastor at Highview Baptist Church, where he ministers weekly at the congregation's Fegenbush location. Moore is the author of The Kingdom of Christ and Adopted for Life.

That is what the horror of our guilt is like to a lot of people. They have heard the idea of human guilt, but it doesn't make that much of an impact because it hasn't been made real to them. We have failed to place an adequate vision of judgment before them. Hey, I'm blaming myself too.

Making it real to people involves more than just relating some facts. That much is clear. Facts without sincere passion are often useless. A lot of people are aware of our guilt, they are aware of the punishment that waits, they are aware of how they can escape it, aware of God's offer to help, aware this offer is open to all mankind. They just don't care very much—or at all. They have no problem with hell because it's not real to them. Yes, many know about the concept of sin. They just don't care if it will kill them in the end because it's only a concept in their mind. We must make our guilt real to them. They must see its horror. They must see God's plan to save us from its punishment. Unfortunately, it's really, really hard to do that today with any amount or arrangement of words.

Okay, I'm assuming if you are reading this you already know God had a plan of salvation from the very beginning. Actually, even before that. I assume you know how it all started in Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve chose to disobey, steeping all mankind into condemnation. We are all born drenched in guilt. Well, God already had a plan. This plan was to send His Son—His very own Son!—to die in our stead. It was that bad. It was so bad God was the only one who could take away the penalty. I'm assuming you have already fully accepted these things. That's why I'm telling you it's our collective duty to strive to make it real to those who have not accepted the reality. Sure it's hard, sure it can be frustrating talking to the postmodern mindset, sure at times you will feel compelled to run down the street screaming at the top of your lungs and yanking out hair by the fistfuls. But evangelism must be done because Jesus commanded it. Jesus went to all the vast trouble to make salvation possible. We should want to show others God's great plan of salvation that has been ordained since before the beginning of time.

We are in the business of dealing with a guilt that has plagued mankind since shortly after the beginning of time. Know this: Jesus is the antidote; He can save us from this plague. To get people to see the need of the antidote, we need to make the horror of guilt real. It is frustrating because words themselves sometimes do not seem powerful enough. And that's hard. How are we supposed to communicate if our words are useless? How are we supposed to get people to the point where they actually see the horror of guilt? It hasn't been made real if the person says they see and understand, but then indicate they don't care. If that is their response then they don't really see and understand. If they can be so lackadaisical about our guilt, they haven't actually seen its true horror. They haven't really seen the mind-boggling awesomeness of what our perfect, so patient, and so, so loving God did for a world of thoroughly unlovable, self-centered sinners (Romans 5:8). Real knowledge of this kind of grace changes hearts.

Like I said (or inferred), I'm not Mr. Perfect Evangelist. I'm not even a regular attendee of my church's Monday night visitation. (Something I'm trying to remedy.) Maybe you are not exactly Mr. or Mrs. Perfect Evangelist either. Don't feel lonely; there are a lot of us out there. Let's work on this together, shall we? As Christians, we once arrived at the point that the gospel became real to us. Unfortunately, many Christians afterward get to the point where they take salvation for granted and the horror of human guilt once again becomes just a general idea. We have been too long away from our home state and need to be reminded of what it is like. Advice: don't wait 15 years to visit it again. We can't expect to make the subject more than just ideas to the lost if it is only an idea to us. We can't expect it to be poignant to them if it isn't poignant to us. Do everyone a favor, once again make it real and poignant to yourself. Just keep it real.

Jesus feeding the 5,000 is the only miracle recorded in all four of the gospels. It presents layers of crucial spiritual insight and eloquently illustrates the fact that when individuals practice selflessness and obedience, a massive display of God's power and provision can be cultivated. It is fascinating to think about the web of variables involved. Had the individual players not cooperated, things would have turned out differently.

Before we get to the boy, we must first look at a few other key figures. Jesus asked His disciples to join Him for a boat ride to a desolate place across the lake of Galilee (John 6:1). They were tired and dirty from days on the road, hungry from being too busy to eat, and emotionally devastated because they had just witnessed the death of a close friend, John the Baptist. All they wanted to do was rest and find a few quiet moments to recover at Jesus' feet. Just as they approached the shore, those dreams of silence vanished into a buzz of needy, noisy people promising yet another long and chaotic night. The multitude was moving en masse to Jerusalem for the yearly Passover feast and had followed along the shoreline hoping to catch another glimpse of Jesus' supernatural healing.

For many years, I worked as a summer camp counselor for young girls. Physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion was no stranger. Someone was always homesick, needing attention, or getting into mischief. The noise level was at a constant high and the workload was never finished. I can identify with the disciples as I think about wanting nothing more than to lie down and close my eyes for a few minutes. My body can still remember feeling every nerve fiber aching in a craving for rest. So I can only imagine the strain of catering to the thousands of hungry, weary travelers in our story.

Instead of turning the people away, though, Jesus welcomed them to His side (Luke 9:11). He set aside any desire for rest and passionately poured into the waiting crowd. Ultimately, He was showing His disciples—and with them, us—the importance of gaining strength from His heavenly Father, while using every opportunity to further His gospel message.

As Jesus' teaching continued, a bit of uncertainty filtered through the disciples. I can almost hear them nervously whispering. Here they were, out in the middle of nowhere, drained of energy, and having no place to find food for a very hungry crowd. I picture them tiptoeing up to Jesus, tapping Him on the shoulder, and hoarsely suggesting that He finally send them away. What a shock it must have been when Jesus simply turned to His disciples and told them to give the hungry crowd something to eat (Mark 6:37).

Behind the scenes, we get to see that Jesus was only testing them, "for He himself knew what He would do" (John 6:6). But, to the disciples, feeding this many people so far out of town was an impossible feat (John 6:7). This wasn't a mean joke. Jesus was presenting His beloved disciples with an edge-of-the-cliff situation to illustrate the end of their strength. He was equipping them to carry a legacy of confidence, and a leadership of strength and power. At that moment, though, they were helpless, destitute, and needy. They were no longer serving, but were standing in the shoes of those who needed to be served. Ever the gracious teacher, Jesus offered them a chance to see the miraculous effects of obedience and faith in action. 

Now, we can appreciate the actions of the little boy. Jesus sent the disciples into the crowd to see what they could find. This brought them to a boy who had a small ration of bread and a few tiny fish (Mark 6:38). The Bible doesn't say, but sometimes I wonder if the boy hesitated when asked to part with his food. Did the disciples approach him with an attitude of fear or intimidation? Did they put him in a headlock, or try to bribe him? Was the boy afraid because he could feel thousands of hungry, irritable men breathing down his neck?

Given my attitude toward hunger, I know that if I were the boy, I would have said something like, "No, you can't take my dinner, you should have known better than to leave home without travel snacks!" Again, I wonder if perhaps he pouted for just a moment before parting with his dinner. Somehow, this child conquered a feat I struggle with today. He gave up personal comfort for the sake of others, and cast off immediate gratification for the hope that something significant would transpire.

 His act of surrender gave the disciples something to bring to Jesus, which in turn, opened a window for abundance to flow into a feast for the entire multitude. Like the manna that nourished the desert-bound Israelites generations before them (Exodus 16:31), these people were given a glimpse of heaven that illustrated eternal fulfillment through the tangible taste of bread in an empty stomach (John 6:35).

The disciples followed Jesus' example of placing people over personal comfort, but my admiration for the boy reaches an apex when he banished any notion of age-related significance and contradicted every excuse of limited resources. Ultimately, his small contribution catalyzed an event that remains a legacy even today.

For the crowd, the Passover feast was shadowed for decades to come with a memorial of the day Jesus showed them His ability to create abundance out of absence, and showed them the importance of everlasting sustenance. For us today, it demonstrates the necessity to selflessly contribute to the needs of others, and portrays the importance of persistent faith and practical obedience. It offers a reiteration of the power held by an almighty God when met by the insufficiency of humanity, and shows us the magnitude that Christ can create from our minor acts of submission.

Kara is a freelance writer living in Boise, Idaho. She is a mentor for high school and college-aged girls, and she and her husband both share a passion for singles ministry. She is a writing student in the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild, and her articles have appeared on Michael Smalley's Crashintolove website, The Lookout, Treasure Valley Christian News, and Gobigtoday.com.

Here's the question:

Should Christians be involved in social justice? Why or why not? Is there any danger in taking it too far?

Winner of the book will be notified by email. The contest closes on Friday, October 29, 2010 at 12:00 PM CST. How will we decide which answer is the "best," you say? By "best" we mean which answer we feel is most biblical. You can respond right in the comments section.

Find out more about Yancey's book here, which was released October 19, 2010.

Good luck!

Why had a seemingly gentle and loving horse reacted in such a dangerous way? Fear. I later found that Strider's previous owners had twisted his ears and bent them forward, forcing his head down into the bridle. Instead of being effective, their heavy-handed methods had turned Strider into an extremely head-shy horse. I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't a little disheartened at this point. Earning the trust of an animal that has been abused is a very difficult, if not impossible, task. What if he never trusted me?

The next morning and every morning after that for the next several months, I went out into the field with him. If I knew one thing for sure, it was this: his fears hadn't been formed in one day and his trust wasn't going to be earned in one either. Instead of rushing things, I would just love on him: petting him, talking to him, getting to know him. Strider proved very receptive to my attention, even breaking from the herd when he saw me coming. He wanted my company, though my other horses only came for treats. Very slowly I began to work my petting up his neck and closer to his ears. At first he would jerk his head up and look down at me with fear radiating out of those big, brown eyes of his. But he was no longer rearing and I counted this as progress. I used the yielding and release method as I worked with him. As soon as he yielded to my touch by relaxing his head and body, I would immediately withdraw my hands to a location that he wasn't afraid of. With this knowledge, Strider began to yield more and more quickly because he knew that as soon as he did, I would release.

But we couldn't stop here and, though it would be difficult, I had to ask him for more. If I was ever going to put a bridle on him, we would have to overcome his fear about his ears. Remember that it was from his ears that his fears ultimately stemmed. So instead of stopping at his face, I now moved my hands all the way up to his ears. At first this was a real struggle, for no matter how much he enjoyed our time together, he still had that same, paralyzing fear. But I was patient and it really wasn't long before he let me not only touch his ears, but bend them forward as I would do when it came time to bridle him. Instead of this making him shy of our daily meetings, he would now push his head into my chest and rub all over me. More time passed and he now showed little to no reaction when I touched his head and ears. This kind of trust took time and wisdom to build and it wasn't at all an easy task. The more I asked of Strider, the more he had to yield, and yielding was a decision that I couldn't force him into. He had to take ownership of his part in order for us to make any progress. In the end, because I was willing to release him and because he was willing to yield to produce that release, we were able to build a lasting trust.

God taught me that our relationship, His and mine, is like this. When the Lord purchases us out of our old way of life, we sometimes still carry fears from our past. In order to overcome these fears and build a trusting relationship, we must yield to the Lord's touch.

How do we yield to His touch? We do this by relaxing our hold on our fears, by surrendering them completely to Him. The more we get to know the Savior who purchased us—not with mere money, but with His own blood—the more we will be willing to yield our lives to His gentle touch. There will never be a time in our lives when the Lord is not asking us to yield something; as a matter of fact, the Lord requires that we surrender everything. Do our lives reflect this sort of trust-filled surrender? I know it's difficult to trust sometimes, especially when all we can see is the thing that's taken us captive but this is where we must change our focus. The only way to do this is to trustingly take our eyes off of our fears and look to Him.

"Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:29-30).

Brittany Valentine is twenty-two years old and lives on a forty-acre farm in southern Illinois. She enjoys training, riding, and just spending time with her eight horses.

            Since the country's founding, the promise of success has lured people from all walks of life to our land. The American dream says that anyone who works hard enough can accomplish anything. Throughout the book's 217 pages, Platt warns of the danger in allowing this philosophy to creep into the church, "We Christians are living out the American dream in the context of our communities of faith. We have convinced ourselves that if we can position our resources and organize our strategies, then in  church as in every other sphere of life, we can accomplish anything we set our minds to. But what is strangely lacking in the picture of performances, personalities, programs, and professionals is desperation for the power of God. God's power is at best an add-on to our strategies. I am frightened by the reality that the church I lead can carry on most of our activities smoothly, efficiently, even successfully, never realizing that the Holy Spirit of God is virtually absent from the picture. We can so easily deceive ourselves, mistaking the presence of physical bodies in a crowd for the existence of spiritual life in a community." (page 50)

            Platt also discusses how the independent mindset championed in modern America has led to the excessive materialism. The measure of a man is how hard he works and thus how much he produces and earns. This too has crept into the church. We judge success by how many bodies are in the pews, how full the offering plate is, and the size of the buildings. All these distract from the main cause of Christ: reaching lost souls and training disciples.

            While Platt's diagnosis of the problem is clear and challenging, I found his solutions to be mundane. Like so many other authors before him, Platt's solution is a five fold challenge of more prayer, more Bible study, more giving, living outside your comfort zone, and building disciples. While I understand and believe in the importance of these solutions, I found them to be typical responses most children can give after spending a year in Sunday school class.

            Platt's writing style is a very easy and enjoyable read. His own conviction comes through the pages as he shares personal examples from his own life and church in rejecting the independent materialistic mentality that is so prevalent. Despite the lacking in the end, this book is worth its $14.99 price. I would recommend this book to anyone who desires to turn the church back toward the model found in the book of Acts. There is a small companion book that sums up the message of the book in a brief fifity pages as well as a Bible study featuring eight lessons that correspond with each chapter for small groups.

 Jeremy Crittenden is a youth pastor in Florida.

That was one week after our arrival in a country closed to the Gospel. Two days later, the new convert received the first Bible she had ever seen. One week later, she was asking such probing questions as, "How can we keep from sinning when we have such great forgiveness?"  

The Holy Spirit can work fast with a deadline looming.

Days later, the short-term mission trip (STMT) was over, and the fledgling Christian was left with only God's Word and her inner Comforter to be her Teacher, Guardian, and Guide.

As a mission participant, I also experienced indescribable joy. A carefree attitude carried me across the ocean, over a perilous commute, and through three weeks of the most taxing ministry I have ever attempted.

That calm and cared-for confidence brought me back home and lasted for many months but, unfortunately, has started to fade. Somehow my "do the dishes" and "carpool the kids" life doesn't seem as God-ordained as sharing Christ's love with someone who has never heard the name of Jesus.

It's the time of year when short-term mission participants are coming back from the field energized. They are longing to invigorate our churches, not merely assimilate.

This is the season to cultivate that newfound excitement in the body of Christ, as mission participants and supporters.

How can we hold onto the spiritual "high" that accompanies mission work amongst the cares and commitments of life? It is imperative that we incorporate the short-term mission mindset for a lifetime of ministry.

A STMT is a microcosm of what the Christian life should be. It is a focused example of "redeeming the times" because you are painfully aware of the fleeting days of opportunity (Ephesians 5:16). It's hard to continuously live with such intensity, but with effort we can integrate that attitude into daily life if we keep in mind the following:

God's Purpose

On a STMT, you are certain of your purpose. The leader of the trip gives you an assignment. If you are asked to distribute medicine or teach an English class, it seems important to the cause of Christ. Your efforts support your intent to share the gospel, and it is easy to draw a direct correlation to building God's Kingdom.

Back home, it's not so clear. It's harder to trace the finger of God hidden behind the requirements of daily chores and a secular job.

We know we are to glorify God in whatever He calls us to do. It's less dramatic doing that standing behind a sink instead of a pulpit, but it does not need to be less effective. Most of us will spend more time in the mundane than the extraordinary, and so God gave us the familiar admonition, "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31). 

Completing a small job with excellence is of eternal value. Keeping this in mind will lend worth to the most trivial task.

Focusing on God's purpose also keeps us out of trouble. When time is limited, we tend to let minor conflicts slide in deference to our goals. We take seriously Philippians 2:2 which says, "be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind"

Let's live together in the motivating light of our purpose! In this way we can better fulfill our commission to make disciples.

God's Plan

On a STMT you believe each step or misstep has been ordained by God. If your flight is canceled, you know God wants you in the airport. You may need to witness to the ticket agent. If you get sick while on the trip, you have assurance there is divine intent. You might need to concentrate on praying for your teammates.

If you miss a flight or get sick while on vacation, it just feels like dumb luck.

We are programmed for self-reliance. In typical American fashion, we want to do it all—formulate the plan and then put in the effort to make it happen.

A mission trip humbles you into remembering it is God who works in us for His purpose (Philippians 2:13). Since you are totally out of your element, it's easier to embrace that comforting truth.

What sweet relief Proverbs 16:9 provides when it tells us that, "A man's heart devises his way: but the LORD directs his steps." God has the master plan for our lives and we are not big enough to spoil it.

God's Provision

Just a few dollars in my pocket for three weeks, and I was not worried at all. If I was hungry or thirsty, I knew someone had a plan. It might not be pizza and a diet, caffeine-free soda, but I knew the need would be met.

On a STMT you choose to be content with however God provides. It is sufficient because you are content with whatever we have: for he has said He would never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

As a born-again creation, the former desires no longer fulfill. Our spirits have been reprogrammed to long for the spiritual. Second Timothy 2:22 reminds us to "follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart."

Our nationally approved right to the "pursuit of happiness" sometimes gets in the way of realizing we have enough. In the midst of the chase we fail to be still and relish God's presence.

We do not recognize it is not the "capturing" but "being captured" that counts. "Christ is all I need" resounds in the heart of the mission-minded. It is one treasure we can cherish from this life to the next!

God's Protection

On a STMT, you recognize that trials might mean you're on the right track. You are satisfied and even gratified when trouble comes because, "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong" (2 Corinthians 12:10).

When things go wrong on a STMT, you expectantly watch for God to make it right. Since the time is condensed, you often don't need to wait the years or even decades required for God to fulfill His promise to work all things for our good (Romans 8:28). Our microwave impatience appreciates that.

On a STMT, you also are on the offensive prayer-wise. You realize you need God's protection and are hypersensitive to attacks because the opponent is obvious (Ephesians 6:12).

In everyday life it's common to be lulled into security, comforted by cautious behavior. American life comes with built-in safeguards. From the "do not eat" label on the baggie in a shoebox to the zealous instructions on a child's car seat, we have surrounded ourselves with supposed sanctuary.

When you're bumping along in a van with no seatbelts and 50,000 miles overdue for a tune-up, you remember where your security truly lies.

It's also easier to relish the security of the soul instead of the body while on a STMT. When you are concentrating on sharing the gift of heaven, the ethereal materializes into a glorious future instead of just the final rest stop.

In truth, it is hard to keep a short-term mission mindset. The greater truth is we were born modern-day Americans not as a blessing of prosperity but because God knows we can glorify Him in our culture. God wants us to live effectively even amidst the ever-present distractions of ease.

Would I personally rather be on the front lines reaching the unchurched for Christ? Yes, mission work is addictive in a good way. But if that is not my current calling, I'd better get back to my assigned post.

We must also keep in mind that, "No man that wars entangles himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who chose him to be a soldier" (2 Timothy 2:4).  

As committed followers of Christ, we never meant to become entangled in the cares of this world, but out of necessity we've had to confront the urgent. There is a difference, however, between attending to and being entangled by the cares of this world.

I am trying to live today as I did across the ocean—with the knowledge that God has a purpose and plan for me each day. In this confidence I can rely on His provision and protection wherever His will leads.

So remember, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we stow our suitcases, don't put away the passion. Save that short-term mission mindset for a life-time of ministry!

Lauralyn Davis is a wife and mother of three living in the Memphis, TN area. She is grateful to belong to a mission-minded church that offers many ministry opportunities both in community and abroad.

Sigh—it was so beautiful and skillful and . . . .

The presence of such great works of art, displaying artistic mastery I cannot comprehend, completely overwhelmed me. On loan from the Art Institute of Chicago, the Kimbell presented more than 90 masterpieces from the impressionist era. Displayed were the works of master painters Degas, Monet, Renoir, Cezanne, Van Gogh, and Toulouse-Lautrec—just to name a few! The gallery not only grouped the paintings by artist, but also in a chronological manner; thus exposing the evolution of impressionism throughout the mid-nineteenth to early-twentieth centuries. To think a handful of painters, whose artistic eye challenged traditions and abounded with creativity, reinvented the art of painting and influenced culture decades later—absolutely incredible.

My afternoon at the museum made me ponder, What is the evangelical Christian to do with this art? Monet lived with another man's wife for 13 years; Degas was a vocal anti-Semite; Van Gogh acquired gonorrhea from an alcoholic prostitute he patroned for two years and was committed to a mental institute (during which he painted Starry Night); and Renoir fathered an illegitimate child by Aline Victoria Charigot five years before he married her. These hall-of-famers are not exactly upstanding Christian men.

Yet, when I look at the works of the impressionists, although an art novice, something within me reacts to the beauty and skill I behold—much the same way I react when I encounter nature. I am beholding God's glory. It prompts me to worship.

Created to Create

In Genesis 1:26-28, we learn that God created people in His image—possessing authority, a free will, a spirit, emotions, and creativity. As nature glorifies God by showing His creativity and skill (Psalm 19:1-2; Psalm 104), humanity glorifies God by reflecting His image. Thus, the artistic/creative person is an expression of God's image and glorifying God as he or she creates. Other Christians can then praise God and worship Him not only when they see His creative works—a sunset or mountain chain—but also when they see the creative work from His human creations—paintings, sculptures, architecture, design, literature, etc.

Pondering these possibilities reveals we can enjoy God and worship Him by enjoying His creation—both of nature and culture. (See 1 Timothy 4:1-5; Ecclesiastes 2:24-25, 5:18-19, 9:9.)

Although we may not agree with the moral and religious choices of a particular artist, we can, however, recognize the creative skill—whether genius or just simply genuine—as possessing some element of good and beauty, much the same way God set the example by declaring His creative works ultimately good (Genesis 1). We can appreciate those through the lens of God's creation—He made the person who could create something so unique and complex!

Create No Gods Before Me

Just as creation can become an idol, so can art—paintings, music, films, etc. This happens when it replaces God in importance. For instance, a person may admire and revere Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper but despise and reject Jesus. Furthermore, the Scripture warns against immersion in culture (Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 8:-10; 2 Corinthians 6:14ff; Ephesians 4:17ff;  1 John 2:15-17).

Yet, because an artist's material is not overtly Christian or is blatantly non-Christian, does it mean believers cannot praise God for the skill given to that person by enjoying the art? Perhaps, in the secular culture—art, music, literature—there are still glories of God to behold.

To the Artist

This should also be good news to the artist. No longer must you lay down your paintbrush, cloth swatch, or pen to pursue a Christian vocation. "Being in the ministry" takes all shapes and sizes, and some of those folks need to glorify God by utilizing and sharpening their God-given talents and interests. Just as God provides an example for the missionary, the pastor, or the theologian in His Word, He also provides an example for the creative heart. Think of the grandeur of Eden, the pomp of the Temple, and the descriptions of the new heaven and new earth. You are not left without an example. God is the ultimate artist, the ultimate creative mind.

In All I Do

Reading this, some may cringe. Thanks to America's puritanical heritage, it still may be difficult for American Christianity to swallow the idea of embracing creativity as okay, not to mention as worship. However, my Kimbell experience taught me that worship of God is not limited to Bible study, prayer, church, attendance, and good deeds. No, worship of God penetrates every moment of life, seeing Him in all I do and all I meet (1 Corinthians 10:31). Although I live in a fallen world, which often mars the purity of God's image in us, such sin can never fully hide our original design—to glorify Him. We do that when we create—stirring sermon or skillful watercolor, all to the glory of the great Creator.

Question: Knowing that bearing God's image means people are prone to create, how does that impact the way you categorize art—music, sculpture, paintings, films, etc?

Emily White Youree is a freelance writer and editor who lives near Fort Worth, Texas with her husband Bryan.

As ridiculous as this line of thinking was, what came next was even crazier. While contemplating the inevitably fatal influenza (which I did not yet have), I realized that if someone came to take me to the hospital, that person would see my apartment. I'd been meaning to clean it for days, but sometimes I'm lazy. It hadn't seemed important until I realized someone was actually going to see my mess. So, the housecleaning, which this morning seemed unimportant, jumped to the top of my priority list. I felt terrible. I had a low-grade fever, a headache, and I was exhausted, and I decided that the most important thing to do was clean. So, I cleaned house just as fast as I could before the fever got worse and I was forced to rush to the hospital for the flu I didn't yet have. Sometimes, I'm ridiculous.

While scrubbing down the bathroom sink I began to wonder, does this insanity extend to my spiritual life as well? Do I feverishly attempt to clean up for God? I know I need to spend more time in prayer with the Father, but I don't feel prepared enough. First I have to do all my spiritual chores: read my bible, go to church, volunteer for the homeless, etc. As if I could make my spirit a sparkling abode for God to visit. I know it isn't about works. I learned that in Sunday School. Maybe it's that first-born child syndrome which makes me feel I have to do everything exactly right, or that my worth is rolled up in how well I do things. That thought is dangerous enough, but when extended to Christianity, it approaches the heretical.

The Holy Spirit isn't like a friend who occasionally visits. If I am a Christian, then He lives within me. He knows what the place looked like before I cleaned up and He loves me anyway. Paul pronounces this in Romans 5:1-6, when he explains our faith should give us peace in the presence of God and comfort in hard times. Then he reminds us Christ died for us while we were still sinners. He didn't die for me after I cleaned my spiritual life.

It is important to live right for God because faith without works is dead (James 2:26). The problem is when the focus drifts away from the Father and on to how good I can be for Him. The difference is subtle, but vital. I've been placing the focus on me and what I can do for Him, but the truth is that I can't do anything for Him without Him. Without the Holy Spirit, I'll never scrape the grime off of my heart, and all that time spent trying could have been better spent relaxing in the presence of the Father.

Jacquelyn Spruill has a BA in English from Trevecca Nazarene University. She is the Circulation Supervisor for Trevecca's Waggoner Library.

Beneficial Fear

Although fear is generally an unwelcome guest, there is a healthy fear that keeps us—at least most of us—from passing certain boundaries in life. Why? Because they involve consequences that just aren't worth risking. When I drive down the road, that yellow strip of paint that runs down the center keeps me from hogging both lanes. The fear of being hit by oncoming traffic is a good fear that keeps me safely on my side of the road. In this case, fear is somewhat of a road block (no pun intended) that keeps me from possible danger. More often, however, it prevents any action, good or bad.

Debilitating Fear

Fear is an unwelcome visitor that attempts to paralyze its victim at his or her most vulnerable moments. It often attacks our minds with a bunch of "what if" scenarios. What if I fail? What if I never get married? What if I don't pass this test? What if something bad happens to me? What if, what if, what if?! We could list a million "what if" scenarios that have run through our minds in just the past day, and if we dwell on them long enough, we may actually believe they are destined to happen.

Fear is definitely a deception. It doesn't have any real power behind it other than the feeling it triggers inside. It causes us to believe something that generally is not true and never will be. It ruffles our feathers and stirs the pot with only a thought. The more we dwell on the "what if," the stronger fear's grip on us becomes until we yield under the power of it and become its slave. What may be a fleeting thought to begin with can easily become an enormous dilemma when we allow fear to toy with our thoughts.

Dealing With Fear

Despite my struggle to keep the unhealthy fear at bay, I often fail miserably. I wish I could just make my fears magically disappear and never deal with them again. But that would be too easy, and I wouldn't learn anything about trusting God along the way. When I was a child, I had a small wooden plaque that hung on my bedroom wall which read, "At times that I'm afraid, I will trust in God." At night, while lying alone in the quiet darkness of my bedroom, when fear often gripped me, I found great comfort in that short phrase.

In Isaiah we read, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee" (26:3, KJV). After being reminded of this passage, I know that it's God's will for me to be at peace in my mind, and anything less would be disastrous! Now if I could only learn to keep my mind focused and my heart trusting in Him, I know the "what ifs" behind my fears will not seem so big after all. 

Naomi Cassata has been married to her husband James for 6 years. They live in Florida. She has been writing articles for about 5 years.

So what does the Bible say about our rights?

First, as children of God we are called to be set apart, different from the rest. Peter said Christians are a chosen generation, royal, holy, and "peculiar." Why? So we may tell the world about Him who called us out of darkness into His light (1 Peter 2:9).

OK, we are supposed to stand out, and we know why, but how?

Peter goes on to say our conduct should be honorable amongst those who are unsaved, so that when someone talks bad about us, our reputation will be known as honest and reputable. In turn, they will glorify God because of our good conduct (1 Peter 2:12). Good deeds—check. Honorable lifestyle—check. Anything else?

"Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake" (1 Peter 2:13). Every ordinance? Every institution? What if I don't agree with their policies or the philosophy they espouse? What if it's just one of those silly rules? Peter continues by saying it is God's will for Christians to do good and in turn put the ignorance of foolish people to silence (1 Peter 2:15-16). Well, I guess that's doable. At least it says we still have our freedom. Submit to anyone in authority—check.

Still, what if it's unjust? Surely God doesn't want us to give up our rights and put up with unfairness? That's just wrong! Right?

Wrong. Peter says to obey your masters even if they are unjust (1 Peter 2:18-20).

Whoa. Let that sink in a bit. Even when they are unjust. So we're supposed to suffer personal injustice quietly without making a big deal out of it? Really? What does that even look like?

"For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed" (1 Peter 2:21-24; KJV).

Jesus suffered agony unjustly, for us. He is our example. He didn't revile or threaten, no. He simply entrusted Himself to the Father, knowing God is a just Judge.

This sounds like more than just suffering for our faith. It really goes against the grain of our culture. Is it possible that we're asked to trade our entitlement to rights for a Christ-like meekness and humility? After all, we are a "people for His own possession" called to follow His example as we point others to Him. A selfless, humble servant's heart would definitely set us apart from the rest . . .

With this in mind, consider the following scenarios. Compare your gut reaction to Peter's comments above. What Christ-like reaction sets you apart?

Scenario 1

You're standing in a long line at the airport waiting to check in, when a Hispanic man cuts line and proceeds to take FOREVER to get his things in order because he can't understand, thus making you late for your flight.

Scenario 2

You're overdue a pay-raise, and you've put in extra effort hoping your boss takes notice. You deserve the increase, but some upstart who transferred in six months ago is the one who gets it.

Scenario 3

You're out on a special date to a place that's normally out of your price range. The service is extremely slow, your food is not to order, and the waitress gets testy with your simple requests. When your check comes, the pricey tip is already calculated in.

As followers of Jesus Christ, we have the right to serve, the right to put others before ourselves, the right to remain silent and suffer patiently, the right to make personal sacrifices, and the right to have abundant life in Him. May we be ever mindful of those rights, and may we use them to the glory of God.

Rachel Donahue is a missionary with her husband Mick and son to Spain.

Deal Gone Bad

Aside from Tim's rather nondescript California ministry job, he put his business degree to work on the side, buying houses, fixing them up and reselling them for a handsome profit. In fact, he felt like business was the direction God had for his life until he heard the call to go into the ministry seven years prior. Yet it was a business deal gone bad that sparked the most life-changing week in Tim's life.

In the midst of wheeling and dealing, a friend recommended Tim buy an investment property in downtown Oklahoma City, site unseen. He convinced Tim that there was a substantial profit to be made from flipping this apartment complex. That was when the trouble began.

The owners of the apartment units and the property manager managed to present the apartment as a thriving area, one that showed great promise. But looks were more than deceiving. In reality, the apartment complex was home to some of the most down-and-out people in the city, not to mention a base for drug lords and every other imaginable kind of evil enterprise.

It wasn't long before Tim realized he was caught up in the middle of a con game and stuck with a building that was losing him anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 a month for a period of time.

"I was just dying inside," Tim tells The Brink. "All I could say is 'Jesus', and I could say that a hundred times a minute. I was crying myself to sleep at night. But I remember the week before I finally went to Oklahoma City to try and sell the building and get rid of it once and for all that I got on my face before God.  I said, 'I'll do whatever You want, however You want, whenever You want. I'm surrendered. Whatever that means.' Then the first thing He called me to do was give $500 to somebody—and I had lost significant amounts of money. But I did it, yet I was like, 'Are you sure Lord?' Then the same day that same lady I sent money to ended up sending us $400. I was wondering if I had missed His voice. Then the Lord started to show me what obedience looked like. That's when the Lord really started messing my life up. "

Acts Come Alive

Tim's plan to rid himself of this burdensome building was to fly to Oklahoma City, fix up the building and sell it. At this point, he was beyond caring about making a profit—he was more concerned with plugging the gaping cash leak. So Tim began fasting prior to his trip.

"I was trying to pull a wild card with my fasting, like, 'Lord, help me. Take this problem off my hands. Send a tornado through this building or burn it down with fire. Just take it away from me'," Tim said. "I thought I was off and I had totally messed up God's will for my life.

Still unaware of the real activity taking place within his building, Tim was horrified to discover the truth once he arrived. "Drugs, gangs, prostitution—it was a buffet table of evil," Tim said. "If evil could walk through the streets, it was walking down the ones near this building and getting whatever it wanted. Yet in spite of my fear, God began giving me an insane amount of boldness once we arrived."

What Tim thought was going to be a week of redeeming a rundown building turned into a different kind of redemptive mission—one that involved broken people who were in desperate need of God's love, grace and truth.

Two days into his extreme makeover project, Tim was perched on a ladder inside the building, painting when a 6-foot-4, 250-pound man walked near him. Trying to be polite, Tim asked him how he was doing.

"He just looked up at me and said, 'I'm tired,'" Tim recalls. "And as cheesy as it sounds, I just said, 'I know the one who brings rest.' Then within a few minutes, he starts weeping and repenting. Then the Lord showed me some things about this guy's life that I shared with him, and he was like, 'What is going on? I heard about you.'

"There was just this release and repentance. These were small indicators that God was up to something."

One afternoon, Tim and his friend ventured into a dark room near the roof's building and watched about 30 gang members bolt out the back door when they walked in. "We joked about how darkness would flee when exposed to the light," Tim said. "But it really was a visual picture of what was happening. God was at work in a big way."

Then God began to speak to Tim in a way that forever reshaped his journey.

"When I woke up one night after reading Zechariah 7, God asked me, 'Are you fasting for me or for you?' I was hoping that fasting was the wild card of God to deliver me, so it was clear I was fasting for me and not for Him," Tim said. "He began to show me that it wasn't about me—it was about him. He said he would rather have me obey than sacrifice. At that point, when I heard Him say, 'Obedience,' I knew I was supposed to move out here and become a part of this. "

By week's end, Tim knew that this wasn't a one-week fixer-upper in Oklahoma City, but the beginning of a much longer process of redeeming a building and neighborhood for Christ. "That week I had a hundred divine appointments and watched the word of God become more real than I had ever seen in my life. I think God still wants the book of Acts to be written today."

Radical Obedience

When Tim returned home, he walked into his church office and resigned, not knowing the full plan but knowing it involved him doing ministry out of this building, what eventually became known as The Refuge.

"Many people thought I was crazy," Tim says with a pause, before adding, "I thought I was crazy! And even a month after I moved out here, I asked my wife if she thought I was crazy. I didn't have the full vision for what I was to be doing, but I knew the Lord was teaching me to trust Him. The vision would come later. I wanted vision because I wanted to know where I was headed."

Despite shutting down the criminal activity inside the building, Tim was still wondering just what his purpose was after six months.

"Nothing was really happening, and I was scared all the time," Tim said. "Whenever I would get within a couple of miles of the building, this heavy oppression would come over me. I would be scraping these nasty crack-infested floors and look out at like the city and tell the Lord that I was in the wrong building. I was supposed to be in one of those skyscrapers doing business. It didn't make one bit of sense."

But things quickly began to change. Tim befriended two generals—Homicide and Tango—from a local gang and began meeting and praying with them regularly. "These guys started going throughout the building and asking if they could repent for their sins in each of the rooms where they sinned," Tim said.

One day later, a church shows up and says they heard about what I was doing and wanted to help fix up the building. Before too long, Tim was partnering with other local ministries and throwing a block party. Then more churches began hearing about what happening The Refuge and wanted to help.

Now, The Refuge is a growing ministry that is trying to model the love of Christ to a group of people who are downtrodden and often marginalized by society.

"A lot of what we're doing on a daily basis is trying to be an example of selfless people serving the selfish," Tim said. "The selfishness that they're in is their idol is themselves. They are the temples lying in waste. The reason why is they are full of idols—they're full of themselves. They're living in their image, rather than the image of God. What we're trying to do as believers to do is be the light and expose darkness just as Christ came to serve.

"We're trying to pursue what it looks like to love God and love our neighbors. Our neighbors are crack dealers, business owners, prostitutes, gang members. And we've decided to focus on giving them spiritual food. We're trying to transform that area by picking up trash, mowing lawns without people knowing it. It's Isaiah 58. We're modeling to the homeless people what it means to be creative producers and workers who use their hands to be fruitful and multiply. We think that's the ticket to transforming and engaging them rather than enabling them.

"We think if we go and make disciples, we'll advance the kingdom of God. It starts on our street. And when we get our street, we're going after our neighborhood. When we get our neighborhood, we'll go after our city and then our state."

Not a bad start for a guy who just thought he was going to fix up a building.

Jason Chatraw is a freelance writer from Boise, Idaho.

First, God has the right to take life however and whenever He desires. Since God is the author of life, He can take life and give life at His whim. Life is a gift from God. Every moment we exist is a gift from our Creator (Acts 17:24-28). God is under no obligation to sustain the universe or our individual lives. Since God created the world (and everything in it) He can do with it as He desires. Humans cannot take another life because they did not create it. Since we did not give life, we have no right to take it. But since God is the giver of life, He can take it in whatever manner He chooses. It's His prerogative.

Second, God shows tremendous longsuffering and compassion before executing judgment. When God first told Abraham that his descendants would inhabit the Promised Land, God instructed him that the fulfillment would be significantly delayed until the sin of the Amorites (the people of Canaan) was complete (Genesis 15:16). Why the wait? God was allowing sufficient time for the Canaanites to repent of their evil ways. 430 years was more than enough time for the Amorites to turn to God. Moreover, God promises to spare any nation that turns to God in repentance and abandons its evil ways (Jeremiah 18:7-8). God gave them considerable time to repent, but eventually justice must prevail.

Third, Gods commands must be understood in light of His covenant with Israel. God chose Abraham to be the father of a nation through whom "all the families of the earth will be blessed" (Genesis 12:1-3). Israel was to be a holy nation, set apart from the evil and corruption of surrounding nations (Leviticus 18:30). God was preparing a nation as a vehicle for the coming Messiah, the universal savior (Ephesians 2:11-22). In direct contrast, the Canaanites were involved in witchcraft, divination, child sacrifice, and sexual perversion (Deuteronomy 18:9-11; Lev 18:1-24). Thus, they were the most serious threat to God's divine plan for Israel. Dr. Paul Copan rightly observes: "Although the biblical commands are themselves considered harsh, not carrying them out would have undermined the very theocracy and plan of salvation God had established" (That's Just Your Interpretation, Baker Books, 2005, p. 165).

When difficult challenges like this arise, it's important to remember what we know to be true about God: He is good, patient, loving, and worthy of our trust. We may not understand entirely why he called for the destruction of the Canaanites, but we can rest assured that He has a good reason.

Sean McDowell is head of the Bible department at Capistrano Valley Christian Schools where he teaches Philosophy, Theology, and Apologetics. He is the author of several books on apologetics. Visit his website at http://www.seanmcdowell.org/ . 

            It's impossible to underestimate the importance of this question. If Jesus survived crucifixion then He was just a false prophet, we are still in our sins, and there is no ultimate hope for the world. If Jesus didn't die and then resurrect we may as well "feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!" (1 Cor. 15).

So, how do we know Jesus really died by crucifixion? Let's consider three lines of evidence. First, the nature of crucifixion virtually guarantees death. Crucifixion was designed to cause maximal pain to victims. Cicero called crucifixion "the most cruel and hideous of tortures . . . the extreme penalty for a slave." The pain was so unbearable that a new word had to be invented: Excruciating literally means "out of the cross." Jesus was whipped mercilessly, had a crown of thorns placed on His head, carried His crossbar to his place of execution, and was ultimately nailed to the cross. Given the efficiency of the Roman guards, it strains credibility to think that Jesus survived the cross.

            Second, medical evidence proves Jesus died on the cross. After Jesus was observed to be dead, one of the Roman executioners thrust a spear into His side, and blood and water immediately came out (John 19:34). While the apostle John was an eyewitness to this event, he had no idea about the significance of his observation. In 1986 (at least 1950 years after the crucifixion!) the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association featured an article demonstrating that the release of blood and water from such a spear wound is a sure sign of death.

            Third, there is extra-biblical evidence that Jesus was crucified. Non-Christian sources also provide evidence for the death of Jesus. These include Cornelius Tacitus (A.D. 55-120), who is considered by many to be the greatest ancient Roman historian as well as the Jewish scholar Josephus (A.D. 37-97). Believing that Jesus survived the cross might make for an interesting movie, but it strains credibility.

            Why does this matter? The death of Jesus should motivate us to reach out in love to a broken and hurting world. First John 3:16 says that we know what real love is because of what Jesus has done for us. The sacrificial love of Christ is the greatest display of love the world has ever seen. It's up to us to put that love into action.

However, others, such as Aldous Huxley (author of Brave New World) feared that we would instead "become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumblepuppy." He remarked in Brave New World Revisited that the "civil libertarians and rationalists" who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny "failed to take into account man's almost infinite appetite for distractions." In the book 1984, written by George Orwell, we find men who are controlled by inflicting pain. In Huxley's book, Brave New World, people are controlled by inflicting pleasure.

Author Neil Postman explains that George Orwell, looking into the future, feared that what we hate would ruin us.

But Aldous Huxley feared that what we love would ruin us.

In saying such a thing, Postman is attempting to communicate that technology, specifically in his case television, [1] is the thing that we love and it is the very thing that will ruin us. I would agree and argue that what we love will indeed ruin us—but the problem is not television. That is simply an outworking of something much, much deeper.

Our hearts.

I Met the Buzzards at Church

For some reason, during church services in particular, distracting thoughts seem to swoop around my head like a flock of hungry buzzards waiting to eat a dead carcass.

It's a pretty disgusting thought.

But maybe you have the same problem. I just drift off into distraction all the time. I have an infinite desire for distractions!

And I am in desperate need of some kind of deadly weapon of retaliation in order to rid myself of these brain-devouring distractions. Especially when it comes to taking part in the things of God, like a Sunday morning at church.

Now, what exactly is the connection between Huxley's Brave New World and the vultures circling around my slowly disintegrating consciousness as I'm sitting in the pew? It's rather simple, really.

Your heart and my heart desire to please themselves—and part of that means entertaining (or distracting) ourselves. Remember the statement that "people are controlled by inflicting pleasure"? That's our society—that's me! I am completely controlled by the things that please me—not others, and especially not God.

There is a reason that I am never distracted while watching Sports Center or watching my favorite television show. I'm never worrying about what I'm going to have for dinner, or that project that's due tomorrow, or the conversation I need to have with a friend. Those situations still exist, but when it comes to things that entertain me, all of those things seem to fade into the background.

But for some reason those very things seem to leap into my mind as I'm writing down point number two from the sermon from my pastor. Let's take a look at why that may be by taking a closer look at the "heart."

Idols, Idols, Idols . . .

We have to realize we have disgusting idols permeating our beings. Not physical idols that we create and bow down to in our living rooms. These are much more subtle.

My own heart is the center of production for these things! And they're not always initially bad things, per se. They are simply things that we love more than God, things we look at and say (sometimes unknowingly), "I can't do without that thing. I just can't be happy without it!" It might be a good thing (like a relationship, a car, or the latest phone)—but when you lose a good thing, there is some time of sorrow, and it can be replaced by something else. But when you lose an idol . . . you despair. [2]

My distractions just happen to be one particularly powerful way to detect these idols that are in my life. Archbishop William Temple once said, "Your religion is what you do with your solitude." That is frighteningly true. Wherever my mind most often drifts can help me to discover and address the current idols that I have within my heart. If my mind drifts off constantly to the relationship, the car, the latest phone, or whatever, I have the perfect opportunity to test and detect the idols that I may have haunting my heart.

What Now?

Since Sunday morning just happens to be an excellent time for me to realize the idols that are in my heart, the appropriate response to those idols is to do the following:

1. I must acknowledge I have idols in my life. We all do! And I just happened to figure out what mine were in the moments when my mind began to be assaulted by what seemed like lovely creatures yet were actually disgusting buzzards waiting to devour the roadkill that had become my mind. That's what idols often do—they take over the brain and heart, completing destroying our allegiance to what should be first place: Jesus Christ.
2. I must realize that I cannot overcome or destroy these idols alone. Without help, I am completely enslaved to these idols. I am without the weapons to overcome them.
3. I must preach the gospel. The gospel is the very thing that I need to destroy the vultures, or idols, or distracting thoughts. Often our being distracted is showing that we do not care about the gospel enough to seek after the Word of God, His church, or His community. I want to be so enraptured by the gospel that I take it and make it "of first importance" as Paul says in 1 Corinthians.

Let's not allow our sinful nature (or the infinite desire for distraction) to rule our lives. If we are believers, we have Jesus Christ, who has conquered sin! We are no longer slaves to sin, but servants of Jesus Christ. Because He has saved us, He must be first in our lives. First does not mean second, or equal to other things in our lives.

There are so many other ways that we can have or allow idols into our lives and so many other ways to detect idols. But for now—when you see those buzzards, watch out. It might just be the perfect opportunity to start breaking some idols you're worshipping other than Jesus Christ.

Tim Sweetman is a 19-year-old journalist, blogger, and student who lives near our nation's capital, Washington D.C. He is much more widely known by his "code-name," Agent Tim, which also serves as the name of his popular blog http://www.agenttimonline.com, which has received over 750,000 visits since its debut three years ago.

[1] Postman, Neil. Amusing Ourselves To Death. Introduction.

[2] I recommend reading Counterfeit Gods by Tim Keller for further information.

This is the second part of things to keep in mind when looking for God's will. (I'm thinking there will probably be four parts to this.) The first part was that God's will does not contradict the Bible. (For part one, copy and paste this URL: http://thebrinkonline.com/articles/read/how-to-know-gods-will-part-1.)

The second important thing to remember is to listen to the Spirit of God.

After the following introductory thoughts, I tried to make the rest of this piece flow like a conversation where I anticipate a question that might come to your mind. Feel free to ask more questions in the comments section and I'll do my best to find an answer for you.

I didn't hear much about the Holy Spirit growing up. I think some Christians have been scared to talk about Him in fear of being labeled something they didn't want to be. So as a result, He gets neglected. Or at least our understanding of His role in our life does.

But if we want to understand the Bible and the nature of God, we have to understand the significance the Holy Spirit plays in the story of God. And if you want to know God's will (essentially, hear Him), then it would greatly benefit you to know and at least partly understand one of the main methods in which God speaks.

Does the Spirit know what God's will is?

Emphatically, yes!

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians that the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. He went on to say that no one understands the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Other than Scripture and nature, the only way we can know what God is thinking is to listen to the Spirit of God. If you want to know God's will, listen to the Spirit, because the Spirit knows what God's will is for you.

How does the Spirit speak?

I have a caveat and then an example. The caveat is that in the same way God's will does not contradict the Bible, the Holy Spirit does not either. In fact, I have had experiences when the Holy Spirit spoke to me through a passage of Scripture. Someone was reading a passage, and the Spirit of God "said" to me, "This is what I want you to get right now." So yes it was the Spirit speaking to me, but He used the Scripture to tell me exactly what He wanted me to know. It was an unexplainable, incredible experience.

This caveat reminds me—if and when the Spirit of God speaks to you about the will of God, test it. If you want to know whether or not it was God's Spirit and not indigestion or a different spirit (evil spirits are real, and they can speak), test what the spirit said with what the Bible says. If it contradicts the Bible, you did not hear from God's Spirit, but something else (1 John 4:1).

The example I'm about to give is not necessarily the only way God's Spirit can speak (see Isaiah 30:27 for a time when God spoke loudly). It's just the way God has chosen to speak to me.

In 1 Kings, God spoke to the prophet Elijah. God had told Elijah to stand on a mountain so he could observe what was about to happen. He witnessed a wind that broke rocks into pieces, an earthquake, and a fire. The text says the Lord was not in any of those things. But then after the fire Elijah heard a "still small voice." That voice was the way in which God spoke to Elijah.

I think the Spirit still speaks in this way today—quietly.

How should someone go about hearing the Spirit speak quietly?

There's two parts to this answer. The first is you have to be quiet to hear something quiet.

I heard a speaker one time that had a real gift at using different volume levels in his presentation. He would get louder or softer depending on the moment or what he was saying. As I listened, I noticed something interesting about how the crowd reacted to his volume changes. The louder he got, the more rustling you could hear in the audience. But the softer he got, the softer everyone else got. You could hear a pin drop during his pauses. That's because if you wanted to hear what he had to say, you had to be completely silent in order to hear him at that moment.

I think listening to the Spirit works in the same way. Sometimes our lives are very, very loud and it takes the Spirit doing something very loud just to get our attention. Other times, we are very reflective and meditative and quiet, and the Spirit simply whispers to us.

If there is so much going on in your life that you never think about what the Spirit of God is saying to you, your life is too loud. Too noisy. Too busy. You need to unplug. Don't use your iPod for a week. Stay offline. Don't check email. Don't text. Sit in silence for 5 minutes without saying a word. Add 1 minute to that time each day.

The first part of the answer is you have to learn how to be quiet in order to hear something quiet.

The second part of the answer is you have to be close to someone to hear them whisper.

The Scripture says draw near to God, and He will draw near to you (James 4:8a). God has gone to great lengths for us to be able to know Him and hear Him. He reveals Himself through (1) creation, (2) Jesus, (3) the Bible, and (4) His Spirit. These things are all available to you. Now it's up to you to respond to what God has done. If you want to know God's will, you need to listen to the Spirit. And if you want to listen to the Spirit, you need to draw near to Him.

How does someone "draw near to God?"

The same text I referenced above goes on to say that we should cleanse our hands and purify our hearts. We are sinners and "double-minded" people (James 4:8b). This is how we draw near to God: we confess our sins and repent of them.

If sin is a blockade that keeps us from God, it is incredibly foolish to think God would show us His will when there is sin in our lives! It's not that God doesn't want to tell you, it's that you have chosen to cover your ears!

The Spirit of God cannot speak to someone who has put a barrier between that person and Himself. And if you want to hear the Spirit tell you God's will, you have to be incredibly close to Him.

The good news is that if you have accepted Christ, then you have the Spirit of God in you. And the Spirit is always looking to tell you things about Christ (1 Corinthians 2:12). In fact, sometimes He speaks in ways you wouldn't have thought—we would think a God so powerful as our God would choose to speak in an earthquake instead of a still small voice.

 Is there anything else?

The last thing I have to say in how we interact with the Spirit of God to find out His will is to ask Him. Ask Him.

Ask God to tell you.

Matthew 7:7 says if you ask it will be given to you. And if you seek, you will find it. If you knock, it will be opened to you.

Another point of advice is to literally verbalize what you are asking God. Don't just "ask it in your heart." There is something about saying things aloud when talking to God.

If you have a specific decision in mind, simply say aloud, "God, what do You want me to do about ______?" If you want to know whether or not God wants you to date a guy named Charlie, say, "God, do You want me to date Charlie?" Take whatever situation you are in and adapt it to the question.

If you want to know what God's will is for your life, you've got to get plugged into one of the main sources through which He speaks—His Spirit.

Jacob Riggs is Editor of The Brink. Contact him at twitter.com/jacobriggs.

I'm not here to discuss various societal issues and whatnot. My contention here is the rationale and application of the term 'hypocrite' is flawed. Furthermore, it is not a sufficient excuse for rejecting the Gospel of salvation. Would it be sufficient to say that the doctrine of love as preached by Jesus is not the prevalent mindset practiced by contemporary Christians? (That ball got dropped long ago.) Also, that Christians consistently fail to uphold the standards to which they are commanded? Ok. We're on the same page, then.

While I was in high school, I publicly committed to abstinence, complete with the mocking of my peers. I went off to a Christian college with great expectations and graduated with an ambition to serve "the least of these." My resolve wore down rather soon. I gradually made concessions and compromises, ultimately losing my virginity at the ripe old age of 23. Oops. Am I supposed to type that? See, I have always been a firm believer in the biblical view of sex: sex is a beautiful, glorious gift from God, useful for procreation and pleasure, and only permissible within the marriage of a man and a woman.

Hypocrite. I fully expect my now five-year-old daughter to blast me when I remind her of biblical standards during her adolescence and however far beyond. Still, even those who don't label me consider my moral choices suspect. Recently, I was shooting pool with some friends who were trying to decide whether or not we would go to a gentleman's club. I refused. What they had once considered absolute was now up for debate. As my friends, they would never say, "You're tainted now, bro. What's the big deal?" Even so, their approach to my convictions, which hadn't changed, demonstrated their perspective, which had.

The second effect of my failure was that I became afraid of judgment and therefore withdrew from Christian service. I judged myself far more harshly than anyone else did. Now, I may have permanently damaged what some call my "Christian witness." My choices may provide ammo to those who decry the teaching of abstinence. I know my choices shook the faith of a few, and changed the path of my ministry. (I intended to finish seminary and become a pastor—go figure.) But does that change the truth of the Gospel? No. Should that stop me from communicating in love, patience, and compassion, the hope I have in Christ? No.

Hypocrisy wields this great power to create divisions within our society and especially within our spirits. Hypocrisy is its own entity. So, I'm calling him out. "Hypocrisy" has meant that you say one thing and do another. Like when I tell my daughter not to sit on the arm of the couch—as I'm sitting on the opposite arm. "Do as I say and not as I do" kind of thing. The modern application of this misconception is when an individual's behavior is in conflict with his or her set of beliefs, or worldview.

If you possess a worldview based on absolute standards of right and wrong, and you sin, you're automatically a hypocrite. Since all have sinned, all Christians are hypocrites. Conversely, if you possess a worldview that is not predisposed to absolute right and wrong, you can never be a hypocrite. This understanding leads people to wrongly think Jesus' doctrine of love and conservative opposition to same-sex marriage are inconsistent. For marriage is based on love, is it not? How can one preach love, yet restrict the right of one individual to love another? (Again, an example, albeit a feisty one.)

This application of hypocrisy makes two faulty assumptions: (1) Behavior/choices are influenced by beliefs; (2) When they are misaligned, the tangible takes precedence over the intangible. That is to say, behavior influences belief. Since Christians cannot keep it in their pants, nor can they stay married, who are they to determine who can marry whom? Effectively, the sinfulness of Christians has rendered the Bible and its precepts obsolete. Even Christians have this in their mind. I've heard some say, "Yeah, I believe in the Bible, but that doesn't mean all the other religions are wrong."

I would go so far as to say belief and behavior are two separate categories of choice. You choose your belief. You choose your behavior. Should belief influence your behavior? Absolutely—especially Christians. But, to lump the two such that a choice can nullify the truth of a belief is philosophically unsound. It is an ad hominem fallacy to attempt to invalidate an individual's position simply because he or she may be a hypocrite. A person's failure to uphold biblical standards is not sufficient grounds for the abandonment of those standards.

So, how can we define and apply "hypocrisy" effectively and fairly? I shall try. If I believe Jesus commanded me to serve the least of these, yet I tell my daughter to avoid the poor—that is hypocrisy. If I believe Jesus is who he says He is ("The way, the truth, and the light"), yet claim other religions offer a possible way to salvation—then that is hypocrisy. It is not hypocrisy for Mr. Al Gore to leave all the lights on in his home incessantly . . . unless he truly believes it causes harm to the environment, and then he suggests to me that it is okay if I leave all the lights on in my home.

As for those of us who hold to absolute moral standards—if we believe the Bible determines sex to take place only between a married man and woman, and then advise those around us "what happens in the bedroom stays in the bedroom"—that is hypocrisy. If we are transparent, holding to our beliefs, our truths, yet acknowledging our failures, there is nothing hidden. There is no two-face, no double standard, and no hypocrisy. Transparency is the key to breaking down the walls that the accepted application of hypocrisy creates. So, let me ask you this: am I a hypocrite?

Bryce Thompson is a single dad, writing and residing in Connecticut's "Quiet Corner."

It's good to want to know God's will. It means you're concerned about what He wants with your life. That's a really great thing.

It's sometimes tough to know what God's will is. However, I don't think it has to be. I'm not saying it's simple black and white. I'm just saying it's not as mysterious as we might think.

I haven't had a ton of experiences with looking for God's will (I'm only 24). But the few that I've had have been memorable and impactful. I hope you find this beneficial.

So here's the first part of this and what I think is a very important component a lot of people overlook in finding God's will.

God's will does not contradict the Bible.

Nope. Not one bit.

We can know this because of what the Bible claims to be. Second Timothy says all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. So, if all of the Bible is inspired by God, how could we think God would do or be something different than what He Himself wrote?

The only way I can figure this would make sense would be if God changed somehow. You and I have opinions and we argue them. But sometimes we change our opinions based upon an experience we have or some new information we receive. Well, God already knows all. First John 3:20 says God knows everything. Since His knowledge is without end, His "opinion" will never change based upon a new influx of information or a new experience.

And since God is the same "yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8), He is the same today as He was when He inspired the Bible a few thousand years ago. The Bible will not contradict God. God's will will not go against what the Bible says.

Let me unpack this a bit with a few examples and try to make it applicable.

If you are married to a woman who is faithful to you but is starting to get on your nerves, it will never be God's will for you to divorce her. Never. Happy, unhappy, getting your needs met or not, it will never be God's will for people who are faithful to each other to divorce one another. We can know this because of the way the Bible speaks of marriage and divorce, and God does not contradict His Word (Matthew 5:32).

Here's another example.

If your taxes are increased by the government, it is not God's will for you to get around that, even if you are using the money for a good cause. I don't care if you're taking the money and using it to help save starving children in Africa. It is not God's will for you to cheat the government of your money, even if they are taking "too much." Why is this true? Because of how Paul said for us to deal with the government in Romans 13, and what Jesus said about our relationship with the State (Matthew 22:21). And since God's will does not contradict His Word, we know it is not God's will for us to do these things. 

One last example.

Let's suppose I got a job offer. My wife would not like to work some day and this job pays enough where she woudn't have to. But the job is directly linked with obtaining money in an illegal fashion. And I'm aware of it before I take the job. This is an easy decision for me. Because, well, the job would force me to be dishonest, and that would go against what the Bible teaches about honest gain and hard work (Proverbs 13:11). Lynsey and I would not have to deliberate on this decision because God is not honored by dishonest gain based on what the Bible says, and God's will does not contradict the Bible. 

Let me wrap this up.

If you're faced with a decision, the first thing you've got to do is ask yourself, "Does the Bible address this issue in any way?" Then, use honest discernment with the help of the Holy Spirit and ask, "Does this decision contradict what the Bible says?"

If the decision goes against the Bible, it is not God's will for you to proceed.

            So, that gets me back to my Moment of Revelatory Exhilaration, or MORE. (By the way, every time I write that phrase, imagine hearing it as a very loud Alan-Kalter type bellow.)  I can't say I was thinking about anything in particular while I was driving, so I wasn't exactly searching for anything beautiful, but beauty found me anyway. I had the radio on one of those "We play whatever we want" stations. The volume was low because the song that had been playing wasn't really doing it for me. So, because of that, I missed the first couple of notes of the next song, U2's glorious "With or Without You." Once I realized what song was on, I turned up the volume to a comfortably deafening level. Loud enough to hear Adam Clayton's overly simple, yet perfectly appropriate bass line, The Edge's precise guitar work, Bono's soaring vocals, and Larry Mullen's rhythmic time-keeping. I can't even begin to describe the rush of emotions that hit me. I forgot I was cold. I forgot my headache. I forgot the crappy day I had at work. I forgot about the bumper-to-bumper traffic. I simply allowed the song to "minister" to me. I know that sounds preposterous and touchy-feely, but it happened. And I am better for it. I don't base my theology on this song, even though it probably captures the typical Christian experience better than just about any song on Christian radio any given year. I don't have to agree with everything an artist is expressing, that is not how it works. I just need to be ready to catch a quick glimpse of eternity that the artist may or may not have even intended.

            I experienced MORE the first time I saw Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf the Grey hug on the big screen. I got hit over the head with MORE when Stephen Lawhead wrote about Merlin holding Arthur in his arms as their small boat sailed to Avalon. Every time I hear "The River Will Flow" by Whiteheart, my soul swells to touch heaven. (Pardon the hyperbole.) When Pocahontas/Rebecca takes John Rolfe's hand in The New World, my spirit smiles. I think God smiles too. These Moments of Revelatory Exhilaration are everywhere; we just have to be ready to open up to them. Mind you, the Moments are not just in the arts. It could be a sunset. A friend. Your family. I could go on for pages about the ways my kids help me experience MORE. My point is: We need to cultivate an appreciation for these moments God gives us. There is a fundamental reason we have this ability; it points our eyes to our Creator. If we truly appreciate the beauty and truth we find in our lives, it will only nurture our love and devotion to the Source of that beauty and truth.

            Open your eyes and your hearts and experience MORE.

Phill Lytle is a father of 3 and husband of 1, living in Nashville, TN.

Consider the huge and complex dance:

The universe is so incredibly big many scientists believe it doesn't even have an end. Our small, finite minds cannot comprehend such a thing. Our minds don't register endlessness to anything. We cannot fathom the enormity of what we know or guess is there.

Space and spatial bodies are so large the measurement of light-years is used. A light-year is simply how far light travels in one year. Light travels at 186,000 miles per second. One year's worth of those seconds comes to almost 6 trillion miles. Well, the average galaxy is about 1,500 to 300,000 light-years. That's huge!

There are hundreds of billions of galaxies in the universe. Each of these galaxies contains hundreds of billions stars. In addition, they contain lots of other bodies and substances. We live in the Milky Way galaxy, which is a spiral galaxy. That means it has several arms coming out from a hub and it looks like it is spiraling like a whirlpool. It is about 100,000 light years in diameter.

We live relatively close to the edge of this whirlpool in a minor arm called the Orion Spur. Our Solar System lies on the outskirts of this arm. For the size of the galaxy, our Solar System seems really small. Scientists estimate the Solar System is between 7,348,981,944 and 9,320,567,882 miles in diameter. Within this expanse are a number of familiar bodies: the Sun, the planets, moons, comets, asteroids, and meteoroids.

One of these nine planets is Earth—our Earth. As far as we know, it is the only place in the universe that sustains life. At this point in time, there are about 7 billion people inhabiting the earth. These 7 billion people are spread throughout 195 countries on 7 continents. Zoom to your continent. Zoom to your country. Zoom to your city. Zoom to your street. Zoom into your house, dorm, or apartment. We have come to you.

This is a very, very, very brief description of the universe. Yeah, we are a teeny-tiny part of it all. In essence each one of us is a speck on a speck (the world) on a speck (the Solar system) on a speck (the Milky Way galaxy) on a speck (that's right, the endless universe is a speck in the mind of God). We are less than nothing, but the sovereign God who is the omnipotent Creator of the universe, the divine choreographer of this great complexity yearns to have a personal, intimate relationship with you. You! He is the endlessness beyond the endlessness who cared for you before you were born, who cares about every aspect of your present life, and who wants to be forever with you after death.

...Uh, Did I mention this is the God of the universe? Sometimes it seems we forget that part. We are mere specks and know so little. As mere, selfish specks we do not even deserve His attention. For some reason He gives it. For some reason He cares for our lives—both this and the next. How is this not reason for a greater joy and boldness? The God behind the endlessness is at work in you!

Ben Plunkett is a writer from Pleasant View, Tennessee.

It might be advantageous for an individual to consider the misery and torment of hell, particularly if the result was a determination not to enter its gates. But, just taking note of that tortuous scene will not prevent it becoming man's final destination. A more beneficial contemplation is the internal conflict and struggle that takes place inside one's heart due to the sinful nature inherited from our original parents, Adam and Eve.

Thinking can be a healthy process because our thoughts produce actions and our actions denote the person we have become, providing a catalyst for change. Since man began his long march toward infinity, the need for change has been apparent. Driven from the dwelling place provided by his Maker, man has been on an endless search for purpose and meaning, encompassing a quest for happiness and contentment. But there is a problem—sin and the separation it has caused between man and his Creator. It is this great gulf dividing God and man that we are to think on, to consider. Some way we must manage to reach across, to get to the other side, but what can man do?

What can man do? Absolutely nothing! God has already done what is required. Before God spoke the heavens and the earth into being, the thought of man and his need for redemption were uppermost in God's mind. God had created man, in His image, for the sole purpose of fellowship, for companionship. Man would be unique, superior to the animal and plant life. He would reason; he would think; he would make decisions; he would have freedom of choice. And in that freedom, man fell. Thereafter followed God's plan to redeem man back to Himself. And that plan embodied the incarnation of the Son of God, Jesus. Only the infinite mind, only the infinite thought processes of an omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent Creator could conceive the remedy for sin without violating His holy and righteous character.

God did not meditate on the internal struggle caused by sin within His own heart. He focused His thoughts, His mind, upon the inner struggle between man and his sinful nature, and produced a way for man to become reconciled to his Creator-God. You might say He was the original Thinker.

Dianne Sargent is managing editor at Randall House.

She finally answered. She sounded awful. I feared the worst. I knew I hadn't made the effort to check in with her like I should have. I immediately regretted not being more available. The second thing she said to me after hello was, "Steph, I messed up." I knew exactly what she meant.

Honestly, I wasn't shocked. How terrible is that? To suspect the worst only to have it confirmed. I was so very sad for everyone involved, knowing that the actions she chose were going to bring her even more heartache than what she was trying to rid herself of. Suddenly, to me, she was different. When she made the choices she did, every memory we had shared together suddenly seemed different. I wasn't really sure who she was or if she ever was the person I knew her to be.

What do you say when people disappoint you? How do you respond?

I thought I would be angry. I thought I would yell, and tell her she knew better. I wanted to tell her she could lose it all. But something else happened. I just listened. And cried with her. And listened more.

She knew what she did was wrong. She knew she put her relationship with everyone she loved on the line. She knew she wasn't owed forgiveness. She knew her life could change. She knew my opinion of her might change. But she owned up. She apologized to everyone involved. She is working on it.

In talking with some mutual friends about it later with her permission, I found so many saying, "I just can't trust her," "I don't know how to be her friend," "I don't know who she is anymore." I found people turning on her. They might not admit it, but they ran. Like she was infectious. Like her bad decisions were contagious.

I can't judge anyone. We all deal with hurt, anger, and disappointment in our own ways. But I couldn't help but think: isn't this just so very typical of "Christians." The very people who expect and put their faith in the principles of love and forgiveness and mercy are the first to revoke those gifts when it is us who feel wronged. Once, years ago, I heard my pastor, David Foster, say that the Christian army is the only army in the world that shoots its wounded. That statement has resonated with me and changed the way I view people who go through hard times or make what I would think are bad choices.

As Christians, we say we want our churches to be for people who need to know that God loves them and wants to be active in their life. Does that only apply to new converts? Do our churches and our relationships and our availability to help exists only for people who are not already "one of us"? I would say no. I think we are terrible at forgiving. We shoot people when they are down. Run when they need us. We write people off as no longer able to be a part of God's plan after they stumble.

We have to fix this mindset. We have to remind ourselves that we are every day in need of forgiveness. That everyone is worthy in God's eyes because of what Christ has done. Historically and biblically, those most used by God had massive screw-ups, did horrible things, and were once at a point where they could have been counted out. Why doesn't that mindset still apply today? Can we help those around us pick themselves up? Encourage them? Remind then that their present state when they fall doesn't have to be their defining moment.

My friend was so heartbroken to tell me where she was in her life. All I can do is be a friend. Love her. Help her get the help she needs. Only by the grace of God am I not her, and I would want my friends to never give up on me. So, I refuse to give up on my friend, because I know that it is not the mistake you make that determines who you are, but what you do after that determines your worth. I know she can find her way back to God's plan. I hope we all can.

He just does not understand why I would rather text him than call him. He'll call me and leave a voice mail. I eventually check it and text him back. He texts me back and says, "Call me." So I finally call him. He asks me a question like "Are you and Lynsey (my wife) coming to dinner Sunday?"

I'm thinking, "Why didn't you just text me that question?"

He's thinking, "Why don't you just answer your phone?"

We just don't get each other sometimes.

My dad and grandpa are different too. Dad spent a lot of time trying to explain to my grandpa that just because he was talking to someone long distance didn't mean he had to talk louder. I don't think my dad's explanation really worked.

My dad and my grandpa didn't get each other sometimes.

Generations are different.

I read this morning in Psalm 119:90 that "the faithfulness of God is extended to every generation."

God extends His faithfulness to every generation, yes, but the part that really stuck out to me was that every generation can understand the faithfulness of God. Twentysomethings get the faithfulness of God. So does Gen X. So do the Baby Boomers. So do those who came through the depression.

My brother Josh once video-taped my grandpa praying. They were on a farm in Missouri where it hadn't rained in a long time. The farm needed rain or else they were going to lose their crops. So grandpa and some others (including my dad and brother) went to the farm to pray for rain.

Josh zoomed in on grandpa as he was praying. His face was so intense. The funny thing is, I don't remember him asking God for rain. All I remember him praying was thanksgiving to God for His faithfulness. He gave God thanks becaue He had always provided for them and he knew God was still God and that He would not turn His back on His people. He was overjoyed at the faithfulness of God. That was his prayer.

I really don't know anything at all about farming other than you need water. But I understood what grandpa meant when he prayed and thanked God for His faithfulness. I got it. There were 2 or 3 generations between grandpa and I, and I still knew exactly what he was talking about.

Psalm 119:90 is exactly how you bridge the gap between twentysomethings and older generations--by focusing on God. Everyone connects with the attributes He has because everyone has an intrinsic desire for the things of God--holiness, faith, truth, love, mercy, faithfulness, justice, purity.

God is the bridge in the generation gap.

In the small town in the south where I did most of my growing up, the white population made up at least 90 percent. My exposure to a minority culture was obsolete. I knew one view, one culture, one way. When my family moved to another small southern town, I was exposed to more differences, though the minorities represented were still very small. For the first time in my life I met people who were Catholic, Muslim, and Hindu. I am sad to say my lack of exposure led me to approach these differences with fear and questioning.

The shift of thought that made such a huge difference in my life was when a woman in my church began bringing her grandchildren (who were bi-racial) to our church. I’m sad to say, this was questionable in our circle back then. I remember talking with my mom about the situation. It was then that she said something that changed my thinking from that day forward: "What difference does it make if they are black, or white, or yellow? Don't we send money overseas to support missionaries trying to reach these same kinds of people? How is that any different than being missionaries to the people we come into contact with every day?"

That tiny conversation has stuck with me to this day.

Today, as I look around the room at the women with whom I share my life, I am not surprised at the amount of differences amongst us. Some of us are pastors’ daughters who have all taken very different directions concerning the faith we were taught growing up. Another is a former Catholic who married a Jew, who now practices Buddhism. One is a very devout Catholic who is steadfast in her views. Two are searching, also brought up in Protestant households, but unsure as to where "religion" or "spirituality" fit in to their lives. I have friends who are Taoist, Hindu, Muslim, and nothing at all. This is a snapshot of any group of young people across America. This is our culture. This is the world we live in. I am grateful for the fact that, while others around me are different and believe differently, we can all teach each other important lessons.

Some people would say I should not socialize with these people. I need to find strength from people of my own faith, they say. That is true to some degree. I do have a wonderful set of Christian friends who I depend on greatly. However, I feel my greatest impact could be made with these women and their husbands that my husband and I socialize with who do not believe exactly as we do. I like that when we discuss religion, we don't always agree. It gives us a chance to sift through our differences and explain to one another why we believe what we believe. It challenges us to know our theology better. It begs us to be strong and not surrender or compromise our beliefs.

I find it interesting that so many Christian people I know only expose themselves to others who believe exactly as they do. If your practice is to only associate with people who believe exactly as you do about every issue, at the end of the road, you will only be left with yourself.

I am so tired of Christians living a life of fear. Afraid to speak up. Afraid to be labeled. Afraid to be associated with things or people who are different. So afraid of becoming “of the world” that they are no longer “in the world” either.

Please don’t put me off as someone who doesn’t care about holy and blameless living. It’s just that I am burdened for my friends. I pray for them daily. But they don’t tear me down because they have different beliefs. As a matter of fact, they make my faith stronger. They challenge me to know my beliefs and my God more than some of my Christian friends do. I look at the way they handle crisis and failure, and yes even blessings and joy, and it reminds me that my outlook is different. My hope is different. The way I respond to life and death is different. And I think they notice. My God is bigger than our differences and the love I show them may be the only glimpse of His love they see. So in regard to being holy, if I don’t spend time with them, I’m not being blameless.

Personally, I’ve never felt “called” to be a missionary. I have the highest regard and respect for people who do, though. Some devote their entire lives to a different country and a different people. That’s really how it should be for every Christian. None of us are “at home” in the United States. We’re all citizens of another kingdom—the kingdom of God.

There are people of different colors and religions and ways of thinking in my circle. My husband and my contact with them might be the only contact they have with a believer of Christ. It is a huge responsibility and a huge privilege.

I hope we can all expand ourselves a little. Listen to another’s view, befriend a person who doesn't believe exactly as we do, be exposed to the way they live and where they come from. Meanwhile, be strong in your faith and represent Christ well. You may be the only representative they see. And both of you will be better for it.

“You need to have more faith.”

That last statement gets me every time. According to many, Christianity and depression just don’t fit together. We think if someone’s depressed, he or she isn’t right with God.

That could not be any further from the truth.

In a world filled with so much negativity and pain, it is no wonder many people become depressed. For most people, this depression is easily controlled without becoming dependent on therapists and medication. But for others, myself included, depression is a daily struggle, leaving us no choice but to seek medical care. It’s a medical illness, not a spiritual one.

Someone once told me my faith wasn’t strong enough and that was why I was going through my horrible depression. And for a long time, I really did believe him and, as a result, felt even more hopeless. I thought maybe he was right. Maybe my faith wasn’t strong enough and that was why I was suffering.

It was only after tons of researching and soul searching that I realized how wrong he was. I began to dig into God’s Word and found comfort in the book of Job.

Man, I thought I had problems! But compared to Job, my problems seemed small—trivial even. Here was a man who had literally lost everything and yet continued to praise God through it all. He was told by all his friends and family to just give up. They told him to “curse God and die” (Job 2:9). But Job did just the opposite. He turned to God, praising Him.

I wish I could tell you that after my diagnosis I immediately turned to God to get me through it all. But I’d be lying. Truth of the matter is I became bitter. I couldn’t understand why God was allowing this to happen. I just wanted to be a normal college student who didn’t have to worry about taking medication every single day and could hang out with friends without fear of relapsing.

As I continued to fall deeper and deeper into my depression, I slowly began to alienate myself from everyone and everything; I even stopped going to church. In my mind, there just was no point in going. I felt God had abandoned me.
But one day something changed. My eyes were opened to the truth that it wasn’t God who abandoned me. I had abandoned God. Suddenly I was faced with the realization of losing everything I had worked hard for if I didn’t change my ways.

It happened so quickly and so suddenly that I realized church was the very place I needed to be if I wanted to win this fight with myself. I slowly got my life back on track and began taking the steps towards God’s loving arms.

I was a senior in high school when I was first diagnosed with depression. Eight years later, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. To this day I honestly believe I had been bipolar all along and was misdiagnosed in high school. Just ask any of my family members. They’ll tell you I was extremely hard to live with. My moods were all over the place and I couldn’t control them. I recall sometime during my junior year of college joking to my best friend that maybe I was, in fact, bipolar.
Who knew that a few years later, I would be told I was right?

I’m not telling you this to get you to feel sorry for me. In fact, please don’t.

I’m telling you this so you can get a better idea of what millions of Americans have to battle each day. But that’s not what is important. It’s how people handle their illness from day to day.

Imagine, if you will, the worst headache of your life. I’m talking about “can’t get out of the bed—unable to move—my head is going to explode” type of feeling. Now take that pain and double it. I battle this pain every single day. Mentally and physically. As do millions of other Americans.

The question is, how do we handle our illness? Do we retreat to our rooms and wallow in self-pity? Or do we step out on faith and place all of our troubles on God?

Me? I wallowed for the first few months. I had to force myself to get out of bed in the morning. I called in sick to work on days I couldn’t find the strength to get up. I bailed on my friends. On numerous occasions, I stayed in my room, curled up in a ball on my bed, and cried for hours.

I felt like no one understood me. No one seemed to want to understand me. I would get angry every time someone told me to “snap out of it.” I wanted to strangle them for thinking I wanted to be like this. Why would anyone want to feel this way?
When I rededicated my life to the Lord a few months later, I became a completely different person. At least that’s what I’ve been told by those who remained by my side even through the periods of darkness.

Truth is, I felt like a new person. I was smiling more. I was genuinely happy. I was getting my life back! And this time, I was allowing God to work through me. To this day, I know without a shadow of a doubt that God allowed me to go through that dark period in order to bring me back to Him.

I’m not saying I don’t have bad moments. I still struggle sometimes. I have my down days. But this time, rather than ignoring God’s tug at my heart, I turn to Him and allow Him to do His job. Because let’s face it—we’ll never be able to cope without Him.

As my buddies and I joked about what might happen and whom we wanted to kill, a small amount of fear began to inch its way into my mind. I couldn’t help but be scared, but as I mounted my 240B machine gun onto the gunner’s turret and the music roared in my ears, fear was replaced with anger. The air was thick and cool in the dark early morning hour. The four Humvees began to rumble as the diesel engines cranked up. My mind raced as I contemplated what might happen that day. Will I be hit by another IED or shot at again? I asked myself.

As we approached the gate of the base a cool wind blew in my face, teasing me. It won’t be cool for long, I thought. Stopping at the gate, we made final combat checks of our equipment. I removed the ear buds and loaded my machine gun. “We’re up,” the squad leaders exclaimed to the lieutenant. The lieutenant gave the signal, the gate opened, and a new day began in Iraq.

The trucks crept outside the gate as the sun began to pierce the sky. As we traveled into the streets of Baghdad my senses were stimulated by the ever-familiar pungent smell of trash and the sound of morning prayers being recited over the loudspeakers of the mosques. I liked being the gunner on the truck, although it was the scariest place to be; it was the most important but vulnerable position to enemy fire. We patrolled hour after hour, weaving in and out of neighborhoods and markets like a never-ending maze, stopping only to speak to the local people and conduct searches of suspicious vehicles and houses.

The day was beginning to grow hot and dangerous. I could feel the 140-degree heat forcing the sweat to bead up and stream down my face, a familiar feeling but one you never get used to. Gunfire was all around us now. It was not uncommon to hear gunfire in the distance. I wonder who is seeing some action right now.

As quick as a lightning strike, a burst of AK-47 gunfire rang out from a speeding car, hitting the front truck in our convoy. We sped up and began pursuit of the small car. My senses instantly peaked; my heart raced. After losing sight of the car we found it abandoned outside of a house. The decision was made to block off the area, surround the house, and search the houses in the blocked-off area.

The truck I was on was positioned on the corner of a main intersection. Beside my truck stood this little white sign with Arabic writing on it, just hanging there on a little pole about four feet from the ground. I gave no thought to the sign for it was of no interest to me.

My job was to ensure no one from that main road got near the area we were searching. As I stood diligently behind my weapon in the sweltering heat, I scanned the road and watched for anything suspicious or any sign of danger. The local people began deserting the street in front of me. I felt my muscles tighten up, for this could mean only one thing. Something was about to happen and they didn’t want to be around when it did.

I continued to scan the street for the enemy. We had been sitting there for over an hour, giving the enemy plenty of time to maneuver on us. Time seemed to drag. In an instant my worst fears were realized. I saw a flash, and dust kicked up about a quarter of a mile down the street. Before I had time to process what was happening, I heard the dreaded whistle of a rocket-propelled grenade coming right at me. Everything instantly slowed down; I felt like I was seeing it in slow motion. The RPG hit that little white sign and ricocheted off of it. It flew right over my head and blew up the building behind me. Instinct and training automatically kicked in. I yelled out over the radio, “RPG! RPG!” I immediately got down behind my weapon, and without giving it a second thought squeezed the trigger, unleashing hot lead down the street. In less than ten seconds it was over, and my body was shaking from the adrenaline overload. I tried to catch my breath and communicate what had happened as everyone moved to my position to back me up.

As things began to calm down and another unit went in pursuit of the shooter, I started to contemplate all that had just taken place. All at once I realized how God was working all around me. I looked down and saw that little white sign lying on the ground. The Lord positioned me and the sign in exactly the right spot to avoid a direct hit from the RPG. The chances of me surviving such a hit would have been slim to none. I knew two things at that moment. I knew that the Lord had given me a purpose for my life, and I was ready to accept His purpose.

That defining moment set in motion a fundamental change in my life. I got on my knees before God and cried out as I expressed my thanks for saving my life, as well as my need for Him in my life. I started to seek His purpose and make Him Lord of my life. I began to regain the wonderful loving relationship with God that had been neglected. God worked in an amazing way to accomplish amazing results in my life, and all it took was an RPG and a sign from God.

This is our generation.

You’ve heard stats like these before. The conventional methods of the church are not working because our generation is a whole different animal than the one that came before us. Our generation can be characterized in many different ways, but I think there are three things that most define what makes us different from the generations that have come before us. We are obsessed with appearance, we desire to experience real things, and we are extremely skeptical. To combat these things I see three more things emerging from Church leaders across America: Professionalism, Reality, and Lives Devoted to the Gospel. These ideas are slowly starting to spread across American Churches, and they are working.

If I asked anyone in our generation or any student in any church whether or not our culture, our generation, is obsessed with appearance, everyone would undoubtedly say yes, would they not? We see it everywhere from celebrity culture, to movies, to shows like Cribs and America’s Next Top Model. Pick up any magazine at Borders and you will see fashion tips and beauty secrets. The church is timing in on this idea. We have new church buildings and pastors that are in shape. We all wear nice clothes to church.

Some of you are sitting there wondering why what we look like is so important to reaching our generation. Let me help you see. Imagine if I was standing next to you talking about this very subject, and I was wearing jeans that had one leg ripped off at the knee and a shirt that was torn and sleeveless and three-year-old faded flip-flops. Unless I was talking about how to look homeless, none of you would take anything I said seriously. Why is that? It’s because we don’t trust people unless they look like they know what they are talking about. This has to be big for us, but it can’t be too big. Appearance without authenticity is nothing but a church fashion show. That is why these next two points are probably more crucial than the first.

I believe that our generation seeks reality. The TV shows of the 80s and 90s were characterized by fictitious families with fictitious problems. Full House, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and Seinfeld. You could jump in on any episode without seeing the ones that came before. That is what that generation wanted. We, however, want something different. We want shows like American Idol and Survivor. We want things that are real, and we want to see people live their lives out in front of us. Even the sitcoms today are based upon stories that feel real. You can’t just jump into an episode of 24, Lost, or even The Office. These shows are based upon a continuing story. Our generation doesn’t give value to things that don’t hold up practically.

Why do you think the hypocrisy of the church is such a big deal to our generation? The way they see it, if we believe something that even we can’t live out, it isn’t real at all. But some people out there are making it real. One of my favorite stories about evangelism comes from a book called Blue Like Jazz. The book is a biography of Donald Miller’s Christian life.
Donald goes to a school called Reed College, which is known as one of the most liberal schools in America. During the craziest weekend of school, the campus security blocks off the roads so that cops can’t come on campus and the whole school has a huge party with drugs, drinking, and sex. It was during this that Donald and the handful of other Christians on his campus set up a confessional booth in the middle of campus. Donald describes the situation as he was sitting in a chair in the booth when the first guy walked in and sat down. The guy asked if he was supposed to start telling Donald what he had done wrong. Donald shook his head “No, I’m going to confess to you.” So Donald asked forgiveness for the church’s sins, his own sins, and the sins of his friends.

He was completely real with the people that came in that night. While only a handful of people wanted to know more about Donald’s faith, you can bet that not a single person walked away that night with a negative view of Christianity, and for any of you that have tried to witness to a friend, that is a huge step in the right direction. Being real with people can change their entire perception of us.

Our generation has an eye on everything that the church does. Things like the Internet with sites like YouTube don’t allow anyone to get away with faking it. There are tons of videos on YouTube about the hypocrisy of those in power. I was so bored one day that I watched a lot of them. It made me realize how famous people and institutions in our world can’t really hide anything, so if they are not at or above par at all times, someone will find about it, it will inevitably end up on YouTube, and next thing you know, the whole world knows about it and they’re discussing it on the E! channel. We as Christians face this same scrutiny. Our ideas cannot just be ideas to us. We have to live lives devoted to the gospel.

One of my favorite books that I have ever read is called The Irresistible Revolution. I’ve had many discussions about it in the past because of how radical it is, but I think so highly of it because it is about a man who doesn't just take care of his community. He lives with his community. He sees the stories of the Bible lived out every day of his life. I experienced this same thing when I was on a mission trip with my school last spring to San Diego. David, the leader of the community we were with, was talking to me one day and I asked him how much it took to run the community that he led. Since all of the people in the community spent every day giving out food and working with the less fortunate, none of the people that lived there was bringing in an income. He told me that it took $15,000 a month to run the place. He said that they never, in over 10 years, had missed a payment! It all came in from somewhere. He certainly didn’t know where.

You see, when people live out their lives in pursuit of the gospel, something crazy happens—they start to see what they believe come to life! And I guarantee you that any twentysomething that sees it will be mesmerized. I’ve watched it happen. You know why? Because you can’t fake reality; you can’t hide it when God works. When Christians are real, people will notice. We don’t have to stand up and shout in people’s faces for them to notice us. It will happen without us trying.
Our generation is a hard group to reach, but we are reachable! When Christians are relevant, when they are real, when they live their lives devoted to the gospel, they won’t have to try to bring in the young un-churched. They will come running, looking for an opportunity to live lives that mean something, because that is what we all want: Churched or un-churched, we want to have lives of meaning.

Jesus was often condemned because He appeared to many to be spiritually contemptible. Conversely, the Pharisees were often honored because they looked holy and demonstrated great knowledge of the law. The Jewish people had come to revere this law over the God who gave the law. Steeped in such legalism, they automatically rejected anything they saw as remotely contrary to complete adherence to the law. They came to judge people based not on what God wanted, but on appearances. They judged based on their own selfish interests.

We too tend to judge people in this way. We too judge others according to appearances rather than by “righteous judgment.” Who are these “others”? What are they like? They are awkward. They are short. They are wrinkly. They are fat. They are plain. They are poor. They are smelly. They are ugly. They come in all shapes, colors, and sizes. The world of mankind revolves around appearance.

To an extent, appearances are important. It is important to present yourself in a respectable, modest, Christian way. Everything about our appearance and presentation finds a place in the minds of everyone we meet. However, there is a definite line we should not cross in being concerned with appearance. There is a special danger of basing our judgments entirely on appearance. Verbally, society takes a negative view of judging people based on appearance. However, what people say does not always translate to what they do. We may be spiritually repulsed by acting out of selfish, superficial judgments. Physically we’re drawn to such behavior. It is how the fallen minds of men work.

We do not have to be taught to judge based on appearance. From childhood, we are drawn to honoring what looks the most visually appealing. In his book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis noted that human beings judge each other by external actions, but God judges by their morality. Even the most moral of non-Christians tend to judge people on these external, outward actions. It is true that Christians have been made closer to God. However, we are never perfect while on this earth. We are still attached to these human bodies. The danger of judging based on appearance is a very present danger throughout our lives.

Even Paul freely expressed his own struggle to keep his body in line (Romans 7:7-25). The lesson of Paul is even Christians can fall into the danger of doing what we know we shouldn’t and not doing what we know we should. We know we shouldn’t judge people based upon appearance. We know we shouldn’t act based on those shallow judgments. However, that’s exactly what we do. We judge people before we even know them. We judge filtered through our own whims based upon how they look, what they do, and how they talk. The key phrase here is “through our own whims.” Christianity does involve judgment, but the judging is not to be based on our own feelings and thoughts. Follow the command of Jesus; follow the command of God; let your judgment be a righteous judgment.

The term religion is pretty vague. It’s too broad to rule out anything. A belief in a god. A system of beliefs. Attributing value to something. Basically whatever someone believes can be called a “religion.”

That fact serves as a starting point to the discovery of an ancient problem with not-so-ancient consequences. What some might not understand is that being religious has nothing to do with what people call religion these days. It’s become more about traditions, status, reputation, and repetition. This type of thinking has become so embedded into society that even those on the outside hold the church to those standards. Just like the Pharisees Christ rebuked throughout His ministry, we have added to the words of God in an attempt to make sure we don’t cross the line. Unfortunately, people associated with this have been called “religious.” Yet this has nothing to do with real religion. As a result, many are trying to throw out the idea of religion entirely. They think they can revolt from it in the name of humility, purity, and social justice. They renounce religion when all they need to do is understand it.

It’s not popular to be religious.

Religion has an important meaning according to the Bible. James 1:27 says three things about religion.

First, it says pure religion is only God’s concern. James began his discourse on religion by letting us know that God is the one concerned with it. No opinion of man, whether he’s a Catholic priest or a progressive youth pastor, has any bearing on the status of one’s religion. This mistake is the first step on the tragic road of religious misunderstanding. When we are doing something “religious,” its purpose is defeated if we are thinking about what someone else might think of us. Man’s opinion is irrelevant. We cannot further understand religion without understanding that our religious exploits are for God and for His evaluation alone. We have to be concerned with pleasing Him only.

After this, James gave two ingredients in the concoction he calls religion, and what they are might shock you. James said a truly religious person is characterized by both holiness and social justice. That’s right, James thinks we are not only to look after the purity of our hearts and actions, but also to see to the well-being of the “fatherless and widows.” We cannot understand religion if we don’t see a need to show the love of Christ to those who have fallen upon hard times. Granted, that means different things for different situations, but regardless of the situation, the church has failed in this part of religion. We live in a world where churches assume the people to whom they show benevolence should return the favor by faithfully attending the church. And when it does not happen, (which is most times) the church feels slighted, and the downfall of the operation begins. If we would instead allow ourselves to be motivated by a desire to obey, then God would be honored by our efforts and lives would be changed. But until we give up assuming that the broken people of this world should respond to our help with wholesome gratitude, we will not honor God in this area.

The other characteristic is not so hard to understand, so it seems. Holiness is something we conceptually agree upon as Christians for the most part. Yet, none of us have figured it out. There are many whose concept of holiness is actually legalism, and many rationalize all their unholy deeds in order to feel validated, not necessarily holy. But when we look at James’ interpretation of holiness in this tiny verse, we realize he is actually saying we are to be “unspotted from the world.” That means there should be no evidence that our lives are run in a manner similar to that of the rest of the world. That doesn’t mean we throw out our rock band t-shirts and sports jerseys, but that we actually keep ourselves unspotted from the world.

The “world” as it is meant in the Bible usually refers to that which is self-serving, God-ignoring, and Satan-empowering. In the Old Testament, Egypt was a type of “the world.” The world is typically spoken of as whatever is contrasted against God. Sometimes we mistake things of culture as things of the world, when really the selfish idolatry of our culture and the lack of a place for God in our lives are what we should eliminate.

When others look at you, they should see someone who is different than they are. We must live a life that without a word convicts the hearts of the observers. Some people apologize to me for using language in my presence just because I don’t use it and because they know what I am. I have never asked for that treatment, and I shouldn’t have to. If God is radiating in me, then people will see it without so much as a word from my mouth. If that is how we operate, then we are doing more than following rules. Our holiness will be shining a light to a dark, hurting world. At that point, we are following the Great Commission. And that is what religion is.

So if you want to avoid hypocrisy, adopt a World Vision orphan, donate blood to the Red Cross, or make an extra plate from your dinner table and take it to the old lady in your church struggling to make it on Social Security. Give the gift of social justice to those who never had a chance. Take your Bible to work and read it on your break. Give a hundred percent to your boss and don’t complain. Be the only one not participating in the conversations about the wild weekend. Let God convict the sin in the lives of others as they observe your life, not just as they hear you talk. Just be . . . religious. So I ask you, “Is religion really a waste of time?”  

Walking alongside the Sea of Galilee, Jesus stopped to watch as Simon and Andrew cast their nets. He called to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” The Scripture says that they immediately left their nets and followed Him.

The nets symbolized everything about those two men. They were fishermen; this was their livelihood, the way they paid their bills. It was their identity; who they were. But at the call of Jesus, both unhesitatingly dropped their nets, docked their boat, and got in step with Jesus. These men left behind all they had been previously and followed Jesus of Nazareth.

When Jesus calls us today, He asks us to do the same thing Simon and Andrew did—to leave all and follow Him. Maybe we do not have to change our occupation as those two did. That depends upon the role Jesus has for each of us in His kingdom’s work, but our decision to become a follower of Jesus Christ entails a complete surrender of who we are, our dreams and aspirations, as we give the Lord Jesus Christ first place in our lives.

Why would two fishermen willingly turn their backs on who they were to become something completely different? Why should you and I be willing to do that? Could it be because Jesus has made a better offer? How does the best this world has to offer stack up against what you have when you become a follower of the Son of God? How do you think fishing compared to eternal life? When Jesus calls you to come follow Him, lay aside whatever you’re doing and get in step with Jesus. You will become a fisher of men.   

Dianne Sargent is managing editor at Randall House Publications.

The sun’s rays blind me. My heart races as I grope my way forward. I can’t see; I begin to look for somewhere to go; some place to hide. But before I can crawl behind my wall, a hand reaches for mine. An arm goes around my shoulder and someone I know who loves me asks, “Are you ok?” And the flight impulse subsides and I turn and answer, “Yeah, I’m ok.”
Exposure gives place to a sense of abandonment. Although I chose to walk out from behind my walls, they left me. I’ve been abandoned. What once gave me security, comfort, and even a measure of contentment is no longer a part of who I am. Much like a toddler taking her first steps, I embark upon a journey that will require every ounce of courage, strength, and faith I can muster.

What is so hard about letting go, of stepping out from behind the walls put in place years ago in a desperate dash for survival? That’s what it comes down to—I simply wanted to survive. Instead of trusting God to take care of me, to provide for whatever I needed, and to set me on a new course in life, fear took control. Like a rat scurrying for its hole, I ducked behind my walls, throwing them higher and making them thicker each time someone or something threatened my safety or security. Instead of running to my Lord and Savior, instead of letting Him heal my heart, instead of making Him my fortress, my comfort, and my security, I chose to hide. I refused to trust. I was afraid.

According to 2 Timothy 1:7, God does not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and of a sound mind. All I had needed, even wanted, God had available for me. He is the God of all resources.

So why did I hide? I was afraid. Why was I afraid? I simply refused to let God do for me all He has ever wanted to do—empower me through His love to live a productive life for His glory. All I needed to do was let Him be God.

Middle ground is the same as straddling the fence; one foot on the left while the other is on the right. It must be a most uncomfortable place to be.

Middle ground smacks of compromise, indecisiveness, hesitancy, and powerlessness.

To some it is safer than the two extremes. It does not require that you make a statement for what you believe, desire, or expect.
Others say those who sit in the middle have the opportunity to bring the two extremes together.  And maybe that is the purpose for this oft-visited real estate.

Maybe there are those God has called to occupy the seat of the middle ground. Maybe some good will come from that much sought after position; I don’t know. But, God has not bent me in that direction.

People say I am opinionated, forceful, hard, unyielding, stubborn, strong willed, in charge, proud, arrogant, and probably other adjectives that are whispered. And maybe they are right. But, one thing people never say is that they don’t know where I stand.

I do not occupy the middle ground; that seat is for someone else. Regardless of the issue, I have an opinion, a stance, a guideline, a principle, a desire, or a position. And I tend to be vocal, especially when asked.

Unfortunately, this character trait spills over into everything I do and affects everyone in my life. My family is my family. The same is true where my friends are concerned. Once you become part of my life, there is never any going back. There is no middle ground.

Is it unrealistic to expect others to treat me the same way? Probably, but I still harbor that expectation. When you let me into your life, there is never any going back. There is no middle ground.

You may prefer the middle ground, the place of least commitment; the safest place to sit. And I suppose there is something to be said for playing it safe. However, I prefer the excitement of full commitment and wide-eyed expectations. Can you not sense the surge of excitement that builds as you throw your shoulders back and embrace a new vision, a new hope? That’s the thrill of refusing to sit down on middle ground.

Our Lord did not embrace the middle ground. He called for complete commitment; total lordship over our lives. Take a stand, form an opinion, or state a principle by which to live. Commit your energy to your Lord, your family, and your friends. Let them know you love them, unequivocally. Change your residence if you must. Refuse to occupy middle ground.

Knowing through other people is risky. Speakers often don’t make verbal endnotes, but you have to know they got their information somewhere. That source learned it from someone or something else, and that source from someone or something else, and so on, and so on. Somewhere down the line in whatever source someone was the first to experience the event or think of the idea. Can we really trust that? We don’t always know how accurate information is. Good writers can write things in such a way that anything can sound true. Adequate rationale or rhetoric can make anything make sense. Anything can be said to make anything sound stupid.

And knowing through your own conception or perception is riskier. One might conceivably know something for sure through experiential witness. But can we really? Is it always possible to trust our senses? The world of man is fallen. The eyes lie. The ears deceive. The sense of touch can mislead. One cannot fully trust any of the senses. And that’s not all. One cannot fully trust the mind or heart. What we read, hear, and see we often twist to agree with our own preconceived opinions. So basically, we cannot trust ourselves.

Is there no recourse, then? If we cannot fully trust anyone or anything else, if we cannot fully trust even ourselves, what is the hope of knowing anything at all? How can we trust the Bible, if we cannot trust our eyes?

It all goes back to the glory days in the Garden of Eden. Ironically, the event that opened the eyes of man also closed them. The first lust for knowledge deprived Adam, Eve, and all future mankind of ever being able to completely trust anyone or anything of this earth for full knowledge. (Read about this tragic scene in Genesis 3.) How can we believe in God if we cannot fully trust our own hearts and minds?

First, we must understand the imperfection of the present, worldly knowledge. Everything in this world is passing. There is not a thing in this world that will last. God, on the other hand, is complete perfection. When His perfection enters, the world’s imperfections will cease existing. That means the imperfection of our thinking will be no more. Right now we have a faulty picture of everything, but when that time comes we shall see everything clearly (John 13:8-12).

Second, we must understand the imperfection of worldly wisdom. Wisdom knows how to use knowledge. What the world thinks is wisdom is not really wisdom. It is selfishness masquerading as wisdom. True wisdom is from God and is characterized by selflessness, purity, peace, consideration, submissiveness, mercy, and good fruit (James 3:13-17).

Third, we must seek these things from God, the only source of perfect knowledge and understanding. Prayer is how we express our relationship with our heavenly Father. Like a devoted child, we must come to Him in love. He knows what we need and therefore knows we need His gift of knowledge. However, we must ask for it (Psalm 119:65).

Fourth, we must be very careful that what we think is godly knowledge is really godly knowledge. God delivers wisdom and knowledge through the Holy Spirit. The Bible warns there is a danger of being deceived by other people. First John 4:1-3 warns of many “false prophets” in the world who are the “spirit of the antichrist.” We can recognize the falsity of these people by whether or not they confess Jesus really appeared in the flesh. Believing and obeying Jesus who came in the flesh is the crux of the whole matter. Through obedience of Him we shall receive knowledge through the Holy Spirit. We shall know the truth and the truth will set us free (John 8:31-32).

I have abandoned myself. I feel through the Father’s heart. I think through the Father’s mind. I know what the creator of knowing has made known to me. That is what I can know. God’s revelation of His knowledge is how you can truly know.

The world of knowledge hangs on that knowledge. That is what keeps us from despair. That is how we can truly know.

The Scriptures tell us to do all for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31) and without doubt this means sports as well. They also tell us that bodily discipline is of little profit when compared to godliness (1 Timothy 4:8). We readily acknowledge this. But it is true that bodily exercise is still important.

As Christians, when we play sports, our actions should glorify God. Sports should be a time of relaxation, enjoyment, physical satisfaction, and fellowship. Our attitude when playing should always be Christ-honoring.

If we participate in sports with unbelievers, they should be able to tell there is something different about us. We don’t get furious or use foul language when things don’t go our way. We show good sportsmanship and are gracious as winners as well as losers. It’s ok to joke, to have a good time, and to poke fun at someone if it is done in a playful spirit. There is also nothing wrong with showing desire, competitiveness, and joy when playing. That’s only natural and normal. Sports can and should be God-honoring and enjoyable to us.

Sports Can Hurt Our Christian Walk
But for many Christians, this is not how sports are played. Sports often bring out the very sins we should be trying to eliminate—pride, anger, boasting, envy, bitterness, and idolatry are often associated with our activities. The golfer who misses an easy putt and lashes out in anger; the basketball player who curses under his breath at a call he felt was wrong; the person who watches so much sports that it becomes an idol. These are a few examples that many of us know all too well. And the sad fact is that many Christians say nothing about it, and some even promote these actions.

A former basketball player reminisces about how practice was slow until a fight broke out between two players and now even encourages it to motivate the team. Is this the Christian way? A player thinks he is unbeatable and carries a swagger that reminds everyone of this fact. He says it is confidence, but often it is nothing more than selfish pride. A football player makes a tackle, quickly gets on his feet, hovering over the ball carrier, staring him down. He wants to make sure everyone sees his dominance over the other person. Pride. 

We must be careful, lest we promote attitudes and actions that the Scripture forbids. Once again, it is ok to try hard in sports and be competitive, but there is a point where playing hard stops, where competitiveness stops, and sin begins.
Parents may say their children will play sports no matter what because sports build character. But if that were always true, then our professional athletes should be the most well-behaved citizens in our country. We know that is not always the case.     

Not only can sports interfere with our behavior toward others—they can also impact our relationship with God. How many of us can bring up from memory the latest stat, score, and sports update but are unable to quote and explain some of the most well known teachings of the Bible? How many parents are teaching their children the sports they love while never thinking of their children’s souls that could be heading for hell?

A Better Way
Sports can and should be enjoyed. They should be played for the glory of God and in a Christ-like spirit. The questions we should ask ourselves about the sports we play, as well as everything we do in life, are these: Is God glorified and pleased with the way I behave? Is this hurting my spiritual life?

If we cannot participate in sports in a way that glorifies and honors God, then we must stop playing—at least until we can play in the right way. Someone when reading this may say, “But sports will never be the same if we play them in this way.” 

Exactly.

Frodo lay unmoving, unable to stand. The mountain was in sight; they were so near, yet so far. Sam reached down, and pulled Frodo onto his shoulders. "Come on, Mr. Frodo. I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you" (my favorite line in the entire trilogy).

Sam was Frodo's gardener, a simple man in some people's minds. He was not the one entrusted with the ring. He was not the one people looked to for leadership, nor was he expected to have all the answers. Yet, when the going was the toughest, Sam came through. It is doubtful Frodo's mission would have been successful had Sam not tagged along.
Loyal. If one word could describe Sam, that’s it. He was never very far from Frodo. Although Frodo was committed to destroying the ring, Sam was committed to Frodo. The task that had been thrust upon Frodo was made easier by Sam's loyalty and faithfulness. When Frodo could go no farther, Sam stepped to the plate; he stood in the gap.

"I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you."

Has God entrusted you with a task that, at times, seems almost impossible to complete? Exhausted, you lay crumpled, unable to get up. Despair washes over you, draining you of every ounce of courage you ever possessed. You need a Sam who will come alongside you, pick you up, and set you back on the course God has planned for you. Look around. Somewhere, maybe lurking back in the shadows, God has placed a Sam in your life to watch out for you, to step to the plate, to stand in the gap when life becomes tough.

"I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you."

Don't miss out on the blessing of being Sam. Frodo needs you.

Walls present few choices for reaching the other side. Still the challenge remains. People have devised numerous ways to get past walls. Grappling hooks with ropes attached are thrown over the top of the wall and a skilled climber is easily up and over. Those with more time and less imagination dig down and under the foundation of the wall, thus reaching their destination. The more agile simply take a stroll and walk the length of the wall, getting past its obstruction. But the most insidious wall is the glass wall. The need to get past the wall does not exist. One merely looks; all is revealed. And yet it, too, remains a barrier.

God had a more ingenious way of getting to the other side of the wall. When the children of Israel followed Joshua to attack Jericho, God told them to march around the city once each day and on the seventh day they were to march around Jericho seven times; the priests were to blow their rams’ horns, the people were to shout, and the walls would fall down. There were no grappling hooks, no ropes, no shovels. The people were simply to trust God to give them the victory. The walls built to prevent the intruder, the captor, from taking possession of the city failed to do their job. At the people’s shout on the seventh day, the walls fell down flat. They did not crumble or collapse, strewing the pathway with debris. Neither did they shatter and leave shards of glass for the unsuspecting traveler. Nothing blocked the path of the Israelites as they marched into the city, victors!

Sometimes people are like the city of Jericho, thinking they are hidden behind impregnable walls, safe and sound. Nothing can reach them; they are completely protected from any perceived threat or harm. Often people build walls so high even the most athletic climber cannot reach the top, so thick excavation is impossible. And to think of walking past the wall is unrealistic. Yet, God says to tear down those walls. He wants to get inside. Sometimes, He has to knock the walls down flat, making the pathway plain for all to see.

Recently, God brought events to bear on my fortified “city” that resulted in my self-imposed walls falling down flat. People who have cared for me for a lot of years have painstakingly chipped away at the foundation of my walls. Some have even tried to circumvent the perimeter of my “city,” looking for any crack or broken place to squeeze through. Eventually most gave up, suspending all efforts, choosing to let me remain closed and hidden behind my walls of protection. Miraculously, these precious people remained my friends, loving me in spite of myself.

Then at just the right moment in my life and in God’s timing, God’s divine plan worked and the right person arrived who was able to do in a matter of months what others had tried desperately to do for decades. Unrelentingly, with the tenacity of a bulldog, she did not look back nor did she ever loosen her grip. She pushed, questioned, prodded, and loved. Slowly, as a flower opens in the spring, one petal at a time, the layers began to peel away and soon my soul lay open, raw and bare for all to see. There is no need for a skilled climber, any amount of earth-moving equipment, or walking shoes. My glass wall has shattered, offering no resistance. Just step across and have a look around.

What lies on the other side of the wall? Freedom—freedom to be myself, freedom to use all of my abilities and gifts, freedom to love and be loved, freedom to follow God’s call, and freedom to live a happy and contented life. Was it worth the pain of allowing God to expose the deepest recesses of my mind and heart, the secret places? You tell me. Have you looked at me lately? Then it’s time you did.