A journey...

I'm currently reading "Irresistible Revolution" by Shane Claiborne. It has wrecked me. Completely changed my views of religion, Jesus, God, life, and Christianity. I'm happy I'm reading it, yet at the same time I'm disturbed. In the fact that I'm having to change. And it's a hard change. I feel like I'm going against the grain...the grain that is set up by America. I personally think it's getting back to what Jesus meant. In the book he talks about what it really means to follow Christ, what it means to bring the Kingdom of God to Earth. I've begun to realize that I bring Hell to people's lives. I'm not being like Jesus. Oh sure, I'm being like the American Jesus, but not the real life, real person, in your face, tick you off Jesus. Yep, Jesus ticked people off. I'm realizing that Jesus didn't care for the "cool", "popular", "rich" people. And for that it got Him killed. But he liked the poor, lonely, hurting, diseased infected, drunks, homeless, and the hookers. I don't like any of those people. I've always had a burden for people who are hurting and sad and what not. I always thought it was the way God made me. And though I think that's true, I think that it's more God saying, "You care for them, cause it's what you're supposed to do. Go take care of them." Since reading this book, I've seen that as the church, the American church...we're missing it! Big time! And I'm tired of it. Americans get apathetic for church and the need for God. I recently was talking to a friend about miracles. He was asking why don't we see miracles in America. I said we do, but we don't have a need for them. Why do I need to be healed, when I can go to the doctor and he can cure me. I have health insurance that will take care of it. We (America) have become our own god. But the people in Africa, or India, they need a miracle, or they'll die. No HMO or anything. It's God, or death. Therefore, because America has what we need, we've become distant to the need of God. So in our churches, we've softened the gospel. In Revelation, God says that you should either hot, or cold. But if you're lukewarm, He'll spit you out of His mouth. Lukewarm also means, "cool". So if you're the "cool" one, the one who has everything and doesn't need God, or you keep to yourself, God's going to spit you out of his mouth. We've watered down the gospel of Jesus. Twisted His words around to make sense, and make it comfortable for us. We've created the American Christian. We've tried to make sense of sin. "It's ok to sleep with your boyfriend, but not someone's husband", "It's ok to smoke pot, but not to try heroin"(Shellie R. Warren). Sin is sin and the wages of sin is DEATH. We've become dysfunctional. We've got to get back to the Kingdom, and not the American dream. We've got make sure God's happy, and not our friends. Jesus even warns us that our friends and our family won't like us. I have a sad feeling that if Jesus were to walk by us, we'd ignore Him. If He'd come to our church, we'd tell him to leave or ignore Him. We pray that God would bless us, yet Jesus says "...blessed are the poor...". We pray that God blesses us with money, nice things, big cars, and toys. But that's completely contradictory with the Gospels. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.



I've come to a point in my life were as long as God is happy, then I'm happy. I don't think that God is happy with most Christians. We need to tell people that God loves them and has a plan for their lives. "All around you, people will be tiptoeing through life, just to arrive at death safely. But dear children, do not tiptoe. Run, hop, skip, or dance, just don't tiptoe." (Mother Teresa) "Many of us tiptoe through life, and our relationship with God. We want easy, small steps that will get us where we need to be. We want to get to Heaven as easy as possible, without the work. I say lets run to Heaven, lets run with God. Lets dance and skip with God. Jesus, the disciples, and many martyrs ran their way to Heaven. The Gospel of Jesus isn't boring. If we continue to lose kids to drugs, sex, alcohol, war and violence, it's because we don't dare them. Forget entertainment, we don't dare them to run or dance. It may not be cool. Easy, fast and tiptoeing is cool. And cool people will get spit out of God's mouth. I've made the gospel easy. Easy and cheap. And it's hard, difficult, and may cost you your life and friends. But Jesus says rejoice. They did it to him first. Rejoice because our reward is in Heaven. Following Christ goes against society. It's taking a stand against social-injustice, war, violence, and the American dream. We aren't upstanding, "good" people. We're followers of God, who don't submit to demonic forces, numbness, complacency, and comfort. We are to stir up something. Bringing the Kingdom of God to Earth may get you into trouble. You may catch crap for it, but remember, Jesus caught it first. " (Author Shane Claiborne)



Join with me on this journey.

VM

Social Injustice

I'm watching extreme home makeover. And they are doing a project in the ghetto of New Jersey. And they are trying to eliminate poverty and give this family of 6 (Dad + 5 boys) a new start. And I thought, what if the church where to do that? Really take a chance, just a shot at eliminating poverty? When we start a church, what if we really put a focus on social injustice? Poverty, taking care of the environment, youth under depression, AIDS in Africa, Saving Darfur. What if we really started to care about things that would make Jesus upset? We could change the world....with love. Not caring about being the "typical church"...but be the church that Jesus has called us to be. What if we got the rich were to help eliminate poverty? And the poor to teach the rich love and what it means to live life.

What if we had our own...Extreme Home Makeover? Build housing, give clothes, food, and toys for the poor. Completely free to them, all to show them that God loves them. All to show that the God in the Bible is real. And that the God in the bible, the God of the poor, and oppressed, and the broken hearted, is here to save, and comfort them.

VM