Giving Up

It's almost here... only a matter of hours away. Mardi Gras is one of my favorite holidays of the year. After living in Louisiana for three of them, I came to really enjoy the two extra days off of school, the parades, the food, enough beads to sink a few ships, and generally a lot of fun. What I also noticed a lot was what happened when the clock struck midnight. Come Wednesday, everything was different. No matter how much partying took place over the days and days of festivities, it all stopped at midnight and everyone entered into this period of time called Lent.

For a few of my friends, that Wednesday they went without meat, and then every Friday leading up to Easter. Some restaurants would not serve meat on Fridays, but instead serve an all vegetarian menu for those days. I gained a new-found appreciation for this season.

What are we to do for lent? Some sects of Christianity give up meat, poultry, milk, and all dairy products for every day starting with Ash Wednesday and ending on Holy Saturday. Some give up meat on Ash Wednesday and the Fridays of Lent. A growing number of Protestants are now doing similar practices, or giving up something they normally don't do without.

What is this giving up? It is giving up something from your normal routine completely selflessly so that it may be a daily reminder of what Christ has done for us. For others, time spent doing whatever they are giving up is spent in prayer or meditation. But whatever they give up, it is not to benefit themselves at all - it is to honor Christ and God.

I've heard of some people giving up "unhealthy foods" as a way of losing weight, or giving up oils, or only eating "healthy foods". While eating healthy is a good thing, I'm not sure this is the point of lent or giving something up. What we give up should not be for any improvement to ourselves, but something that is of sacrifice to us. Also - giving up something that may hinder your ministry to others might not be a healthy thing either.

Lastly, what we do during a Lenten season should be done in secret. It is often I hear others proclaiming to the world what they're giving up for lent or that they're not eating a certain food. Do not practice this. Be quiet in your actions, and give something up that you might be able to do in secret. Giving up something for lent is not for us to boast about or feel good about - it is something that we might do to grow closer to our Father. (Jesus' teachings on fasting in Matthew 6 would be a good reference for this)

With all of that said, I challenge you to seek out something in your life that you might do without for these days between Mardi Gras and Easter - something that you might do in secret, something that may help you draw nearer to our Father. It is in this giving up that we may draw ourselves the slightest bit closer to fully surrendering to our God.

Grace and peace be with you this Mardi Gras, and throughout this Lenten season.

praying that we all might draw nearer to our Father,
chris

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God is Love

In recent days, I've reaffirmed many reasons why I should be thankful. I have been blessed with so much... incredible friends, awesome family, and there is a God who has created billions and billions of stars (and those are just the ones we can see) and yet he still can still call me by name - and guides me every step of the way.

Narnia is amazing. Yes, I know there are parallels to the Christian faith, and a lot of obvious stuff. But there is more. Not just the movie... read the books. All of them. Open up your eyes... open up your mind... dream... imagine... let it become alive and sweep you off your feet. Find the truth in it.

Do not fear to love someone else. Anyone. Love unconditionally... stop. Think about that one. Unconditionally. No matter the condition. Love. Pour your heart out - even if you do not know them. There are a lot of very close friends who I would honestly do anything imaginable for... I would lie down and take anything in place of them that may bring them harm or sadness. I wish I could find it within me to do this for anyone. That is the beauty we find in Jesus... the One who gave his all for so many who He did not even know yet... this is the love we are called to have. I know some of the people I love greatly may not share the same love for me... and that is okay. I am called to love them with my all regardless... and I pray that I do.

Find God. Look around you. Look above you. Look beneath you. Find God. So many times we pray for God to be with us... He is already here. It is only up to us to find Him and see Him surrounding us. It is amazing to read Isaiah 40 and to think of God creating all of the stars in the heavens... and yet He can still call them all by name. Or to read Psalm 19 and be reminded of God's perfection. May this be what we seek, without distraction, without any other thing clouding our focus.

Seek the truth. In John 8, Jesus says, "...and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." Jesus is truth. God is truth. May we continue to seek God and to let Him reign over every sphere of our lives, so that we may come to know what is ultimately true.

May we come to allow God to overtake our thoughts and let every thought be birthed from our unwavering focus upon God, our Father. It is in this that we may come to know love, and out of this that we may truly find love in and for all whom we encounter.

seeking with all of my heart to draw nearer to this God,
chris
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Relationships ii

Whew. It's over. It's almost a week now... V-day fever has settled and the biggest things to get excited about are Mardi Gras, spring coming soon, and baseball. This whole month, though, I've been giving a lot of thought to relationships. First it was friendships, and now more recently when things go beyond that. How do we handle it? Are we "going beyond that" everyday in our minds? Or does "going beyond that" in some cases have anything to do with friendship at all?

The root word for all of this thought is lust. Now, before you toss that word aside and assure yourself that you have nothing to do with that word, know that it's easier than you think to fall into it, and it's much broader than most of us would like to admit.

You don't have to have sex or even desire it to lust. You don't have to make-out, or even kiss. You can lust to be with someone just so you don't have to be alone or single. We lust when we take that second look or try to see beyond the clothes that are there (or lack thereof in some cases - it's scary what some people will wear today and call clothes).

What I've really been thinking about is how to keep this lust thing from getting to us. Jesus says in Matthew, "If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you... and if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you." That's kind of radical... cutting body parts off. I'll openly admit that if I took this literally, I'd be blind right now. Something tells me I'm not alone. So how do we go about cutting out the things that may lead us to sin and, more importantly, away from God and purity? Here are some ideas I've been thinking about...

If you're sitting toward the back of the class and find yourself thinking about one of the girls (or guys) in your class, and your mind starts to wonder, start sitting at the front.

If you're not married and worried that those simple kisses might lead to making-out, stop kissing.

If sprawling out on top of each other on the couch, or sitting a little too closely, or constantly having to be in contact when you're near someone appears to you to be away from purity, stop touching each other. Like, completely. There is nothing in the bible about having to touch each other a lot to be dating or in a relationship.

In the words of my friend Steve the other night, "If driving by Bowman in the springtime causes you to take a second glance - or a third, go another way." (for non-Clemson folks: Bowman Field on a warm, spring day has more two-piece bikinis and shirtless guys than the Empire State Building has windows)

Taking a second one from Steve - if the things you're looking at on your computer are leading you away from holiness, get rid of your computer and only use the ones in the library or computer lab.

If you find that being in a relationship is leading to an increased pressure to be doing anything that is not holy, don't be in that relationship anymore. (side note: if God is calling you to be married one day and raise a family, it is okay to trust Him to help you find someone whenever that time comes... and if who you're dating now is that right person, but you're finding your time together isn't resulting in such holy behavior, it is okay to trust God to lead you back to that person when the time is right)

If something in a relationship you have with someone else or anything outside of a relationship is leading you away from God, holiness, or purity, the answer is simple: cut it off and cast it from you.

Sure, it might be tough. Sure, we might not like it. But, honestly, how should we feel about letting these worldly, evil influences compete with the great Creator of the entire galaxy, universe, and every living person and thing ever made? Should there even be a competition for God and purity to be the only focus of our lives?

seeking to truly follow the words of my Creator,
chris

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Relationships

For some people, they're easier to find than others. Some have many, some have fewer. They can be real or misleading. They can lead us to great joy and times of sorrow. We couldn't live without them. What do I speak of?

Friends.

A friend of mine preached a sermon on the topic of friends not too long ago. He went as far as to say that one of Jesus' most important actions and examples on this earth was making friends. He didn't just become a friend to a few, but to many. True, some were closer friends than others, but they were all friends.

What does this friendship idea mean? Being supportive. Smiling. Providing comfort. Hugs. Acting in truth and to be truth-telling. Love. This is only the beginning... there are so many more that could be added.

This is something that Jesus sought throughout his life. His friends stretched across a wide spectrum, being from every spectrum of society. A lot of times, though, they tended to be friends who had very few friends of their own. That didn't matter to Jesus, though... he wanted to be their friend. Who do we seek to be our friends?

It's incredibly easy to fall into a mindset where we're not seeking friends. It may be that we have found a good few close friends and don't see a need for any more. It may be that we've gotten into a relationship with a significant other and start to overlook new friends and begin spending less and less time with the friends we have. It may be that we're afraid to make new friends. It may be that the people we are called most by Christ to befriend are the ones we find the hardest to approach. I'm guilty of a number of these, and know that the list is only the first few of many reasons.

Is it supposed to be easy, though? I'm no expert on scripture, but the quote, "It's so easy to follow Me," is not something I ever read in red or black (or any color). We're called to make friends. To be friends. To be a friend. Are we?

Branch out. Spend an hour or two less with a "sig oth". Fear not. It isn't easy. But it is incredibly possible.

We're called to be a friend and to find friends in others. Let's go for it... don't wait. Start today. It might just change your life... I know it does mine. Every single day.

Seeking to be a friend and to meet new friends along the way,
chris

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