Answer this...

Several factors, in the recent past, have compelled me to ask myself a simple question, several times. Different situations. Different incidents. Different moods. Different reasons. But in all circumstances - the same question: Are you happy with your life? To some, it may be rhetorical, as we often comfort ourselves with temporary, worldly contentment. So right off that bat we fire-off, “yes!” with a gleeful smile. But today I’d like to ask you to slow down for a minute and actually think about this one. After all, the caption below my blog title is there for a reason. ;-)

The question entails three key words: “you”, “happy”, and “life”.

• In this scenario, you’ll have to use “you” in second-person, as though you’re interviewing yourself. As though you don’t know yourself, right? Don’t be surprised since we actually know less about ourselves than we think (1 John 1:8). Until you start questioning your own motives, actions, and reasoning you may not realize a whole lot of interesting things about yourself (which other’s do).
• Now, “happy” is somewhat of a vague term in our days since it’s employed almost everywhere. You’re happy when you get married. But you’re also happy when you buy a new phone. Did you sense the broad gap between these two scenarios? Therefore, in our circumstance a synonym may be more suitable, such as: pleased, content, or satisfied. Try hard to reflect on what satisfaction is and whether what you find it in truly satisfies your spirit. Check out Ecclesiastes 6:1-7, it’ll give you a good sense of what I’m talking about.
• Finally, “life” – that’s a loaded one. Once again, the term is used ubiquitously. We have a work life, school life, marriage life, etc. – you name it, there’s a life for everything we do. Yet the Good Book nails this one as well: see Luke 12:22-24. So to answer our question of the day, we’ll need to be sure we’re not talking about our physical being but our spiritual. 

Put all of these together and you have a pretty deep and serious question to ask yourself. Once you answer it, think about what factors impact your outcome. It may be a tough time at work or school causing you to take it as a waste of time. It may also be related to family and/or church activities (or lack thereof). Either way, if your outcome is negative, it’s important to find the root of what’s keeping you down – and sometimes, the root needs to be pulled out. No, I am not implying that you go dropping everyday activities left and right because you find a level of disappointment in them. The key is to shake things up a bit in pursuit of true happiness and satisfaction. Here's a small hint: Matthew 11:28-30. :-) Yes, there’s a lot of analysis and digging involved but if you want to fix something, you need to take action, right?

It is more honorable to repair a wrong than to persist in it.
Thomas Jefferson

So, are you happy with your life?

"Follow me"

For those of us living in areas of moderate peace, it’s difficult to envision a life other than our own. This especially relates to the younger generation which has barely (if ever) endured the wrath of dictators, the violence of war, the austerity of poverty, the bloodshed of terrorism, or the malice of martyrdom. Sure, we all agree that everyone on this planet has their own place in society. Directly and indirectly we may even cite Spencer’s economic “survival of the fittest” concept in an attempt to explain (or excuse) society. But this behavior all-the-more demonstrates our level of selfishness and egotism without which, it seems, the human species can’t survive a day. It’s an unfortunate way of life as it is seen on many levels – not just amongst gangs, mafias, and governments but also within the church. It surely distracts us from the life Christ wanted us to live.

Aside from the rest of the Bible of course, the “sermon on the ‘mount”, recorded in Matthew 5-7, provides us with a glorious representation of behavior which Christ would like to see in us. Most of us are very much aware of the content of those three chapters, yet often we act as though none of it pertains to us. Today, there is much confusion about what’s right and what’s wrong. Talking to some Slavic individuals at the NY evangelism this past weekend, I noticed a trend that they believe there is a God – no one denied His existence. Most of these people pointed out that every religion and denomination claims they know the truth, causing them to question the basis of each one. Seeing it would be difficult to convince any of these individuals that Christ is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6), I was heartbroken. But hearing from them that we were “not like the others” (in a good way), made-up for some of that grief as I realized that it’s not about convincing and proving anything – it’s about our way of life. Christ’s sermon on the ‘mount is the perfect guide to accomplishing a Christ-centered manner of living which is not focused on me, myself, and I – but rather focused on my brother, sister, and neighbor. Christian’s carry the responsibility of living this way so as to lessen the confusion so many people experience about the purpose of life. When they see Christ in us, what confusion or misunderstanding could there possibly be?

In John 21, we recall Christ asking Peter three times whether he loved Him. After the third time, Christ foretold how Peter’s life would end. I’m sure that these were strange words to Peter but John continues to explain the meaning of what Christ said, “This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me” (verse 19). One thing which captivates me in this is the phrase, “by what death he should glorify God”. Have you ever truly considered that your death would glorify God? I doubt many of us have as this goes back to the beginning of this entry. In our moderately peaceful lives, we rarely even consider death’s reality. We don’t want to believe that our life may end at any second. Hence, we continue living the way we live and doing the things we do. But what leads up to a death glorifying God is the life which precedes it. After foretelling Peter’s death, Christ tells Him, “Follow me”. This is essentially what brings Peter to crucifixion; a life lived for Christ. The price paid on Earth with our flesh is nothing when compared to the magnificence of eternity with our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Will you follow Him?

Life's (S)tuff

People, this is harder than I thought. I have not expressed my personal thoughts here in quite some time and have to admit that it's difficult to connect everything that I have been meaning to write. With so much going on in the past few months, it's challenging to wrap my mind around recent events which have impacted me both directly and indirectly.

Nonetheless, I'm not sure about you, but things have seemed to change - and I'm not referring to the fact that I rotated my tires last week, or changed my oil, or ran out of staples in my Swingline. The fact that my front driver-side tire is now on the rear passenger-side does not impact my spiritual well-being. Nor does the oil indicator, which now displays 95% oil quality, impact my spiritual stability. And the empty stapler? Well, it's just too bad that I will no longer have the ability to ply corners of multiple sheets of paper - until the moment I go to the administrative assistant and ask for a refill. Now THAT will certainly knock me off-track in life. If you haven't sensed the sarcasm, go drink some coffee. These changes are bound to occur as materials wear out and get exhausted. They are not eternal – not even close. In fact,

...the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. 2 Peter 3:10

You gotta love the straight-forward, no-joke logic of God's word. Isn't it interesting though that the modern world is all about material well-being? People today live, breathe, think, and dream about having a bunch of stuff which the Bible says will eventually "melt with fervent heat". What a great investment, huh?! This is the change I was referring to.

This is a time in which Christian's must be vigilant more than ever before. In the verse that follows Peter's warning of what to expect of "stuff" in the last days, he dives into a stern reminder of an alternate path for believers. Now, there is a great deal of controversy and plenty to say about what type of “things” are/n’t acceptable for believers, but I assume most of us are aware of the 1 Corinthians 10:23 rule. I've brought up this example in discussions with friends in the recent days and feel it fits right into the flow of this post. Google recently announced a new feature called "+1" which is similar to the "Like" button on Facebook. In short, as you "Google" something, the +1 will supposedly appear next to search results and you can click it to "like" a particular search result - so as to indicate it was a helpful link. No big deal, right? Wrong. Following Google's announcement of this feature, there was much excitement (positive and negative) in the tech press/media. Upon reading some of the feedback, I realized how ridiculous this was. Google is adding a simple hyperlink to their website and it's got people flailing their arms in the air like they're being chased by a grizzly. It doesn't end there - this announcement directly impacted Google's stock, indicating that investors too had mixed reactions to this new "feature". But come on… really? Is this seriously what throws us to the floor, kicking and screaming like spoiled children? Is this how thin and shallow life is today? Unfortunately, for those who do not know God, yes - it's that shallow. But what's even more unfortunate, it's the same for some Christian's who once had the desire to serve the Lord with all their heart! Now, their priorities have changed; the material of this world has become their idol and their sacrifice to the Lord, is weekly attendance of a church service.

To be frank, I think that more of us are engulfed by this lifestyle than we want to admit. More of us are losing the grasp of a direct relationship with our Lord, who suffered a gruesome death upon a rugged cross for our sins. Certainly, each at his own level and to a particular extent, but the main idea of 2 Peter 3:10 is so critical to our life today: all the material things of this world will one day be gone. So Peter continues:

Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation... 2 Peter 3:11-15

Does this passage not magnify the incredible need for us to stay focused on our personal walk before the Lord? It's an amazing reminder to be in holy conduct, godliness, and to be diligent, without spot and blameless. Brothers and sisters in Christ, wake up! Get back on that path of living for the Lord and not for yourselves! Turn back those days when you quenched your thirst with God's word and the material of this world was anything but tied to your heart. It is my sincere desire that anyone reading this post will consider it worthy to take it's contents into consideration - for it is God who spoke through Peter, "be diligent to be found by Him in peace".

Старый Крест (Old Rugged Cross)

На далеком холме старый крест виден мне,
Знак позора, страданий и мук.
О кресте мы поем потому, что на нем
Был распят лучший грешников Друг.

Старый крест осудил суету,
Дал покой для усталых сердец.
Я душою прильнул ко кресту,
Чрез него обрету я венец.

Старый крест позабыт. Мир в погибель спешит.
Крест Христов - наша сила и честь.
Вечный с неба сходил, на земле в теле жил,
Чтоб его на Голгофу отнесть.

Старый крест обагрен, но не страшен мне он,
В нем открылась нам Божья любовь:
Кровь Иисуса Христа пролилась со креста,
Чтоб меня искупить от грехов.

Старый крест возвещать и к Христу призывать, -
Вот на что я себя отдаю.
По скитаньи земном перейду в вечный дом,
Он меня примет в славу свою.