Routine

       As a teacher in the public school system, one thing that I have become increasingly aware of in the past year is how important a routine is to the students. Since my work has currently been as a substitute teacher, I normally "break" the routine each day I work. Reasons for this include: I am not their normal teacher, my classroom management is not the same, my expectations can sometimes be different, and my teaching style is different (especially when it comes to math.) Naturally, when there is a break in a routine/structure of the classroom, the students automatically lose some focus. Talking ensues, they automatically try to manipulate the teacher, etc. 


       I somehow think that when it comes to our relationship with Christ, a routine can be a detrimental thing if it does not get examined periodically. (forgive me if this becomes a ramble) 


      Just think for a moment. Do you have a normal routine with Christ? Maybe you read the Bible at a certain time everyday, or you do something special every Monday. Maybe you pray a certain way each day, or you have a certain method to approach you devotional time. I know that I have my own routine that I adhere to every day. Yet, I sometimes wonder if I ever need to switch things up for freshness and to revitalize my relationship with God. 


      Now, take a look at a regular routine in your day. For instance, I am going to think about my morning routine, which is the following: shower, breakfast, get ready for work, brush teeth, make lunch, and then finally leave (in that order). This routine is so regular to me, that it has become automatic. Is it the same for you? I do not have to think about what comes next in my morning. I, in a sense, go on auto-pilot.  I can be so far removed from my morning routine, that I will question whether I performed a certain step or not. Going with that, in college, when I was living with two other guys, there would be days where one of them would get up earlier, or do something to cause a break in my routine. Well, I am sure this might be the same for you, but I  would get disoriented when a break occurs. What was once steady becomes unstable and I have to gain my ground again. Let's think about this with our "Christ" routine as I will now dub it. 


      If we allow ourselves to go on auto-pilot with Christ, are we going to be able to have a meaningful walk with Him? Are we going to be able to constantly be sensitive to His still small voice if we slowly slip into a rut? I know that there are times where I feel very dry spiritually and then I wonder if it is merely because I have lost Christ in what I am doing; that I am only reading my Bible, because it is what I do every morning. I think when something becomes the norm, then examination needs to happen. All to often we can incidentally become self focused. We get trapped thinking that the Lord will be upset for our disobedience with our man-made routine. Just the other day, I was afflicted with guilt because I had gone three days without reading a devotional book. The guilt was not from the Lord, but from Satan. A deliberate attack to make me place my trust in a material item, not in the Lord himself. We end up taking something originally intended as glorification for God, to our false belief that it is through that book, or through the "filling my quota" prayer time, that I will earn my righteousness with God. 

     Now, I am not saying every quarter your routine should be completely changed. I feel however, that every so often we need to examine the practices in which we spend time with the Lord. At the least, we need to purposely center what we do back onto Christ. He is "the way, and the truth, and the life." John 14: 6 (ESV). He is our only way to our Father in Heaven. We cannot get there by a mere daily routine.

The Time Has Come

           So, I often get into what I would refer to as a "music kick," meaning that I will spend a week, maybe two, sometimes a month, (just check the CD player in my car) listening to the same album, or same artist over and over. Recently, my kick has been listening to Hillsong United. This has to be one of my favorite songs. I love the lyrics, they speak true to a follower of Christ, and the song itself just makes me want to dance for the Lord. 


...by the way, it takes a little less than two minutes before the lyrics actually start. Enjoy!

Inside and out

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean." 

-- Matthew 23: 25-26 (ESV)

       This verse comes from a chapter that is Jesus' rebuke of the scribes and the Pharisees. This verse specifically targets how the scribes and the Pharisees would basically value an external appearance over an internal truth. As the cliche phrase goes, they could talk the talk, but not walk the walk. If you think about it in the way Jesus put it, would you be willing to drink from a cup that was rotten and filthy on the inside, but elegant and pristine on the outside? Hopefully not. 

        It challenges me to take a look at my own life and to examine it. Is what I preach, what I advocate for exemplified in my own life? In one example, if I am going to encourage people to live a life that is pleasing to the Lord, and to even seek a relationship Christ in the first place, would it be justifiable for me to participate in slanderous activities that completely go against God's law? Of course not! 

         It is so easy for us to fall into a rut where our actions do not match up to our words. Jesus Christ wants to have a relationship with us. He wants to come into our lives and cleanse us. We can easily say that we believe in Him, but unless we truly allow Him to change our heart first, then our outward appearance is just hypocrisy! 

Notes on Lyrics

Here are just some thoughts I had on a couple lines in "Lose My Soul."


"I don't want to gain the whole world, and lose my soul,"
          So in hearing this line I think of Matthew 6: 19-21: (ESV) 

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." 

          What is there to gain in this world? Money, fame? Of anything materialistic that can be obtained in this world, what can be taken with us when we pass away? Nothing! What can be obtained that will bring us genuine, everlasting peace? Nothing! No trust can be placed in these possessions, because even if they provide us with temporary pleasure and enjoyment, they will eventually prove us false. They will be destroyed by "moth and rust." Rather, put your trust in Lord, who will provide for you. His provides riches that are everlasting. Do all that you do for Him. 
           "As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of what which is truly life." -- 1 Timothy 6: 17-19 (ESV). 
            The term rich applies to all of us. We all need to be sure of where we put our trust and security. 


"How do I sense the tide that's rising?
De-sensitizing me from living in light of eternity,"
          I think it is amazing to look at media now, and then to think about it 20 years ago. Between the two eras, I think it is fascinating to compare and contrast what has been and is currently deemed "appropriate" to air on the television, print in the paper, or broadcast on the radio. Overtime, through exposure to ungodly themes, if we do not keep hold to the principles laid out for us in the Bible, then we begin to think that such worldly things are appropriate. In one aspect, I think about the progression profanity has made in media. Some words used to be banned from any sort of entertainment, now it is more prevalent than morals! The use of themes, such as drug use, and sex have worked their way from media once deemed as too racy, inappropriate, etc. to what is now seen as the standard in prime time entertainment! 
          Here's a quote from C.J. Mahaney's "Wordliness"
"Our santification aspirations should be loftier than avoiding murder [or what we are exposed to]. Just because we don't instantly mimic all we see doesn't mean our hearts aren't negatively affected by the programs or films we watch. Tugging like a subtle undertow below the surface, the media can tempt us to drift toward love of the world." 


So, were there other lyrics that stuck out to you?

Lose My Soul

Man I wanna tell ya'll something, Man.
Man I'm not gonna let these material thing's, get in my way, ya'll.
I'm trying to get somewhere.
I'm trying to get somewhere, 
Thats real and pure and true and eternal.

Father God, I am clay in your hands,
Help me to stay that way through all life's demands,
'Cause they chip and they nag and they pull at me,
And every little thing I make up my mind to be,
Like I'm gonna be a daddy whose in the mix,
And I'm gonna be a husband who stays legit,
And I pray that I'm an artist who rises above,
The road that is wide and filled with self love,
Everything that I see draws me,
Though it's only in You that I can truly see that its a feast for the eyes- a low blow to purpose.
And I'm a little kid at a three ring circus.

I don't want to gain the whole world, and lose my soul,
Don't wanna walk away, let me hear the people say.
I don't want to gain the whole world, and lose my soul,
Don't wanna walk away, let me hear the people say.

(Mr. Franklin, Step up to the mic sir) 

The paparazzi flashes, and that they think that it's you,
But they don't know that who you are is not what you do,
True, we get it twisted when we peak at the charts,
Yo before we part from the start,
Where's your heart?
You a pimp, hustler?
Tell me what's your title,
America has no more stars, now we call them idols,
You sit idle, While we teach prosperity,
The first thing to prosper should be inside of me.
We're free...
Not because of 22's on the range,
But Christ came in range, we said yes now we changed,
Not the same, even though I made a fall,
Since I got that call, no more Saul, now I'm Paul.
(YEP!)

I don't want to gain the whole world, and lose my soul,
Don't wanna walk away, let me hear the people say.
I don't want to gain the whole world, and lose my soul,
Don't wanna walk away, let me hear the people say.
Don't wanna walk away,
Don't wanna walk away

How do I sense the tide that's rising?
De-sensitizing me from living in light of eternity,
How do I sense the tide that's rising?
It's hypnotizing me from living in light of eternity,
How do I sense the tide that's rising?
De-sensitizing me from living in light of eternity.

(Lord what we gon do,We're relying on you, 
all eyes are on you Lord, 
all eyes are on you, all eyes are on you Jesus.)

I don't want to gain the whole world, and lose my soul,
Don't wanna walk away, let me hear the people say.
(Don't let me lose my soul, my soul.) 
I don't want to gain the whole world, and lose my soul,
(This is my honesty, Father, won't you cover me.)
I don't want to gain the whole world, and lose my soul,
(Don't wanna walk away, and all those people say)
I don't want to gain the whole world, and lose my soul,
(Don't wanna lose, I don't wanna lose my soul.)

Lord forgive us when we get consumed by the things of this world,
That fight for our love, and our passion,
As our eyes are open wide and on you. 
Grant us the privilege of your world view,
And may your kingdom be, what wakes us up, and lays us down.

(Hallelujah, Don't wanna lose our soul,
No, Don't wanna lose my soul.)

In the beginning..

"For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few." 

-- Matthew 7:19 (ESV)

      In this passage, Christ, during His sermon on the mount, is calling His followers to enter God's kingdom through the narrow gate; a gate that not many will traverse due to it's difficulty. This includes denying a longing for the world and wanting to pursue a life that glorifies God, and reflects the life Jesus lived during His time here on Earth. The commentary I have currently have for this verse says "Salvation is by grace alone, but is not easy. It calls for knowledge of the truth, repentance, submission to Christ as Lord, and a willingness to obey his will and word." -- John MacArthur, The MacArthur Study Bible. 

A few months ago, a dear friend suggested to me that I start a blog, she knew of my journey, and felt that it could be good for others to hear of my growth. Well, at first I did not think much of it, but I know that she was used by God to plant a seed in me, that would eventually blossom into a desire to create a blog. It was only a couple of weeks ago that a longing to have a blog began to weigh more and more on me. I honestly believe that the Lord has now called me and encourages me to share about my growth and my walk with Christ. 

      About May, 2010, was when I finally decided to fully commit my life to Christ. Up until that point, I had always read my bible, prayed, went to church, and basically, as Matthew West sang, "went through the motions," but without any real connection to my Savior. I am on a journey, not only to live my life for Christ, but to grow as a Godly man. Too often, I tried to compare myself to the "world's" idea of what a man should, but I have let go of that idol to place my focus on God and His plan for me as a son of His.

      The only thing I know about this blog, is that the Lord is going to use it for the growth, and edification of myself, and others, and also to bring Him more glory. Only He knows what His plans are for this blog, in terms of who it is going to reach, what He is going to speak through me. I hope that with most posts, a discussion can begin between the readers and myself. I do not have the complete knowledge of the Lord, but that is a reason why we need to grow. Through communion with other brothers and sisters in Christ, and even with the thoughts of those seeking to know Christ, I pray the Lord will challenge us. If something gets posted that is in disagreement, maybe light can be brought to clear up any false words, or ideas. 

      I am growing. I do not have all the answers, not even close, nor do I claim that this blog is the end all of methods to grow as a man of God, let alone a believer. This is just an opportunity to share my journey with others. Needless to say, I am very excited! I praise the Lord for the work He does and the love He pours out!