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I'm Christian, But I'm Not...
So I finally just watched the Buzzfeed video “Things Christians Want You to Know” and I had some mixed feelings about it. I realize Im a little late to the party, and that there are a bazillion people commenting and writing articles on how amazing it was or wasn't. But I thought I would share my thoughts. (in case you haven't seen the video, heres the link! http://www.buzzfeed.com/kelseypjones/things-christians-want-you-to-know#.qtWv88Xrl)
First of all, I think it was fabulous for buzzfeed to be willing to put out a video highlighting the Christian faith in a positive way, when the majority of mainstream media would have you believe that we are all hateful, uneducated, homophobic, gun crazy, racist rednecks. Awesome guys!
And the people in the video touched on a lot of those misperceptions. Which was really cool. Thank you for standing up and telling people that we don’t hate everyone. That I actually do like to drink wine, and I’m not so secretly a fan of Queen B. Because they’re right. Those things don’t change the fact that I have made a decision to put my faith in Jesus.
However, I think the title of the video is misleading. Because as a Christian, the number one most important think I want you to know is not that I like wine, or what kind of music I listen to, or what my political views are. As a Christian, the most important thing I want everyone to know, is that Jesus loves you. He loves you if you’re sitting in church or a bar. He loves you because you were created with purpose and a design. It was so frustrating to me was that this video focused the people, because as a Christian, I will happily tell you- It’s not about me. And praise the Lord for that! Because....
I’m a Christian, but I make mistakes.
I’m a Christian, but I don't always have the answers.
I’m a Christian, but I’m human.
YES! I have my own thoughts and ideas! YES! I believe that black lives matter! YES! I identify as a feminist! NO! I am not like the people you see on the TV!
And I DO want you to know that, but if all I have is a two minute video, then I’d rather tell you about Jesus. Because if I point you to him, then you’ll find all of that out on your own.
I’m a Christian, and let me tell you about it.
I believe in a good God who designed and created everything with a purpose.
I believe in a God who so desired reconciliation with his creation that he sent his son to take our punishment and restore our relationship with him.
I don’t believe I was saved just so I can go to heaven or live an easy life. I believe I was saved, so that I can pursue a relationship with Jesus as relentlessly as he has pursued a relationship with me.
I am so thankful that He knows I’ll probably mess up, and that He’ll forgive me anyway.
I’m a Christian and I believe that God loves you right where you are at. In the midst of your life (whatever your lifestyle), YOU ARE LOVED. YOU HAVE PURPOSE, YOU WERE CREATED WITH DESIGN. And the God of the universe, he not only knows your name, but he wants to spend time with you. Talking, hanging out, whatever.
As a Christian, that more than anything is what I want you to know.
#buzzfeed#I'm Christian But I'm Not...#Things Christians Want You to Know#Christianity#Ywam#missionary life#Alicia en el Pais de Maravillas
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It’s getting real.
I leave in one month to start the first leg of my adventure. It’s starting to dawn on me just how real this is. I am so excited. I am so scared. I am oddly at peace about the money thing, even though I probably should be freaking out. Maybe that part just isn't real yet. I’m getting ready to print out support letters, I am praying over each envelope I address, I really hope people pray for me. I really hope they pray about supporting me. But mostly, I really hope God does something big the next few weeks and this all pulls together.
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I have a small obsession with quotes. I won't deny it. I bookmark them in my browser, highlight them in my books, jot them down in notebooks...bottom line is that I am ALWAYS collecting quotes. Anyway, recently I came across a quote from Madeline L'Engle, I've seen it before and it always makes me pause for a bit. I'd like to share it with you though.
I will have nothing to do with a God who only cares occasionally. I need a God who is with us always, everywhere, in the deepest depths as well as the highest heights. It is when things go wrong, when good things do not happen, when out prayers seem to have been lost that God is most present. We do not need the sheltering wings when things go smoothly. We are closest to God in the darkness, stumbling blindly.
I think this hits me so hard, because sometimes I feel so far away from God. Sometimes I feel like my prayers hit the ceiling and dive-bomb the floor. And it always seems like when I am at my most hopeless, when Im all but ready to throw in the towel, God reveals himself in something small. But it’s enough to remind me that he's there. I haven't been deserted. And He CARES. I say he cares, because it seems to me that he always shows up in the small things. Making my sales goal for the day with an impossible $800 sale 20 minutes before closing. Stumbling on an article that addresses an issue Ive been wrestling with. When things are going good, when I feel like I have a handle on my life, I don't see those things as much. But when I am ‘stumbling blindly in the darkness,’ When I am all but convinced that I have been left alone, its then that I see God, and he is much closer than I could have ever imagined.
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"God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him"
John Piper
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The timing of God never ceases to amaze me. I needed this today. I am so thankful to serve a God who, even when I feel the farthest away from or my life seems darkest, manages to break through and remind me that I never walk alone. I am so thankful that God brought these two wonderful people together and to a place where they can use their experiences and struggles to encourage others. And thanks to @drewworsham for sharing. http://www.redeemedgirl.org/he-said-she-said
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A Transforming Faith
Im starting this as an attempt to document my adventures. Right now, my adventures are pretty boring and involve mostly homework and the occasional epiphany in the middle of class.
Like this week.
I was reading the James. Now, James is a pretty cool dude. And the basic focus of his letter is that faith is fantastic. You should definitely believe in Jesus and have faith in him. But if your faith isn’t changing you, you’re doing it wrong. James 1 says to be “doers of the word and not merely hearers to delude themselves.” and later that “pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress.” Chapter two expounds upon this principle, saying: ”What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.”
It is not enough to simply believe, your faith must work in you, changing you from the inside out until faith is no longer a passive belief, but the system through which you react.
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