Thursday, November 17, 2011

FEED ME TO THE LIONS!

It's a bold statement! Can you imagine someone saying that? Did you know early Christians were fed to lions and stoned to death for saying they were Christians. These courageous Christians risked everything and knew full well that they could be put to death for what they believed in. Even today in some countries, you can be beat, tortured, imprisoned, and even put to death for saying you're a follower of Jesus Christ. It's hard to imagine someone dying for what they believe in. The question is why would you die? Or if faced with death just say I'm not a believer. Look at Peter when Jesus was facing trial and going to be crucified, he denied that he was a follower...to the point of cursing to prove it. You would think that when someone brings you an ultimatum of dying or denouncing your religion, that you would gladly say your right. I would rather live. It's easier to be Christian when you have no adversity. It's easier to say I love Jesus when you're not being stoned because of Him. The truth is that early Christians so strongly believed in Jesus and His Church that they fearlessly spread the gospel knowing full well the implications it had by doing so. They had a radical and sacrificial love for Jesus and for people. They allowed the Holy Spirit to come into their lives and transform them.

So how does this statement affect us today? We have a freedom in the United States that we can speak about our religion without any repercussions as far as being put to death. But do we? Are we like the early Church risking everything to help people get saved? I believe because we have that freedom that we don't want to offend anybody. We all know of people that are non-believers. We all have friends who we would like to see give their lives to Christ but at the risk of offending them or pushing them away, we don't! Compare this generation to that of the early Christians and I say we have a huge advantage over them. Why? Because of social networking. We have Twitter, Facebook, and Internet. Where we can reach people for Christ at a much faster rate. Facebook in particular; you have friends that do not know Christ yet you don't invite them to Church or tell them about Christ. You would rather preserve the friendship than trying to help them gain their salvation.

There are 3 things that I want people to take from this article. 1. Is that we need to be bold and courageous and speak up for God. Jesus said it himself "If you deny me in front of man. I will deny you in front of my Father" Matthew 10:33. 2. we need to have the same kind of radical and sacrificial love the early Christians had for Jesus, Church, and People. Not to be afraid to love someone that's different. The truth is that everyone needs love and all it takes is for you and I to show it. Take Jesus for instance. He washed His disciples feet. This is the Lord, God's own son, and our Savior washing feet. We need to demonstrate that same love for people. Lastly, we need to use what we have to influence others. The world cares about athletes, celebrities, politicians, and leaders to put on the news and magazines. But we have that same type of influence to the people around us. Again, going to Facebook you have the power to spread the Gospel and Impact lives. But, are you doing it or are you worried about saying something that will cause you to be dropped from your friends list? We need to stop being scared Christians and be willing to be stoned for what we believe in. "If the world hates you remember that it hated me first" John 15:18 Powerful words by Jesus Himself.

So what are you doing with your life? As for me I want to make such an impact for the Gospel and for what I believe in that if the enemy saw me they would FEED ME TO THE LIONS!

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

HANG ON

These are some very powerful words especially in a time where it's so easy to give up. It's so easy to throw in the towel when you're in a fight getting beat up. When you're stuck in a valley and every time you try getting out...you fall right back in. See what makes life so hard is that we have freedom of choice. Our choices sometimes make life great and sometimes put us in a ditch. We make decisions based on what we see and not what's ahead. What I mean is that we see a road filled with pot holes and we take a different route because we don't like facing obstacles. We want to choose the easy way because we don't want to struggle. Not knowing that those obstacles were put in front of you for a purpose. To make you stronger, to test you in life, and to make you a better person. If you never learn then you will never gain anything. When you hit rock bottom, you have two choices. Two choices that will decide who you are. You can choose to stay down or get back up. See I struggle with not seeing the road ahead and taking the detours. All the detours do in life is slow you down and take you off the main road. I also realized that when your in the basement, you can't go any lower. But, you can decide that it's okay to stay down there. God didn't create you to stay in a basement. He wants you in the living room being a light for everyone to see. Its not easy to try and get out of that ditch on your own and you're not going to make it to the top. Know that you can make it on your own but without God you will never make it to the top. I guarantee you! My good friend spent 16 years trapped in a jail cell. Many of us have never been to jail but we are trapped in a cell just the same. We are trapped because we keep taking the same detours. We keep falling for the same mistakes. We are trapped because we don't bring our struggles to God first or ask for His guidance. For me personally, most of the time I make decisions based on what I see rather allowing God to show me.

So what do you do when you don't know what to do? Hang On! It may rain today, tomorrow, and next week but sooner or later if you Hang On it will stop raining. Recognizing that when it rains sometimes it's better to stay indoors and let the rain pass. What that means is in our lives when struggles arise, we need to take time to slow down and evaluate the situation. There is a line in a movie that I think is a great line. I didn't make it rain, I just have the best umbrella. We can't stop the rain but we need God to be our umbrella to get through the storm. God can't be your umbrella if you're not Hanging On to Him. Hang on to His Word. You need God's Word to give you comfort and peace in your storm. Hang On to His Promise. He will never give you anything you can't handle. He will never give you anything you can't carry. Remember through the rain, you can be victorious. You can overcome. Hang On to His strength and courage. you can't be scared in life. You can't be scared to take some punches or to be knocked down. YOU WILL GET KNOCKED DOWN. But that can't stop you from trying again. You have to fight and work not to get what you need but to find victory. Lastly, Hang On to God's Love. He loves us so much that through our journey the ups and downs. In our darkness or in our victories, He never gives up on us. It's us who give up on Him. It's us who shut Him out. It's us who say we don't need Him or blame Him for the things that have happened to us. For everyone in a struggle...for everyone that is going through rough times...For everyone in a storm right now. You don't have to face life alone! You have a choice. HANG ON TO GOD!

YESUS GITANO

CARLOS