Dry Mouth?

A couple weeks ago the church got a delivery of a couple hundred empty coin collecting cans to hand out to the members of the church. The idea is to take the empty can and put all the spare change you get throughtout the day, and when it becomes full the church will ship it off to Ukraine so a poor family over there can have a decent dinner for Christmas. I took a can and put it in my office thinking I would see it most often there and be reminded to put my change in it. Just outside my office door is a Pepsi machine, which gives 20oz. bottles of Pepsi for 75¢ (a very good price). Now I'm sure you see the struggle that ensues. Of course I understand that there is a family in Ukraine that has no money and is in need of it, but perhaps I am in the wrong profession, because I can rationalize practically anything, making it okay for me to get the desired result (a nice cold Pepsi).
On Wednesday nights, the praise team practices in my office an hour before Wednesday night classes start, so I often join them. Now when you sing a lot, sometimes your mouth gets dry and you need some water...guess what, the Pepsi machine is right there! If I am singing praise to God, and in the process am developing a gift that God has given me (my singing voice), and my mouth gets dry...am I going to put that 75¢ that was change from my lunch into the can for the Ukrainian families, or am I going to buy a water from the machine?
Why do I have to rationalize the result I want when I know the right answer already? Why do I have to sell myself the idea that both ways are benefiting the Kingdom of God in some way? In fact, sometimes I wonder if selling things is what Christians are in the business of doing. Do we think that we have to rationalize and justify our belief in Jesus to the rest of the world as if we are buying a Pepsi instead of putting change in the can? No! What we have in Jesus' sacrifice needs no justification. Proclaim the name of Jesus because you have seen Him work in you, don't fumble around for justification as if what you believe in isn't real or true. If we are proud that we are wearing the name of Jesus then we will stop trying to sell or rationalize Jesus to the world and start sharing with pride. Let Jesus do the convicting and we will boast in Him. My can will be full for Christmas...

Represent

Lately I have been on a McDonalds diet, based solely on the fact that I am out to win that Dodge Viper from McDonalds Monopoly (I still need Short Line Railroad). A few times I have been accompanied by Scott, my Associate Minister buddy, and during one visit we decided to turn the placemat over to look at the nutrition facts, we found that we were eating the most calorie filled sandwiches on the menu. I didn’t gasp too much on that, because I’m 6’3” and weigh 160lbs., but our next visit was the one that caught me as funny. As Scott and I walked in the door and were standing in line we began discussing what sandwich we should get, based on the newfound knowledge we had attained from our last visit. As I got to the front of the line and the cashier was about to take my order, I turned back to Scott and proclaimed, “I’m going to get my chicken sandwich grilled instead of crispy, because it’ll be fewer calories.” I turned back to the cashier and she replied, “It doesn’t matter what you order, if you eat here, you’ll get fat.” I thanked her for her advice and ordered my food.
McDonalds has gotten a bad reputation of fattening Americans ever since the “Supersize Me” documentary came out, and that may have been the source of the comment that came from the cashier, but what caught me was the fact that a McDonalds employee, during her work hours and to a customer would essentially say, don’t eat here, it is not healthy. An employee is supposed to have pride in the company he/she works for and defend the company at all cost, not blatantly show disgust for the company, especially in front of a customer. Don’t wear a McDonalds hat and then curse its name.
Sometimes I wonder if we as Christians do the same thing on a different level. We make a checklist of all the things we need to do to be good Christians (go to church on Sunday and Wednesday night, get baptized, give to the contribution, etc.), check them all off, and then go on with our normal lives the rest of the week. Once we have gotten in the door, once we have attained the Christian name, we figure we’re in for good, and our actions begin return to reflect those of the world instead of Jesus’. God comes to us and says, I gave you the mark of a Christian, and you are misrepresenting me by the actions you show to the world. Either you are a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ, or you are not, there is no middle of the road. Christianity is a lifestyle, not an event or a place to go to, it’s a 24/7 job, and we must be careful to accurately represent what Christ stands for, especially in the face of those who do not believe (potential customers). Don’t wear the Christian name and then deny Him through your words and actions.

Confidence in What?

I started playing basketball before I even was able to have any memory of it. My dad bought one of those Little Tikes plastic basketball hoops that adjusted from three to six feet and I would play with my brothers for hours at a time. When I started going to elementary school I was definitely the best in the class and when I got to be in the upper grades in elementary school I was still the best by far. I knew at that time that I was going to be a professional basketball player, watch out Michael Jordan! Middle school started, and 3 elementary schools filtered in to the middle school. I hung out with and played basketball with the serious crowd of ballers, those who knew that they were great players someday. I started on the school’s basketball team, power forward position, our team was awesome, going undefeated in our 6 game season. I knew that I was going to be a professional basketball player. High school started, and 4 middle schools filtered in to the high school. Freshman basketball tryouts started in late Fall, and I made the team, of course. Practices were everyday after school and on Saturday mornings, and sometimes Saturday afternoons as well. When the season finally started I found out I wasn’t a starting power forward anymore, but I hoped that I would be able to prove to the coach that I was starter material. I sat on the bench a lot that year. Sophomore year, I kept with it, hoping to get some playing time because the junior varsity coach seemed like a good guy. I sat on the bench some more. Junior year, I had hoped to move up to the Varsity team, but the JV coach asked me to stay on his team because the young team needed some experience. Senior year, the year that I would move up to varsity, the Varsity coach retired and the JV coach moved into his coaching spot, knowing that it would be another year of sitting on the bench, I quit.
In Kindergarten when all the other kids were struggling to sound out a couple words in the Red Robin Reader book, I was moving through the Blue Bird Book with ease. I was quickly put into the GATE program at school. I didn’t know what it was aside from all the smart kids were in it. I was definitely the smartest kid in school. I got awards at every awards program, and then moved on to middle school. The teachers didn’t know what to do with me after I had finished all my work at school and all the other kids still had tons to do, I was often sent to do special projects to take up more time. I was definitely the smartest. Not many kids can graduate from high school with a 4.1 GPA, but I did, right behind two other kids, who got the honors of Val Victorian and Salutatorian, while I got honorable mention. I was almost the smartest kid in school. At Pepperdine, I was surprised to find that most of the students there also got excellent grades, lots of them better than mine. Classes were tough, but I managed to get through them all. No huge honors were bestowed upon me this time however.
In both cases, as my world got bigger and bigger, I got smaller and smaller. I can definitely say now that I am not and will never be a professional basketball player or the smartest person in the world, two things that looked very promising to me earlier in life. Both times my self confidence took a huge hit, and I had two choices at those points in my life 1) run away and feel sorry for myself, or 2) find a source of confidence that can never let me down or fail me. When the world gets bigger and I get smaller, there is only one thing I know that I can still boast about because it cannot change and that is the love of God for me. When coaches sit me on the bench and students get better grades than me, God says to me, “Hey, I can use you, just the way you are. I have a special project for you to do for me.” How do I know that my confidence in God’s love will never be let down? Because he has proven it to me over and over again, and most outwardly through God’s son Jesus, who died for me to prove that the love of God for me, will never cease. Now that is something to boast about.