Man Up

   I have been feeling absolutely convicted by the idea of wanting to be a man of God. I think I may be mature for my age, but that doesn't make me a man. So I kind of wanted to share my vision of God's man, and seek input on how to achieve that based on experience, or scripture, or additional ideas. I prayed for wisdom and fire in this post, asking the ghost writer to take over.

    I consider a few things to be unconditional of manhood, that would be integrity, responsibility, respect, and leadership working with submission. If I can't be who I say I am, then I am no man. If I am unwilling to be responsible for my own actions, and at times the actions of others- I am no man. If I am unable to respect peers, superiors, my girlfriend, and my Lord, then how am I a man at all? And if I can't lead those who follow me with all of the above factors, and I refuse to submit to elders and Christ himself- there is no man here. Those are some of my basic principles that I have gathered from Scripture and those  leading me.

    There are some things that I (we) as a man (men) struggle with by nature. Those would be pride, lust, and more pride. Pride, I have heard, is the opposite of God. Not hate, but pride. That is because pride is an act that puts you on the throne of your life, and pride is the root of every sin. Making myself more important than God is why I sin; every time. There is no exception, pride is the root of sin. Pride is saying, "My plan is superior, I am in control, and I know what is best or feels best." Pride is what I'll focus on first. (seems fitting that pride goes first).

   There are sooooo many different kinds of pride, and that is one reason why it is so hard to seek out. Another reason it is so well camouflaged is because pride is like putting a cover over your eyes, and it doesn't want to be found out. Pride definitely has a vicious personality. Pride, as I've seen often in myself and others, can come in the form of cynicism, legalism, pride in abilities, possessional pride, and some form of sexual pride. My most prideful areas are definitely the first two. I tend to doubt things quickly and discredit people for seemingly no reason. I also like to to be a smart...mouth, and correct people when you understood what they meant. I just have to get a word in. Also, I hate being corrected. That fact is potentially devastating to my faith. If I think I have the "spiritual gift of rebuke," I better have the spiritual gift of receiving rebuke with an open heart. I struggle with pride and found it hard to see. An area of pride I don't struggle with is pride in my abilities. That is because I literally don't have any abilities now, that I had before I found Jesus. Unfortunately, there are a lot of men (boys?) who struggle with this kind of pride. Quick advice for these folks: keep your mouth shut on the court/field and remain silent about your performance. That example is specific to sports, because our life is sports...we gotta win everything.
   Possessional pride, or pride in your stuff, is another beast. Your $200 headphones, $150 kicks, numerous flat bills, and sound system doesn't make you a man. A lot of guys hide behind those things. Lecrae said, "Whatever you own, that you can't give away, actually owns you." That is hard, painful truth. I don't have too much stuff that I take pride in, but I know that there is stuff that I have been unwilling to give away. Hear this: do not tie yourself down with worldly things. It is comfortable, and steals your heart. The last pride I want to address is this sexual kind of pride. I'm not talking sexual endeavors, but I'm talking about your "game." Game is a bunch of garbage. Game translates to "how many hearts can I capture and break before I have to be tied down to one for good." Game makes me sick, and it is harmful to you, your exploits, and God. Don't you know you are grieving the Holy Spirit? (Eph. 4:30). I propose that a guy who is content on dating around for fun, is no man at all. Cut that crap out.

   The interesting thing about pride is that you despise people who are prideful over similar things. Proud people hate proud people more than humble people hate proud people. I think you will notice it too if you think about it.

Now let's get real, and a little uncomfortable. Women, this part is awkward for you...probably. Guys, there is probably some doubt or question in your mind about the "m" word. Why is masturbation such a bad thing? While reading Every Young Man's Battle, I found the author asking the same, very awkward question. He thought that it may not be so bad, if you do it without lust, but he didn't recommend. With time and reading the Bible, I disagree. Nothing in the Bible suggests that it is okay. Suppose you actually control your mind and have no sexual motive behind doing it. It is still wrong (I think) for a few reasons. Paul's advice to the very sexual culture of Corinth is in disagreement with masturbation. 1 Corinthians 6:19 calls our body the "temple of the Holy Spirit." I should not dare desecrate the dwelling place of the Holy God. We are disgracing our body. Sin? I think so, but my knowledge is limited. 1 Cor. 9:27 says, "No, I beat my body and make it slave..." Denying ourselves is important. We are making ourselves slaves to urges. Do you think that the desire to do such a thing is a result of the fall? I do. God doesn't want us to be slaves to anything. After all "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other." (Matt. 6:24)

   Finally, a bit about leadership. I believe that men are in a natural place of leadership and have a lot of impact and influence on people. If that is the case, why are we half-way doing things? Our language, our work, our time is all lackadaisical. Since when are the words "douche bag, fag, dick, queer, and homo" alright? You think Jesus would have been taken seriously if he had said foolish junk like that? James 3 tells of the power of the tongue. It can ruin our witness, or strengthen it. How is it okay to be lazy at work (Col. 3:23-24), or treat homework like a task rather than an act of worship? I'm not working hard to serve others, I'm working hard for a stinking grade...Also, why do we offer so little time... Some guys won't even get out of bed for church. It's not a part of your grade, so go back to sleep. I won't even begin on how wrong that is. What if we gave the standard tithe of 10% of our time to God. Two hours a day would be a large burden for most of us. We are lucky if we give 30 minutes, outside of church, to God. (Going to Bible College doesn't earn us extra credit by the way.)

This is a long post, but I'm sick of half-way doing it and living a pseudomanhood. Let's start something here, taking a stand for decency. Being a man is tough work! I am not there yet, and that is why this post isn't a rebuke, but rather a battle cry. Guys, we have the ultimate model, but we reject him for the Kobe's and the Tom Brady's. Manhood means so much more than we are giving attention to. Let's man up and lead the world from our following of Jesus Christ. I'm with you.

Sinners and Saints

   I pray that this blog would change the way you understand your identity, or strengthen you understanding of who you are. I also pray that God's words are written here and not my own.

   My whole life (new life) I have had the understanding that I am a sinner. In some ways, that is very true. I am very undeserving of God's grace, I sometimes am shy about making him famous, my sin weighed upon Jesus' shoulders, and at times I submit him to public disgrace all over again. I do what I don't want to do, and do what I don't want to do. I fail time and time again. I need to repent over and over again. Jesus took the cross that was meant for me. In my eyes, I am definitely a sinner. I am an unworthy recipient of grace.

   Thankfully, that is not who we are. We were sinners, and we were enemies of Jesus. We were once the scoffers yelling insults at Jesus and spitting on his face, but that's not who we are now. Jesus calls us his friends (John 15:3), children of God (1 John 3:1), and Romans 8 tells us that we are co-heirs with Christ, and more than conquerors. We have been given a new identity in Christ. In Paul's epistles he calls us "saints." That is a big deal. None of that language sounds like I should name myself a sinner. What else? Several verses tell us that we are DEAD to sin and alive in Christ (Rom. 6:11, 1 Cor. 15:22, Eph. 2:1-5, Col. 2:13). A man who is dead to sin is no sinner. We are not under that banner any more.

  That does not mean we can't fall, and it sure doesn't make me perfect all the time, but I am justified through the blood of the Lamb. I think that we have had the title of "sinner" put into our heads so much that we can't see that we are more than that. And I think that we have convinced ourselves that we are no more than that. Example: if you have been called worthless your whole life, you might start to think that the accusations are true. We have been found not guilty, and the accusations aren't true. We have a merciful judge behind the bench. Since we have convinced ourselves of a lowly status, we have also convinced ourselves that we have little potential, we have paralyzed ourselves. We have rendered ourselves useless. Satan has convinced us that all we are is wicked sinners, when God has told us that we are already victorious. I don't trust a fallen angel with jealousy issues more than the author of creation. Again, I do sin, but I am no sinner. I think it is disrespectful to call ourselves that, and discredits God's authority.

I refuse to accept such an unjustified title. I also refuse to take our new titles for granted, and take it as an excuse to be stale. We are saints... we are the hands and feet, the kingdom come, the royal priesthood, the co-heirs! I will not take those titles lightly. Don't give up saints, their is no time to waste. "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt. 28:20)

Stuggle (part 2)

There are many things on my mind that I struggle with, and this is just a few more that I didn't mention earlier in part 1.

I struggle to have a strong work ethic. I haven't had to work for a whole lot in my life, and I can always run back home if I need something. Now I'm in college, and forced to work hard for good grades. I am such a lazy bum sometimes, and I have to stop and pray for just an ounce of responsibility!

I struggle sooooo much with the way women are treated. I am not going to make them the only victim, because I realize how awful they treat men too, but that isn't on my heart. Women have decided they are nothing less than the rib of men. They think that to be successful means that you have to be skinny, pretty, and caked-up in makeup. You have to be blond, of course, and tan. You have to have blue eyes and wear increasingly small strips of fabric that some call "clothing." You feel like what a guy wants is a porn star, when what he needs is a woman. You are okay with being a part time lover, and accepting the full time guilt. T.V. is against you, music is against you, stars who should be empowering you are telling you to sell out! "Just give up, you know that all he knows about love is from cheap pornos. That's what you need to be like to find love." Satan is a beast, make no mistake about it, but he is not on God's level. If you've read some of my older blogs you can find out how God really feels about his beloved daughters.

I struggle with loving someone who wants to take God out of everything and just promote the gospel of money and success. NOTHING we get is what we deserve. What makes you think that God is a deistic ATM? God doesn't guarantee you money, health, a nice house, a long life, or anything of the sort. He promises that we will be like sheep among wolves! He says that the road to destruction is broad, and narrow is the path to life. He says we have to take up our crosses daily. This God means business! The gospel rides on the back of men and women who struggle and face all sorts of pain and persecution. With all that said, Jesus also promised that his yolk is light. That yolk is only light if Jesus is the one yolked with you. He doesn't promise comfort, but he did promise us his protection.

I struggle with watching Christian couples date... I would expect a much higher level of respect in Christian dating than in secular culture ("everyone else"). However, the celibacy rate in Christian youth is barely different than that of secular culture. Some readers might just scoff at that thinking, "Well not me, I'm a mega virgin!" There is more to dating than not having sex. First of all let me make some things very clear: there shouldn't be such a thing as "friends with benefits." That peeves me to no end. Just because you save your virginity for you spouse doesn't mean you can break as many hearts as you want on the way there. Why wouldn't you want to save everything you can for the one who you are ready to marry? Amy and I didn't even kiss each other until we were sure that we were in love. That was her very wise decision, and I don't regret it for a second. Why not take it slow? If that causes problems in your relationship, then it's honestly a crappy one. Just take it slow... one more thing, don't pretend that because you are in a Christian relationship that you can't mess up. We are still a fallen creation aren't we?

Lastly, I struggle with being cynical and sceptical about parts of peoples' faith. I have an annoying tendency to question peoples' motives to worship, pray, act properly, etc. Who am I to judge? Maybe they are doing it out of selfishness, but that is between them and the Judge. I propose that we all take a step back and trust what people are doing to be genuine. No one deserves to be judged for worshiping their King.

This may or may not be my last post on struggles, considering more will come, but I take courage in knowing that God has given us the strength to overcome. Please be praying for me and your brothers and sister, those saints, because God knows we need it now more than ever! I will be doing likewise. If you want to share with me in your struggles, or just want to agree/disagree, feel free. Because you know that I want to be more approachable *wink*. I hope God has found you through these letters, cause I'm not smart enough to write this.You aren't alone in your fight. My heart is with you, forgive me for not showing it at all times. You are loved- more than you know.