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Based on my last post, there is a lot of confusion going through my mind.  Let’s start with the first thing, I am a Christian, a follower of Christ.  Does this ostracize me?  It seems as if more and more it is.  We act surprised at this, yet, we should expect this, we were told that this would come about.  Anyway, so this says a couple of things about me (which, guess what? I am about to list):

• Christ follower – I want to do my best to become like Christ and this example is laid out for us to see in the infallible Word of God, the Bible.  I understand that there are a lot of people that want to say something like the Bible is not the Word of God, that it was written by men, it is only figurative…  The people that I talk to who want to argue with me on this, as far as I know, haven’t even read the Bible!  There is our problem, when you read It, when you study the evidence, these Words have a habit of changing minds.  How many people have you heard of that set out to disprove Christianity only to become its biggest proponents?

Okay, so I just decided to turn this into a multiple post. Your turn for the first part:

What do you think about what makes a Christian a Christian?  Does it match up with what I said above?  How is it different?

There is so much actually…

In fact, my brain is quite overwhelmed.  I want to talk about all the things God is speaking into my life.  I want to talk about my daily struggles, being transparent.  I want to talk about my family, about being a husband, about being a father, about my responsibility for my family in God’s eyes. I want to talk about our new Infusion Youth Experience. I want to talk about my broken heart for Haiti & Chile.  I want to talk about my broken heart over the fact that we are ALREADY forgetting Haiti. I want to talk about how everyone needs to sponsor a child through Compassion International (or World Vision).  I want to talk about the American church and our reaction to life outside of the Western culture.  I want to talk about cutting away all of the crap and getting down to living to glorify Jesus Christ.

What does this mean exactly?  I’m not really sure yet.  Does that mean that I will be writing more?  I hope so!  I also want to work on some design work as well, this look really isn’t doing too much for me right now, but, it is definitely a learning experience for me so be patient!  We’ll see…

Or maybe this actually fits right in there…

Something to give some clarification to some of the things wrecking me right now…

• The state of the complacent American church – How can we sit and ignore things going on all around us?  Does the stained glass and pipe organs and ritual, changed last in 1967, so effectively block out the cries of those on the street?  Aren’t we able to translate our church language into something able to be understood by the generations of today?  Jesus came for the sick not the healthy; what would He say of our church today?  Would He call us all Pharisees?  A brood of vipers… A bunch of white-washed tombs…
• Going hand-in-hand with that – the state of poverty in the world and the reticence of our population to see it, let alone the Church stepping up, taking its rightful responsibility and showing the love of Jesus through taking care of the people.  Weren’t we called to do that?  Does our own comfort really cause us to ignore these cries as well?
• Human trafficking - How can this continue?  I think of my own children kidnapped and forced into an unspeakable atrocity of a life, my blood boils, I want to hurt someone.  Yet, in the midst of this we sweep the whole issue under the rug… It’s not our children so why care or pay anything for any of this?

All of these tragedies crowd my mind and cause me unrest.  Where can my family and I be the hands of Jesus in all of this?

Okay, today is another general lifestyle determination.  After my devotion to God, as a father, I believe that there is a responsibility to my family.  Therefore, our next resolution…

Resolution 2: My Family Life

I am a husband.  I am a father and I am looking forward to being a father once again.  There are a few things that I believe about being a husband and father.

First, the Bible has set a precedent; I am to be the leader of my household. This is not a one-time occurrence in the Bible that I have taken out of context and warped to support whatever I want to say.  It starts in Genesis and continues all the way to Ephesians and Peter.  What I feel this means is that I have a responsibility to my family before God.  I am to be Christ’s example for them.  I am to be the friend and lover to my wife that will complete her and me.  I am to be a strong foundation for them in the storms that life inevitably brings. I am to be the worship leader for my household, pointing the way to God in thankfulness and faithfulness.  I am to encourage and teach my children, encourage them in their God-given gifts and teach them to find the Truth in the Word and how that applies to their life.

Second, these responsibilities never allow me to become a dictator to my family.  Always I am to treat tem with love and respect and honor, willing to lay down my life for them if needed.  So many men take the words and distort them to allow them to lord it over their families, they fail to read on to the portion of scripture that says to love your wife (and I believe family) as Christ loves the Church, willing to give my life for their good.

Third, I believe that I will stand before God, one day, and be called to account for, not only my wife and children, but, generations that come after me.  What example have I set for them showing them with my life that Christ is the Lord of my life.

• Begin And Continue A Family Devotional – I am not sure of the frequency or even how this might look for us, but, I believe that this is an encouragement to return to togetherness that so often seems missing from today’s families.  In addition, I believe that this is a great way for everyone to learn more of God’s Word in a safe and open environment.
• Pay Attention - For so many, it is so easy to take your family for granted in favor of climbing the ladder or reaching this achievement or playing with our toys.  You do your family a diservice by not giving them your undivided attention.
• Be An Example Of Service - I CLAIM to be a servant to others as commanded by Jesus, but, how do I SHOW it?  Your family doesn’t care about your words, they want to see HOW you live.

I am not trying to tell anyone how to live family.  This is what I have seen in reading scripture.  Show me where I am reading it wrong, please!

Anyway, Do you have any family resolutions, tell me about them…

Okay, I know I posted a little bit of randomness last night, but, I was rushing and not really thinking it through and trying to get it in before midnight.  Here is the real start; and I will come back to the social media thing that I mentioned last night.

Resolution 1: My Spiritual Life

This really is not a New Year’s Resolution per say, but, I want this public so that there is accountability and the possibility of people calling me on the things that I put here.  My spiritual life encompasses so much of my life that there is not the possibility of it being JUST a resolution!  If, for some odd reason, you could not tell from my other postings, I am a follower of Christ.  Specifically, this means that I have acknowledged Him as my Savior, given Him the sin in me that He has already purchased, turned from the sin in my life, and strive to become more like Him in everything that I do.  A basic definition of a Christian, but, does it really convey that I no longer have a life of my own, but, that it has been given to Jesus?

So, I am putting a few guidelines down, things that I want to improve on which will improve my walk with Christ:

• Get Into The WORD - How can any growth occur without knowing something of what we want to grow into?  With that idea in mind, one of the best ways to get to know God is to read His Word.  So I have actually started an entire Bible in 90 Days reading plan from YouVersion.com. This is the start for 2010.
• Prayer – Along with getting to know Him, there has to be a dialog; a communication between friends.  He wants to hear from me, like any father wants to talk with his children.  When Paul says that we should ‘pray without ceasing’, I kinda get the idea that he meant it.  Now does that mean that I do nothing but pray?  No, of course not.  But, I do believe that we should cultivate an attitude of communication with God in our soul.  So, my resolution on prayer is to develop this, as well as adopt a couple of situations of household prayer that are not in place now.  Much responsibility has been placed on me by being the father of this household (more on that in another post).
• Serving - Jesus washed the feet of the disciples, as well as telling them that those who would be first must serve before lording it over anyone.  Enough said on that!  There is no diverting.  I must be a servant.

There are many other things but these things are a start.  One warning to anyone reading this:  beware of legalism.  There is no law ruling over this, Jesus abolished that.  Instead, these are things that I want to do to better my life.

What about you?  Any resolutions that have to do with spiritual life?