Monday, September 17, 2012

The Vertical Church

James MacDonald is a great preacher.  And right now, he's on tour across the US and Canada.  The message that he's spreading through these free events is that of the vertical Church.  A Church that is focused more on the presence of God than ANYTHING else.  A Church that prays powerfully, expecting God to do great things.

If you've never heard MacDonald speak before, I highly encourage you to do so.  He's a wonderful inspiration and motivator.  A word of warning though -- if you do go listen to him -- he's not like many other pastors.  He speaks the truth, raw and blunt.  He's not intimidated by traditions, misconceptions, or normality.  He doesn't really speak like many ministers I've heard before.  But he's great!  And I think that, through him and others like him, he can help change the way we think about church and reverse this church complacency and shallowness that has enveloped many of the Christians in the Western world.

-Aylin  

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Our Worth

Lately, I've been pondering, well... What I (and others) mean to God. I have issues with who I am, inside and out... and they've been rising to the surface lately. Its hard to deal with the fact that, on my own, I am a monster. There is nothing that I can do to escape it. I will never, ever, ever, ever be perfect.

So that made me think... Why does God care about me so much? How much could he possibly love someone as filthy as me?  I mean, I know that God loves me, but sometimes it seems pretty unfathomable.

 I was reading my devo last night, and it there was something really cool inside.


Ever seen one of those? With this scale, you have to place one item on one side and add weights to the other side until it becomes even to figure out the weight of the object. The devo put it like this: 

We are on one side of the scale. God loves us so much that, to balance the scale, He sent His one and only Son, to die a terrible death. 

God loves us that much. 

~Elizabeth

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

When Love Becomes a Verb

Christians don't do drugs.  They don't drink.  They don't lie, or cheat on their spouses, or steal money.  They don't watch x-rated movies or listen to music that profanes the name of God.  They don't swear.  They don't party.

Right?  Isn't that what Christians are (or, at least, supposed to be)?

Yet, I don't think so.  Christians shouldn't be people who don't do stuff.  They should be people that do stuff.

I'm not talking about the stuff I mentioned above -- of course people shouldn't do those things.  But, I think we focus way to much on what we won't do, the actions and lifestyles we don't condone and would never think of involving ourselves in -- than the things we will do.

Because, the greatest commandment was not Do Not, but Do.

Do love the Lord your God, and love your neighbor as yourself.  Do show compassion.  Do honor relationships.  Do show mercy and grace.  Do what is good and right and holy.  Do love. 

Love isn't just a noun that we tote around as some title we can put on now and again.  It's a verb that compels us to do something.  And if we really listened to that voice inside our hearts and souls and did the things love does, we wouldn't have to worry what not to do.  Because love doesn't do drugs.  Love doesn't steal from others or lie to help itself.  Love doesn't do those things.

So if we focus on what we need to do, everything else will fall into place.  If we're busy doing love, we won't have time to do the things we aren't supposed to do.  We'll be too busy.

And then the world will see what Christians really are.  They won't see a list of rules that need to be followed.  They won't see us as a religious people -- following rigid commands.  They will see LOVE.

-Aylin

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Beware Motorists, Here I Come...

So, yeah, I got my permit last week.  Which made me very happy :)  Although I have yet to have an official lesson on how to drive stick, I am already envisioning all the wonderful places I can go.  (Hawaii, here I come -- oh, wait a minute...

Beyond that, I have even better news!  My lovely sister, Lizzie, has started a blog.  She's chosen to focus it on Compassion International, Mercy Ships, and other Christian organizations that she's supporting and would like to raise awareness for.  Her blog's called Love is An Action, and I would encourage you guys to check it out sometime!

-Aylin