We always want to change. Many of us say every year that we’re going to change our lives by reading the bible more, praying more often to God, and going to Church retreats more often. These are all good resolutions, but the most important resolutions resolution, in my opinion, is reading the bible. Many youth kids across the country go to these youth revivals and retreats, and they say they experienced God and it was marvelous. So what? Many youth kids go to retreats to get closer to God, but most of them end up being the same. Many of us, including myself, had this misconception that the only way we can get closer to God is by going to retreats, revivals, and many conferences. We all have experienced God at these retreats and yes we have felt God’s presence, but if we do not read and meditate on God’s word everyday then going to retreats and revivals are meaningless. As I see it, many youth kids have this cycle. They go to church retreats to get fired up for God, then this passion for God dies down quickly. Many people ask why there is this cycle? It’s because many youth kids do not have the foundation in the word of God.
As I mentioned before, people should not make it their top priority to go to retreats and revivals to meet God, but rather to spend time with him everyday by reading his word and listen to what he has to say. I can guarantee you that if you do this, then you’ll learn so much more and experience fuller than what you will experience at a revival or a retreat.
Jeremy Lin—He has been changing the NBA drastically over the past 2 weeks. Many people say that he is a good role model, and I am in accordance with this idea. Jeremy Lin is a devout Christian, very humble, and he always tried to improve the team as a whole instead of trying to score the most points. That is why Jeremy Lin has been doing so well the past week and a half—he is trying to make the team’s offense better by passing and giving them alley-ops.
Many Christians can learn from Jeremy Lin about his work ethic and his humbleness. I think these are the 2 things that we Christians can strive to be more like. We are prideful human beings. Face it, when somebody gives us a compliment we tend to make ourselves better and not to be humble. Many of us struggle with this issue, but Jeremy Lin does not. He always gave glory to God for everything, and he knows that because of God he was able to do so well the past couple weeks. Many of us do not realize that God allowed our successes in our lives, and many of us don’t give thanks or praise to God because of this good fortune.
We always want to change. Many of us say every year that we’re going to change our lives by reading the bible more, praying more often to God, and going to Church retreats more often. These are all good resolutions, and reading the bible I think is the most important. Many youth kids across the country go to these youth revivals and retreats, and they say they experienced God and it was marvelous. So what? Many youth kids go to retreats to get closer to God, but most of them end up being the same. Many of us, including myself, had this misconception that the only way we can get closer to God is by going to retreats, revivals, and many conferences. Many people do not have to go to these retreats or revivals to get closer to God, but they can do it in their own homes by praying to him and having fellowship with God.
Many people profess with their own mouths that they believe in God and they’re an ardent follower of Jesus, but why isn’t that type of belief they profess evident in their lives? Why are there so many people who assert that they know Jesus, but in reality they don’t know anything about him? Maybe that’s the reason why many students depart from the church because they’re sick of the lies.
Friends do not last forever; they come and go. Sometimes in the midst of sadness and sorrow, most people go looking for their friend for comfort, but that friend might not be there in the future.
Have you ever thought about the lyrics you sing at church every week? And do you truly believe the words that you are singing? 부르신 곳에서 나는 예배하네. 어떤 상황에도 나는 예배하네. What I just wrote in Korean are lyrics to a Korean Christian song, and it says in whatever situation I’m in, I will always praise you, Jesus. Can you truly praise God in the midst of sadness? Can you truly praise God when you lose everything you once held dear? Or are the words that you sing every Sunday morning just words of a song? Can those words be your confession? Can God truly be your first love?
Everything you once held so dear eventually gets stripped away, and you come to question yourself what God has in store for your life. It says in the bible that everything in this world will fade, and the only person who will be in the midst of your sorrow and sadness is God. But after a while, you conclude why my life is so miserable? This is the reason why I’ve been sleeping so much lately. When you sleep, you are at peace, and the pain and suffering this world is haunting you with goes away. But once you wake up, it comes to haunt you once more. Why does God want us Christians to live in this filthy world of ours? It’s so full of sexual immorality, sin, violence, etc. So sometimes I wish God will take me up to heaven early to be with him.
You know, the church has become a lot of talk for criticism for the past couple of years. And many people wonder why the church gets criticized. I’ll tell you the reason why: The reason the church gets criticized is because Christians are no different than regular citizens. Most Christians’ lifestyles are exactly the same as non-believers. Why do you think that is so? That is a question most Christians in our country need to think about.
In countries such as North Korea, you get executed if you’re a Christian. People living in those countries risk their lives, but they still believe in Jesus Christ. Those type of people do not care if they get executed for being a follower of Christ. You see, this is how most Christians are in most parts of the world. But in America, what do Christians do? Now days, the government is trying to oust Christianity from the constitution, from schools, and in our nation. The United States laws and principles are based on Christina principals, so God has blessed America immensely. Now, America has everything: Money, Fame, Technology, Health, etc. Americans now believe that they do not need God’s assistance; they believe they have the power to change our nation on their own will power, but that’s impossible. Without God’s facilitation, America is slowly going to suffer. That is happening right now with our economy in America.
I’ve been reading this book called, The Irresistible Revolution. This novel is by Shay Claibourn, and this book is an autobiography of his life. In one chapter of his novel, it talks about him going to Calcutta to meet Mother Teresa. And while he’s in Calcutta, his view about Christianity radically changes.
The reason why Christians are looked so down upon is because we learn about what ideal Christians are supposed to act, but we never get the chance to do it. We never get the chance to interact with the poor, or care for people who need our love and care. To be honest, I never had the chance to talk to a homeless person because I never got the chance to. Sometime in the future, I want to sleep in a homeless shelter and see how it’s like; how the living conditions are in that place.
