How are you defined?

Even though people hate to be judged they often judge. The phrase "actions speak louder than words" is true in many respects. I'm defined as weird because of some of the things I do (this is more of an asset then you might think, but Ill get to that later), people are always defined by what they do and as soon as a person screws up they may completely lose their reputation. I remember this kid a couple years back who graduated 2008 at my school. He was considered next to Jesus basically because of the things he did, he was the first to pray for someone who asked, he read his Bible so much, etc... How are you defined? Do people know you are a Christian by what you say or by what you do? If you any normal person, you probably hated it if your parents used the old "do as i say not as i do". Role models are people who do what they say. Hypocrites are people who say one thing and do another. Which are you? This is another thing that irritates me with my school. So many kids (and the occasional teacher) claim to be role models but are hypocrites. The same can be said of some churches. Is your church Christian because thats what it says on the sign, or is your church Christian because your church acts as Christ acted? I hate to say this but I am beginning to think that my church is Christian because the sign out front says it is. Oh sure we do some good stuff now and then, but people have to come to my church to hear about Christ, we are not going out and telling people about him.

I have to also mention how it is most people judge. We generally judge first on appearance, then we judge by what people do. It is cool that we have a God who judges not by appearance but by the heart.

I said earlier that I would tell you why being weird and generally at the bottom of the social ladder is an asset. Basically if you don't have any amount of social standing, you don't have any amount of social standing to lose and can basically do as you feel led. It is incredibly freeing (once you get past the initial shock and stop crying) to not feel like you have to be a certain person to maintain where you stand in relation to your peers. God takes you as you are.

Once again on serving

Matthew 25:37-40 says, "Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." You get what that is saying? Basically even when you do different things to others, maybe as small as a cup of water, you are giving it to Jesus. That is pretty flippin awesome!!!

Christmas season

Of course it is the Christmas season, does not take rocket science to understand this. However, today in Bible class we were talking about the advent conspiracy, which is basically about spending less on ourselves for Christmas or on gifts others simply don't want and spending the money you would have spent on the gifts to do something meaningful for the less fortunate in other countries. The first thing I thought of was that instead of buying even one gift I am going to crochet or knit each gift for friends and family. I intend to use any money I receive for Christmas to go toward the rest of the amount I owe for my upcoming mission trip to Vancouver in February, the remaining money will be discussed later. If anyone asks me what I want for Christmas I will answer them in such a way where they either spend a minimum amount on me or nothing at all and spend the money on someone who actually needs it. Today as I was driving home from school I heard something on the radio about this kid who is only 15 now and has for the past 7 years been raising money for kids orphaned by AIDS in Zambia because the Bible says in James that true religion is visiting orphans and widows. What if I managed to get my school to do something similar to that? What if 800 people (give or take a few) teamed up and sent money, that might have been spent on a useless gift, to people who may never get a gift or else may just be waiting to die? What about you? How much money do you spend on average on gifts? If I make everyone's gifts this year I will spend approximately $25 total and a few hours doing what I love to do. I challenge you to open your heart not to those who can return the favor but to those who cannot return the favor. Maybe even do it anonymously so that no one but you and God knows about it. Change the world around you by going against what culture says.