How Bad Do You Want It?

We once heard a story about a young man who wanted to find Jesus and strengthen his faith. He had been through a lot, including temptations again and again. He approached a pastor telling him his story and aspirations of wanting to change his ways for the Lord. The pastor, busy at the time and not able to hear his entire story, told the man to meet him at the beach the following day. The next morning, the young man showed up at the beach in a suit and he approached the pastor. The pastor grabbed the young man’s hand and said, “How bad do you wanna strengthen your faith and find God?” He said, “Real bad.” The pastor said, “Walk on out in the water.” When the man walked out into the water, he went waist deep and at this point was thinking that the pastor was crazy (all the young man was trying to do was strengthen his faith, not become a lifeguard). So the pastor, standing in the water himself, told the man to walk on out a little further. The young man, still unsure of what was going on, walked out until the water was just over his shoulder. The pastor again told the man to walk on out a little further. As the water level approached the young man’s mouth, he was thinking of going back to shore & that this pastor was out of his mind. So the pastor said, “I thought you wanted to strengthen your faith?” He said, “I do.” The pastor yet again said, “Then walk out a little further.” As the man moved forward, the pastor dropped the man’s head down, and held him down, all while the man was flailing trying to catch his breath. Just before the man was about to pass out, the pastor raised him up. He told the man, “This society (more particularly, the devil) is going to drag you down and use everything in its power to keep you down and distract you from Christ and refrain you from pursuing a life of faith. Just as I held you down until you couldn’t breathe, the devil will try to do the same with a number of different tactics. The longer you pursue Christ and a life of faith, the more you are defeating the devil, and making him move on to weaker victims. Your first step is to commit yourself to Him. If you seek Him, you will find Him. He is waiting for you with open arms. One thing is certain: you will not regret it!”

“I was wondering and I was wandering
So down and out, I was lost not found
History said, oh someone said, that you could never exist
But then a whisper, the start of a kiss
Came to me in all of a sudden like a dream, a fantasy
That day didn’t feel quite real
You took a half dead soul and You made me believe
I believe, I believe, I believe, I believe, I believe”

-For King & Country (To The Dreamers)

The young man was so caught up in the world and society that he was so passive on God’s glory and the possibilities of what God could bring into his life. He never wanted Christ in his life until his life wasn’t progressing the way he wanted it to. The pastor was trying to make him realize that finding Jesus isn’t a one-day matter. It’s a lifelong commitment, until one day we reunite with Him in Heaven. It has the ability to transform and elevate our lives to something far greater than we could ever imagine! We’ve got to pursue and seek Him just as He does the same with us! In doing so, the devil becomes irrelevant and Our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ becomes everything. Jesus is waiting with His arms wide open (as evidenced by his sacrifice on the cross); all you have to do is say yes, and commit yourself to his calling.

A lot of people say they want to find Jesus or create a life of strong faith, but they don’t want it bad, they just kind of want it. They may go to Mass or Church on Sunday’s, but they go through the motions, not really paying attention. They go just so that it ‘looks good on their part’ or for some other reason. We live in a world, where Mass or going to Church is portrayed as “boring”, and the devil tempts us into thinking that sleeping in is the better option on the weekend. But if we truly understand the beauty of the Mass, or going to Church and what it portrays, I think we might see it in a different light. We would realize the beauty of God and just how magnificent and powerful being in His presence can be. Just imagine going to Mass or service on Sunday, and Jesus standing at the altar, in front of those praising Him. Would you be the one He points out as a slacker? Jesus gave us His life. The least we can do is worship Him with all that we have and be the light of Christ to everyone we meet (Matthew 5:16).

We were recently reminded of this while attending a Casting Crowns concert in which lead singer and Youth Pastor Mark Hall talked about the meaning behind their band’s logo.

 

Mark had taken his youth group on a mission trip to Geneva, Alabama. During the trip, they approached the largest and widest tree in the state, the Constitution Oak. The entire group was blown away by the astounding structure, due to its massive branches and wide base. Mark was informed by an old man that the tree will be in that spot forever, and that there was just as much going on beneath the surface as above. Mark noted that this is exactly how our faith should be. Many people are either rooted down in the word (think they know everything), or always do good just to be noticed, while doing nothing to pursue the word. You can never do enough good to make God love you anymore. Even though we don’t see the roots in the tree, they are just as important to the structure of the tree (it’s what keeps the tree in its place). Similarly, as Christians, we want to be rooted in the Word and in outwardly sharing His love.

	Meaning for Us	Meaning for Tree
Foundation	The Word	The Roots
Expression of the growth of the foundation	Christ like actions and teaching of Christ’s love	The Branches, Sturdiness, and Leaves

 

The Constitution Oak.

If a tree doesn’t have a strong foundation (roots), it’s not going to be healthy, grow, or last. Likewise, if our faith isn’t rooted in the Word, we will be more susceptible to society and won’t be able to share our authentic faith because the branches of our tree won’t be healthy, grow, or last.

“We know we were made for so much more
Than ordinary lives
It's time for us to more than just survive
We were made to thrive”

Casting Crowns (Thrive)

 

The milder the label, the more potent the poison.

Being raised in the world vs. Being raised in Christ

Reaching out to others to teach them about the Bible and the grace of the Lord is what we are called to do as Christians. Since college is such a huge transition time for young people, it is important we try and teach about the good news of the gospel. College is the time that one’s way of life becomes molded into how it will be carried out when college has ended. Beliefs are solidified or pushed to the side, friendships are formed and some are broken, and sometimes relationships bloom.

Some topics are just placed on my heart and the following has been on my mind for a while. There is a generation of youth forming that has no regard towards the Lord and His faithfulness. Either the parents didn’t do the teaching or the young people just don’t want to listen. Their hearts haven’t been stirred with passion for the Lord. But it only takes one generation, one person to another, to show God’s mercy to them and change their life. God is hope and God is peace, among love, and grace, and so many other wonderful things. We can be the generation to teach the younger generation about God and what pursuing to live like Christ looks like. We are both the younger person and the older person. We learn from our elders, and then turn around and teach the youth. We need to be deliberate in teaching the youth about God and this is what we hope to do. “Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity” (1 Timothy 4:12).

Recently, I went to a Hillsong Worship concert with Austin. We got the luxury of listening to the powerful speaker Christine Caine. The following analogy was one of the many intriguing and truthful statements she made: “If I take a bottle of poison, rip off the label and put a new label on it that said chocolate syrup and put it in the fridge, you would think I am crazy.” But isn’t this exactly what the world has done? More specifically, isn’t this what the world has shown our youth and young adults? Sin that is deathly for our eternally fate seems to be the “fun” thing to do now. Poison has become tasteful chocolate syrup, or so that’s what the society says.

 

This took me back to a few weeks ago, when Austin and I were in line for a ride at Kings Island. There was a group of teens, probably freshman in high school, directly behind us talking about things that they shouldn’t even know about in detail, let alone be experiencing. They were talking about sex, having sex with this girl or that girl, and how to make sure she didn’t end up pregnant (I’ll put this in clean words). It literally broke my heart. It hurt my soul to know this is how they’ve grown up and that they see this as a normal act. But is it their fault, or our society?! “Sex is so in our face, and such a common thing, that we are slowly becoming more and more numb to it” (Ackerman). Society and technology, specifically social media, have completely distorted the minds of the youth. Instead of being seen as human beings, women have become commodities and tools for profits.

Looking back at the situation, both of us were just blown away, and wish we could have done something to change their ways or bring Jesus into their lives. It’s so hard when others cannot see Christ’s love or His amazing plan for their lives.

I am so thankful that I was raised in the church and have been grounded in good morals. I decided at a young age that I would stay pure until my wedding night. Not only do I want a white wedding, but it’s in God’s plan for us to live this way. We worship God with our bodies because our bodies are His temple. “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Just as I have vowed to stay pure, I have also never consumed alcohol because I am not 21 and it just doesn’t really interest me. On several occasions, when people find out these two things about me, their response is something like, “Wow, that is so awesome. I wish I could do that.” or “I wish I hadn’t started drinking when I did.” I never know how to reply to these because I don’t think of these things as feats; it’s just how I have decided to live out my life. The amazing thing about our Lord is that even if you’ve crossed the line with sexual boundaries or made mistakes, Jesus died on a cross for our redemption from our sins. “Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin” (Psalms 51:2). Even if you have started you don’t have to continue. There is freedom in forgiveness and life abundant in the Lord.

The world has shown us that sex is for our own pleasure without regard to the other person or our future spouse. God shows us that sex is designed in the context of marriage, uniting a husband and a wife.
 

·         “Drink water from your own well—
    share your love only with your wife.

Why spill the water of your springs in the streets,
    having sex with just anyone?
You should reserve it for yourselves.
    Never share it with strangers.” -Proverbs 5:15-17

·         “Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.” - 2 Timothy 2:22

How many of us would love to own the rarest of cars? Virginity should be owned in the same light. Imagine owning a polished pearl necklace with no blemishes. Each time we cross the border of engaging in sexual behavior, we are losing a pearl because we are giving it away to the other person. If we choose the vocation of marriage, how many pearls will be left? God wants it to be the same blemish free and full necklace you started with. He can restore your pearl necklace back to its original state by His grace if you have given some pearls away. God is good and gracious. He loves you so very much and wants you to accept His grace that He freely gives. You don’t have to earn it; you just have to say yes to it. His arms are open wide and He is waiting for you to come to Him. Let today be the day you take the steps forward toward Him and let Him radically change your life.

The following blog has helped shape a new perspective on this topic:

http://chastityproject.com/2014/09/mystery-of-sex/