"Happy holidays! No offense..."

As I get older and spend more time contemplating Theology and life, I find that my understanding of holidays as a whole is undergoing significant change. My priorities and my focus all have shifted. Christmas is not what it used to be for me, and I'm happy that it isn't. The majority of Christmas music hurts my soul! If I hear that blasted song that says "I wanna see Christmas through your eyes" one more flippin time!!!....I'm sorry, I digress.

I have a good deal of thought concerning holidays, and I would like that Americans (particularly Christians) do not celebrate holidays enough, and when they do it isn't done well.  Lost in commercialism and selfishness, we fail to celebrate the holidays as they were meant to and, therefore, do not reap the benefits of said holidays. As a result, we suffer spiritually, physically, mentally, and culturally. Again, I digress. This is not what I wanted to focus on for my post, but I do believe needed to be said. I will expand on my thoughts in another post, but what really is my focus here is my hearing arguments about "offending" people.

Again, Christians fail at this. I'm not being critical of the Church here...I'm just pointing out a flaw in our thinking that needs to be addressed so that we can move forward and be more worshipful in our living. I've heard a lot of talk of how the Church should be as unoffensive as possible. "We don't want to offend people" is the stance that the White House took in saying "Holiday Trees" rather than "Christmas Trees", and what happened? People got offended. Possible more people than if they had stood by what they claimed to believe and said "Christmas Trees". The fact is that it is impossible to not offend someone, especially in America where people seem to look for chance to be offended and cause a ruckus ..it's a portion of the fallen nature of man that has taken hold in our culture.

To never offend someone is either to A) do absolutely nothing or to B) live life walking on eggshells and being a completely different person every time you change who you are around. The former will ultimately end in someone being offended; the latter will leave you broken and without any sense of identity or integrity and you will be enslaved to the beliefs and the stupidity of anyone that comes near you. It is an unhealthy way to live and it will destroy you. So to live healthy means that you will offend someone. If you care too much about what people say about you and about offending them, then you are probably living in fear and in sin...enslaved by people rather than living a holy and spiritual life that God desires for us. You are stripped of happiness and joy; caged by your own worldview.

The Gospel is offensive...Church is offensive...you can't escape it. To try is to dishonor our God, who had no problem offending people when it was needed. Neither should we. At the same time we should not waste our time and energy raising up arguments about "holiday trees" when there are far more important things that need to be discussed and fought for. Like our rights to bear arms and the evils of abortions.

People are offended by the death of 20 precious children and demand that guns be outlawed...while even more are offended by the murdering of hundreds of thousand of babies in the name of "human rights" and nothing is done! Stop tippy toeing and trying to not step on peoples toes and start standing for truth and for the things worth fighting for. I wish you all a Merry Christmas! May your Holy day be beautiful and full of the blessing of our Lord Christ. May you abandon your selfishness and your pride and remember to celebrate and give thanks to God for what He has done. Celebrate life by giving to those you love and be with them in unity and fellowship. Do not cry if you don't get the color iPhone you want, it will be worthless within the year. Put an end to your vain longings and set your thoughts on things that matter, like God and people.

Peace be with you all,

Stephen

Having a Moment...

Have you ever thought of the phrase "I just had a moment"? It's such a strange phrase. It makes very little sense if you think about it. Had...a...moment. And yet I find myself thinking of how just thirty minutes ago I had an experience that I can describe with no other words than "had a moment". I do not mean it in terms of psychological breakdown...but instead of a sudden and brief period of time where everything in life seemed to shift and life became a blur. It was a moment in which I felt a deep and unyielding desire that I have not felt in some time.

I was on my way from the laundry room to my apartment, listening to music, and reflecting on life as it is and how much things have changed in the last year alone. In the midst of my thoughts and emotions there rose this sudden desire to sing a song called "Moving Forward" by Israel Houghton that I haven't heard (or sung) in a very long time. It then passed a desire for God overwhelmed me. I got into my apartment as quickly as possible and put my clothes in my room as the emotions and the intense feeling of desire kept increasing...and before I knew it I was standing in the dark, right in the center of my living room and letting my emotions and desires rush over me and I began to pray.

Intimacy...this was my prayer. A closeness and a unity with God. For a long while I have been seeking to understand who I am, and then to apply what I learn to real life. I have definitely been seeking God before this moment, but nothing as strong or as relentless as this moment in time that came like a sudden wind...not knowing from where it came or to where it ever went or even still to where it will soon be. It is a beautiful and wonderful experience that touches the heart, the mind, and the soul...

This I hold as evidence...dear sweet truth of the Holy Spirit dwelling within me and I wish I felt it so strongly more often.

Reset

Sometimes I wish life was like my old Nintendo...if I mess up I can just hit "reset" and try again. Eventually I'd have every move, every step planned out perfectly to react to the appropriate approaching obstacle that I wouldn't have had foresight to avoid the first run through. Sadly, life doesn't come with a reset button. Whatever happens is "auto saved" in real time and there is nothing that we can do about time that slips by us.

Many might say that I am too young to begin thinking like this...I don't think so. I might be, however, too young to know how to handle such a realization. No? Ok. In that case I have not the maturity and strength of will to handle it. I want to despair over time wasted and words spoken in vain. This, however, is not a very godly way of approaching life, and it is void of grace. Grace should overwhelm our lives. No it should not become a justification for wasting time or sinning, but it should allow us to say "Ok, I messed up...but I can do better and I don't have to be angry or feel condemned for what I have or haven't done."

One of the most striking phrases I have heard in a church service was during a time of confession during a vespers service that I attended at an AMIA (Anglican Mission to America) church service. It went like this :

"Heavenly Father, we confess that we have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved You with our whole hearts; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves..."

Every time I say this words, I sense the presence of God. In my yielding and confessing I sense His grace being poured out on me and I am renewed. It has come to my attention of late that I am not so gracious to myself. I do not think it possible for one to "forgive" one's own self, but I do think it possible to withhold grace from oneself. This I do often. I also do not own up to reality and say "what is don't is behind me, don't fret it and make the change." This is the most ungodly thing about me that I can currently name.

To day I heard a priest say "it sinful to think too highly of yourself, but it also sinful to think too lowly of yourself." Here is where I fall short time and time again. It's something that affects more than just me, but also my friends and loved ones. This is not what I desire for the rest of my life. Instead I'd rather stand tall, look at all that has transpired, and say "no more!" So I pray for the Holy Spirit's continual loving mercy to mold and shape my mind and my heart that I might move forward in peace to love and serve the Lord with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. To live...truly live life in the presence of God the Almighty and enjoy His creation unto my death.

Peace be with you all.

Stephen