Some more words on the subject of choice

For some reason, I have been into watching video games online lately (on the website You Tube.com).  I guess it’s because of the high quality of the games today; I really feel like I’m watching a movie not a simple video game.

One of the games that I watched was “Spider-Man: Web of Shadows.”  This game is fascinating because at different junctures in the game, the player can choose to do the right thing or the wrong thing.  There are actually several different endings based on what the player has chosen throughout the game.  It’s intriguing to see the end results of what happens if the player chooses to go down the path of making certain wrong choices. 

As I said in the last blog, there are many times in life when we are presented with following the path of the righteous or following the path of the unrighteous.  I for one want to follow the path of the righteous.  Some might wonder, “Why not just choose to sow some wild oats?”  Two reasons: Number 1: because when we choose unrighteousness, it is dishonoring to God.  My life’s ambition is simply to honor and glorify God; it’s why I was born.  To choose sin is never glorifying to God.

The second reason is because when we make the wrong choice, it has inevitable consequences in our lives.  For instance, our sex-saturated culture sends us the message that it’s perfectly acceptable to have sex with whoever you want.  But the fact is, there are inevitable consequences to going down the road of sexual promiscuity.  Such as sexually transmitted diseases, the possibility of getting pregnant, feelings of guilt and shame, and losing a sense of closeness with God, to name just a few.

One last thought: some of you might be saying, “Not every wrong choice is as severe as the example you gave of sexual impurity.”  Fair enough.  I can concede that point.  “Web of Shadows” actually highlights this point as well.  At some junctions in the game, the decision to do wrong didn’t really produce anything dire; the results were actually fairly inconsequential.  That said, big or small, we should always choose to do right.  We are creatures of habit, thus if we habitually choose to do the right thing, whenever the big choices do come up, it will be easier to decide to go with the righteous choice, because we will be in the habit.

Kevin

“Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather…offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness” - Romans 6:13

We have a choice to make

I’ve been reading Louie Giglio’s fantastic book “The Air I Breathe: Worship as a Way of Life” lately.  In a nutshell, the book explains how everyone on the planet worships.  Some might claim they don't worship, but Giglio eloquently contends that everyone worships something.  Louie presents us with compelling information to help us discover just who it is (or perhaps what it is) that we worship.  I would highly recommend this book for anyone! 

There’s so much incredible material in Giglio’s work, but one statement in particular really grabbed my attention.  He writes, “When we do the right thing, God is worshiped.  Even if no one notices or cares….Even if we’re penalized for our honesty, God is honored by our sacrifice."  They say repetition aids learning, so let me cite the beginning of that quote again: “When we do the right thing, God is worshiped.”  Stop and think about that for a moment.

The truth is, every day we have a choice to make.  Will we do the right thing or the wrong thing in our lives?  We answer this question a million times throughout our day.  Let’s be real here: sometimes we choose to do the wrong thing – I certainly can vouch for that in my own life.  But at the same time, I can also declare to you that I genuinely want to do the right thing.  Furthermore, reading Louie Giglio’s words helped me to commit once again to honoring God with the choices that I make.  How about you?

Kevin

“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives.  It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us what is right” - 2 Timothy 3:16 (NLT)

"Always be a first-rate version of yourself"

Have you ever noticed how Batman is typically portrayed as intense, humorless, and serious; while Spider-Man on the other hand, is usually glib, sarcastic, and funny?  I’ve been trying to contemplate a Batman that goes up to Alfred or Robin and starts telling jokes to break the tension of a situation.  My mind rejects such a notion.  Similarly, a Spider-Man who doesn’t deliver his share of jokes (no matter how corny they are sometimes) also doesn’t compute in my brain.  Just as I can’t imagine a humorless Spider-Man or a wisecracking Batman, you and I just need to be ourselves and not force ourselves to be someone that we are not.

Let me expound on this by sharing an example from my own life.  To be candid, I’m somewhat hesitant to share this, but I’m going to do so because I love you all and I want to help you.  It’s not a big secret that my intrinsic personality is more along the lines of Batman.  I’m not what you’d call the class clown.  

Having said that, I must admit there was a time, many years ago, when I acted out of character.  For a season, I put on a facade of being a wacky guy who was the life of the party.  In actuality, I’m rather quiet and shy.  I did this as a crutch for the pain of rejection I was feeling at the time.  I have subsequently been healed from this pain, through the power of forgiveness.  But the main point here is my false guise didn’t go over well.  You can’t put a square peg in a circular hole, so to speak. 

From that experience, I learned not to act outside of the innate personality that God gave me.  I learned that I have to be the person that God created me to be, not act like someone else.  According to my Internet research, from the year 2000 to 2002, Dr. Pepper had this slogan: “Be you.”  That’s the bottom line for today's blog: “Be you.”

Kevin

“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else” - Judy Garland

Don't forget Thanksgiving!

A few days ago, I was at a Christian bookstore and they were actually playing Christmas music.  I love Christmas, but in my opinion, it is much too early to be playing Christmas songs.  Furthermore, I think it’s best to focus on Thanksgiving first, and then Christmas.  The fact of the matter is Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays of the year.

Have you ever noticed all the times that the Bible tells us to give thanks to God and to be thankful?  Do a study on the topic sometime, it is informative.  For example, Psalm 100:4 says, “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.”  Psalm 136:1: “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.  His loves endures forever.”  Colossians 3:15 tells us, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…and be thankful.”  Philippians 4:6 encourages us, “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” 

I want to challenge you (and please note that I’m also saying this to myself) as Thanksgiving approaches, don’t forget to stop periodically in the midst of all that you are doing and choose to recite all the gifts and blessings that you have, and remember to thank God for them.  Remember ultimately He’s the one who gave you all those gifts and blessings.  We should always be thankful, but as Thanksgiving looms closer, it’s certainly a good time of the year to express our sincere gratitude to God.

Kevin

“I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him in thanksgiving” - Psalm 69:30

"Put on humility"

I was watching an older cartoon series called “Tiny Toons” on DVD today.  There was one scene that I found quite interesting: one of the characters was being presented with an award.  His response: “I’d like to thank myself; I couldn’t have done it without me.”  I don’t think this statement was meant to be a joke.  It was actually meant to show the audience just how incredibly arrogant he was (and, by the way, he did get a bite of humble pie later in the episode).  

The fact is this conceited declaration is not too far off from how many in our culture act today.  It’s true that they might not say it, but with their actions they express the message, “I couldn’t have done it without me.”  I thought about giving an example, but that’s not necessary because it’s so widespread.  Just do some Internet research like I did in preparation for this blog and you’ll see lists of arrogant people ranging from Hollywood actors, to the world of sports, to TV preachers.
 
The Bible presents us with a different idea than this offensive self-centeredness.  “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:31).  Jesus declared, “Apart from me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5).  Paul states in no uncertain terms “those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for him who died for them and rose again” (2 Corinthians 5:15).  Colossians 3:12 says, “as the elect of God…put on…humility” (there’s where I got my blog title for today).  The Word of God repeatedly condemns having a proud, haughty attitude.  By the way, if you want to read a great book on this subject matter, I would highly recommend “It’s Not About Me” by Max Lucado.

Some of you are saying, “I would never go around and say such an arrogant statement as “I would like to thank me.”  What kind of takeaway is there for me today?”  The way this subject matter hit me was this: as Christians, I think most of us can honestly admit that while we see the dangers of pride, there are still pockets of it in specific compartments of our lives (I know I can certainly admit that).  Thus we should pray for God’s Spirit to show us where those pockets of pride reside within us so that we can get rid of it; for His glory.

Kevin

“Haughty eyes and a proud heart…produce sin” - Proverbs 21:4

Musings on the Halloween debate

Recently, someone asked me what my opinion is regarding Halloween.  Do I participate in the holiday, or do I even like the holiday?  This question inspired me to do some research.  By saying this, I’m not insinuating that I didn’t have an opinion one way or the other with Halloween, because I did and I still do.  I just thought I'd get some more information.  My research showed me that this is a hotly debated topic, with people on both sides of the argument very adamant about their viewpoint. 

The problem that I saw with those on either side of the Halloween debate was that it could easily be described as a verbal war.  Each group saw anyone who differed from their beliefs as being an enemy who deserved scorn, ridicule, and condemnation.  This is the wrong attitude. 

The fact of the matter is, Halloween falls under the category of what the Apostle Paul calls a “disputable matter” (Romans 14:1).  In other words, an area where you can go one way or the other.  All of Romans 14 is particularly helpful when considering this Halloween debate, I would recommend that you read the entire chapter.  Consider verse 5: “One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike.  Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.”

Let me be clear on an important point: please understand that not everything is a “disputable matter.”  The Bible gives us some hills that are worthy of dying on.  For example, Jesus being born of a virgin, or that Jesus died a sacrificial, atoning death on the cross for you and me.  Or there’s the fact that Jesus literally and bodily resurrected from the grave.  Here’s one that’s not politically correct: Jesus and Jesus alone is our only ticket to Heaven (John 14:6).  Furthermore, entrance to Heaven is by God's grace through faith alone; that is to say, none of our works aid us in any way to be granted access to Heaven.  All of these are not “disputable matters.”  They are the fundamental truths of the Christian faith that aren’t to be tampered with. 

Halloween is different, however; it’s more up to individual preference.  Of course, whether a "disputable matter" or a fundamental tenet of Christianity, it's never right to mercilessly attack, denigrate, scorn, belittle, and insult someone with another viewpoint.  Romans 14:13 says, “Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another.”  My own personal decision, as I explained to the person who asked me, is to not participate in Halloween.  However, I don’t look down on others who decide that they want to celebrate the holiday.  That's their choice.

Kevin

"Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification" - Romans 14:19 

Some more pictures

Today I wanted to share my final photo assignment with you from my CCU photography class.  I was to present three to five strong photos that had a common theme.  I began with that Chris Tomlin quote (from his book “The Way I Was Made”) that I cited in the last blog, where he says, “we were created to shine the spotlight on God.”  I went on to add that in the following photos, I was attempting to “shine the spotlight on God.”  Incidentally, all of the pictures are shots that I had taken here in Colorado, just in these last five weeks.  Enjoy!

I concluded by saying that the bottom line is “the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork” (Psalm 19:1).

Kevin