So Immature

So, I am sitting in this coffee shop thinking about what life would be like if I had faith like a child. I have the pleasure of staying with a great family in Waconia (shout out to B and T!) and they have a little 4 and a HALF year old daughter. I enjoy being around children because they show me more about the Kingdom of God than a lot of stuff around me does. The greatest things about little children are their amazing imagination and their utter dependence on others! Imagination, some of the things that children come up with are out of this world crazy. Yet, there is a spiritual aspect to it that adults tend to not to see. What if our imagination isn't that far from reality? What if I did just sit and have a conversation with Jesus (he was Middle-Eastern in appearance by the way)? The imagination is something that we cant lose because it keeps us from getting dull and boring. It also allows us to connect with Jesus in an intimate way. So, run, sing and dance with Jesus! The second aspect I see in children that I need more of is their utter dependence on their parents. How could a 2 year old child care for themselves without the care of a guardian? This is something that I myself forget. Without the help of God how can we really be taken care of? We cant! Christ offers us more than just salvation. He says that the Father takes care of His children like better than the flowers of the fields and the birds of the sky. Whether we believe that or not is a completely different issue. Along with the care that a young child needs they have an appreciation for the care which is amazing. When I see a child climb on the lap of his/her father and say "I love you" it is the perfect representation of what the character of the believer should be. We should crawl on the lap of out Heavenly Father and just whisper "I love you." Our utter dependence on God is no different than a babies dependence on a guardian! Without the parent caring for the child he/she would die. Without the provision of our Father we would undoubtedly die (physically and spiritually). So, become like a child as Jesus tells us to do (Matt. 18:3)! Show the love to the Father that he deserves and climb up on his lap. Hug Him and talk to Him. (Of course this takes imagination). He is waiting and ready to listen.......

Beautiful Ugliness

Reconciliation is something that isn't talked about much in Christian circles, at least the circles I have been a part of, and it is a shame because reconciliation is one of the greatest things in the Christian life. Let's start off by giving a definition for reconciliation. Reconciliation is asking forgiveness for a wrong that has been done to another person in order to restore a right relationship with that person. I have learned the power of this act in a mighty way when I was baptized. I had the pleasure of being baptized in Colorado on a school trip in the pool of a hotel. Before I got "dunked" I looked around the pool area at many of my friends and peers and had to make an announcement. For anyone that has known me for any amount of time I am sure you know how badly my tongue can get out of line. I say many things that I regret and thankfully God has been restoring that aspect of my life slowly but surely! So, I looked around the room and asked everyone that I hurt by my words to forgive me for my wrongdoing. I didn't know the effect that this had at that moment but the next day I found out in an awesome way! A female peer of mine came up to me the next day and asked to speak to me alone. I thought I was in trouble for something because that is normally how it works with me. As we walked outside her eyes started to turn for dry to damp. She told me that she had been hurt deeply by some words that I had said in the past and she wanted to be friends but she found it impossible with this burden on her heart. She said that when I asked for forgiveness the night in the pool she was able to finally forgive me and restore a relationship. She started to break down at this point and we shared a hug and I told her thanks for forgiving me and she said thanks for asking for it. At that moment I couldn't help but praise God! Without his ultimate forgiveness how can we forgive? We are called to forgive and to ask for forgiveness (Matt. 5: 23-24, Luke 6:37). So if you have wrongs that need to be righted go and do it! Do not sit and hold those feelings inside. Allow those wrongs to come out because the nasty things we do can be restored into love and the ugly things can become beautiful!

Are You Afraid of the Dark?

So I used to be afraid of the dark. OK, so maybe I am still a little afraid of the dark. But let me tell you a story about being afraid of the dark. I was about 13 or 14, yes a teenager, and I was laying in my bed. It must have been fairly late because my eyes were so heavy they were shutting on their own. I am about to fall asleep when the feeling struck! I needed to pee and BAD. I looked around my room and thought about all the things that could be ready to jump out at me, of course these "things" would only jump out at me when I walked by them not while I was laying in bed but anyway, they would probably try and hurt me if I did go to the bathroom. What did I do? I laid in my bed hoping for morning to come faster than it ever had before. My insides were hurting so badly it felt like a mini war was raging inside of me. I finally had enough with waiting that I got up and ran to the bathroom. And no monsters, goblins or witches tried to grab me. I was relieved and ready to shut my eyes once my heart stopped racing. Now I have just spent a good chunk of time reliving this now funny memory but there is a point behind it. The point is that fear can cause us to freeze up. It can cause us to not live our lives to the fullest and even keep us from doing things we know are right. For me it was the fear of the unknown. I didn't know what was in the darkness and honestly I didn't want to know. For a lot of people fear of the unknown is common. For myself I don't know where I am going to be within the next few years and that can be a little overwhelming. The question is so what if I have fear? Does that really matter? Fear that is counter productive does matter and should be looked at very carefully. We see Paul writing in 2 Corinthians 7:5 about fear. "For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn—fighting without and fear within." He had fear when going to Macedonia and he knew how this could hinder his ministry. I have for sure felt fear when I am about to chat with someone about Jesus and that is not very good for the preaching business. Fear does matter and can make a huge difference in someones life! The person who can turn their fear over to God is the person who will be able to step out in faith and allow God to work in their life. The person who holds onto fear will not have the same freedom to step out. What fears are you holding onto? Examine them and see if they are counter productive to living. If they are just hand them over to God. Allow Him to take those fearfull spots in your heart and fill them with hope. Fear freezes people dead in their tracks and when that fear is broken the frozenness thaws and God is then the only one who is feared!

A Glass Can Only Spill What it Contains

So I am sitting in a coffee shop, surprise surprise, and I am listening to a great song by mewithoutYou. The title is "A Glass can only Spill what it Contains" and it could be one of my favorite songs ever (Ice Ice Baby #1). The point of the the song seems to be based on the simple and upside truths of Christ. However, the title is something that has been on my mind for a long long time and that is what is in me with come out of me. A friend of mine told me that he wants to radiate Christ to the point that when people see him they can't help but notice Christ. I must say that this is a great goal to have because showing Christ to a Christless world is important. In order to radiate Christ however don't we need to be filled with Him? I would answer yes and I am sure my friend agrees. Now back to the song. A glass can only spill what it contains is so simple yet profound because many of us, Christians, try to act like Christ followers and so often we fall short. I know that I fall short of that many times and the thing I have noticed is that when life bumps into you the essence of who you are gets spilled out and people take notice. If I am filled with myself, and that is ugly, and life shakes me what is going to come out? Ugliness! However, the opposite is true. If I am filled with Christ and constantly being in communication with Him and following in his footsteps and life smacks me in the mouth He is going to be what spills out. And that my friends is BEAUTIFUL! So the question that we must ask ourselves is what are we being filled with? Is Christ spilling out of us or are the things of this world spilling out of us? A glass can only spill what it contains.

Travis

Christ Changes Lives!

I came across this video in a coffee shop and watched it. As the people came forward with their cardboard signs I was touched very deeply! I actually started crying in the coffee shop and I haven't let out a cry like that in a long long long time. God loves changing people's lives and restoring His children to wholeness. So let this be just a glimpse of what Christ can do in your life. I give praise to God that he changed me from a lustful lukewarm Christian into a lit up follower of Christ! Praise be to God!

Why Cant We be Friends?

Last night I had a conversation with a friend that turned into a borderline word brawl. For some reason we got to discussing some theological differences and our views of God. I said things that really seemed to make my friend a tiny bit uncomfortable. We started to challenge each others thoughts and reasons for our beliefs and that made the conversation turn into a heated discussion. I would throw out the occasional sarcastic comment to cover up my inability to use my words wisely. I thank God for what came out of that conversation because I wound up learning a huge biblical truth that seems to have been lost in our time and that truth is unity. I have always been a person who loves to stir the pot of people's thinking and when I would do this it would cause me to become disconnected from the person I was discussing with and look down upon them. I would end up not being unified with that person any longer because of our theological differences. What I re-learned last night was that even those who disagree need to still be unified and love the other person that they disagree with. The Church is every person who stands under the banner of Christ and that is the essential to unity. Biblical interpretation and theological understanding are secondary aspects to understanding God better but if those start to separate us then maybe they just need to be thrown to the wayside until we are mature enough to discuss those topics. My prayer is that the Church will understand that unity is God's own will for His children and may we work toward that goal!

BINGO

So today was BINGO day for Promise Student Ministries. I had a great time helping and hanging out with the elderly ladies at my table. I think I can say that I have finally gotten over my fear of the elderly but that is a story for another time. What I want to write about is my drive home. I was cruising down highway 7 and behind me came this speedy little Mazda. I politely moved over to the right side of the road to let the guy pass. He gets past me then I proceed to move back over. After driving for a short while the Mazda hits some slow traffic that is taking up both the lanes. So the Mazda makes a move to get around. Well it didn't work the Mazda was stuck in the right lane. All of a sudden this brown rusted out car comes blazing past me in the right lane and takes off in the left lane. The Mazda pulled over to the left hand lane and cut off the brown vehicle. None of these two people were going to be able to go anyway until the crowd of cars cleared. However, I could tell that the brown car's driver was not very excited about the Mazda's maneuver. The space cleared and the brown car takes the right lane cruises past the Mazda all the while giving the man the bird! That was a crazy incident out on the road and pretty funny! It did get me thinking though about God and the role Jesus took on. Now you may be thinking what kind of postmodern babble is this going to be? But hang with me! It is crazy to see people fight so hard to be first among others on a highway like some kind of NASCAR race. And when I read about Jesus I see a man who is worthy of being out in front of everybody. A man who was completely sinless, a man who is God! Yet, Jesus put on the flesh of a man and lowered himself to washing his disciples feet. He told them that he came to serve not to be served. And he suffered the death of a criminal on the cross! So, for all of the believers that may read this blog let me encourage you to lower yourselves and have an attitude of Christ! And may we all pursue that goal.

Thanks,

Travis

Black, White and Red

So I thought starting up a blog would be a great way of communicating some things that have been running through my head and I have found that all cool people blog. I want to be cool so blogging is my next step in achieving cool status! My first post is centered around the title of my blog, "Black, White and Red." I have heard people say that in life things are not always black and white. And I must say that I fully agree with this statement. I have found that many people view the world through the eyes of their own created "world-view" or their own agenda. This creates complex situations in life. The point of this blog is to give a different answer to life's questions and situations. The answer isn't black or white. It is Red. The blood of Christ is the answer to all of life's questions. So before one goes viewing the world in black and white put some color in it by looking at it through the eyes of Christ. And that is the color of Red. I pray that this blog will be a blessing to those that read it and a blessing to the One that it centers around which is Jesus!

With Thanks,

Travis