Born

Sitting on the stairs of my church these words were birthed freely from my impregnated thoughts onto paper. The notion has long been dismissed as an excuse. Please have the maturity not to take it that way.

My parents were married in the church I now attend. I was dedicated there. I was baptized there. My first mission trip was sent out from there, my dreams and purpose has been cultivated there. I was born there. I grew up there. I've never known anything else. It's been the biggest part of my life in accordance with my heart, mind, and actions.

I've subconsciously souvenired the memory of an instance that replays itself from time to time in my unfocused mind. The hierarchy of classes for children at my church at the time staired from Pre-church, "Soul" Church, and Kids Church. "Soul Church" was my rank and I was being escorted by my mother from the classroom after service. Undoubtedly playing with my clip-on tie as we walked through the breezeway towards the parking lot. I held a small animated pamphlet detailing basics for a "born-again" life that I never read. "Guess what" I would ask my mother. "What?" she would ask me. "I got saved today," I would answer. Then she would say, "Again?"

While my caring mother remembered an apparent time before, this is my first memory of proclaiming salvation. You can understand that this left a questioning thread in my mind. Had I already made the "life-changing" decision? The thunder was taken from me amidst confusion and shrugging shoulders and the event went from an entire chapter to a mere subscript in the books. And so, I've always been saved.

Recently a missionary spoke at my church and he told the story of a baptism they had in a river. His son who attended, but did not participate was quoted to have said something along the lines of "I want to get baptized-ed, it looks fun." Besides laughter the reply from his father is remembered by me as "There are a few things we have to do first before baptism." I was silently surprised at this. I'm not sure, but could it be that this means his son has not yet prayed the sinner's prayer? Could it mean, that because he does not yet have a full grasp of the situation, that he is not yet making the choice? Could it mean that he is not repeating words that he has no grasp upon in order to give him a little ease from nightmares? Is it possible that under godly influence from his parents and others that he will someday make the desicion to completely turn from sin and dedicate his life to the Lord? I think it's very possible and I think it's honorable.

From experience, that system beats going through life and getting "saved" countless times. The true salvation experience has been lacking in me for sometime. I'll never have that one beautiful, defining, real moment that I turn my life from dedication to sin and follow God with an uncommon fervency.

Abraham Lincoln said this, "It is difficult to make a man miserable while he feels worthy of himself and claims kindred to the great God who made him." He's right. I've never denied God, so I've never truly felt like one of this world, but I have oft denied his commands. Verses from Jeremiah chapter three verses four and five remark my mental side-thoughts to God during these confused times:

"Yet you say to me, 'Father, you have been my guide since the days of my youth. Surely you won't be angry about such a little thing! Surely you can forget it!' So you talk and you keep right on doing all the evil you can."

And so the ugly cycle will continue until these words from the prophet are relayed to you and you realize your folly.

There are some things you should learn alone. You have to trust God to draw one in with his power and not your own. He can. A forcible entry always does damage. Once again that is not to excuse myself. I am a born-again, saved child of God, and I can make my own decisions. All blame shifts only to myself.

Again, make no mistake, I'm all for instilling children with a firm foundation early on. Without my parents constant preaching of right and wrong and Christ's sacrifice for us, God knows where I would be today. Only would I warn not to hurry them through the most important desicion of their lives.

Dangerous Ground

As soon as you are no longer ignorant of something, you are forced to make a choice.

These words are my own but given, stretched across a page in a notebook that was intended for something entirely unrelated to my periodical meditations. To me, pen and paper are precious instruments of beaching your inspirations onto an anchoring shore.

In reading this you are treading on dangerous ground. You are trapped by a choice. You cannot avoid it. If you discontinue this read you've made the choice to possibly miss out on something vital. As you go through the day you are exposed to choices you cannot possibly get out of. I would ask you to have the courage to make the right one.

Many will say I did not write with tact. Perhaps that I should not have been so straightforward. William Lloyd Garrison holds to my creed in announcing things that are our passion in saying:

“I will be as harsh as truth, and as uncompromising as justice. On this subject, I do not wish to think, or speak, or write, with moderation. No! no! Tell a man whose house is on fire, to give a moderate alarm; tell him to moderately rescue his wife from the hand of the ravisher; tell the mother to gradually extricate her babe from the fire into which it has fallen; -- but urge me not to use moderation in a cause like the present. I am in earnest -- I will not equivocate -- I will not excuse -- I will not retreat a single inch -- and I will be heard.”

It's been told to me that people die at such a rate that each time you breath out can represent a death somewhere across the globe. I could never justify my life in the end if I did not fiercely give everything I had towards ensuring that people know just how critical this situation has become. There are one additional quotes I would like to cite before officially saying what I want to say. Dietrich Bonhoeffer says this:

"Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act."

Certainly if Herr Bonhoeffer could act in the face of being executed I can act in such a free country as this. You see if you see a problem and you decide to simply remain silent and ignore it, you've still made a desicion. If you don't want to think about making a desicion right now, you've jut made a desicion. I'm going to act...

The truth is this: God absolutely did send his son Jesus Christ to this earth. He stayed for 33 years and performed many miraculous signs and he was crucified to take the sins of the world upon himself. He did rise from the grave and he is in heaven right now. You can either choose to accept him or you can choose not to. There is no alternative after you have read this. If you put it out of your head and never think about it again, you have chosen not to. If you take it to heart and you turn away from this perverse world, then you can have a freedom like nothing you've ever experienced and you can have a purpose like no one else can give. When you die you will live for eternity with him in Heaven. It is forever, it is paradise, and it is real. If you choose, and again you will have to, to deny this, not believe this, or curse these truths, when you die you will not spend eternity with him. The ONLY alternative is Hell. It's forever, it is torment, and it is real. For your soul's sake choose love! Choose Christ!

You've crossed dangerous ground. You are either in or out of trouble. My prayers are with you that you make the choice that leads towards Him.

Monumental

A monument: A lasting evidence, reminder, or example of someone or something notable or great. A would add on to Merriam-Webster defining it as a tribute and an honor to someone or something or an idea even, such as liberty. We've honored kings and rulers, presidents and heros, soldiers, martyrs, battles, events. The list goes on and dwindles towards mundane and idolatry at times, other times innocent commemoration and gratitude. Where our glory goes and the effects of these memorials is certainly not my thesis. I've always liked monuments and always will.

We humans can at times be an ungrateful, forgetful, and arrogant people. We may need to dedicate a portion of the emotions we have to something that will always be. We may need to go out of our way to show thanks for an everyday blessing. We may need to give credit where credit is due.

One of many instances in the book of Joshua 4:1-7 is recorded to demonstrate the commemoration of a great deed:

"So Joshua called together the twelve men and told them, "Go into the middle of the Jordan, in front of the Ark of the Lord your God. Each of you must pick up one stone and carry it out on your shoulder--twelve stones in all, one for each of the twelve tribes. We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future, your children will ask, 'What do these stones mean to you?' Then you can tell them, 'They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord's covenant went across.' These stones will stand as a permanent memorial among the people of Israel."

The toil of these men, in their thanks, would be remembered and passed down from generation to generation all in honor of this miraculous act. And it does not have to be as extravagant as all that. David would often commemorate a work of God with a song such as in Psalms 28:7:

"The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song."

How much could you honor God with something simple? God is pleased with all you do in worship. Draw him a picture, write him a poem, make him something. He's a real God! Make or do something to show others what he has done for you. Monuments tell a story. Be creative, but do something to remind yourself or show others the amazing miracles God does for you in your life everyday. If he's released you from some sort of bondage, do something for him! If he's given you guidance in a dark situation, tell the world!

When God does something Monumental in your life, remember it.