lukewarm

I can hide it from everyone. I can put on a good face. I can say and do the right thing. However, is that really what God calls me to? Recently I read Crazy Love (Francis Chan) and there is a chapter "Profile of the Lukewarm."

I never classified myself as being a "lukewarm Christian." Reading that chapter convicted me. I am a lukewarm Christian. I lost my passion for God.

Romans 12:11 states, "Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord." Zeal means passion and the opposite is apathy. Now I know I'm not apathetic. 

I want to be moved out of lukewarm Christianity. I either want to be on fire for God or completely cut off. I know that sounds drastic but isn't that what God calls me to? To be completely on fire for Him? I used to equate being on fire for God emotion driven but maybe it's not.

I don't know where this is going or where God is leading me. All I know is that tonight God revealed to me that I'm lukewarm and I want to do something about it. Life is too short not to be passionate for God.

Passionate Faith

I wrote on complacent, mediocre, and convenient faith on my previous post.

God has shown me alot lately what it means to be passionate for Him. The more I spend with Him, the more passion grows in me to the point of overflowing.

What is more,  the passion for God has become the driving force of my life. One thing is for sure. Passion isn't an emotion. When someone is passionate, it shines from their life. They don't have to say a word.

It radiates from their life.

That is what I cling to. Right now. Today. It's all I have.

All for His glory

AWAKE

It's that time of year again.

I'm home for Thanksgiving break and instead of posting what I'm thankful for, I want to reflect on something completely different.

Last Friday night I got an email from this organization PULSE movement, who promotes and organizes outreach events for college students at state universities. This specific event was held at the University of Minnesota (Twin Cities campus). When I read the email that listed prayer requests for the event, my heart broke.

At the same time, something clicked. Why was I sleeping (in the metaphorical sense) when I should be awake?  I don't want to be "asleep" to all God does in the world. I want to be awake to His work in the world.

 I have attended IWU for the past 3 years. While I love my school; it breaks my heart to see the spiritual climate dwindling. As a student, I am required to attend chapel 3 times a week. This is sad to admit but my freshman year, I loved chapel; it refreshed my soul and encouraged me to pursue God and His heart.

Now 3 years later, I no longer depend on chapel for growth. I depend on my own personal devotion time. The issue I have with chapel are the speakers are random; I don't see how their topics are relevant to my life right now.

I don't mean to "bash" chapel; I appreciate their efforts. I just think and ask myself, "Is there anything more than this? and "What has happened to all the passion in our faith?"

Then I thought back to the outreach event held at the University of Minnesota. I thought how a large number of people might be reached for the Gospel, how God has the power to move at at state university.

And here I am. At a small private Christian university; where we should be passionate about what we believe in and not rest until everyone hears about a love that goes beyond what they know.

I'm not saying there aren't any on campus; I just don't see it.

That brings me to where I am right now in life.

God has called me out of mediocrity into a life of crazy passion of Him and His renown. It has taken me so long to reach this place in my life with God. I am now AWAKE.

I won't go back to "sleep" until the world hears about a love that changes their life.

All for HIS glory + ALWAYS <3

Rise Up and Say No More

So, the last post I wrote was on complacency. By the grace of God, I am slowly moving out of that state. Every day I have to make a conscious effort to not be satisfied where I am in faith; but always keep moving forward.

Change doesn't come overnight. It is a process. At this point in my life, I want to enjoy the relationship I have with God. I want to be the kind of Christian that is excited about all God is doing in the world. I want to spread the passion that is growing in my heart to those around me.

I want to rise up and say no more: to complacency, to contentment, to everything that seeks to drag me down and away from pursuing God above all else.

All for His glory + Always <3

Spiritually on Fire

It is more than evident by this blog that I am a Christian. I am not ashamed of what I believe. I just have a different "out of the box" perspective on what my life should look like as a follower of Christ. Things have happened in my life that have forced me to approach my faith from a down low perspective.

Yeah, I'm a Christian but who cares?

Who cares what I believe? Everyone in the world believes, has faith, in someone or something. This all influences how I live out my faith in the world today.

I think about myself more in a day than I ought to. I am caught up in what everyone thinks of my life. I'll be honest: i'm spiritually lacking.

I lack God in my life.

God calls me to be passionate for Him, above everything else. But I'm not. I'm close to finishing my college career at Indiana Wesleyan University. (I have about a year and a half left.) I'm concentrating on leaving college as a legacy, not to the school, but for my own pride.

Yes, in today's world, education is valued. But what about faith?

The faith I possess constantly gets pushed to the back of my mind. Not even doing my devotions is a priority for me. I just skate by.

God calls me to something completely different than what this world can offer me. I'm quoting a Switchfoot song when I say this, "We were meant for so much more. Have we lost ourselves?"

I have lost the spirit of God in me. I think about the world around me, outside of the "bubble" that is IWU. If I'm not passionately on fire for God, why would anyone else desire to be? I have conviction in my life when I say this. Passion starts with me right where I am in my walk with God. In essence, passion for God is contagious: it overflows into others' I am in contact with.

I cling to the promise of God that His spirit would flow down on me, that I wouldn't be spiritually lacking, rather, I would be spiritually on fire.

All for His glory + Always <3

Community

One.

One People.

One Passion.

One call.

One love.

That's what we are called to as members of the Christian faith.

I want to be less "religious" and more "spiritual."

What is with the word religion that leads to conservative and closed minds versus spirituality that leads to liberality and open minds?

I wish there was an easy answer to that question but there's not :-(

All I can do is love others in a way that changes their world. Isn't that what God does with us every day we screw up?

I go to Indiana Wesleyan University where I notice the majority of students are very conservative.

Not that being conservative bothers me.

There is a time and a place to be conservative and also a time and a place to be liberal.

Back to the love of God and spirituality.

God changes our world beyond everything we know.

Love leads to liberty.

Passion for community.

My prayer is when I return to IWU in a week, I would seek to love others beyond what they know so that it changes their world.

peace-

Summit Week

Hello. It's me again. Aren't you excited? I am because I just had an amazing week :-)

This past week at my school, Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU),  we had what's called spiritual emphasis week (otherwise known as Summit).

This event is held twice a year at the beginning of each semester; and each semester is completely different. Honestly, I wasn't that excited about it because I feared Summit would lead me to experience another 'spiritual high.' I'm not against emotional highs but I wanted something more; something that would last beyond a week.

Well, I got what I wanted :-)

This time Summit was focused on being 'ablaze for Christ', revival, and being passionate for God. I've been a part of youth groups in middle school and high school where I was dependent on spiritual highs as a means for deeper growth. Over the years, I have developed a deeper passion for God and it grows stronger each day.

So, in closing, I ask you, what's your passion?

Who are you passionate for? Or about?

peace-