The Shawshank Redemption

So I was watching the Shawshank Redemption last night. If you've never seen it, go get it and watch it. It's one of the best movies I've ever seen, hands down.

But while I was watching it I noticed that there is a theme running it in that mirrors the Christian's life.

We have a man, who was charged with the murder of his wife and her lover and went to prison for it. While there he learns, "Everyone here is innocent." Everyone plays into this idea. We see different exchanges throughout the movie, "What're you in for?" "I'm innocent, lawyer screwed me over."

As the movie goes on, following the main character Andy we see him continually admit that he's innocent. And in actuality, he was, he never murdered his wife or the man she was having an affair with. This is proven by another inmate at a different prison admitting to killing them to a character that ends up at Shawshank.

Near the end of the movie Andy is sitting with his best friend Red, and he has come to the realization, he's not innocent. He's guilty of killing his wife. Maybe he didn't pull the trigger, but his actions led her into her lovers arms, who was the target of a robbery, and they both were killed.

That night, Andy breaks out of prison, crawling through a sewer tunnel full of crap that leads to a river, in the pouring rain, and freedom.

The movie conclude with Andy going into different banks as another person, taking a fortune with him to escape to Mexico, his idea of a safe haven.

Here's how I see this connecting to the Christian life.

We all think we're innocent. I've never killed anyone, I've never robbed a bank. Maybe I stole that kids pencil in middle school, but that's not that bad.

And then bad things begin happening to us. Now I don't believe in karma, I believe that we're in a fallen world and that bad things happen as a result of sin in the world. So if I get in a fight with manbearpig and have my toe smashed, it's not because I did something wrong; it's because we're in a fallen world and bad things happen. Toes get smashed, car wrecks happen, people die, we lose things, we accidentally slice our arms open, bad things happen. All because of being in a fallen world. And we add to that. But we don't think we do because, "We're not that bad."

So we wonder, "Why are these bad things happening to me? I'm not a bad person. I'm innocent."

Eventually we come to realize, we're no innocent. Maybe we're not as bad as this other guy, but Romans 5 tells us one sin from one man was enough to condemn all of humanity, and we sin multiple times on a daily basis. We by no means are innocent.

From there we take our first step towards salvation. Andy had a rock hammer, an old crumbling wall, and a poster to cover the hole. These lead to his salvation. We have Jesus to lead us to ours. But it's not an easy step to be saved. It's not just getting baptized. It's giving up who you are, a prisoner, either to sin or the system as in Andy's case, and crawling through all of your mistakes, realizing what a wretched creature you are, how sinful you are, and coming out the other side into God's saving grace which he pours on you like rain. It washes you clean, and you are liberated and free, becoming a new person, taking on a new identity, and taking the riches, the treasure that is Jesus, the promise of eternal life, and we go on travelling to our safe haven, to be with Christ, but already living like we are.

Alright. We'll do it. The Same Sex Marriage Talk.

So Indiana just recently passed a "Religious Freedom Law" which, from my understanding, gives business owners a right to deny others service based on their religious preferences. Because of this here are some pictures of signs that have popped up.

(I apologize for the language in the above picture, I was unable to edit it. 

So deal with it. It's just a word)

Here are my thoughts, and they are just that, my thoughts. They are based on my interpretation of scripture, my deep thoughts on the matter, and also me flying by the seat of my pants a bit because I don't know everything and I will willingly admit that I'm still working through some of this stuff.

Here are the facts according to scripture: 

• Homosexual sex is a sin
• Just as adultery, substance abuse, stealing, murdering, and holding idols
• We are to love everyone

I think that about sums up the facts about same sex marriage from a biblical standpoint. But here's where things get dicey. And fun. Kinda. 

Is the term marriage strictly Christian? Some will say yes and stand on that and pound the Bible saying that the word "marriage" is in there therefore it is a Christian term. But what about the fact that all religions have the term marriage? And that the term of marriage found in the Bible is something that all people, Jews, Muslim, and at the time Greeks and Romans understood? I don't think that the term "marriage" is strictly Christian. So to say you stand against same sex marriage means you don't stand for two people loving each other and wanting to make their union official. People said the same thing about 60 years ago about black and white couples.

So to go on the record, I don't have a problem with same sex marriage/civil union (I would prefer them to have that term instead of marriage, but like I stated "marriage" is not explicitly Christian). I also just thought of this, just to make it clear the Bible does not exactly say same sex marriage is a sin, but that same sex intercourse is. But why get married if you're not going to have sex? (Interesting topic for another time) So same sex marriage = same sex intercourse. 

Now I want to look at laws banning same sex marriage that Christians want to pass so desperately. My only question is why? And my rebuttal to whatever point you want to make is this. Let pagans act like pagans. If they don't believe who are we to say, "You can't do that." I met a Hindu today who was a vegetarian. I asked why, he said it was religious/moral reasons. That's cool. "But Acts 10 and Peter and the Blanket!" So what? That dude's not a Christian why should I hold him to that standard that I hold myself or my brothers? That's a bad example though, let's look at a different one. You meet a person that likes to get trashed on the weekends (though not in the realm of an alcoholic). They're not a Christian. Are you really going to pull out scripture on them and tell them that the Bible says you can't get drunk? Know what they'll do? Use the Bible as a coaster for their drink later. You tell them your concern for their health, but you can't hold them to the same standard that you hold yourself. It's the same with non-Christians who are gay. They're a sinner just like everyone else and all you can do is love them and tell them about Jesus.

So with those laws you are saying that you want people who don't follow your religion to live as if they do. Know who else is doing that right now? The extremist Muslims in the Middle East. Except they're cutting peoples heads off for them not agreeing. Yet we get up in arms about that and yet we miss that we're doing a political version of the same thing here in America. And don't try to throw the "Oh those are two completely different things" at me, because they're not. We don't like what you do so live like we do or we make things hard for you (or kill you). If they're not a Christian don't hold them to our rules then. If they want to steal let them. If they want to get hammered let them. If they want to get stoned let them. If they want to go at it with a person of the same sex let them. If they confess Christ though, that's a different story. Which I probably won't get to tonight. 

Now I want to look at the "religious freedom law" stuff in Indiana. And I want to start with myself. I am an ordained minister and am licences in the state of Ohio to perform marriages. I sign the marriage certificate. By the power invested in me by the state of Ohio and God I now pronounce you whatever. Yeah. I'm that guy. So if the state says that same sex marriage is legal and that anyone who is able to perform marriages can't refuse anyone, I'm in quite a pickle if a gay couple comes up to me and asks me to do their wedding. Legally I could be bound to. Spiritually I disagree with this. So what should I do? If I could perform just civil unions, sure, why not. But I will not act as if this couple has God's blessing, because I don't think they do. The religious freedom law would give me the right to refuse. But then if I disagreed with someone getting married to someone else for whatever reason I could claim a religious conviction against that marriage, which would be me abusing my power. So how should I handle a gay couple coming to me asking me to perform a religious ceremony for them? "I'm sorry, but morally I cannot. I do not think God approves of this marriage so I will not perform a ceremony for you. I may suggest the _____ church with the guy in the rainbow robes, or the court house. I wish you the best though and if you would like to have a deeper conversation as to why I do not think God will bless this marriage I will be more than willing to have that conversation with you as long as it's in a civil manner." Once people start yelling or insulting people conversation just becomes worthless. But let's turn this from a ministers standpoint to a business owner.

We all know of the bakery that refused to make a cake for a gay couples wedding. I also saw an episode of I think it's called, "What would you do" where there was a woman trying on a wedding gown for her wedding to her partner and the woman refused to serve her because of it. It was all staged, but man was it interesting. The new law in Indiana allows that. Should they? Should they not? What if an Atheist, as seen above, puts a sign on their door says no Christians allowed? Should they be able to discriminate against us? Well from my standpoint, yes. If we can say, "I won't serve you because you're gay" others should be able to say, "I won't serve you because you're a Christian." But what the Atheist is saying is this: I won't serve you because you're intolerant. Well aren't you being intolerant of me? Well it's different because you're discriminating against one group. And so are you. You should go discriminate against yourself. 

I get why small business owners want to refuse service for a same sex wedding. You think that by serving those people you're supporting the marriage. But what if they're getting married at the court house and having a reception later? Or having a ceremony done by a captain, or a person that got ordained online just to perform the ceremony? What if, as it is in PA, you don't need a licence to marry? Should you be able to say, "I disagree with you choosing to love and be faithful to one person for the rest of your life because they have the same tools as you." Really? Marriage is not explicitly Christian! Let them have it! Let's share it! We have Holy Matrimony. We have marriage that is blessed by God. They have marriage that is recognized by the state and that's okay. This world is imperfect. Everyone sins and no sin is greater than another. Look at Romans 5. One sin killed all of us. A sin is a sin. But if we really want to try to weigh them out, I'll take two people of the same sex getting married over a child molester any day. If anything us serving them is a greater form of witnessing to them. Yeah, I disagree with you on this, but I hope for the best, let me serve you and support you in this next big step in your life, just like Jesus did everyone he came in contact with.

There's a lot more I can say on this issue but these are the points I want to get across.

• The term marriage is not solely Christian
• Homosexuality is a sin, is in the eyes of God is no worse than any other sin.
• Let pagans act like pagans. If they aren't a believer don't hold them to the same standard you hold yourself or your brothers and sisters.
• Love people for God's sake. Literally. Jesus is God's love in action. Let your service to all be God's love to them.
• Just by serving a same sex couple does not mean you agree with their life style. But again, see the previous points.

Go out today, find a gay person, and give them a hug.

Searching for a Messiah

I don’t have much in the way of TV. I got an antenna with just a few channels so sometimes I end up watching things that a 24 year old man shouldn’t watch by himself.

Of course I’m talking about awards shows like the Grammy’s, Emmy’s and Oscar’s.

This week I’m in Kentucky taking a class on ethics. Eventually I’m assuming we’ll get to ethics, but just today we talked about The Story of God, the one found in scripture. The question was raised, “Do you think that this obsession with story just rose? Did it resurface? Or has it always been there?” How did this relate to ethics? No idea, but that’s not the point. The point is that this got me thinking.

The movie that won Movie of the Year was Birdman. I watched about half of it, then quit. Not because I thought it was bad, but I wanted to watch it at a different time because I thought it was so good. So I don’t want to talk about that. But I was looking at the top 100 grossing films of 2014, and out of the top 20, I’ve seen 14 or know very well the premise of 14 of them. All of which have a character or characters that rise up to save a city, nation, the world, or even universe. Out of the top 20 grossing films, 2 were original: Interstellar and Neighbors. So that means that 18 of the top grossing movies of 2014 were adaptations, sequels, reboots, etc. Many of which again have the plot line of crisis that will impact the main character’s known world and a savior figure that saves everyone from the crisis.

Let’s look at two examples in the Hunger Games and Divergent (both of which I saw).

The Hunger Games is the story of a girl from incredibly humble origins, one that we can relate to, and she gets put in a situation which demands her to step up, and this leads to her being a leader, or a symbol. At least that’s what’s supposed to happen, I don’t think that particular point was established too well. But Katniss rises up, is the symbol of revolution against an oppressive government. Amazing how someone so low in that society rose so high! And now she has the role of savior of all the districts and is leading the battle against the government!

Divergent runs along the exact same lines. A girl from humble origins lives in a society made up of factions, each of which has a special role in the society, and all those in those factions have characteristics that make them perfect for that role. The main character, Tris, is what they call Divergent, or has characteristics that allow her to fit into all the factions. Throughout the movie events begin to transpire which create tension in the society leading to a climactic battle that will eventually lead to rebellion against the government which of course is oppressive, and this rebellion, revolution, will be led by Tris, a supposedly a strong character, but again I don’t think they have proven that she is a strong character. But she is to be leading the battle against the government as well!

About 2000 years ago there was another story about a Jewish man who did the same thing as these movies. He came from humble origins, to the point of when people hear where he came from they as, “Can anything good come from that town?” He was special, got into situations where he became someone, a celebrity, a leader. He rises up from his humble beginning, eventually having a couple hundred followers. The people of the day hear that this hero has come to save them and they flock to him, expecting him to use them as an army to cast off the oppressive government. Yet this story is different, he doesn’t raise up an army. He doesn’t start a war. He speaks of peace, love, respect, humility, submission, and a different kingdom, one that surrounds all people, yet not all are in. At the end of the story, instead of having a climactic battle between the oppressed rebels and the evil government, it ends with the leader, this savior figure, hanging on a cross, and dying, despite having done nothing wrong. This character is portrayed as a strong hero, and this time it has been proven. He had the power to do whatever he want, he had a following ready to take up arms for his names sake; yet he willingly surrendered himself to death to present and bring about a new type of salvation. While we may be oppressed by governments or society we are free spiritually from the bonds, effect, and results of sin, the most oppressive force ever to exist. We’re all under it, and can’t get out of it; except by grabbing onto this hero, who didn’t need to start a war, but instead just finished it by surrendering. But that’s not the end of the story, it’s the beginning of the end. Three days after his death he rose again, finishing the battle, defeating the enemy permanently. This is a true hero.

The fact that these movies are top grossing, and winning awards makes me think this: Society is looking for a Messiah, a leader, a savior that is just like us, one that we can relate to, who will save us from the hell that is our oppressive life. And with all these hero figures being ones from humble origins, ones that we can relate to, we feel as if we, like them, can rise up and save ourselves. We are searching for a savior, and we are being told that we can, should be, and are, our savior. But how can you save yourself? If you’re drowning how can you save yourself? If you’re hanging from the edge of a cliff and are out of strength, which you will run out of, how can you save yourself? If you’ve been shot and are bleeding out how can you save yourself? You can’t! It isn’t possible! You need someone else. Someone outside of what’s going on. You can’t be saved from drowning by another person who is drowning. You can’t be saved from bleeding out by a person that is bleeding out. You can’t be saved from the cliff by another person on the cliff. You can only be saved by a person outside of the problem you’re in.

We all know there’s evil in the world and that we need saved from it. That evil is sin and its effects on the world. We’re stuck in it so much that it’s in us and killing us. So how can we save ourselves from that evil? We can’t. But Jesus, our hero, who lived alongside us, started off just like us, and was in a sin filled world just like us, is different than us in this way: He never sinned, it never took hold of him, he was perfect. He is outside of the water, off the cliff, has full health and the proper tools to save us. He tossed us a rope, a life saver, and all he says is that we have to grab onto it and he’ll save us.

While movies, books and shows have good stories, they’re full of lies. You can’t save yourself. It’s impossible. Only Christ can save you. The ultimate hero, without flaw or weakness.

You no longer need to search for a Savior, the true one is waiting for you.

Just do what?

Sorry for the delay, I'm a busy guy.

Today I want to look at actions.

Previously I wrote about how actions come from thought and that also emotions come from thought, and emotions tend to lead to uncontrolled actions, reflexive actions, or reactions. Last time we focused on thinking critically. Now we look at how that works with actions.

So I ask you: Where does the idea of what is a proper action from from?

In Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis we see Lewis make a compelling case for some higher being (he doesn't go as far as to say that it's the Christian God this early) having to exist. How he makes his case is with the idea of "Natural Law." What the Natural Law is, according to Lewis, is the law that all humans inherently have in them, the law of right and wrong. He writes that all humans (except for the severely mentally ill) have this law in them. Some may deny it, but try to cheat them and watch how they call "unfair" in the moment of offense. For example, watch drivers. Cut them off, go too slow, go too fast, change lanes, do anything really, and you'll get honked at, flipped off, shot at, run off the road, all because you're wrong. When I was working for Enterprise there was a guy who was weaving in and out of traffic, cutting people off, slamming on his breaks, tailgating, all for no reason. The others I was driving with were trying to avoid this guy like the plague because a wreck was bound to happen. Finally we get to our exit and get over, using blinkers, not going too fast, not cutting anyone off, and this guy jumps right in front of me, cutting me off and almost hitting me and the guy I was following. Obviously I honk the horn at him. This dude follows me to the dealership, gets my licence number (which is pointless because it's fleet tags) and goes into the dealership to report me to a sales rep for doing what he was doing. All because I honked at him which was wrong of me to do apparently. This man had no regard for what he was doing, but he had an idea of what was right and wrong (though skewed). This is not something that comes from evolution, it can't. Evolution says survival of the fittest, the strongest makes it the weakest doesn't. And yet we all agree that it's wrong for us to kill others for no reason. I think people would have a problem if I killed someone because they took the last gallon of milk at CVS. They would consider that wrong. Yet for me to survive, I needed that milk. Doesn't work like that does it? So if these laws of right and wrong don't come from  evolution, where do they come from? They have to come from someone giving them to us. So the idea of proper action comes from a higher being. Personally I believe it's my God.

So now I ask what are proper actions?
Obviously scripture is full of them, looking at the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7, Galatians 5 where Paul tells us what's of the flesh and what's of the Spirit, James 1.27 where he tells us what God considers pure and undefiled religion. I'm not one to sit and give all the answers, so I want you to compile a list for yourself what's right and what's wrong for you to do. Use scripture, and see what that has to say. Then look at your own life and tell me what your own values tell you, what your identity tells you. Think critically about this stuff. I know a guy who's a deacon at his church who has sex with his girlfriend. Is that right for him to do? I think the majority of scripture and true followers of Christ will say "no." For him, he probably justifies it in some way such as "Well we're married in our heart" or "We're planning on getting married" or my personal favorite of distorting scripture, "Whenever Paul talks about sexually immorality it's about homosexuality, not sex before marriage." So you need to think hard about why something is right or wrong. If you want to distort scripture, that's on you, and you will be held accountable for it. Just don't deem yourself a Christian because I don't want the name of Jesus rendered meaningless.

Now why should we act properly?
Look at Ephesians 4.1, Philippians 3.16, 1 John 2.10, and 2 Corinthians 5.10 and you tell me.
We're called to walk in a manner worthy of our calling, a calling to be called a Child of God.
We're to hold true to what we have attained, which is salvation. Act like you're saved, you have died to sin.
We're to love our brothers and sisters in Christ and cause no stumbling, meaning we are to hold ourselves to a higher standard out of love for those around us.
And finally, we will all be judged. Our actions will be laid bare before Christ and we will be receive what we deserve. If you trust in Christ and allow him to work through you, showing your faith by your works, you will receive life. If you just give lip service, say that you have faith but refuse to act like it and like you have been saved then you haven't been saved, or you rejected your salvation and you will be judged accordingly.

If you claim to be a follower of Christ then you should commit to want to be like Christ, and be an ambassador for him here on earth (see 2 Corinthians 5). This leads to a desire for proper action in your life.

Think about any type of situations that you find yourself in and ask what is the right thing to do in that situation?
Start thinking about what you're going to do before you get somewhere. It's always good to have a plan.

That's what I got for today, I hope it helps and I hope you all start to think more about what you'll do and that you actually begin acting in a manner worthy of the calling you have received.

Jedi Mind Tricks

For those of you who don't know, I'm a huge Star Wars fan. Every time I think about the new trilogy coming out I start shaking, like now. And one thing I remember from my childhood while watching the OT was, "These are not the droids you're looking for." "These aren't the droids we're looking for." The good ol' Jedi mind trick.

Wells today's topic is more about controlling your mind, and thinking critically, so when we do have Jedi's trying to make us do things we don't want to, we won't be weak minded.

Recently I read through C.S. Lewis's Abolition of Man. In this he spends a good deal of time referring to what he calls "The Green Book" which is a book that was used (I'm guessing in the 40's) for English (in Britain since that's where Lewis is from). His comments on the book are that the authors are conditioning the readers, secondary school students (equivalent of High school if you didn't know), to think differently than they have in the past. Now Lewis makes huge, incredibly deep claims on this topic which honestly I had a hard time understanding, but from what I understood he was stating this. When we look at a sunrise one might say that it (the sunrise) is sublime. I love it when I wake up and my girlfriend sends me a picture of the sunrise from on top of the hill on campus. Looking out towards the east, through the trees, phenomenal. I remember one morning I had an 8am and got up, went to class, and saw one of the most perfect sunrises I've ever seen. The sky had streaks of fiery orange, deep reds, and a deep purple, all fading into a pale yellow sky. Can't even put it into words. But those I would call sublime. Yet the authors of the Green Book wrote that the sunrise would not be sublime. It merely provokes sublime feelings in me, but it in and of itself cannot be sublime. Lewis takes this further, telling of what this thought process could lead to which is that nothing has any sort of value. It may lead to particular emotional responses from us, but those objects or events themselves cannot be worthy or merit the title of whatever (be it sublime, glorious, inferior, abominable, etc.).

The reason I bring this up is this: We have all sorts of different types of media, people, companies, and a whole host of other things trying to tell us how to think, act, what to buy, sell, want, desire, and over all how to live our lives. In particular we go to schools daily, yearly, and they tell us what to value, what to do and how to think. Sometimes, they do an alright job. Other times they drop the ball like it's a gigantic bowling ball. Through all of us we need to think critically about what we are being told.

Do I really need any type of Apple product? Absolutely not. Why? Well today's culture says that we need _____ and that _____ will make you like those you strive to be like, be it the star athlete at your school, your best friends, or your favorite movie star. But in reality, you become nothing like them other than you just dropped buko bucks on an over priced phone. Today's culture pulls you every which way demanding your attention and money, eventually leading to them wanting you to take on the identity that they give you. But going back to two posts ago, we need to work out our own identity.

Here's some scripture that supports that we (those who identify as Christians) should think critically.

John 7.24- Don’t judge by appearances, but with right judgment (compare this idea to Matt. 7.1), What is right judgment? How does on judge rightly? All relates to your values. Do you value what God values?

Matt. 7.1ff- There's a difference between judging and condemning. If you see your brother sin inform him of his sin. Look at and compare to Gal. 6.1-2. Need to think critically about someone’s actions and motives.

Prov. 1.2-7- 2-6 is to be strived (striven?) after, 7 marks of wise and foolish

And yes, I expect you to look all those up. It's only 3, deal with it. But first off read John 7.24 and Matthew 7.1 and tell me if there's a difference or even contradiction between the two. Then think, critically think, about them. Look at what I think, I think I'm right. Then again I took classes on both John and the Sermon on the Mount, so I might have some knowledge in the area.

So what kind of things should we think over?

A while ago I was meeting with a professor to work on some personal stuff. His undergrad was in psychology and he taught me that all thing, actions and emotional responses, stem from thoughts. Sometimes their incredibly quick, other times they take a while, a thought leading to a thought type deal. For example: I come up to you, whoever you are, and punch you in the face as hard as I can. First there will be pain, which is nerves sending signals to your brains saying, "You just got punched." These signals then trigger the thought that processes that you just got punched. Which leads to the thought, "What should I do about this?" Which will immediately be answered with, "Get mad bro." Which leads to the emotional response of anger. Which then leads to anger effecting (or affecting? never can tell the difference) your next few decisions, and your actions are based on that emotional response, your thoughts, and your decisions.

Now if you are in the habit of thinking critically, those nerve signals will be sent to your brain which leads to a quick thought leading to anger, and that thought can be interrupted by another thought such as, "Did I deserve that?" or "Now that was just uncalled for" or even, "No that one I deserved" or any number of different thoughts other than, "Get mad bro." You will be able to analyze the situation with a clearer mind and make a more rationalized decision. And at that point you begin to gain control over yourself, working on creating a new identity, one that thinks before they act, doesn't fly off the handle, and one who can think through a situation, even in a fast paced environment, and come away with a better decision than one that was based off of an unchecked emotional response.

Some good ways to prepare yourself for this are:

• Be learned- Having knowledge, intelligence, and wisdom go a long way in making correct decisions
• Know your values- Knowing these will form your worldview and effect how you analyze, evaluate, and think
• Take your time with Decisions- Having knowledge, intelligence, and wisdom go a long way in making correct decisions

My hope is that this will help you in thinking a bit more about different situations and how you make decisions. Sorry for the psycho font as well, this blogger is hard to format. Silly Google.

Time for a Square Dance

So yesterday I wrote about our identity and used that to introduce the topic of decision making. Well today I'm not going to talk about decision making, but something just as important that deals with it.

Accountability.

I got a friend of mine, and one day I was sitting next to him and saw his calender. And I noticed on his calender that at least twice a week, at the same time, he has a time to talk to his friend to keep each other accountable. Growing up in the church, going to a Christian university I heard a lot about accountability, and I think that it's needed. And I also think it ties directly with what we're focusing on with decision making. Why? Well it's this.

With the idea of identity we talked about who we are and who Jesus is. If we say that we're Christian's and we identify as that, then I think we should act like it. Throughout my Bible I have different verses highlighted and underlined with the note, "Act like you're saved." One of these attributes of acting like you're saved is being honest. You can't lie to God, why lie to yourself or anyone else? So if you identify as a Christian you need to work on truthfulness.

And this leads to accountability. You find someone that you can trust, someone that knows you well and that you know well. You meet once, twice, or even every day throughout the week, and you keep each other accountable. The only way for this to work though is that you get out of it what you put in. Accountability is used to create progress in your life. A ways back I did a post on struggling with things, and this is why we need accountability. Your partner has to be someone you trust, and you know they will not break your trust (inside of certain parameters). You go to them and say, "These are the things I struggle with, that have kept me, and still keep me, from a closer relationship with God." They then tell you the same. You then meet however many times you have decided to and when you do you tell each other how your week went, how you handled your temptations, struggles, and whatever else.

Through this your partner will begin to (hopefully) see patterns in your life, triggers that lead to you stumbling. They are able to point this out to you, and so you can keep those thoughts in mind and avoid the situations that lead you to stumble and fall. Now honesty here plays a big role because without honesty and trust this will not work. At all. Throughout the week keep in contact with your partner, checking up on them, seeing how they're doing, letting them know you're praying for them giving them tips on how to deal with different things. It's amazing how someone that you partner with can know exactly what you're going through because they dealt with the same thing.

There's a lot more that I could talk about with accountability, pulling out scripture and stories, but I think this is a good stopping point. I encourage you to find a friend, a peer, and partner up with them to keep each other accountable. If you do that, and are serious about it, I'm betting that your relationship with God will grow to new heights you never imagined.

Moving on... Who are you?

So I'm done with Romans for a while. It's been taking a lot out of me to get it done, and while I've read it, it's been getting longer and longer since I have and school is beginning to pick up. So we're going to take a hiatus for a bit from Romans.

Trying to figure out what to talk about today was a bit of a challenge, but I think I got a good topic. I'm wanting to do a men's Bible study focused on decision making, because I think a lot of our decisions make who we are, just as much as they are based on who we are. I say that this is for a men's Bible study, but I think it is equally useful for women, but I can't teach women they way I can men because, well, I'm a man, and I don't want to be that jerk that goes, "Oh I know what you're going through" when I can't possibly know. Anyways. Moving on.

This kind of stuff works a lot better with discussion, but I'll do my best.

The first question I have for you is this: Why is it important to talk about our identity when talking about decisions? As seen above, I say that our identity is directly related to our decisions. Each are based off of each other. I base my decisions off of my values, my world view, how I weigh different options and how I view things. If someone slams into the back of my truck while I'm sitting at a red light I have a couple options. I value my own life and safety, so I should blow up on that person for hitting me. Yet as a Christian I also value that other person's life and should make sure their okay, then blow up. My world view is that everyone makes mistakes and that forgiveness should be given, so I should forgive the person. These choices are based off of my identity, and when I make them they either solidify or crack my identity even more.

So my next question is this: Who are you? How do you identify yourself? A student? A parent? A sinner? A saint? A son/daughter? Do you identify yourself by your social status? Your family name? The meaning behind your name? Your characteristics? Your relationship status?
What about who we are? All of us reading this blog, or those who meet at your church? Are you a big family? A temple? A church? Just random people?
Be honest with yourself. Who are you?

My third question is: Why does it matter what our identity is? Sometimes finding out what our Identity is can be scary, and we don't want to know who we really are. There's a series of books that I really like call the Inheritance Cycle. It's borderline high fantasy, whatever I'm a nerd I accept it get off my back man. Anyway, a big theme in these books is the characters true name. There are multiple languages in this universe, but one that is used with magic and can pull out the true nature of anything. With this language one may find their true name which tells the very, unbiased Identity of that particular person. Imagine if you took the meaning of your name, for example my name being Michael means "Like God." And the meaning of my name is based on who I am, not just a name that's been given to me. I mean it would be a lot of pressure to live up to my name's meaning, and it would be terrifying to know that the meaning of my name is based off of who I am. Like God? What does that mean? I can strike people down? That's be terrifying to have that kind of power. So while we don't have names based off of our Identity, we still have an Identity that we must find. And it leads to this.

Knowing what our identity is is based off of who we are, what we do, even what we have. As humans, we only own one thing, and that's our sin. Before we are saved we are only one thing, and that is a sinner. And in the grand scheme of things this makes our very identity (I feel like I'm using this word too much) and is all we have. That is until we are saved. When we are saved we are counted as children of God. We are given salvation and are heirs with Christ for God's glory. This creates a new Identity in us, but only because of Jesus, who we are in and who is in us, which leads to the next question.

Who is Jesus? Last semester I went around asking college student who they said Jesus was. Most gave me the "Well the Church says he's this" a Jewish student that I asked said, "Well I think he's just  a man" and I had an entire table go, "He's, you know, whatever." But the Church comes together and says, "Jesus is the son of God, the Christ, the Messiah, and our Savior and Lord." That's cool and all, but what the heck does all that mean? That's your homework, figure out what all of that means for you. And how does Jesus' Identity help us find our own? Well as I said, we are counted brothers with him as children of God. We are identified as being in him and having him in us. So what does that mean for you?

I can go on and on about our own Identity, but I can only say so much. I hope this gets you thinking about who you are, and I hope you're honest with yourself. God already knows who you are, and you can't lie to him. So why lie to yourself?

As for me. My name is Mike Andrews. I'm a sinner saved by grace. I've made mistakes, and still make them, but God loves me despite my faults. I am a child of his, and he has looked down upon me and said, "This is my son whom I love." By his grace I am who I am, and his grace has not been without effect on me. I am dependent on Jesus and his works and I trust in them. He is the King of my life, and I will follow him wherever he leads me. This and more is who I am. Who are you?