Living THE Life

Take a hard look at your life. Actually, make it quick so you can continue reading this. But take a look nonetheless.

In reflecting on the way you live your life, what are you representing? What example & legacy are you leaving behind? 

1 Timothy 4:12 calls us to set an example for other believers specifically in our conduct & the way we live life. Calls us to set & live up to the standard as Christians. But, I think too often we ruin our example for Christ simply by the way we live every day. We forget our call to be the standard & unfortunately carry ourselves much like the world. Nothing different.

But take a look at Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego. We'll see something that starkly contrasts with the ways of this world:

1. They were carried off to Babylon & put into an elite training program. But they refused to eat the food presented to them because it was first offered to Babylonian idols. So the Lord prompted the overseer to show them favor & they were put on a veggie & water diet only. They prospered & excelled far beyond all the other young men. They chose to live their life for God & not go along with the ways of this world & set an example in living THE life. 
2. Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego refused to bow & worship the king. They were caught & thrown into the fire to be burned alive. They were pulled out without even being touched by the flames. The Lord delivered them & the King praised the true God. They chose to live their life for God & not go along with the ways of this world & set an example in living THE life. 
3. Daniel later on also refused to pray to & worship the king. He was caught & thrown into a den of lions. Again, the Lord delivered him & he was pulled out without a scratch on him. The king praised the true God & Daniel prospered. He chose to live his life for God & not go along with the ways of this world & set an example in living THE life. 

What's challenging about Daniel & his life is that no man could find any fault in him. He lived his life for God so passionately, that "they could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent" (Daniel 6:4). 

He set THE example & lived THE life for THE God. 

This should be our goal. That because we are living our lives for God SO passionately, others see it. Paul challenges Christians to "conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ" in Philippians 1:27. A call to live up to the standard of Christ & model our lives after His. 

Because some of us "claim to know God, but by [our] actions [we] deny Him" (Titus 1:16). You claim to be a Christian, but don't live like Christ. Can't work. Won't work. You can't claim to be a Christian & then live life anything but like Christ. 

So be the example. Live your life after the standard of Christ. Or don't claim Him. And if you do claim Jesus, don't deny Him & ruin His name by the way you live. 

Be real. Be like Christ. Live like Christ. 

JV

Purity

As Valentine's Day has come & gone, nothing seems to be more at the forefront of people's minds than dating & relationships. And if that's not at the forefront of your mind, well then, ice-cream or discounted chocolate is most likely at the top of your list.

Either way, when we evaluate this area of our lives, most of us realize the struggle it brings in our efforts to remain pure. And it's not just dating & relationships that bring struggles to our purity. The one common link I find that corrupts our purity is sexual immorality.

Sexual immorality has run rampant in our lives. We see it all over TV & movies. We hear it through the music we listen to. We lust after it with pornography & masturbation. We feel it & do it with others, or even satisfy ourselves. We have become a people completely obsessed with sex & sexual immorality.

And it's easy to see. We have younger people having sex, sexting & becoming much more physical than ever before. We have men tearing marriages & families apart through addiction to pornography. Romans 3:10 never sounded more true in there "being no one righteous, not even one."

Sexual immorality has ruined us. Has made us dirty. Filthy. Shameful. This sin in our lives has made us so impure in the sight of the Lord.

But the TRUTH remains in that this further proves our need to be saved. This further proves our need for a Savior to save us from our impure & sinful lives. This further proves how lost we are & how much we need to be found.

And the GREAT truth lies in "Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own" (Titus 2;13-14). That GREAT truth is that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, for our shame & for our guilt. And in turn, has made us PURE AGAIN!

In fact, 1 John1:9 tells us "if we confess our sins, He is faithful & just & and will forgive us our sins & PURIFY us from all unrighteousness." Through our desire to turn from our sinful nature, Jesus is making us pure. He is cleansing us & ridding our lives of all our sin, and delivering us to be His children. Holy & blameless in the sight of the Lord.

So don't live in the guilt your sin brings. Don't live in the shame of your sexual immorality or mistakes. Don't remain in your filthy & dirty state. But confess your sins & allow Jesus to come in, wreck shop & purify your life from the inside out!

Jesus died for YOU. For all your sins. And He desires to make you pure once again. He is wanting & waiting on you. Be made pure tonight.

JV

The Most Interesting NUB in the World

JV (THE Nub)

Significance

I sit here in my office at New Life Baptist Church, just like I do every day Monday-Thursday, and reflect on my significance.

Reflect on if what I'm doing is significant. Is my church significant? Is my student ministry significant? Are my students aspiring to & becoming significant?

I desperately want to be significant. To do something significant. Or least participate in something significant.

And now that I've used that word 8 times, let me refrain from being redundant & thus making use of the word insignificant.

Nonetheless, I have a passion for big things. To start or be apart of a social movement. Or create art & music that inspires people. And sometimes those things entrap me. I get caught up in the image of what those things look like & represent & then begin to envy those things. To want them. To want to be a cool indie/granola looking guy that works for TOMS shoes & creates sounds like Sufjan Stevens.

Which can be a big bummer for a bald one-armed guy living in the middle of Arkansas who has very little instrumental ability. Pretty easy to feel insignificant in light of my worldly desires to be something more.

BUT, I realize that my envy for those things is not of the Lord. That my envy carries a lot of MY selfish desires & MY goals for ME. And my heart for those things is not with God's will/plan in mind at all - but mine. And that's sinful of me.

However, I ALSO realize that the Lord has indeed called me to BE & DO something BIG. Not so I can work at some cool company or ministry, but so that I can make HIM significant. So I can make Him BIG. My favorite verse in the entire Bible is John 3:30, which states "He must become greater; I must become less." And I try to live with that verse in mind every day. To make Him more. To make Him bigger than myself.

To make Jesus Lord of my life, Lord of my plans, Lord of my ministry & Lord of my students.

I read a quote by Rick Warren today: "Never envy a significant place of service. Make the place you serve significant."

I realize my significance is based upon His significance in my life. And my heart yearns to be small in light of Jesus & His call on my life. And I'm STILL inspired to be significant. But not go somewhere else & be someone else to do it.

But to do it NOW. Do it HERE. And do it all to make Jesus BIG in my life & my ministry.

JV