NEW YEAR

This is December 31. In fact the ball drops in a little more than three hours. We are able to forget about all the things that went wrong in 2008 and concentrate on 2009. Our mistakes are forgotten and done away with.

This is also a time to make (and most likely break) those infamous resolutions. I make them every year. I also break them every year. We say this is the year we lose 20 pounds. This is the year we get a raise or a promotion at work. This is the year we are going to raise our GPA to 3.70. We always make them. Here are some of mine for this coming year:

• Lose weight
• Run a half-marathon (13.1 miles)
• Run a triathlon (swim, bike, run)
• Get a semester GPA of 3.6
• Do well in my job

For me, these are pretty high ambitions. I've always wanted to lose weight and I've always wanted to get good grades, and I usually don't. And I'm not so sure this year will be different. But we'll see.

But this year, the most important thing is for me to have a closer relationship with God. Not that this past year was bad in that aspect, but it definitely could have been much better. I made mistakes this year. I let God, my family, my friends and myself down many times this year. But here is a new year, ready for me to recommit myself to God and let Him guide me in my life.
When looking in the Bible, I see the story of Paul's conversion as something that I can really look to when going into a new year. Here is a man that has been persecuting the people of God and is now on his way to the city of Damascus. On the way he is suddenly blinded by a very bright light. And then a voice asks him, "why have you been persecuting Me?" And Paul asks who it is and the voice replies that it's Jesus. And then Paul, who has hated Jesus and his followers, now believes and from this point on is one of the main founders of the Christian Church.
I think maybe many of you have walked down this "Road to Damascus" where you have an amazing experience and want to serve God from here on. And that's amazing and I'm very proud of you. Maybe others of you have not found that "Road" yet. You will... everyone does. Give it to God and he will direct you where to look. And still others have walked down that road, you've had your experience, but now you are starting to walk backwards, back to Jerusalem and your bad habits. I've been there. I know exactly what you are going through. So in this new year, I want to challenge you to give all of that to God. Give Him your entire life. Give to him your time, your talents, your everything. You cannot go wrong with Him. This is the Creator of everything... you cannot go wrong with THAT!!

God Scares Me

There is something about God that intrigues me, but at the same time scares me to death.  This is a Being that loves us more than we can even imagine, but yet is willing to send us to a fiery death if we choose not to follow Him.  But everyone tells me all the time to not "serve Him out of fear."  How can I not serve Him out of fear?  I don't want to die.  In my list of things to do before I die, I have things like skydive and fly a MIG jet.  I have not actually put on there "die."  It's not really my goal.  

So when I look at my options to serve God and live or deny God and die, you better believe that I choose to serve God!  However, I feel there are two different ways of serving God.  We can serve God out of duty.  We can follow Him because He asks us to and if we don't, He basically says that we are going to die.  Or we can serve Him out of love.  We can serve Him because He sent His Son to die on a piece of nasty wood, just so that we don't have to.  Again, I don't want to die.

So because Jesus died for me, I don't have to die.  I can leave "die" off of my "to do" list.  I can say "God, I'm here and I'm yours.  I don't belong to this world.  I don't belong to Satan.  I belong only and completely to you."  And He saves us!!

The Bible says that we love Him because He first loved us.  We don't love Him because He scares the crap out of us.  We don't love Him because if you don't we will burn to ashes.  We love Him because He loves us. 

Psalms 33:6 says that "The Lord merely spoke, and the heavens were created.  He breathed the Word and all the stars were born."  This is a God that BREATHED this entire universe.  A universe that we cannot even begin to imagine.  He BREATHED it!  Be yet He also loves ME.  He also love YOU.  Not all of us as humankind, but all of us individually.  If it were just me that had sinned and needed saving, Jesus would have done it.  He wouldn't have said, "Sucks for that dude.  I can't go let myself be killed just because one person in six billion decided to mess up."  No way!!  He would've said, "That's my boi!  He messed up big time.  Good thing I can save him!"  And then He would've come down to this earth and died in some horrific way.  

People would be just as happy to put Him to death now as they were back then.  Because Jesus was a radical, and He still would be today.  Jesus would walk around with a huge beard and long dreads.  He would be hanging out with the homeless.  He would be hanging out with the "no good" people.  The politicians that everyone hates.  The prostitutes that everyone is disgusted by.  The homosexuals that everyone has turned their back on.  Jesus would be hanging with them.  Because He saved them just as He saved me.  Just as He saved you.

I've been seeing shirts and bumper stickers recently that say "Jesus is my Homeboy."  I've also heard a lot of people complaining about these tees and stickers.  They say that it brings Jesus down to our level.  That it makes Him be almost "human-like."  Are you kidding me?!  You don't think Jesus wants to be brought down to our level?!  You don't think Jesus wants us to be able to see Him in a personal, tangible way?!  You don't think Jesus wants to have a personal, individual relationship with us?!  

I will say as loud as I can that Jesus IS my homeboi!!  Jesus is my Best Friend.  Jesus is my Everything.  Without Him I am NOTHING!!  I want to spend all my time with Him.  So the next time I go mountain biking or rock climbing, if Jesus wants to come along and hit a crazy huge jump or try to stick a dyno on a 5.10, then by all means, He is MORE than welcome to come along.  Maybe I can introduce Him to some of my friends.  I want to hang out with this Man who loves me, and died for me, and wants to spend eternity with me. 

So maybe this God doesn't scare me after all.  Maybe this God is EXACTLY what I need in my life.