You know, times come in life where things happen and you begin to wonder, who are my friends and who pretend to be my friend. Sometimes lately I’ve pondered this in my moments of silence that I’ve had and my time alone here at home or in the car. Sure, everyone you know claims they are your friend but if it was put to the test would they still be your friend? I find it funny that sometimes a few small things change in life and people who you thought you knew and knew you suddenly aren’t so friendly. You can’t figure out why and you have to write it off.
While I’m up here, let’s continue, shall we? Then there is the whole thing with my age. I love how so many times in life I’ve heard the following phrase
“John is smart, but when he does (insert something here) he really shows his age”.
Not that I feel I must prove myself to anyone to resolve their issues with me (not like anyone who feels that way reads this anyways) but for fun let’s analyze my immature life as it is:
There are just some things I’d like to put out there. I’ve come to find that ones who say stuff like that, end up deep down being jealous. Most of my true friends tell me that they’re proud of me. They know that I have a level head on my shoulders and that I’m following the path that God has set for me.
Then while I’m still jumping up and down on my soapbox, let’s continue. I also have had a hard time lately with the question of my integrity. I’ve worked hard for years and years to create an image of integrity, so that all who meet me may know that I’m trustworthy. You know it angers me when people witness my personality and call me trustworthy, but when the time comes to test my integrity they suddenly don’t trust me at all. That is the BIGGEST INSULT ANYONE COULD EVER HAVE. If I’ve walked this far and haven’t screwed my life up with drugs, alcohol, sex, lying, etc… then I think that someone (especially someone who knows God or at least claims to know God) should know that God comes first and foremost in my life. I would NEVER let something like SEX or alcohol come between my relationship with God. To even imply that that would happen, just kills me. It kills me more now than ever when people, who don’t know me very well, can even see that NO ONE would ever convince me to do anything like that. Because if you should learn one thing about me is that I live every day on faith and every day by what God has for me. If God told me tomorrow to get up, go to the airport, get on a plane and fly somewhere… I WOULD. Someone who has dedicated his life to God at that level, I don’t think is going trade all that for a few minutes of earthy pleasure. Maybe because others have made mistakes, DOESN’T MEAN I WOULD MAKE THEM. I hate being judged by the mistakes of others.
Honestly, Christians, it’s time to step up to the plate. You all can talk it very well but it’s time for walking out that talk. This weekend I had a great discussion about my faith with some non-believers. I was treated with the utmost respect because I respected those discussing with me. I wanted to cry when they looked at me and said, “John, we’ve never met a Christian like you. You discuss your faith with us not force-feed, judge or shut out us.” WHAT A BLOW TO CHRISTIANS. These people have all turned from the church because of “church people” or “sheep-ople” people who are like sheep and just follow each other and “play church”. You know, I’m not perfect, but I strive to live a Christian life that is real. I wear my faith, feelings and emotions on my sleeve. I let this people know that Christians ARE NO DIFFERENT THAN THEM. I strive to show them that we hurt, bleed, have anger, sorrow, depression, and we can find happiness. It is what we do with those emotions that makes the difference.
For example, when I get angry I pray and I write. It is a healthy way to express myself. It also shows people that I too can have anger, but I don’t have revenge. I let God take care of that. I’d rather have the person that holds your life in His hands have his vengence than me. That’s always a thought I keep in mind if I even think about hurting one of God’s children. All I can really revenge with is my words, but God… He can do much MUCH more.
It is really sad when I sit down and look at the people I know. I would say I know almost half and half when it comes to Christians. However, here is the kicker. I get more respect, friendship and LOVE from the NON-BELIEVERS. I could count with my two hands and name each person name by name that ARE Christians who show me respect, friendship and LOVE like the NON-BELIEVERS. We ought to take a lesson from these people, they truly are a “come as you are” type of personality and us Christian seem to be casting a “Come as I want you to be and if you aren’t you best not be coming over here with me then” image and feeling. A good example is my friends who invite me to come to their house to hang out or to watch OSU Football or to go some place special after work for dinner or go places with me or ASK ME to DO THINGS WITH THEM. It’s refreshing to not always have to ask to do things or invite everyone over time and time again. I do have some Christian friends that are the same, sadly many of them reside out of Franklin County (ok, all but VanAtta, live outside of Franklin County). You see that ONE FRIEND IN COLUMBUS WHO IS A CHRISTIAN TREATS ME LIKE A RESPECTABLE ADULT. Sad, it makes me SAD. WHERE ARE THE TRUE CHRISTIANS. RIGHT NOW WOULD BE A WONDERFUL TIME TO STEP IN AND SAY HELLO.
The LOVE thing is what irks me the most. As Christians we know Christ’s UNDYING and NEVER-ENDING and UNCONDITIONAL LOVE. That is the type of love I try and show everyone. I feel so lucky to know this love and I want everyone to know it. If no one else will show it to them, I will die trying. I want each of my true friends to know that when they lay down to sleep at night that John C. Massie loves them. Yes, I’m a guy, and I love my friends. If you are so childish and homophobicly minded you need to grow up and move on.
Lately it seems that I’ve been beaten spiritually. Recent things that have happened (which will go unmentioned because I’ve had enough drama with it to last a decade or more) have just really taken at hit on my spiritual life. I keep asking God where did I fail? I’ve come to understand that I failed no one. I did what God would have for me, walking daily on the path that He’s set out for me. If others can’t accept what life God has given me, then I can’t be a part of something that doesn’t want to conform to God’s will and move on.
Thankfully through music God’s reminded me of a song, with the lyrics I will close.
“I Will Hold My Head High”
Third Day
Sometimes the night starts closing in
And I’ve lost my way home again
I’m running out of places I can turn
Enemies on every side
Not a friend around for miles
That’s the time it really starts to hurt
Beat me up and drag me down
I’ll never be afraid
I will hold my head high
Lift my hands to the sky
Rise above all who try to bring me down
I will hold my head high
I know you said it’d be okay
Sometimes I question just the same
I wonder if my problems are too small
Then I look back and realize
All your pain and sacrifice
Oh and how you suffered for us all
Beat me up and drag me down
I’ll never be afraid
Beat me up and drag me down
And lock me in or keep me out
Whatever they may throw at me
I’ll turn into a song for you
With God’s Blessing and Love I Close,
- J -
Well, it’s Friday morning. Another day, another dollar. I slept pretty good these past few days with the recent temperature drop that we’ve had (Fall, is here if you didn’t know). So, we’re slow here at the office, I’m waiting on parts to come in but DHL and UPS don’t get here for a little while and I’m caught up on everything else, so I figured… I’ll blog.
Life’s been a little crazy, but then again, when isn’t it. A whole lots changed, but you live and move on. Thankfully God’s always there to help you and to guide you as you walk this journey we’ve called “life”. It’s amazing how when life comes at you fast (I must have Nationwide on my mind, lol) and you turn to God, how fast you’re comforted. If you’ve truly learned how to submit everything to God and conform to His will for your life, how much easier the pain feels. It’s like, when you’re not in line with God’s will you’re swimming upstream, but when you find and submit to His will, you’re swimming with the river. Now, granted there may be debris in the river that you’ll have to overcome, but as long as you’re swimming with the river, it will be that much easier to overcome. (There is some analogy for you).
I haven’t done much photography this year, and that sucks. I think I’ll try and clean up the car and house this weekend and take some new pictures since no one knows what the new car looks like. Maybe I’ll also go out and take some pictures this weekend since it is fall and everything is starting to change colors.
Well, that’s about it. Just one of those “general life” posts. I’ll probably post tonight or later today if my parts never show up.
Later,
- J -
I want to say that I am a mere simple mortal man. A vessel to be used by the God that I believe in who sent His son to die on a cross for my sins that I might accept Him and be saved. I was asked by one of my commenters on the last post to comment on the links of his blog entitled ‘universalism I,II,III’. For such a young child as I am and constantly growing in my faith, I honestly had to go to prayer (as I try and do with everything in life) and ask God that HIS words be present in the message I bring to you all tonight.
The short answer is, I don’t believe it. As a devout Protestant Evangelical Christian (who has been Independent Baptist, Nazarene, Church of Christ in Christian Union and now attending Southern Baptist) I believe the Bible to be consisted of 66 whole books and inspired by our creator. I reviewed these sites and I have done a lot of praying. I’ll be honest that I don’t have all the answers, but I believe I do have something that God can use to provide some insight into truth.
First I would like to reiterate that my faith is based and founded upon 66 whole books of the Bible. Many of the sites and pages I read on Universalism only offered short (if complete at all) scriptures, all throughout the Bible. This is no way to build a belief system on. It would be like taking this blog post and quoting the line “I don’t believe it.” Well, that’s all fine and dandy but what don’t I believe in? It’s very vague and what we like to call ‘out of context’ in the English language. Much of what I read on these sites proved to be the same.
Second, I believe that we have to remember that if you accept the Bible to be true as a universalism believer then you need to also remember that God created you. With this being said, where is it our place to put God in ‘our box of understanding’. God is much bigger than any box, any person, can try and fit Him in. I saw a page entitled ’200+ unanswered questions unless you believe in Universalism’, not only did many of the questions repeat and only re-word another questions but many were trying to place God in some box of human understanding. My question for you is, please logically explain how God:
Just to name three questions. See, to explain those, we must put God in a box of human understanding. Sure, I can’t explain to you in a logical sense how all three of those are true. Do I accept them as the truth, YES. Why? Because that is what we call, “living by faith”. It is something that you have to do.
Also, something that I found to be missing was the thing that God likes to call, “free will” or “free choice”. Again, we have to think outside the box that God created us all with free will to do what we want. It is our choice to accept Him as savior, not anyone elses. If there is no eternal Hell then why can’t I be like, “I HATE YOU GOD!!!” So when I die , God’s going to look at me and say, “that’s ok, I know you hated me, did everything you could to ruin my work and my will, but come on in to Heaven.” I THINK NOT. Do you see what I’m trying to say? This thought of free-ride-to-Heaven can’t be true, unless you throw out the Bible. You also can’t say that only “part” of the Bible is true, because you’re essentially saying that God is only partially true. It’s either All or None… not some.
Even if you only believe in truly a heaven, you have faith that there is one. I would treat an eternal hell like a sign I once read about God, but let’s put eternal hell in place of God:
Well, I keep saying I’m going to post something meaningful. Lately my Christianity has played an interesting role in meeting people. If you don’t know by now, here are some basic facts about me:
Now, that’s just not really the norm anymore for young adults. So that poses the question, why am I like that? I am like that because of the relationship I have with Jesus Christ. However, from the observations I’ve made lately I guess it seems that many people that I come in contact with aren’t used to meeting a Christian like me.
I think sometimes in life I get judged by Christians for having the friends that I do. I have friends who aren’t Christians however:
Do I share my faith with them? Yes.
Do I necessarily agree with everything they do or say? No.
Do they know this? Yes.
Do I shove religion down their throats in hopes that I can drag them to Jesus? No.
Do I try and live a REAL CHRISTIAN life before them and represent Jesus to them by living truly by WWJD? YES.
Let me explain, shall we. I’m sure you’re sitting there gasping at the thought of me being with non-Christians and forming relationships with these people. Does not God love these people? Are we not to be examples of Christ to these people? Can I not be these people’s friends while also sharing my faith through my life?
I’m reminded of a quote that I read in my Mister Rodgers book:
“Know this: You should judge every person by his merits.
Even someone who seems completely wicked, you must search
and find that little speck of good, for in that place, he is not wicked.
By this you will raise him up, and help him return to God.
And you must also do this for yourself, finding your own good points,
one after the other, and raising yourself up.
This is how melodies are made, note after note.”
- Reb Nachman of Breslov
I get so frustrated with Christians who write off non-Christians when they don’t make a 15 minute conversion. ARGH! For those Christians out there reading this lets remember Matthew 25:31-46. This is the passage where God says:
“I was hugry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.”
Then says that “Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me – you did it to me.” (Message)
I have to say that I try and do all those things for those in need, Christians or NOT. I’ve opened my home to people, I’ve helped others that I barely know, I’ve tried all I can to reach out to anyone and everyone that God’s placed in my life. Now you might also want to contest me on the fact of hanging out or befriending a non-believer… let’s look again at Matthew…
Who Needs a Doctor?
“Latter when Jesus was eating supper at Matthew’s house with his close followers, a lot of disreputable characters came and joined them. When the Pharisees saw him keeping this kind of company, they had a fit, and lit into Jesus’s followers. ‘What kind of example is this from your Teacher, acting cozy with crooks and riff-raff?’
Jesus, overhearing, shot back, ‘Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick?’ Go figure out what this Scripture means: ‘I’m after mercy, not religion.’ I’m here to invite outsiders, not coddle insiders.”
- Matthew 9:11-13 (Message)
I have to stop a lot of times and think about how to handle situations by trying my best to think of if Jesus was standing there, what would he do or say? The thing I remember the most is, would Jesus walk away? NO. I have to constantly remind myself that Jesus would not walk away, but in the same breath remember that Jesus would not stand for being mocked or lied about.
From what I’ve heard lately from non-Christians regarding their view of Christians, it’s not been a great image. Sadly, we’ve all played a part in giving ourselves a really bad name. Here is what I’ve found that we’re known for:
Sure, you might stand there and say, HYPOCRITE! My reply would be that I am only a “forgiven hypocrite”. I’m human, that’s for sure. I’ve made my fair share of mistakes and I make them from time to time. I’ve done a lot of praying, growing and soul searching. God’s given me a heart for people and a desire to reach them. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not one of those “Get-to-be-their-friend-so-they’ll-accept-Jesus-and-move-on-and-let-someone-else-be-their-real-Christian-friend” type of person. I do love people, of all types. I like having friends and I try and make friends wherever I go.
You should see the look on people’s faces that after I find out everything about them, I still stand there and go… so? They stand there waiting for me to run away or go find some ‘holy water’ to throw on them or something to that effect. Maybe even grab a Bible and perform an exercist or who knows what they’re waiting on. All I know is that they’re waiting for one of those actions I mentioned before, many relating back to judging.
I calmly explain to them that it is not my place to judge, but only to love. They always seem to have this expression of confusion because they’re not used to a Christian having this attitude with them. Now, you may think that I’m not trying to witness to these people, but let me fill you in on something. YOU cannot change a person. Sorry, all the Bible and Christianity training in the world CANNOT teach YOU how to SAVE or CHANGE a person. The ONLY person who’s going to change and SAVE that person is GOD. You know, God, the one who saved you, who you pray to, who holds the world in His hands, WHO CREATED YOU… Remember Him? We seem to forget Him when we’re trying to witness sometimes thinking that WE have the POWER to convert someone. WE DO NOT. FYI: REMEMBER THAT. God can use us to change a person, but if God hasn’t prepared them for this change, then they won’t. I pray for all of my un-saved friends for things that are happening in their life, their eternal destination and for God to be with them and minister to them. I pray that I can be the best friend I can be to them and show them what a REAL CHRISTIAN LOVE is like.
I always tell my un-saved friends that it’s us Chistians that give ourselves a bad name. I think sometimes we need to STOP AND PRAY INSTEAD OF STOP AND THINK. I think many times we use our mind over our heart. Just pray that God will use you and LISTEN to HIM. It’s some food for thought…
Well, I must end and I need some sleep. Some feedback would be GREAT. I would love to hear from Christians and non-Christians alike.
God Bless,
- J -
P.S. Read the following song, this is what I feel:
My Jesus
Todd Agnew
Which Jesus do you follow?
Which Jesus do you serve?
If Ephesians says to imitate Christ
Then why do you look so much like the world?
Cause my Jesus bled and died
He spent His time with thieves and liars
He loved the poor and accosted the arrogant
So which one do you want to be?
Blessed are the poor in spirit
Or do we pray to be blessed with the wealth of this land
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness
Or do we ache for another taste of this world of shifting sand
Cause my Jesus bled and died for my sins
He spent His time with thieves and sluts and liars
He loved the poor and accosted the rich
So which one do you want to be?
Who is this that you follow
This picture of the American dream
If Jesus was here would you walk right by on the other side or fall down and worship at His holy feet
Pretty blue eyes and curly brown hair and a clear complexion
Is how you see Him as He dies for Your sins
But the Word says He was battered and scarred
Or did you miss that part
Sometimes I doubt we’d recognize Him
Cause my Jesus bled and died
He spent His time with thieves and the least of these
He loved the poor and accosted the comfortable
So which one do you want to be?
Cause my Jesus would never be accepted in my church
The blood and dirt on His feet would stain the carpet
But He reaches for the hurting and despised the proud
I think He’d prefer Beale St. to the stained glass crowd
And I know that He can hear me if I cry out loud
I want to be like my Jesus!
I want to be like my Jesus!
Not a posterchild for American prosperity, but like my Jesus
You see I’m tired of living for success and popularity
I want to be like my Jesus but I’m not sure what that means to be like You Jesus
Cause You said to live like You, love like You but then You died for me
Can I be like You Jesus?
I want to be like my Jesus
Greetings! I wanted to post and say hello to all my faithful readers. I’m hoping to try and get my schedule together here in September to be able to dedicate some time to my blogging. My goal is to turn this blog into not only an account of what’s going on in life and what’s on my mind but also to use it as a form of ministry to Christians and non-Christians alike. I think it would be nice to share some Christian thoughts each week and encourage those who read this.
It occured to me during this morning’s sermon in Church that I potentially have an asset to reach people and to help carry those who know Christ by “dedicating” my blogging to God. I know that concept sounds very off the wall and kind of crazy. I guess sometimes though I’m not always one to walk the “normal” path. I am working on a huge post but that will come later this week. I want to make sure I place everything in there that I can. I want to make sure that God gives me just the right words to place on this virtual page to reach the hearts of my readers out there.
So, once I get the site up an running to where it should be, pass it on! Yeah, even to people who don’t know me. I hope to bring some light into this dark world and maybe share my light to help other Christians burn just a little bit brighter. I’ll try and write up a lot more than what’s on here. Explain my life, my testimony and my calling that God’s given me. So, I pray that you all (my readers, that is) will support me as I transform what started out as a simply hobby into a extension of my ministry.
God bless you all, leave me a comment or send me an e-mail!
- J -
p.s. What do you think of the new theme?
