I want to change the world.

Do you?

We often think of ourselves as so insignificant in this world that we cannot possibly make a difference all on our own. It is the reason for our inaction. We see injustices or things we want to change all over the world, and even right here at home, but we don’t think that our minuscule efforts will actually affect anything.

So what do we do? We close our eyes. If we were to see, and not act, that makes us worse than just not seeing altogether.

Here’s a challenge for you. Open them. After that, do something.

Here’s a list of people who single-handedly changed the world:

• Jesus Christ
• Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Mother Teresa
• Gandhi
• Bill Gates
• Martin Luther (the original)
• Benjamin Franklin
• Leonardo da Vinci
• Michael Jordan
• Henry Ford
• Adolf Hitler (obviously terrible, but he changed the world)

We think we cannot possibly achieve what these people did. We think that they somehow had/have something that we do not. Charisma? Money? Superior Intelligence?

That is a lie.

What they have that separates us is passion. They changed the world with zeal for their cause. They made sacrifices because they could not stand to see and not act. They wanted to make a difference. That was it.

Do you want to change the world?

Do not be discouraged.

Open your eyes, look around, and do it.

Think about it.

It has been 23 days since I last blogged. I apologize. Between mid-terms, Spring Break, and a couple ministry projects, I have been swamped. Now though my life is little bit more calm. For now. I know that will change come finals week, but I’m good to go at this moment.

God seems to teach me by blasting me with the same theme in everything I do for like two weeks straight. Everything I have been reading in the Bible, in other books, listening to… It is all leading to this same thought. I need to live a more spirit-filled and spirit-led life.

The Truth that Jesus Christ is in me is starting to click in my head. That has to be the most unique thing about Christianity. The belief that separates us from other religions. Galatians 2:20 says, “Christ lives in me.” Isn’t that kinda weird? From an outside perspective that makes no sense whatsoever. And I gotta be honest, it makes no sense to me either. But, it’s in the Bible, and therefor I believe it.

We are given the Holy Spirit when we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. God literally resides in us! That’s CRAZY! It means that God is actually with us everywhere we go and is with us during everything we do. Does that fact change how you see your life? Does it change the things that you do? It is starting to with me. We are never actually alone. When we’re alone, God is still with us.

The Holy Spirit is often called Counselor in the New Testament. He (not “it”) is a guide in our lives. A way for us to live Christ-like lives. God calls us to a ridiculous standard of holiness, that on our own and in our human bodies really is impossible. I am beginning to realize however that with GOD IN US we can do anything and everything. I’m convinced of it.

“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” John 14:12

Yes, you read that right. Jesus says we will do greater things that what He did. I can’t quite wrap my mind around that. How could we possibly do that? Wait, now I know how… Jesus Christ lives in us. I’m not there yet. I’m not even close to there. But I’m starting to understand.

Think about it.

This week the church I go to, Immersion in Des Moines, is starting a series on prayer. Prayer has always been one of my weaknesses. I’m good at reading, and sometimes even serving, because those are very tangible things. I’ve always seen prayer though as being the most vague and ambiguous spiritual discipline. It frustrates me. I always tell myself I’m going to get better at it, but I never know how.

I co-lead a small group for InterVarsity here on Drake’s Campus called 101. It’s like a Christian basics group. This last week we talked about prayer, and a lot of great questions came up that I thought should be re-posted here. I think we often do something blindly because we’re Christian without even thinking about what it means. Some of the questions:

• Why do we pray? Is there Biblical justification for asking God favors? Does our prayer change things?
• “Ask and you will receive” – really? What does that mean? Are there limits on that?
• How do we make it two-way communication instead of me just talking to God?
• How on Earth can I pray for everything I need to pray for?
• Why do I have a right to ask for things with all the suffering around me?

Aren’t these great questions? I’m wont even attempt to answer them, because I’m not even sure there are clear answers. Nonetheless, I think the questions need to be asked. It’s good to question. It’s good to ask. It’s good to be confused and searching.

Maybe this series on prayer will clear things up for me. And maybe it wont. Hopefully either way I’ll learn a little something about what it means to be someone who prays to a living and active God.

Think about it.

There’s two things I’m learning today, and the last few days, that kinda go together.

The first is that I know I wanted to relax this Lent season and take a break from being online so much, and also from reading more than I can handle in terms of Christian/Theologically heavy books. Translated that means a little less Twitter, less blog-reading, less Facebook, less compulsive e-mail checking, etc. It’s been incredibly refreshing. I’m not pushing myself to stay “connected”. Really though, I’m more connected with my offline friends, the friends I have in the real world. I’m wayyyy less tired these last couple weeks than I was to start the semester off, and it’s AWESOME.

The second thing I’m learning is about the idea of “life“. As a sidenote, I’m doing an Old Testament one-year reading plan, while doing my own track for the New Testament, and I’m really starting to catch on that the themes are incredibly parallel between the two testament’s. Much more so then I ever before realized. Anywho, here’s what Leviticus 18:5 and 1 Peter 1:23 says, respectively:

“It you obey my laws and regulations, you will find life through them.”

“For you have been born again…This new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.”

See how the two go together yet?

New life, and life period, comes from God. From the Word of God. It wont come from other books, from blogs, from social media, from anything of this world. I believe that God is calling me to spend less time in other books and other people’s thoughts, and more time in His Word and His thoughts. He might be calling you to do the same also.

I want to spend more time in the Bible than I spend in blogs, books, e-mails, etc. I dont know if that will happen, but I definitely know I need a little bit of re-focusing. I haven’t read a book other than the Bible [and school books of course] for about a week and half, and it’s been so refreshing. Now, I’ll probably being reading again soon, and staying caught up on blogs again soon, but I’m hoping to do so with a little less intensity.

Dont get me wrong, I love being online, I love reading, I love all that peripheral stuff. But if it comes at the expense of less time with God and with real people, then maybe it’s an idol in your life. I realize those are strong words, but if they’re coming before God, then it’s true. I do it all the time, so dont feel like you’re the only one.

Spend a little more time with God this week and a little less time with your computer.

Think about it.

P.S. Justin Wise wrote a somewhat similar post this week on his blog, Be Deviant.

It’s been a week since I last blogged, not quite living up to the standards I set for myself about a week and a half ago about blogging three times a week. Here’s the deal though, that was a mistake. I’m gonna blog what I want, when I want. To put limits on it is just not possible right now with me being a student.

Today is Ash Wednesday, which means it is the beginning of this 40-day period known as Lent. It’s not a biblical tradition, but one that has been carried out by the church for hundreds of years. I think it’s cool. It gives us an excuse to really focus on God for 40 days. And in our busy lives we live, that sadly becomes kind of necessary.

Usually, people who celebrate Lent give something up for 40 days. Some of the more common things are chocolate, deserts in general, pop [soda], video games, etc. I happen to be giving up pop, because I drink wayyy too much of it. Mark Batterson however mentioned in his blog last week that it’s also a good idea to add something to our lives. Something that will benefit our relationship with God. I think it’s an awesome concept, and actually possibly more beneficial than giving something up.

So, I decided that I’m going to journal at the end of every day for just like 15 minutes. I want to institute a habit of reflection and prayer on my days. I dont want to become a drone, where the days just meld together and I have no meditation or reflection whatsoever. I’m quite excited. This also follows a recognition that I need to simply relax more. I had this goal of reading 50 books this year, but that seems to be a little ambitious for me with all my school work and extracurriculars. I’m sure I’ll revisit that in a while, but for now it needs to be put on hold. I ended up just pushing myself too hard and being tired every single day, and that’s not fun.

All in all, I’m hoping these next 40 days can really transform what my spiritual life looks like, and maybe it can for you too.

Think about it.

P.S. I tried to link to Mark Batterson’s blog, but apparently Safari 4 doesnt agree with WordPress. Here’s the URL to the post I mentioned. http://evotional.com/2009/02/what-are-you-fasting-for-lent.html

As the title says, I’m sitting in a Caribou Coffee right now. It snowed at least 5 inches today, and it is still coming down. I’ve been here for almost exactly one hour, and there are about 7 other people here right now. Interactions with two of them in particular have convicted me to write a little bit. So here goes.

Person #1

A young man, wearing jeans and a way-too-large hoodie. Seems to be in his 20’s. I look over at the table he’s at and I see two one gallon containers of water. There is also a large bin, with all sorts of weird stuff in it that I cant quite make out. He is going around to every customer in the place talking to them about the environment. About how we as humans are “slaughtering” the Earth. Apparently he’s trying to make gas out of water…or something like that. Hence the jugs of water and tub of stuff.

He’s getting in everyone’s business, and quite frankly, annoying them. Including myself. He is honestly just too much to handle. Spouting off about the environment and not allowing other opinion’s to resonate in his mind. He’s not giving other people their voice. Those of us here in Caribou are clearly uncomfortable with him. His style of interaction is turning people off.

Person #2

Middle-aged woman. Long curly hair, and little heavier. Sitting in a comfy leather chair. Talking on her cell phone. Way too loud. I know her life story. And so does everyone else here. I also know the life story of her sister, whom she’s talking to. She [the sister] needs to get surgery on her foot. She also needs to dump her boyfriend because he hasn’t given his life to Jesus.

I’ve thought many times while sitting here about approaching this woman and kindly informing her that I might know her better than she knows herself. I’ve resisted though. For one reason…

How would Jesus interact with these two people? They are clearly being bothersome to all of us here in this quaint little coffee shop. It’s Friday night, and we just want to get something accomplished. One of these people is getting in people’s faces trying to get his message across. One woman is completely ignoring the world around her and yelling into her phone.

What can we learn here? One, these are the people that Jesus hung out with. The one’s that nobody all else wanted to talk to. The one’s that were maybe a little annoying to the people around them. The one’s who honestly quite obviously dont have it all pulled together. The so-called “weirdos“.

Two, if we want to get our message across, we cant be those in-your-face kinds of people. It just doesnt work. We need to engage peacefully with people. And give them a voice. Even if we think their voice is dead wrong. It’s a matter of respect.

Three, we need to be aware of the world around us. We cant live in our own little worlds, our “holy huddles”. We need to know what’s happening outside of our own circle. We need to know what people are thinking about us, because it makes a difference. We need to conduct ourselves in a way that’s attractive to people, while still obviously maintaining our values.

The woman is still talking on her phone, 1 hour and 17 minutes later. The young man has since left. And here I sit in Caribou on a snowy night in Des Moines thinking about life and coffee and my Journalism Law test on Tuesday.

Oh what a wonderful life.

I mean that in all seriousness.

The New Year is upon us. Almost. 

What will 2009 look like for you? 

Here’s at least a hint of what it will be for me:

• I will conclude my junior year of college and start my final year. I cannot believe how fast it has gone. 
• I will have an internship at Lutheran Church of Hope in Des Moines this summer. Hopefully it the glorious beginning to a life in ministry. I can’t imagine a better way of getting my foot in that door. 
• I will turn 21. Weird. Haven’t decided whether or not I’ll drink. My family has a history of alcoholism, so I’m slightly apprehensive, even if I dont necessarily have to be. 
• I will have to begin planning for my life after school. This includes both my girlfriend and my career. I’m really excited for this part, even if it’s scary to hash out details and really be on your own and out of the reality break known as college. 

Here are some things I hope 2009 holds for me: 

• I pray that God blesses me with a full-time job for after college by the end of the calendar year. 
• I hope to become someone who lives a life in constant prayer and communion. 
• I pray that I will not settle for mediocre, but that I fully tap into God’s Spirit in my life and step out on some limbs. 
• I want to become better at intentionally cultivating relationships. They inevitable take work to be healthy…I’m bad at that part. 

I pray for you, the audience, that you will take some time to think about the upcoming year. What plans do you have? What goals do you have? How do you hope to grow in your relationships, whether with people or with God? 

Think about it.