One of the worse mindsets perpetuated by the church today is the idea that you need to ‘get right with God’ — as if there was something you could ‘do’ in order to ‘be right’ with Him.
Isn’t that called self-righteousness?
The reality is that if you are a believer, you are ‘right with God’ solely on the fact that you have believed in Him and have *been* made His righteousness in Christ, not because you’ve performed well.
We’re trained to think that the more spiritual activities — retreats, events, outreaches, prayer meetings — we do, then we are more ‘on fire’ and more ‘right’ with God. And then when we get back to life and don’t do as much, we feel like we’re in this ‘wilderness season’ and we feel distant to God because secretly believe our “do’s and don’ts” determine the way God sees us.
This creates a cycle of trying harder because you feel guilty for doing less, so then you try harder only to fail again, which only causes you to want to do more ‘right’ to make up for it.
This leads to the cesspool of guilt, shame, condemnation, hopelessness, fear, anxiety, and worthlessness because you fail to meet this ‘standard’ you’ve set up for yourself.
The reality is, ‘living right’ is a natural byproduct of understanding *you have already been made right*. Good fruit is the result of understand you are a good tree.
The end of ‘roller coaster Christianity’ happens when you realize you can’t earn your right-standing and that also means cannot maintain your right-standing by your merits.
So now in the light of sin/failure, you can rest, knowing that you’ve been forgiven. You won’t have to plead and apologize for an hour to ‘earn’ forgiveness — you already have it! So you’re free to stop begging for it and actually believe that what Jesus did was enough.
at this point…
i’ve removed all filters whenever i talk to God
i don’t even call it prayer anymore
i don’t say prayers
i talk to him literally the way i talk to anyone else
i don’t need a filter
he doesn’t need a filter
he’s my dad
there’s no protocol i need to follow in order to interact with him
i don’t need to say “dear God” “in Jesus name”
he’s my dad
when i’m clueless or have no idea what i’m doing i just say, “help me out…”
when i don’t understand i say, “why..? i don’t get this”
and then i listen. cause that’s what a loving father does, he talks back.
He guides, he helps, he comforts, he reveals his heart and your heart.
He loves. He cares.
He’s rooting for you, he’s on your side.
He wants to help you grow, he wants to help you understand.
Theology is not a study of God. Theology is a Son’s understanding of a Father.
So do not let your ‘study’ affect how you hear from your father.
Do not let the box you’ve created from study skew and distort what a loving Father says, and how he treats you.
He is a Father. Not a study.
He is someone you can talk to, not someone to send “prayers” toward.
“I got a phone call this morning by one of Lady Gaga’s managers associates of Troy Carter and Vincent Herbert from stream line records out of L.A. asking me if we are interested in a reality show to bring what Royal Family international is doing to the world of Television? I said why? She said what you guys are doing has set me free! He said I’m sure this will happen, I said call me when you have more details, she said I have to have a go ahead to move forward with the idea. I said have at it. Jesus is Lord even in L. A.” — Pete Cabrera Jr (http://www.youtube.com/kwisatz73)
This is something that I’ve been meaning to write about and address for a long time, because most high schoolers have no idea how to guard their hearts, and most adults don’t know how to teach it or are extremely ineffective at teaching it.
Guarding your heart is much more than a set of rules and guidelines determining what you should or should not do. It is more than limitations on physical boundaries of what is okay and what is not.
Your heart, full of various emotions, thoughts, and tendencies, is the very core of who you are.
Letting something into your heart means giving permission for something to change who you are. Letting someone into your heart means allowing them to change who you are for better or for worse.
I look forward to the day when I get married, when I am able to freely and openly share my heart with my wife, giving to her everything that I’ve saved for our marriage. I want to be able to give to her something that I’ve saved my whole life.
The reason why you have feelings, whether it be physical or emotional, years before you are ready for marriage is because God wants to show you how valuable your heart is. As Kris Vallotton puts it, “Anyone can give away something expensive, but it takes someone who understands sacrifice to give away something valuable”. The value of your heart, on your wedding day, is how you were able to bring it through countless trials because you knew there would be one person who you will share it with.
Everyone in this world has a heart, and while learning to guard it is one aspect, learning to place value on other people’s heart is another. If you recognize that you are being drawn close to another person, especially someone you may feel attracted towards, and you are not ready to seriously consider marriage, respecting them and yourself means taking a step back and not messing with their hearts.
Your heart is valuable. Don’t give it away to anyone who comes your way and tells you that they like you. Having a meaningful relationship goes far beyond feelings of infatuation.
Sacrifice comes at a cost, but is the mark of something valuable.
You are valuable.
(Source: dpltvo)
Sounds like the same thing religion and the state teaches us…
Ridiculously true.
BLAHHHHHH
(Source: anti-propaganda)
“The devil isn’t afraid of you going to church. He’s afraid of you becoming like Jesus.” — Dan Mohler
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Myth #1 – Introverts don’t like to talk.
This is not true. Introverts just don’t talk unless they have something to say. They hate small talk. Get an introvert talking about something they are interested in, and they won’t shut up for days.Myth #2 – Introverts are shy.
Shyness has nothing to do with being an Introvert. Introverts are not necessarily afraid of people. What they need is a reason to interact. They don’t interact for the sake of interacting. If you want to talk to an Introvert, just start talking. Don’t worry about being polite.Myth #3 – Introverts are rude.
Introverts often don’t see a reason for beating around the bush with social pleasantries. They want everyone to just be real and honest. Unfortunately, this is not acceptable in most settings, so Introverts can feel a lot of pressure to fit in, which they find exhausting.Myth #4 – Introverts don’t like people.
On the contrary, Introverts intensely value the few friends they have. They can count their close friends on one hand. If you are lucky enough for an introvert to consider you a friend, you probably have a loyal ally for life. Once you have earned their respect as being a person of substance, you’re in.Myth #5 – Introverts don’t like to go out in public.
Nonsense. Introverts just don’t like to go out in public FOR AS LONG. They also like to avoid the complications that are involved in public activities. They take in data and experiences very quickly, and as a result, don’t need to be there for long to “get it.” They’re ready to go home, recharge, and process it all. In fact, recharging is absolutely crucial for Introverts.Myth #6 – Introverts always want to be alone.
Introverts are perfectly comfortable with their own thoughts. They think a lot. They daydream. They like to have problems to work on, puzzles to solve. But they can also get incredibly lonely if they don’t have anyone to share their discoveries with. They crave an authentic and sincere connection with ONE PERSON at a time.Myth #7 – Introverts are weird.
Introverts are often individualists. They don’t follow the crowd. They’d prefer to be valued for their novel ways of living. They think for themselves and because of that, they often challenge the norm. They don’t make most decisions based on what is popular or trendy.Myth #8 – Introverts are aloof nerds.
Introverts are people who primarily look inward, paying close attention to their thoughts and emotions. It’s not that they are incapable of paying attention to what is going on around them, it’s just that their inner world is much more stimulating and rewarding to them.Myth #9 – Introverts don’t know how to relax and have fun.
Introverts typically relax at home or in nature, not in busy public places. Introverts are not thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies. If there is too much talking and noise going on, they shut down. Their brains are too sensitive to the neurotransmitter called Dopamine. Introverts and Extroverts have different dominant neuro-pathways. Just look it up.Myth #10 – Introverts can fix themselves and become Extroverts.
Introverts cannot “fix themselves” and deserve respect for their natural temperament and contributions to the human race. In fact, one study (Silverman, 1986) showed that the percentage of Introverts increases with IQ.
This list was inspired by the book The Introvert Advantage: How to Thrive in an Extrovert World by Marti Laney.
For the sake of someone in your life that may be an introvert, please read this.
(Source: carlkingcreative.com)
bahaha.
ugh summer
look at my awful tan line
stop the maths jokes guys, cos they’re not funny
this humor in this joke is a crime against humanity. no.. actually it’s a sin.
(Source: filharmagic, via rex-amat)
“Sometimes we pray in the place of obedience. And what happens frequently is people pray instead of radically obey, then we can blame the outcome on God. Prayer is important, but its never to substitute obedience.” — Bill Johnson (via favoredgrace)
(Source: salempeters, via favoredgrace)
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Anonymous asked: What you are up to, Brandon?
Just got back from being a counselor at a week-long summer camp… got to invest a lot into 7 high schoolers. Here’s one of the stories.
But aside from that…
I’ve been really pulling back from a lot of social network stuff because I’m trying to focus more on learning about investing/business and taking the time to build the relationships I have locally, rather than relationships on the internet.
I usually write about what I’m learning, but I’m pretty sure most of the people who follow this blog aren’t really concerned about that stuff, so I don’t write about it.
I’m at a really privileged place in life right now, I’m completely financially independent and financially secure/comfortable and I only work ~10 hours a week.
Most of the people around me are trying to pay their bills and debt and so they’re more concerned about “surviving” in a sense moreso than living and pursuing things they’re passionate about.
Problem is, it’s hard to pursue those things when you don’t have your basic needs met. You don’t have the mental energy to be creative and to learn/grow if you’re a full-time student or employee.
If they didn’t have anything holding them down, most of my friends would be traveling, working on business projects, doing ministry, etc etc. And for most of them, the biggest thing holding them back is money.
In my opinion, that’s a dumb reason for someone to be held back. I want to be that solution, so that’s why I’ve been learning and getting my feet wet with business/investing.
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Aside from that… been developing the creative side of myself. Been composing on piano, and been teaching myself to use a 3D modeling/animating program called Cinema 4D.
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I dropped $1,000 into an investment about 9 months ago. I’ll be cashing out… a lot more than that soon and probably investing it into my friend’s restaurant that was literally handed over to him.
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I’ve been helping my old high school’s Christian club for the past year, training/discipling the leadership team. It’s cool to see them grow as leaders, we learned a lot about how to develop community in the high school arena, excited to see how it’ll pan out this coming year.
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That’s.. a lot of what I’ve been up to.
Q:
How do you go about bringing inner healing to and breaking bondages of fear and depression in traditional and conservatively Christian Asian parents? How do you reconnect them with the power and significance of the Holy Spirit inside of them? I’ve been seeking the Lord and interceding constantly, as well as actively displaying love and freedom, but I’m not sure if I’m being too meek.. I just want to make sure I do all I can do while waiting for His word
A:
The best way for you to influence authority figures in your life is to tell them how you have grown. Explain to them what you’ve learned, how it’s changed your life and what exactly happened in the growth process.
So you basically present Truth to them, put it all out on the table and then it becomes their choice to do what they want with it. It’s not a guaranteed success, but it can work.
This goes beyond just Asian parents, it’s really any authority figure who subconsciously believes that they can’t learn from people they have authority over.
The reason why this happens is because leaders (Asian parents in this case) have a hard time learning from someone without credentials or someone who aren’t in a similar stage in life — they don’t see relatability or credibility (which are the biggest factors when it comes to influence).
It’s very very very rare for someone in their position to admit to their child or someone so young and say, “Yes I’m dealing with depression, I have a fear of man, and I’m wrestling with these 10 other things, can you please help?”
And for you to assume the position of, “Hey I have the answer you’re looking for, let me teach you” just doesn’t go over well.
So the reason why you should just share what you know instead of “teaching” what you know, is so that it will give them the chance to humble themselves and learn without feeling like they’re being taught.
In the end, it’s still up to them whether they learn it or ignore it and pass it off as, “oh that’s a nice theory.” So that’s why living and walking out what you know is just as important as knowing how to share it.
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The other way to promote new mindsets is by asking really good questions that challenge what someone already believes, or shows how another perspective could be better. Learning that just takes practice and understanding why people believe what they believe.
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The only other ways they will get it are:
1. They learn from God
2. Someone they respect/value teaches them.
So until either of those happen, those are my thoughts on what to do.
