Legacy

So I was listening recently to a song by The Band Perry called "If I Die Young", which got me thinking, "If I died tomorrow, what would my legacy be?" Some might think that's a bit morbid, but I think it's a question we all legitimately need to ask ourselves. What are we striving for? What are our goals?
It really shows you where your heart is, doesn't it?
If we say we're all in, following Christ with everything we've got, but answer that question with something related to our career or personal life, are we honestly following like we say we are? What's the lifespan of our legacy if we're just living for ourselves? How long after you die will the effects of your American dream linger on? If all we're living for (and by living for, I mean devoting our time and money to) is trying to put in extra to get that promotion, or completely devoting yourself to school to get the best job and salary possible, what are we doing that will last?
As followers of Christ, we're told to not store up treasures on earth, but to store up treasures in heaven (Matt. 6:19-20) and to "make disciples of all nations" (28:19). As humans though, we want so badly to be comfortable and happy. One of the things God really showed me while I was in China over the summer was how much comfort was a heart idol. We get so focused on worshiping that idol by pursuing earthly things, that we aren't reaching people for Christ with our full potential. It's more than just us spending our money on material things though. Whenever we live life all about "me, me, me", we start drawing inwards and living life in a small way. God doesn't want that; he wants us to live big, wide-open lives of influence. He wants our legacy not to be "toys", but disciples (note, not 'converts'). It's like we're living in an identity crisis: Christ calls us to make an eternal difference (Matthew 28:18-20) but so often we're too caught up in this life to notice! It's my prayer today that we'll surrender our idols of wealth, prestige and comfort to God, and that he'll help change our perspective (and our legacy!) to an eternal one.
(link to the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NJqUN9TClM&ob=av2e)

The Greatest of These

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
--1 Corinthians 13:13 (NLT)

So far in this blog, I've talked about faith and i hope to post some hope soon, but rite now I want to talk about love :) When most people think about love, they think romantic love. While that's really a huge type of love, it's only one of many types. Today I just wanna encourage you to not forget about love. And use every opportunity to show it! Love your friends by making them feel valued. Do something special for them that shows that you care. When talking with your coworkers or classmates when school rolls around, go deeper and really see who they are as a person; talk about their dreams and lives. Hug your cousin, your sister, your brother and tell 'em that you love them and you're really blessed to have them (trust me, you are:) And be practical. Yeah, it's good to pray for people -it's great!!- but how are you gonna know what to pray for unless you're actually there for them and listen to them? Spend time with people and make the most of it. Speak life into people and don't tear them down. As Brian Houston so wonderfully put it: "Don't let the smallness (drama) of people get in the way of what God has called you to love, which is people". This is as much preaching to me as it is to anyone (some of these things I haven't been too good on lately...) but God just really layed this on my heart today to say. God has placed people in your life for a reason. Love them, honor them, minister to them. Make the most of being in each others' lives. Trust me: it's wonderful when you do :)

Matthew, Mark, Lukewarm

So I was watching one of pastor Brian Houston's sermons today before going to practice, and was really struck by how important that message is for all of us christians to hear. Basically in part one of his series on spiritual awareness, he was talking about complacency. When we're complacent, we're fine with where we are spiritually; we don't care. It's scary because when we get that way - when we start giving God the leftovers in our lives and because we're not living for him anymore - we stop becoming convicted. That's where it gets dangerous. Revelations 3:16 is one of the most controversial verses in the new testament, for good reason. It makes people very uncomfortable when God says, "...because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth" (NKJV) or as The Message puts it, "You're stale. You're stagnant. You make me want to vomit." When we're not on fire for God, it makes him want to vomit, and he'll ultimately remove us from him. Wow... that's rough. But why would he rather us be cold? Shouldn't giving him part of our lives at least count for something? Not really.. When we're in that state of complacency, we're not being convicted and not fully giving ourselves to God. Really, we're just numb. At least when we're cold, we know where we are spiritually. We feel disconnected and realise that something needs to change to make it right. To borrow Pastor Brian's illustration, think about it this way: if i'm in a car accident and go to the hospital, i'd much rather my legs be in pain (even though that's uncomfortable) than not being able to feel them at all. God would rather us be cold than lukewarm.

I'm not saying at all though that you should become cold, but rather I really want to encourage you to be hot - to be on fire for God! Just ask him to fill you with a passion for him. With the shedding of complacency comes spiritual awareness. We become aware of all the opportunities around us that God's given us to share the gospel with a friend, or to make a stranger's day. Trust me, true happiness, fufillment and joy come when we give God our firstfruits, not our leftovers. :)

Great to meet you!

So it's obvious that I've switched blogs. I hadn't posted on the old one in over a year, and looking back, it was just so...misguided. It was very political and very satirical, and that's just not who I am anymore. My life has been completely transformed by becoming an ordinary radical for Jesus Christ. And what a better life that is :) So I decided to name this new blog faith+hope+love after the phrase made popular by Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia because that's what I want this to spread. While I'm by no means perfect, it is my hope and prayer that someone's life can be changed by this, and faith, hope & love will be the new epidemics. As always, if you have any questions, want prayer or just want to comment, shoot me an email at braxtonianman@gmail.com . I'd be overjoyed to help in any way I can :) So let's grab a hand and dance & sing for our King as we go into this thing called life together. Here we go!