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Upsilon84
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Name: T
Country: United States
State: South Carolina
Metro: Clemson
Birthday: 3/13/1983
Gender: Male
Interests: God, Fallon Lee, Duke Basketball, Clemson Football, Upsilon, Thirst, Basketball, School, Family, the normal stuff.
Expertise: Haha still learning those.
Occupation: Making Money
Industry: Other
Message: message me
AIM:  trousey9
Member Since:
1/2/2006
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| Odd, the things that make us feel like a failure! Earning 30 grand instead of 60. Not being a part of the "in" crowd. Getting an answer wrong. Missing a game winning shot. Even odder, the things that make us feel like a success! Earning 60 grand. Being in the "in" crowd. Getting an answer right. Making a game winning shot.
Paul's well-known explanation of love shows just how mixed up our ideas of failure and success can be. No matter what grand things we might accomplish, no matter what fine vision we might believe, no matter what deep and difficult truths we might learn, if we leave out love, it all means nothing. All of our imperfect accomplishments will fail.
One thing, however, will never fail. Of the realities that remain when all else is gone, only one is supreme: LOVE.
There it is. Without LOVE, we fail. With it, we can't help but succeed.
Does that sound too easy? Well, people who've never tried it might think so. But this love is different from the natural love we've experienced. This kind of love combines virtues such as patience, honest, forgiveness, trust and good manners. Further, it rules out self-interested motives.
This kind of love isn't easy at all. In fact, only one man has ever completely accomplished it. He knows and stands ready to forgive every rotten act you've ever committed. He always tells you the truth, and while the words might hurt, he desires only to heal. He sets an impossible pace but comes to your aid as you stumble along behind him. Despite the fact that you don't deserve such a sacrifice, he even gave his life for us.
This kind of love doesn't represent an out-of-the-way tangent or minor application of our faith. It stands as the central characteristic of faith. Jesus takes it a step further when he commands, "Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:34-35).
Jesus doesn't say that people will recognize us by our knowledge of Scripture or by our ability to spout memorized Bible verses or even by stands we take against the evils of our culture. While those actions have their place, Jesus simply says that others will recognize us by our love as belonging to Jesus.
There it is. Without love, we fail. With it, we can't do anything but succeed.
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| Does anyone ever read this?? If you do, comment or message me and let know. Thanks!
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Do you sometimes have a hard time admitting that you're
wrong? As guys, uttering the words "I was wrong" can be one of the
toughest things we ever need to do.
So we employ a variety of diversionary tactics. We play the compare game.
"Hey, at least I'm not a serial killer." Or the excuse game:
"You don't understand the situation." Or the blame game:
"It's not my fault," We get defensive: "So you've never made a
mistake?" Or we make a half-hearted apology: "I guess that's
not the most right I've ever been."
However, when we avoid saying the words "I'm wrong," we demonstrate
an attitude of pride. A pride-filled person is inhibited from admitting that
he's done something wrong. He refuses to listen to other people or to his own
conscience. His pride is a liar, whispering in his ear, convincing him that he
can make his own rules. Eventually such a person becomes unteachable
Contrast that situation with Isaiah's attitude. He knows he has done
wrong. The prophet knows that God sees even the actions and attitudes no
one else does. Isaiah longs to edit out certain scenes from the movie of his
life. He pleads with God not to remember his wrongs--to forgive him.
The Bible calls the act of recognizing that we’re wrong,
admitting our failure and asking God to forgive us “repentance.” God looks for
men who will, like Isaiah, willingly and humbly take this action. We don’t have
to be perfect—just honest about our shortcomings. This shows an attitude of
humility.
So you have a choice. You can be like the proud person who
resolutely refuses to admit his sins. God will allow you to go down that path.
He’ll let you bang your head against walls of frustration and suffer the
consequences when the truth is revealed. Or you can show humility, standing
honestly before your loving Creator who already knows—better than even you do—who
you are and what you’ve done.
Which path will you choose??
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| Steve had a goal.
He could see what he wanted right in front of him--the studio buildings that led to his dreams. But a formidable force stood in his way: a stern-faced security guard at the entrance to Universal Studios. Steve refused to be deterred. Dressed in a suit and tie, he marched forward. He carried his father's briefcase, even though it held only a sandwich and a few candy bars.
Then came the moment of truth. The guard made eye contact. With Steven's mind focused solely on his goal, he swallowed his fear, gave the guard a casual wave and kept walking. To the young man's surprise and relief, the guard waved back. With that, Steven Spielberg walked through the studio gate and into his destiny.
For the rest of that summer young Spielberg--with the blessings of an accommodating studio executive--impersonated a movie industry professional. At summer's end having gained an immeasurable on-the-job education. Spielberg embarked on a film directing career that has yielded hits such as Raiders of the Lost Ark, Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan.
Many centuries ago the aging Caleb had a goal--to finally claim the fertile land God had promised decades earlier. To achieve his dream, Caleb had to face daunting obstacles, such as fortified cities and fierce enemy armies.
As a young man, Spielberg had a goal. And he used his knowledge, skills and drive to achieve his dream. As an old man, Caleb had a goal. Certainly, he had courage and drive, but he also had God's purpose and empowerment.
Imagine what you can accomplish for God when he gives you both purpose and power!!
This is probably going to sound weird but it's what my heart is feeling right now. I've never really been this transparent but here it goes...
Today I went to the prayer room at North Cleveland with my lil bro PJ and we talked about God and just life in general. We prayed and talked for about an hour or so about a ton of things and how we wanted God to use us in MIGHTY ways. And we both said that we wanted to be world changers for Christ. I know that sounds crazy that we feel God can use us to change the world but we really do.
That's about the biggest desire in my life! I want God to use me in a way that's so big I couldn't even imagine. I look around at a lot of pastors and people in ministry who seem to have it all together and I just wonder how did they get that way? I mean I try so hard but I just keep messing up and I don't feel God using me to impact anything. All I feel is broken, lonely, lost and abandoned!
But after doing this devotion I realized it's not going to be easy. It's going to be so hard to sell out to God for "everything", but if it's what I truly desire I will. I look back at the past couple of months in my life and I've compromised so much in my walk with God in situations. And that's something I don't ever want to do again. I love GOD and everything about him and I want nothing more than to live a life that's pure and satisfying to him! As hard as it'll be I know it'll be worth it in the end! I mean after all it's his life not mine anyway. And If I'm going to believe in God and call myself a Christian, I don't know why I wasn't going all out anyway. I mean now that I look back at it, I was a sell out, a punk! I should of been going all out for God instead of just living for him when I wanted to or when it was comfortable to me, or while I was in church, or in front of a certain group of people. What good does it do to just half way seek God? I might as well not even of been pursing him. But I've got my mind made up now! I'm tired of being a disappointment in life and I know he's the one person I won't disappoint. He's called me to a higher calling and I'm going to find it. I'm living everyday, every second for God and I don't care who knows it!
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| The first Christians insisted that when we become Christians, a profound change occurs in our fundamental identity. In who we are at the core of our being. In who we are first and foremost, before we are anything else. In our awareness of ourselves. The first Christians were convinced that in identifying with Jesus' death on the cross, something within us dies. They called this person who died the "old man" or the "old woman." The person we were before we had a spiritual birth...
So this old nature of mine--the one that was constantly pulling me down and causing me to live in ways I wasn't created to live-- has died. And no matter how many times that old nature raises its ugly head and pretends to be alive, it's dead.
And not only did that old person die, but I have been given a new nature.
Again, Paul writes in Colossians, "You have been raised with Christ." I have this new life, this new identity that has been given to me. I have taken on the identity of Christ.
Paul continues, "You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived." These first Christians kept insisting that something so transformational was happening in the lives of followers of Jesus that they could refer to their old lives as "the life (we) once lived."
It is not that we are perfect now or that we will never have to struggle. Or that the old person won't come back from time to time. It's that this new way of life involves a constant, conscious decision to keeping dying to the old so that we can live in the new. Just this morning for some reason I woke up in a bad mood and it began to affect me and everyone around me. The person I used to be before I gave everything to Christ was depressed a lot and didn't trust at all. But that's something that comes back from time to time but I always have to remember I'm a new person in Christ! I have to forget the old me and be the man Christ has called me to be now that I am his! Paul describes it as Christ being our lives.
Paul goes so far as to insist in another letter that if we are having this new kind of transforming experience with Christ in which we are taking on a new identity, we are literally now a "new creation"...
The issue then isn't me beating myself up over all the things I am not doing or the things I am doing poorly; the issue is my learning who this person who God keeps insisting I already am.
Notice these words from the letter to the Philippians; "Let us live up to what we have already attained."
"There is this person who we already are in God's eyes. And we are learning to live like it is true." Rob Bell
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