A few thoughts....

I just feel the need to express a few random things that are on my heart so....here it goes.

Dictionary.com has a couple definitions for the term "church." The first one is "a building for public Christian worship." Understandable and obvious, right? The second is this: " a body of Christians worshipping in a particular building or constituting one congregation." Hmm....a body of Christians...this second definition is what the Bible refers to the church as. Not a building, not a tent, not a cathedral, but a BODY. A group of fellow Christians gathering in a place to worship their God. Without this group of Christians, the church would not exist. Sure, there might be a building standing there with the word "church" in the title but, is it really a church? Definitely not. It's just a building. Guys, we, as Christians, have to help each other out.

Now is the time when accountability and love come into play. We also have to be real with ourselves. Going to church every Sunday doesn't make you a Christian. If you sat in a garage every Sunday, would that make you a car? No, I don't think so. So quit posing, step up, and act like the Christian that you really are. THEN help out your fellow Christian friends. It's crucial that we help each other. Nobody can do it on their own.

What do you want out of church? What do you strive to achieve by coming to a building and meeting with a bunch of Christians? Social time? A chance for you to answer a bunch of questions and look smart and religious? A time for you to be up front where everyone can see you? Or do you strive to come be with friends, encouraging them and lifting them up in the name of God? I have a challenge for you: next time you step in those doors and enter a building with the rest of your church, the body of Christ, make sure you have the right mindset. Make sure you're there for the right reason. If you're not then, what's the use? God wants us back. Let's give Him what He wants.


-Carter L.

Well...here it is....

The Daraja Children's Choir from Kenya was here this weekend and, first off, I just have to say....wow. God is working in their lives and through their lives everyday. With that in mind, let's think about how we are here. Sitting up on our pedestals with everything that we need at our reach. God has given us everything we'll ever need and, what do we do? Hoard it and give Him NO thanks. Guys, these kids come from the other side of the world from a lifestyle that we can't even imagine. Some of these kids have no parents, no grandparents, and no homes but yet they STILL give all that they have to God. Everything. Luke 21:1-4 says "As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 'I tell you the truth,' he said, 'this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.'" This woman gave all she had to her Lord. Her Creator. I make myself sick sometimes. God has provided me with so much and all I do is throw it back in His face. We EXPECT God to give us what we want. That's disgusting of us, guys.


Today, a boy I had never talked to named Moses came up behind me and grabbed my hand and held it as we walked over to the rest of the choir. This 6th grade boy from Kenya, with his multicolored scarf and his ripped khakis, was loving on ME. He was showing me God's love because He knows that's what God wants us to do. That's what God called us to do. Love. Whether that entails loving your neighbor, your enemy, your best friend or even...God. Guys, we have a lot of work to do. We have big changes to make and, honestly, it's not going to be easy. We, as Christians, will be persecuted and made fun of. We WILL have hardships and trials but, guess what? God overcame the world. I think we can handle a little criticism every now and then.


-Carter L.

Remember

What would you like to be remembered for? Who you dated? What type of clothes you wore? What kind of car you drove? Be honest with yourself. Out of everything in your life, what would you like people to remember about you? You know, God wants you to be happy. He wants everyone to be happy and we take advantage of that. We take advantage of everything that God gives us but, do we thank Him for it? No. We go on with our lives because we expect Him to give us those things. God gave you all of those things that you want people to remember about you. Regardless of what it is. So don't you think we should repay Him for those things? Maybe get over ourselves and start living for Christ? All of my blogs seem to have a running theme recently and I know people out there, including myself, have trouble with this topic. We go to church, go to YoungLife, wear Jesus shirts, and maybe pray sometimes but, then we don't live out our faith around friends when it REALLY matters. Our world is hurting, guys. Christians are hurting. Your friends are hurting. Love them and have people remember that you had Christ shining in your life. Matthew 5:15 says "Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house." Be a light to this world. Be a light to your friends. Let God be remembered.

-Carter L.

Preferences...why..?

Honestly, I'm writing this blog because I'm terribly ticked off about a few things. Why does everybody in the church today feel like worship is about preference? The lights don't look nice in the sanctuary or the song is too fast or the sermon was too long. That's complete crap, guys. God put that sermon on the preacher's heart for a reason and God put that song in the musicians' hearts for a reason and you're complaining about it?? Complaining about what God has to tell you? God has a reason for EVERYTHING that He does. He has a reason for having that song played on Sunday and He has a reason for having the sanctuary painted a certain color. So how could we possibly have the nerve to complain about it? We are SO selfish. We want worship to be exactly how we want it, not matter what it takes to make it that way. We want emotional songs played that give us that "God feeling" and we want sermons preached that will move us but, guess what?? They're all that way if we just PAY ATTENTION and stop worrying! Psalm 100:1-5 says "1Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. 2Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. 3Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his^a]">; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. 4Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. 5For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations." Worship the Lord with gladness. Don't come to church with preferences in mind because God isn't about preferences. He's about showing you what you need to see right then at that moment. It's up to you whether you get over what YOU want and listen to what HE is telling you. Stop listening to the world. Stop listening to your preferences. Listen to Him. You won't be disappointed. I promise.

-Carter L.

It's His

You know, if we're honest with ourselves, living out your faith can suck sometimes. We always say that we "want to show Christ in our lives" and we "want to shine God's light" but, do we ever actually do it? Sure, we might wear a t-shirt every now and then that might say something slightly religious on it but, do we ever get out there, roll up our sleeves, and SHOW God to our friends? Some of you might. I know that I have been struggling with living out my faith recently. I get this stupid idea in my mind that what people think of me is more important than glorifying my God. Dumb, right? I try hard to live a life that reflects God but this little thing called "the world" keeps getting in the way. Y'all know what I'm talking about. You get everything going how it's supposed to be and then Friday night comes along. You hang out with friends that might not be Christian and you joke around and, all of a sudden, that Christian life you were living is out the window. It says in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “ Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” See, God made us. We are a temple of Him. Why would we not glorify the Creator of...well...everything? Give God the glory. He deserves it.

[re]mix

This blog doesn't have much of a theme. I have just had some things on my heart this week. This past week, I was at Passport camp with my youth group. I've been struggling with a lot of things recently like breakups and other drama that doesn't need to be happening in the first place. All of those things have brought me away from God and I was scared. Austin, the camp pastor, BROUGHT it this week. He wasn't scared to step on toes, and that's what I needed. My life was messed up and I needed God to get down here with me, roll up His sleeves, and get messy with me. I thought I had control over my life. I thought things were okay. I was completely wrong though. You see, God has to be center of EVERYTHING if your life is going to work. Relationships without God are useless. Pointless. A waste of time. God is the Creator of this world and we think we can leave Him out of our lives? We couldn't be any more naive. Honestly, do you think you can do a better job with your life than the God who created you? Do you think you can do better than the God that gave you life and can give you death? I've come to the realization that I am NOTHING without Christ. If He's not the center of everything, anything I do is for not. This life that I live right now is my one shot to bring others to Christ. Why should I waste it by trying to do things myself?

-Carter L.

Testimony...

I had to write my testimony for Work Crew so I thought I might as well post it on here...

I was raised in a very Christian, southern family in Florence, South Carolina. I went to church every Sunday and every Wednesday and I was in all of the church plays as a kid and sang in the children’s choir. I basically lived at my church. One summer, I went to my friend’s church for Vacation Bible School. During the week, I felt like God was moving in my life. Sure, I might have only been 10 years old but, I felt something. I felt like there was something there that I had never felt before. So that day, I accepted God into my life and became a Christian. A few Sundays later, I stood in front of my church family and proclaimed my faith. I was baptized a few Sundays after that and finalized my faith. Ever since, I have had struggles and triumphs while being a Christian. When I was younger, being a Christian just meant that I went to church every Sunday and wore cool t-shirts. As I grew older, things became more evident that I needed to be living out a Christ-like life. I needed to act more like the Father that I claimed to follow. I went to a great church with an amazing youth group that tested me daily to be more like my Savior. I grew immensely in my faith over the years that I lived in South Carolina. Just as I was getting a fire for God that I had never seen before, I got the news that I would be moving to Waynesboro, Virginia. I was torn to pieces by the news. How could I leave the place I grew up? How could I leave my friends and family and the best church ever? I asked God these questions at least 100 times a day. I moved around a lot when I was younger but this had been the hardest move of my life. I got to Waynesboro and slowly started making friends but things still weren’t the same. I went to First Baptist Church of Waynesboro, a church with a significantly smaller youth group. I struggled to get anything out of the sermons and I struggled to keep my faith as strong as it had been. A girl I was dating at the time told me about Young Life and how awesome and fun it was. I had been to a few Clubs when I lived in Florence so I thought it would be a good place to find friends and, hopefully, grow some more in my faith. So I went to Club and Campaigners regularly and things were slowly starting to look better for me. My faith was pretty lukewarm at this point. I was still mad at God for pulling me away from Florence but, I was starting to realize what was in store for me in Waynesboro. I knew that He brought me here to spread my faith and bring what I had learned in Florence to my friends and church in Waynesboro. Over the next two years, I had a few ups and downs with my faith because of death, break ups, and other problems that arose. Recently, I had a very rough break up with my girlfriend that I had been dating for a year. I was mad at God for taking her away from me but, I still found myself going to Him for everything. I would ask Him to bring her back to me but I would also thank Him for that day’s advances in me and my ex-girlfriend’s relationship. I tried to find some good in the break up. I spent more time with my other friends and tried to strengthen those relationships. I have also tried to strengthen my relationship with God. I’m trying to make my relationship with God the most important thing in my life. It’s tough but, I know He needs to be first priority.

Carter L.