Not My Life, But Their's

I have always wanted to see the world. I have always wanted to travel and get out of my own space ever since I was a little girl. When I was in elementary school, I wanted to be a paleontologist and travel to the deserts of the world to discover the past and the extinct creations of God. When I was a little older, I wanted to study marine archaeology and travel the depths of the oceans. In high school, I didn't really know what I wanted to do, but I took a step of faith my senior year and left my country for the first time and spent seven weeks away in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This blog was created to be a way to update everyone while I was there. Those were the best seven weeks of my life so far, and I would give anything to be able to go back. Because I was out of my home and living and working amongst strangers who became my family through faith and who I am still so deeply connected to emotionally.

I have never wanted to stay in one place. Coming back to the same home I leave would be nice, but recently, I've been having this overwhelming urge and push to leave and not come back. I love my family, I love my friends, and in some ways, I love my country. But my country, if we are completely honest, does not need me. Nor do I necessarily need it. Over the summer, I kept getting the urge to go somewhere, anywhere. Anywhere but where I am, where I was. Granted, I went back home because at the time my family and I thought I would be needed to help everyone while my mom recovered from surgery. Because of that, I do not feel too deeply a sense of regret for staying home. But next year, I don't want to go back home.

I love my family, but the biggest thing they taught me was they did not raise me to be a boomerang, they raised me to be an arrow. Psalm 127:3-5 says, "Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate." My parents firmly believed this, and they firmly believed it was their job to raise me and my siblings to be not just arrows, but flaming arrows, on fire for God and ready to spread His love and His story like wildfire. And if I do that better halfway across the world, then great! Do they like the idea of me leaving and being all alone? Of course not, what mother is going to willingly send her daughter into the world that so terribly treats women? But they trust God with me and with my life, my safety.

And still, I have been afraid of bringing up the idea of leaving the country for good to them. Because that is such a monumental life decision, and it is really quite a big deal. But it is not an urge I can shake off and leave in the back of my mind. This urge has gotten so strong and so invasive that I must act or I will never be able to focus on anything else until it is handled. And that is how I know this is not of myself or my own ambitions. This is from God.

This week is Global Focus Week at Liberty, and I love, love, love GFW. I love the booths in the library, I love the speakers the school brings into convocation, and I love the sense of willingness you get from the students. But today was So. Much. Better. David Platt (renowned for his books Radical, and Follow Me, as well as others) was our speaker today, and before I go any further, I want to say one thing: David Platt has been gifted by God with his ability to speak and with his passion for the world and his ability to clearly articulate it to the masses. So today, Dr. Platt stood up and pleaded with us to understand the depth of what an unreached people group is and the urgency with which we need to be acting. I got a lot of good notes, and I want to share them with you all so you can understand where I'm coming from in a few paragraphs.

• Unreached people groups do not have access to the Gospel. 
• They have a general knowledge of God. 
• Because of this general knowledge, they have rejected God. 
• They are trying desperately to appease different gods and sometimes even to appease their own self and sins
•  The sinful nature manifests in us in a myriad of different ways. 
• Biblically, if you are unreached, you stand condemned before God. 
• There are not any innocent people in the world, there are condemned people all over the world who need to hear the gospel. 
• Biblically, if you are unreached, you will never be told about the good news, the amazing news, the awesome truth of the saving gift of Salvation and the gospel. 
• The gospel is only good news if it gets there in time. 
• Unreached people's knowledge of God is only enough to damn them to hell forever. 
• All they have is the bad news. 

With these points, I want to say what I have been feeling for months now.

I am not meant to stay in this country. I am not meant to teach in an American school. I would love to stay and help bring about education reform, but that is not my calling. My passion is to help people, my path is to teach, my calling is to leave. There are children dying because no one is presenting the Bible as a work of literature and in doing so presenting them with the truth that it contains. There is no one translating the Bible so that students can understand it.  No one is presenting the gospel to an entire third of our world population.

And for months I have been struggling with trying to discern whether or not this desire to leave and to go international was just something from myself in an attempt to get away from a city I didn't want to live in, or if this was a true calling from God. But throughout all of convo, I was repeatedly given a sense of reassurance and relief that this is not something I want to do. This is something God wants me to do. And being able to finally know that is a God-given desire is such a relief and has removed so much internal stress from my life.

I feel I am rambling now, so maybe I should be done.
In peace,
Emily E.

Things I Wish the Church Would Get Over and Talk About

There are a lot of things I see wrong with the church. And the more I talk to people here at Liberty, the more people I discover agree with me. I've also met some people who don't agree with me and think I'm a little too liberal in my ideas. But hear me out. I think Christians have set up this "fight or flight" mindset in that if the world around them doesn't agree with them or outright rejects them and their beliefs that they must either set up a wall of defense and stay safe within the church building, or they push their faith on nonbelievers even more and it turns into them setting out on what is essentially a Holy War against them. This seems ridiculous and completely unnecessary. So, here are some things I think the modern Christian needs to stop ignoring or making taboo and start talking about.

Your body is Not Dirty or Evil.
The human body was made exactly how it was meant to be made. God made your body, and no part of that is bad. It's your God given body, and God's Creation was made inherently good. Now, what people decide to do with that body may be wrong, and may be deviant from God's law, but your body is not wrong. Your body is a work of art, and I can only imagine how sad it makes the Artist when you think that it is not good or beautiful or wonderful.

This pertains to a lot of different aspects. Mostly it's this sex-negative mindset that so many Christians teach their children, not telling them the proper names of the parts of their bodies, and telling them lies about their bodies and other people's bodies. I don't know why this is even a problem or an issue. How can your child be comfortable with themselves if they don't even know the real name of the body in their pants? Sex-positive thinking does not say, "Yes, you can have sex whenever you want with whoever you want as long as you keep it safe." It says, "This is your body, these are the parts of your body, and this is how you take care of it. Your body is beautiful and there is nothing wrong with you. You need to make wise, educated choices and make sure you keep yourself healthy and out of danger." Sex-positive thinking is not about liberation, it's about education. You're going to spend your entire life living in your body, and that body is going to do the best it can to keep you alive and protected and give you the chance to live an awesome, wonderful life. But how can you live within something that you know so little about? If your kid has questions, answer them honestly, if you don't know, research. Then tell them in an age-appropriate manner.

Another aspect is in body image. Not only has secular society determined what we think is beautiful and acceptable for both men and women, but the church has followed this adamantly. Not so much in telling people what they should look like, but what they shouldn't look like. Because in some ways, formulating a list of "Do Not" rules, is a lot easier than sitting down and understanding what the Bible says is good for your body and for the Christian idea of body image. So we have so many people, especially women of all ages, who struggle with accepting their bodies natural structure, and who don't understand that everyone has a genetic tendency to a certain weight, and that there is no one healthy weight or shape or size or height. And it isn't just women, I see so many men at church and overhear so many conversations about how they are struggling to keep up with some new diet or work out regime that they have set up for themselves, and it is so disheartening to think that people are trying to push their bodies to be something they aren't. I am not saying it is wrong to want to be healthy or to make active choices in staying healthy. But when we get to a point where we end up worshiping a certain body type instead of worshiping the God who made those bodies, we end up with a power struggle for what has more of our attention.

The Rest of the World Does Not Have to be Held to Our Biblical Standards and Rules.
What???? This is preposterous! Of course, the world has to be held to our standards because our's are right and everyone else is wrong!!

Just...hush. Be quiet, you sound like a child when you say these things. Yes, they may be wrong, and they may not believe the same basic things you do, but guess what? Many Christians say that about other Christians!! In some cases, you have Christians who just inherently believe they are better than every other person in the world, and they think every one else who doesn't believe exactly like they believe is wrong and evil and going to be damned to hell for eternity. And that's an awful, toxic mindset. But it is there, and many of us seem to have a diluted version of this mindset in some way or another. We think that at the end of the day, everyone is still to be held responsible to the Biblical mandates and laws that we are held to. Quite simply, this is not the case. God gives us those laws and such that we may look different than the rest of the world and to shine a light in the darkness. No one but Christians are to be held by other Christians to these standards. No one. Not American society, not Muslims, not Atheists, not any one whom you do not specifically know is a Christian. If you know for a fact that they are a Christian, yes you can hold them accountable to biblical law. But if you aren't certain, then don't shame or condemn another person because they live a different life than you.

It is not our job to change the world's outlook on life as a whole. It is our job to focus on the one, the close, those who are already around us. It is not the job of the Christian or the church to target a specific part of our culture. We should not be trying to change Hollywood, or the LGBTQIA+ community, or the government, or any other group as a whole. One at a time, get close to people, make relationships, invest in individual lives. It's not about the most change you can make in the entire world, it's about the singular lives who are shown the beauty and grace of God's love.

Please Stop Oppressing People.
I know there are people out there that will say that the Christian church across the world is the one being oppressed, and worldwide, yes. But here in the West, we have literally no oppression. We are not being systematically murdered, we are not being discriminated against on a daily and widespread basis. We are not being denied basic human rights for our beliefs. As hard as it is to believe, over the course of history, the Western Church has been the cause of most of the oppression in the world, including the Crusades, slavery, and other minority struggles have been caused by the church and their desire to eradicate all other religions and cultures in the world. (White Man's Burden anybody?) We are not supposed to destroy other people's right to a pleasant and fulfilling life. We are supposed to show them the only true way to fulfillment and Salvation. The only way to do that in our world today seems to be to show love. More specifically, the love of Christ. Why is Christianity not characterized by the Love of Christ anymore? Why are we not known for our outreached arms and outgoing feet? Love is what everyone is desiring for, whether they realize it not, and the ultimate source of love is the Cross. We need to stop pushing shame, and start pushing Love and grace. That is what gets people's attention. Love and caring, not oppression.

Politics are Completely Different than Church Ordinances.
I am not going to bring up an argument about church and state, because I honestly don't know exactly what it is and I have had it explained to me to be several different things, and none of them make a lot of sense. But I do want to remind you, that the pastor can preach about the Bible's moral absolutes, of course, but when they try to get up and say that those moral absolutes should be forced upon the rest of the country or area in which you live through laws with a religious background, that's when we have a problem. A pastor's job is not to tell you how to think politically. It is the job of the pastor to shepherd the church and to guide them to the path of spiritual righteousness. How a person applies that to their political views is completely up to the individual, not the pastor. Please don't abuse the power of the pulpit.

The Country was not Founded Upon the Idea of Freedom of Religion Alone, and it was not Written Into our Constitution Sspecifically and Only for Christianity.
This country was not founded solely for the reason of Freedom of Religion. If anything, we must remember that our country did not fight for nor gain independence until 167 years after Jamestown was founded. This means that there was no correlation between the Pilgrims' reason for leaving England and the Founding Fathers reason for fighting for independence. Everyone who came over on the boats were long dead, and the biggest reason for the War of Independence was taxation. There are not connecting factors there. So please, stop misquoting history, it makes us all seem ignorant when we aren't.  Some of us actually paid attention in high school history class, and a lot more of us know how to look up the real facts on the internet. Our country was not even founded by what most of us would consider Christians. Many of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were Deists, who do not believe in divine providence, nor in divine sovereignty. So, that being said, many most likely did not think to ask God to bless our country, or asked God for anything, because Deism says that God made everything in Creation, then stepped away and has left it alone since then and has no direct involvement with the world.

The World Sucks, Stop Making it Seem Happy.
Look, the world, because it has been enveloped by sin (which is an embodiment of evil, which is the perversion of good), and because of that, the world is an awful horrid place. There is death, there is violence, there is sickness, poverty, greed, abuse. The world, not even our own specific version of our own personal world, is going to be better, or get happier, by becoming a Christian or donating to a church or a Christian organization. Pastors, do not lead the people, who have trusted you to tell them Biblical truth, to believe that which is not true. Show them the heartache and the pain they will feel having to leave family behind because they do not believe. Show them what happens when they decide to accept a gift of holiness and salvation. Show them what other Christians suffer through all over the world, and teach them the selflessness of Jesus to try to help them. Teach them prayer and supplication, teach them mercy. The world sucks, please don't sugarcoat that.

The World is Beautiful, Stop Making it Seem Awful.
The world, while full of evil, is still a part of the Creation of God, who made it in perfection and beauty. IF we look, the world is still full of that beauty. The mountains, the oceans, the fields. The cities, the countries, the villages, all of them are still full of happiness, whether we see it or not. In every place, weddings, births, birthdays are full of joy. Holidays are taken as days of rest and celebration. Throughout every day, there are people blessing other people, spreading happiness, spreading joy, spreading love. Even places where the joy and love of Jesus have never been told of, people have these things, because they set out to have these things. The flowers still bloom, the sun still rises, the forests still stand. The oceans still house an entirely different world, the entirety of the universe is still expanding, still growing, and still burning bright. There is so much we overlook sometimes, because we get so caught up in the bad news, the suffering. We need to remember that all around us, there are children learning to walk, babies learning to laugh, and couples celebrating 50 years of marriage.

I feel like American churches and pastors forget this all so often, and I pray that we don't continue this trend.
Emily E.

The Clare Issue

I am livid. I am furious, I am beyond appalled. For those of you that haven't seen the story, or for those of you who live outside the United States, a girl in Virginia was kicked out of her homeschool senior prom over the weekend for an absolutely ridiculous reason.

She was kicked out because the organizers of the event thought her dress, though suitable within dress code and not the shortest one there, was inappropriate and that her dancing, which she was not doing, was also inappropriate and that she was causing "the young men at the prom to think impure thoughts." Not only that, but the way she and the rest of her group was treated by the organizer of the prom was absolutely unprofessional and horrendous.

Here is the story, and here is the follow up post. Please excuse any explicit language you may come across.

Now, there is a lot going on here, and I want to address it all. First of all, go Clare for being excited and comfortable with your body and being able to absolutely rock that dress, and for breaking the racial boundaries that the South is known to have. Your boyfriend seems very sweet and I applaud him in his ability to keep calm during this whole ordeal. To have your significant other called out is a terrible thing and I'm sure this is hard on him and the rest of your family as well.

Secondly, I applaud both Clare and the rest of her group for trying to be as respectful and as mature about the situation as possible. I know at the end things got a little rough, but the fact that they even tried to go about this in a respectable, calm manner means volumes. I know personally, I would have had a fit right there, so I think they deserve a lot of respect for that.

Honestly, I think the teenagers handled this situation the best they could and used their resources and abilities to make the situation known. However, they did lose their temper at the end when they were escorted out, but they all agree that it was the wrong way to go about things.

What I am appalled with, is the way the adults handled this situation. The fact that the fathers, the fathers, were staring and ogling at the teenagers is disturbing as it is and should be addressed as such. There is a terrible, terrible stigma within church culture that it is the father/husbands job to moderate and keep tabs on what their daughters and wives wear. Honestly, I love my father and i respect him. He is the most important man in my life besides Jesus, and if he was uncomfortable with something i was wearing, I wouldn't wear it, and that goes for a majority of girls I know. I highly doubt from everything else I have read that her father would have let her out of the house in that dress had he not felt comfortable with her wearing it.

Secondly, I am disappointed that none of the other adults involved with leading the event got involved. It seems that this was the solely the responsibility of Mrs. D, who called her out both times and caused a commotion in the first place. When the other woman who pulled Clare aside was asked whether she believed it to be too short, she said it wasn't her place to say. So, one we see a woman abusing her power as organizer, and another who is not willing to get on her bad side. When asked, a security guard also said it wasn't his place to comment (which in all fairness, it wasn't. He's a security guard, not the fashion police).

This kind of thing happens all the time. You have one person who has some small leadership role, who blows up the significance of their responsibilities to the extreme, and because of this reason, others are afraid to contradict them. It was that woman's place to say whether or not she agreed with Mrs. D, and she should have given her opinion.

I'm utterly disgusted with the way these young adults were treated, honestly. they were shut down and not given a chance to defend their friend. Clare was falsely accused of dancing provocatively and her friends were not allowed to dispute this. This whole situation was skewed and the argument was one sided. There was no chance at defense, and had this been within a court of law, it would have never, ever been acceptable practice. Also, her entire group of six were given verbal promise of a refund for all having to be kicked out on unjust reasoning, and only Clare and her boyfriend have been given one.

This kind of behavior is disgusting in or out of the church. It is called slut shaming and it is being prejudiced or biased against a person for the clothing they choose to wear, whether it be revealing or not. It is wrong and it needs to stop. I am really really sad to know that church culture is so bad about this. We say we love everybody, yet we give them disapproving glances when they show up in clothing we think is unsuitable.

How dare we.
How dare we think that because we follow a guideline set for or specific religion or our specific denomination that must mean every other person in our presence should follow it too. Jesus Christ compels us, not to judge those around us, but to love them. And I am disgusted, i am appalled, I am livid.

But most of all, I am guilty. I grew up in church culture that didn't advocate this kind of behavior, but it didn't speak against it either. If a woman showed up to church or to anywhere really, and they were wearing something we didn't consider modest, we talked about it. My mother and I talked, my sister and I talked, my friends and I talked. It was harmless gossip, right? Well, looking back, I see how wrong I was. And I am sorry, that I have been a part of the problem. I am sorry that I grew up in a culture that encouraged slut shaming, and encouraged this kind of discrimination. And I fell into that without a second though.

With this whole situation arising, I've begun to evaluate how I feel about the whole modesty movement within churches today. And I realize that there are some things wrong with it. I feel that this post is already long enough, so I will be writing about it in a different post. But let me say right now: Modesty is a matter of the heart, not what you put on your body. It applies to men and women, and it is in no way gender exclusive.

Emily E.

What a Christian Is

I'm going to go into a rant, so if you don't want to read my angry words, please feel free to disregard this post completely.

Why does the world hate Christians as a whole? Because Christians hate themselves. Our modern church is not what it should be. It is divided and torn apart by theological differences and pure prejudice and bitterness. Because we are so extremely judgmental that we will kill those who are not like us or who differ in beliefs. We have killed in the name of Christ during the Crusades, the Civil War, and the Civil Rights movements of the 1960's. We shove down those who we think below us and we turn our noses up at them. We cause a stir in OUR OWN CHURCH FAMILES because we think that this person should leave and not come back. We can look someone in the eyes with a smile plastered on our faces and tell them that they are lower than dirt.

The world hates Christianity because we ourselves hate it. The word Christian means "little Christ", are we not supposed to be an example of Christ through our lives and through our words, actions, and reactions? But instead, what are we?

“Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." (Matthew 3:7c-10)

We are the hypocrites, the Pharisees, those who say one thing and do the other, those who taint the name of Christ with out foolishness and wickedness. If you claim to be a Christian, but live in a way that spreads hatred not only to nonbelievers, but to other Christians as well, Jesus says that you might as well be like a "Gentile and a tax collector" to the Body. This means the Christians around you may as well and throw you out of the church and turn their backs on you because you refuse to work towards peace.

A person who lives in hatred and bitterness towards other Christians and denominations are not okay; they have a sin problem and they need to get their hearts right with God.

I have heard recently from one of my friends who is going to seminary to be a pastor that a lot of the students there will stop going to chapel services because they become bitter and angry towards other students and chapel services because they had a certain preconceived notion of their own about what a "Christian" should act or look or talk like. Those that don't meet the standards one holds aren't worthy of one's time, nor are they apparently worthy of one's compassion and brotherhood.

Let me let you all in on an apparently little known secret. A Christian is a person, and subsequently a sinful human, just like anyone else. The only exception I or anyone else has is that we have been saved by accepting the grace that was offered to us at the Cross. Every person is different, thus not fitting into one mold, and we all have our problems, thus making us imperfect. There will be very few Christians who meet your standards of what a Christian should be, and I can almost guarantee that you won't find them sitting in a Southern Baptist church.

I think what has happened is that our world has somehow screwed up the image that comes to mind when we think of Christians. So let's break down this mold and let's refocus on what the Bible says a Christian is to be like. First of all, let's talk about what a Christian is not.

A Christian is not perfect. This seems like a shock to a lot of people, but I don't know a single perfect person, let alone a perfect Christian. The word "perfect" is found 85 different times in the New King James Version of the Bible. There is not a single occurrence in which this word refers to the present spiritual state of the body of Christ. There are mentions of us growing to perfection, of God perfecting that which He started in us, but there is nowhere that says that anyone of us is perfect. The only perfect man was Jesus.

A Christian is not sinless. Again, this comes as a shock. Christians aren't supposed to sin anymore, so why are they not sinless? Just because we accept Jesus as our Savior, does not mean we turn into Jesus. That would be like me getting a bike as a birthday present, then turning into the bike. It doesn't make sense, nor is it practical. If we could become sinless through belief, then what was the purpose of the cross? It also helps to understand that the word "sin" comes from the Greek word that would be used in archery competitions to say if the archer had missed the mark and to shoot again. So, the idea behind this is that, sin is not necessarily doing something evil, but rather it is us straying from the path of righteousness and missing the mark that God has set out for us to reach.

A Christian is not a source of infinite wisdom. Look, we are all human. There is an entire universe of knowledge that we will never know, and most of us don't have any sort of special academic abilities. We, Christians, are going through life just like you are, and for the most part, we don't have any idea what we're doing, just like you as well. I most definitely have absolutely no idea what I'm doing. There is no way anyone should ever come to me for wisdom, because I make some really stupid decisions. We all do stupid things, we don't gain any sort of mystery knowledge when we are saved.

A Christian is not a judge. Okay, so this one is really hard to debunk, because sadly, it's all too prevalent in our churches today. I for one would like to say, that if you have ever been judged or have felt belittled by a Christian or by a member of a church, or anyone else who affiliates with the term Christianity, I am truly sorry. And if I have ever judged anyone, I apologize for that. We are just as human as the next, but we have no reason to put you down.

So now let's talk about what a Christian is, or more specifically, what the Bible says a Christian should be. First, A Christian is characterized by love. In Matthew 5:42-47, Jesus makes it clear that the old Jewish law not only stated to love God, but to love others as an outpouring of your love for God. And Christians are not meant to love only other Christians, but to love those who are our enemies; those who are not of the faith. Because "if you love those who love you, what reward have you?" A Christian who loves God will follow His commandments and His path for their life (John 14:15, Luke 16:13). One of the greatest commandments given is "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:39). As Christians, it is our job to love God, and love others. These are the defining factors and characteristics of a Christian.

As much as I would like to say that there are more things that Christians are, that pretty much puts a cover over everything I could break it down into. If you love someone, you have a passion geared towards them. That passion will create desire, and that in turn creates in us the inexplicable need to move on that desire. If we love someone, we want the best for them. We want them to have the best life possible, so why not tell them about the chance to have the best life possible not only here and now on earth, but after we get to heaven as well? When it comes down to it, a true Christian is a person who has accepted the gift of salvation through the Lord's death on the cross, and who loves God, loves people, and acts on the love they have.

Love In Christ,
Emily E.

For the Young Ones

Can I talk to the young people for a minute? Adults, please pass this on to your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and students. I want to tell you guys something that is of the utmost importance.

God does not have any grandchildren.

Now those of you who have grown up in the church are looking at this right now and thinking, "Well, duh, Emily. Of course not, we are all God's children. The Bible doesn't say anything about grandchildren." And you are absolutely correct.

What I mean is that you cannot inherit your family's faith. Just because your parents are Christians (or Muslim, Buddhist, or any other religion for that matter) and took you church every Sunday as you grew up does not make you a Christian. Just because you were raised to believe there is a God does not make you a Christian.

You are not born into a relationship, you are born into an institutionalized religion. You are fed Bible stories and Christian songs and Christmas plays from your toddler years, but that does not make you a Christian. Just because you were in every musical, went to every vacation Bible School, attended church every Sunday morning, and every Wednesday and Sunday night, does not make you a Christian. It makes you a religious statistic.

You are not a Christian just because your parents or grandparents are. You become a Christian through your faith and allegiance to the King of Heaven. You become a Christian by admitting your sins and committing your life to serving a man who gave His life up for you.

You know what else? This time in your life is the most flexible and free time you will ever have. This is the perfect time to be fully committed to serving God and answering His calling. This is the perfect time to move. It breaks my heart to see so many of my peers and my closest friends wasting the most influential time of their life because they don't care.

You need to care. You need to find that passion for something more than clothes, sports, grades, and dating. We are talking about finding a passion for the Kingdom of God. All that other stuff, it's okay, but it is not what your life revolves around.

For those of you who are Christians, I want to refer to you a verse that I'm sure you've heard many times in the church. 1 Timothy 4:12 says ,"Let no one despise your youth; instead, you should be an example to the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity." Let me explain what this verse is not saying. This verse is not saying, "Be stuck up and arrogant because you're young." It's not saying, "Live it up and party while you can because YOLO."

This verse is saying, "Don't let the adults opinions bring you down. Don't be discouraged by other's opinions. Keep found what you're doing for Christ's Kingdom." This verse says very specifically, "Be an example to believers," not the world, the church.

Be an example in speech. If you're a Christian, "no foul language is to come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, son that it gives grace to those who hear." (Ephesians 4:29) Those f bombs you like to drop? Yeah, stop it. Now. Those curse words you like to sprinkle into your language on Facebook and Twitter? Delete them. Not only is it rude and uncalled for, but the Bible specifically calls against it. Does that statement build up someone? No? Then don't say it. Does that, "That's what she said joke" make someone's statement crude and irrelevant to the conversation now? Yes? Then hold your tongue and keep your mouth shut. Do the words hoe, slut, or skank uplift that girl? Do the words stupid, whack, or nigga, or gangsta build up that boys self-identity? Then don't address them as such. Your words are meant to be encouraging and uplifting, not slanderous and degrading.

Be an example in conduct. "All bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander must be removed from you, along with malice. And be kind and compassionate to one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ" (Ephesians 4:31). In other words, behave yourself. The way you act in public directly reflects not only your family and how they raised you, but also your God for whom "We are now ambassadors" (2 Corinthians 5:20). So all that rowdiness and not very smart stunts you and your friends pull? Yeah, don't. You shouldn't be extremely loud either, as you can see. Be kind to others, because who wants to associate with a God whose followers are rude?

Be an example in love. I'm not going to quote the entirety of 1 Corinthians, but let me point out a few things. This is not talking about the kind of love you have towards your family, your friends, or even to your husband or wife. This is talking about spiritual love. Deep, meaningful love. Love is patient. If someone is in your way, be patient, maybe they're having a problem. Love is not boastful or conceited. If you did this big awesome thing and it's so cool and you're so proud of it, good for you. We're all happy for you, great job! But please, don't rub it in our faces every chance you get. Love keeps no records of wrongdoings. If someone hurts you, find it in your soul and by the help of God, forgive them, and forget about it. Put it in the past, it is irrelevant.

Be an example in faith. In the movie Amazing Grace, which chronicles the story of William Wilberforce and his drive to abolish slavery in England, one of the characters, William Pitt, states," We're too young to realize certain things are impossible. Which is why we will do them anyway." That is the faith we should have. We do not know if anything is possible, but we believe that God can do anything, so we jump at the chance to do things for God. Faith is about action. About moving. We are too young to worry about what the world thinks of our radical Christianity, we are young, and therefore have the audacity to move when God tells us to.

Be an example in purity. You guys, society, and sadly everyone in churches now, expect you to have sex before marriage. If you are in a relationship for longer than six months, it is expected that you have done it. You can't have a healthy relationship without having sex. This is a lie. We are supposed to be an example! Why aren't we stepping up to the challenge of standing for purity and a clean heart in this world that advocates sexual experimentation? This is not just a physical purity, this is about your heart. There is so much I could say about this, but I need another post to fully go into it.

Your time, OUR time, is now. It's not after college, it's right now. What are you being held back by that you cannot fully commit yourself to the work of God? If it's a person, sever those ties. If it's a job, quit it. God will provide for you being faithful. If it's your family, move out. God has called you to something bigger than what you're doing right now.

Please. Please, don't waste these years. You were made for so much more than this.

Burdened in Christ,
Emily E.

Oppositions

This world we live in is full of different ideas, religions, and opinions. In our society, we have such contrasting ideas, each thinking it is right, that sometimes we cause an intellectual, theological, and political stalemate. We have doubts, not only about the opposing side's opinions but about our own as well. When we confront our own doubts and learn the truth about them, we stand stronger in our beliefs, and can represent with more boldness and clarity than before. When we dig into the doubt of the other side, we can represent their opinions, and still keep ours intact. Though we may not be in agreement, we can still stand in a mutual understanding. Instead of throwing blind, one-sided accusations, we can come to a mutual disagreement. It is not about proving the other wrong; it is about respect. When we show respect, we show not only maturity but humility and civility. To respect those you agree with is incredibly easy. To respect those who think against you is incredibly hard. It is hard, but not impossible. It takes a mind willing enough to view the problem from all sides, but stubborn enough to hold firm in the face of unsupportive evidence. We are a generation open to new ideas, yet strong-willed enough to fight for our own. We are a generation open to intellectual challenges but are not easily confused. We will fight that the sky is orange, even if it clearly blue. We will take a stance that seems unorthodox, but when inspected falls in line with the oldest of tradition.

I stand on the side of stubborn pride. I refuse to be proven wrong. I will fight until you understand my views. I will easily forget to listen and explore your views, though. I am trying to be better about it, but it takes a lot of work to stop being selfish. I am willing, just not in the heat of the debate. I can listen, just not when I think what I have to say is more important. I am a reason we have a problem in society. I am the stubborn, the intolerant.

But what if I, and those like me, weren't? What if instead of intolerance — which is not necessarily being rudely against a viewpoint, but rather a certain fear and even ignorance of that view — we were receptive to hear their side of the story? What if we were not only willing to hear but were willing to really listen? What if instead of thinking about our next comeback, we take in what they have to say and truly think about their opinions? What if instead of being rude, we were civil and kind in our words? What kind of world would we live in?

Now consider this. God nor Jesus ever promised peace for Christians. We were not promised that everyone would love us because we are those chosen to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. In fact, Jesus says the exact opposite. We will be persecuted in His name. Almost all of the 12 were killed as a result of their unwavering faith. We are not meant to be given peace. We are meant to be given the exact opposite. We are promised ridicule, persecution and abandonment. We do not live in the perfected earth yet, and we won't for some time. We live in the world that is ruled by Satan and by evil. As a result as pilgrims in this hostile land, we are not going to have rest, not now, at least.

When people say the world hates Jesus, I sometimes find myself disagreeing. When Jesus walked the earth, it was not the sinners that hated Him, it was the church. The Pharisees, the priests were the ones who put Him on a cross, they were the lines who arrested Him and put Him on trial. The sinners loved Jesus because He brought them hope. Jesus reached out to them, the ones the church ridiculed.

The world today doesn't hate Jesus. If given a true example of the love of Jesus, I'm sure many more would be willing to put their trust in Him. No, the world hates the church. The bigoted, harsh people who persecute and destroy in the name of our God. Those who led the Crusades, and the ones who claimed lands for their countries and their God. No, the world hates us because we hate them. We turn our noses up at the homeless, we give the cold shoulder to the pregnant girls, afraid and alone. We shout labels and venomous sneers at the sinners, the homosexuals, the alcoholics, the drug addicts when we forget that we are just as unworthy of Christ's sacrifice as they are.

We are no better than this world, but we believe that we are. We are just as sick and twisted in our cold dead hearts as they are. So shame on you, you who gives the disapproving glance to the scantily dressed girl. Shame on us, who close our doors to those of different cultures. Shame on me, who walks by the homeless without a second thought. Shame on the church, for their legalistic lies. And shame on our hearts, for becoming hardened to the troubles of the world.

The world hates Jesus because the Jesus they see in us is a judgemental, biased jerk. They hate Jesus because we hate Him. If we loved Him, we wouldn't slander His name. If we loved Him, we wouldn't hate them. If we loved Him, we would become like Him.

For more on this, please listen to God Is Not A White Man by Gungor.
Emily E.

From the Field- Airport Thoughts

So... It's been a while since I last posted, but I am very happy to announce that I am officially in the mission field. I am currently sitting in the Dallas/Fort Worth airport waiting for my flight into Vancouver. While sitting here, I've come to the conclusion that I hate airports. I love flying, it's like riding a really long roller coaster, but I do not like airports at all! I feel so self-conscious just sitting, with all these other people, trying not to look at them, hoping they don't look at me, and then thinking, there's a soul behind that face. I remember why I'm here in the first place. I'm not going on vacation. I'm going on a mission. I am going to proactively fight a battle against the enemy. I am joining forces with two other young adults and a whole church so that we may save lives. I am here to be the embodiment of love to people.

As I sit here, listening to a man talk about the fascinating business of medium sized farming, I remember that God has given me a specific job to do. He has given me a charge. Change the world. Go and do the job I have for you. Go and show them Jesus through your actions. And still I sit here, too scared to strike up a conversation with the older couple splitting a few seat s down from me. Too scared to ask the two really rude guys to stop cussing and looking at me like they're trying to impress me. Too scared to ask the other loner why he's going to Vancouver.

But I'm also too scared to ignore them. I'm too scared to not wonder what their life is like. I'm too scared to not think that they might need Jesus. I'm too scared to let myself take a nap and block everyone out for an hour. I'm too scared to not see them.

A little boy ran by earlier dragging a suitcase behind calling for his mom and dad. At first, I worried he was lost, but he seemed intent on following a certain woman, so I thought he was with her. But then she didn't turn around. By that time, they were farther down the way than I wanted to go. I am so ashamed. I could have gone have him, should have gone after him, and made sure he was okay. What if he wasn't? What if he's still wandering the airport? What if it was all my fault? I could have shown him how much Jesus loves the little children, instead I showed him how much our world doesn't care.  I haven't even gotten to the final stop and I have already failed in my mission.

I've held eye contact with an older man several times, and yet never said a word. For all I know, he could have been begging me to tell him about this Savior,m this Jesus I know. For all I know he could die tomorrow. I have been sitting in this airport for two hours and I have refused to listen to the cross of the souls surrounding me.

Who am I, that God would want to use me, a dirty, rotten, heartless creature, to spread the love of the Gospel. Why would He choose me, a lazy, disgusting child, to teach about His truth? What qualifies me to do any of this?

The answer is nothing. I am nothing, I have done nothing, and I will never be anything significant enough to qualify me for Kingdom work. Yet, even in this, God looked at me, pricked my heart, and said, "I want you to go. I choose you. I chose you before you were even born, because you are special. You are precious to Us, and We want you to be a witness to the awesome things We can do through the broken vessels. I have chosen you, my child."

Jeremiah 1: 5-8, "I chose you before I formed you in the womb; Inset you apart before you were born. I appointed you a prophet to the nations. But I protested, 'Oh no, Lord, God! Look I don't know how to speak since I am only a youth.' Then the Lord said to me: Do not say, 'I am only a youth,' for you will go to everyone I send you ton and speak whatever I tell you. Do not be afraid of anyone, for I will be with you to deliver you. This is the Lord's declaration."

Emily E.

Musical Mondays- Emily Meadows- "Rise Up"

So today's Musical Monday is going to be a little different. Instead of talking about a song on the radio, I'm going to introduce you to one of my songs that I've written. This is a fairly new experience for me, sharing my songs with people. I’ve only let a handful of people read my music, because each song is very personal to me, and I wasn't prepared to share those things in the past. But I feel that this is good and right, so here we go.

I have decided I won't settle

For some shallow, worthless religion

I refuse to be let down gently

By some church's low expectations

My God is a God who’s passionate

My God is a God who’s intimate

If that is who my God is

Shouldn't the church be like that, too

It's time for a great awakening

The church has fallen asleep

It's time for us to come together

Imagine all that we could be

God's messengers, God's warriors

God's children, it's time to rise up

It's time to listen; it’s time to armor up

The enemy has destroyed our nation

But we shouldn't be despondent

We are the hope of this nation

Why are we still so complacent

This generation needs to decide

Who are we going to trust with our souls

We should have been inspired

By the God-man who gave up all control

Our God is a God who’s jealous

Our God came to live among us

If that is who our God is

Then shouldn't we be that way, too

It's time for a great awakening

The church has fallen asleep

It's time for us to come together

Imagine all that we could be

God's messengers, God's warriors

God's children, it's time to rise up

It's time to listen; it’s time to armor up

The enemy has destroyed our nation

But we shouldn't be despondent

We are the hope of this nation

Why are we still so complacent

Passion has left us

Come and fill us again

Love has not abandoned

We have walked away from Him

He came and gave Himself for us

What will we give in return

It's time for a great awakening

The church has fallen asleep

It's time for us to come together

Imagine all that we could be

God's messengers, God's warriors

God's children, it's time to rise up

It's time to listen; it’s time to armor up

The enemy has destroyed our nation

But we shouldn't be despondent

We are the hope of this nation

Why are we still so complacent

Let me give you the background of this song before we dive into it. I wrote "Rise Up" in January of 2012, after learning about Martin Luther in World History. My mom found this excellent docudrama about his life called "Luther". It is excellent and I highly recommend it. What I learned and saw as I watched this was that the Roman Catholic Church in Luther's day is no different than the rest of the churches today. The one post I made a while back (see here) was also written during that time. I wrote this as a declaration that I'm sick of Christians settling for a "basic life". No outreach, no true conviction, no true relationship. So this is that song.

I have decided I won't settle

For some shallow, worthless religion

I refuse to be let down gently

By some church's low expectations

My God is a God who’s passionate

My God is a God who’s intimate

If that is who my God is

Shouldn't the church be like that, too

This first verse is me taking a stand. No more of shallow church services, where you go in, sing some songs, listen to a watered down message from a man who may or may not be an ordained pastor, then leave and forget everything that happened while you eat at your favorite fast food place. I refuse to be put down to a low level of service because many adults in church believe that teenagers are good for nothing heathens. If our God is passionate and desires an intimate one-on-one relationship and truly cares about every single person, shouldn't the members of His church, His Children, be the same way?

It's time for a great awakening

The church has fallen asleep

It's time for us to come together

Imagine all that we could be

God's messengers, God's warriors

God's children, it's time to rise up

It's time to listen; it’s time to armor up

The enemy has destroyed our nation

But we shouldn't be despondent

We are the hope of this nation

Why are we still so complacent

Now is the perfect time to rise up against the normalcy of boring church life. It's the perfect time for us to band together and become a force for God. We could be so much as God's children. We could warriors for His Kingdom; we could be messengers for His truth. It's time to be counteractive against the evil that has overcome our nation, our world. We are the hope for this nation if we would stop sitting back and saying "Why bother?"

This generation needs to decide

Who are we going to trust with our souls

We should have been inspired

By the God-man who gave up all control

Our God is a God who’s jealous

Our God came to live among us

If that is who our God is

Then shouldn't we be that way, too

My generation, and the ones directly before and after me, need to stop sitting in the waves and letting ourselves be washed every which way and plant our souls somewhere. Even if someone decides to turn their backs on God, it is better that he choose one and not both. You cannot serve both God and Satan. Our God is jealous for our souls, He would rather you choose one, but He will refuse you if you linger in the in-between. Our God came to live among us. He came to be a light in this world, and He wants us to follow in His path.

Passion has left us

Come and fill us again

Love has not abandoned

We have walked away from Him

He came and gave Himself for us

What will we give in return

The passion we once felt when we first became Christians is gone. That joy we had has left us, because we have left God. We were the ones who walked away, not God. He gave up His Son's life for us.

What are we going to give Him in return for that payment?

Emily E.

Musical Mondays - Casting Crowns - "Jesus, Friend of Sinners"

Second Musical Monday post, as promised.

http://youtu.be/BY6VAy9y_iQ
Jesus, friend of sinners, we have strayed so far away
We cut down people in your name but the sword was never ours to swing
Jesus, friend of sinners, the truth's become so hard to see
The world is on their way to You but they're tripping over me
Always looking around but never looking up I'm so double minded
A plank eyed saint with dirty hands and a heart divided

Oh Jesus, friend of sinners
Open our eyes to the world at the end of our pointing fingers
Let our hearts be led by mercy
Help us reach with open hearts and open doors
Oh Jesus, friend of sinners, break our hearts for what breaks yours

Yeah...

Jesus, friend of sinners, the one who's writing in the sand
Made the righteous turn away and the stones fall from their hands
Help us to remember we are all the least of these
Let the memory of Your mercy bring Your people to their knees
Nobody knows what we're for only what we're against when we judge the wounded
What if we put down our signs crossed over the lines and loved like You did

Oh Jesus, friend of sinners
Open our eyes to world at the end of our pointing fingers
Let our hearts be led by mercy
Help us reach with open hearts and open doors
Oh Jesus, friend of sinners, break our hearts for what breaks yours

You love every lost cause; you reach for the outcast
For the leper and the lame; they're the reason that You came
Lord I was that lost cause and I was the outcast
But you died for sinners just like me, a grateful leper at Your feet

'Cause You are good, You are good and Your love endures forever
You are good, You are good and Your love endures forever
You are good, You are good and Your love endures forever
You are good, You are good and Your love endures forever

Oh Jesus, friend of sinners
Open our eyes to world at the end of our pointing fingers
Let our hearts be led by mercy
Help us reach with open hearts and open doors
Oh Jesus, friend of sinners, break our hearts for what breaks Yours

And I was the lost cause and I was the outcast
Yeah...
You died for sinners just like me, a grateful leper at Your feet


So, I'm going to try to not go off on a self-righteous tangent here, because honestly, I feel that this song deserves it's own sermon, but I don't have the authority for that.

Jesus, friend of sinners, we have strayed so far away
We cut down people in your name but the sword was never ours to swing
Jesus, friend of sinners, the truth's become so hard to see
The world is on their way to You but they're tripping over me
Always looking around but never looking up I'm so double minded
A plank eyed saint with dirty hands and a heart divided

We, as Christians, have turned away from the basic principle of the Gospel, that is, we have forgotten about selfless love. We have grown self-serving, cutting down people that we deem unholy and unrighteous with our so called "power of the Word". We have turned the truth of the Bible into a weapon of guilt and condemnation. As people who are genuinely hurting and interested in the hope and peace that comes with a relationship with Christ try to find their way to Him, they are distracted and rerouted by us, who say they are not good enough, God could never love them. We are a walking contradiction of ourselves, like the Greek goddess Janus, who had one face turned toward the past, and one turned to the future, but never one facing up, towards the sun. We are sinful and despicable, unloving and unrepentant.


Oh Jesus, friend of sinners
Open our eyes to the world at the end of our pointing fingers
Let our hearts be led by mercy
Help us reach with open hearts and open doors
Oh Jesus, friend of sinners, break our hearts for what breaks yours

Now, in a world that is falling down, with no hope in sight, we realize that we have been a major source of persecution to those who need love the most. Many of us are realizing that we need help from God. When we look at the world, we look in disgust and revilement. But when we look through the eyes of God, we begin to look at the world with love, seeing the hopeless and the hurting. We feel the need to reach out and treat people the way Jesus has taught us. When we look at the world through the filter of the Holy Spirit, our hearts should break.


Jesus, friend of sinners, the one who's writing in the sand
Made the righteous turn away and the stones fall from their hands
Help us to remember we are all the least of these
Let the memory of Your mercy bring Your people to their knees
Nobody knows what we're for only what we're against when we judge the wounded
What if we put down our signs, crossed over the lines and loved like You did

We answer to the Almighty power of Christ, who, through compassion and gentle discipline, changed the hearts of those like us. It is He who helps us see people as we should. It is He who turns our angry, judgmental hearts into hearts of love and generosity. It is through the memory of the cross that we are reminded how to love.

You love every lost cause; you reach for the outcast
For the leper and the lame; they're the reason that You came
Lord I was that lost cause and I was the outcast
But you died for sinners just like me, a grateful leper at Your feet

'Cause You are good, You are good and Your love endures forever
You are good, You are good and Your love endures forever
You are good, You are good and Your love endures forever
You are good, You are good and Your love endures forever

Jesus, our supreme, perfect example, was the epitome of love. He didn't look at people through the eyes of one trained to be bound by social status. He didn't act according to the status quo. He broke those boundaries, loved the nasty people. He died for them. He died for you. He died for me. Because you and I are nasty, dirty, rotten, no-good sinners who wallow and take comfort in our lies and our vanity and our sins. We are the people bound by social status, we are the ones Jesus should have ignored. But He didn't, because He looked at us with love. He was moved to compassion in His heart. He was moved to compassion; His heart broke for us. Our sinful lives were painful to Him. He cared so much that it hurt. And He still does. He loves us so much that our sin is painful to Him. Our sin is the pain that He bore on the cross. It is what drove Him away from God while he hung there, bloody and naked, dying a cruel, embarrassing death. It wasn't their sin, it wasn't the government's sin, it wasn't your heathen neighbor's sin. It was your's. It was mine. And He did that, because He loves you. Because HE will always love you. No matter what you do, what you've done, what you will do in the future. He loves you. 

In my opinion, this song is one of the most powerful songs Casting Crowns has released to date. It is a call to action. It is a call  for Christians everywhere to wake up, open their eyes, and realize that those people we point our fingers at are not the ones who should be despised. It is us. We, who throw slur after discriminating slur at every unsaved person who walks by, are the dirty ones. We claim to love God, and to love every one else but in reality, we take the Sword of the Truth, and use it to break down those who need it to be a welcome to grace. 

What sick creatures we are, us "Christians". We are nothing more than sin on display for the world. What good does it do to stand across the street from that clinic and tell those women they're committing a sin? Do you not think they know it already? How dare we point fingers at a person and condemn them to hell with a power not given to us, instead of looking with love and trying to reach out and help them. Some of them are there because they don't know that there is any other choice. Or because of the choices they have already made. Show them there is another choice.

There is always another choice. It's called grace. It's not a fair choice, but it was offered to us. And since we seem to think that we are righteous and holy due to our own works, then why not give them your dose of grace? You obviously don't need it, so why hold on to it? It's not like a savings bond, it doesn't grow bigger over time. So just give it away. God did.

Emily E

.

Back to the Basics

"Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the Pope or in the councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not retreat anything, since it is neither safe not right to go against conscience. I cannot do other wise; here I stand, may God help me. Amen."

This was the declaration of one of the bravest men in church history. Having entered an Augustinian monastery at the age of 22, he blindly followed the Catholic church's way, trying to obtain salvation, through the good works he did. It was not until after he was a respected monk, professor, and pastor that he broke from the church and read the Bible on his own. While studying the Good Book, he experienced his "spiritual awakening", fully understanding that no amount of church-sold sacraments would get anyone to heaven.

On October 31, 1517 (which was not any significant day at the time; Halloween was not an established holiday yet), this man started a storm that swept across Europe. For three years he debated with church officials of the true authority of the church, the true head, and brought to light the corruption of the papal-ship.  On April 28, 1521, he stood before the German King and the bishops of the Holy Roman Empire, and stated the jarring declaration above. Afterward, he was declared an outlaw and a heretic, living in hiding and under imperial charge for 25 years until he died of natural causes.

This man was not trying to change the world, he was simply doing something about the corruption he saw around him. He was trying to get back to the basics. God was disgusted by the church of the Renaissance, and He used this man to bring people back to the Scriptures.

Have you ever wondered where that phrase "back to the basics" comes from? Or why it even exists? I personally believe we have left the basics of everyday life. The way things used to be, before fancy computers and cars and phones and such things that try to capture our attention. There used to be a time when all people cared about was making an honest living that provided for the needs of others and themselves and the Good Lord Jesus. There was a time even before then when all preachers and Popes cared about was spreading the Truth -The Gospel- to the people around them. But they grew prideful and sinful and eventually got the state in which we find our hero above. They had gotten away from the basics of the Scriptures. And God called them back using a man of simple origins with a sincere desire to be used by God.

Today, the church has gotten away from the basics of Scripture. It has become so caught up in fancy buildings and happiness and self-gratification that we have forgotten what we're preaching about. We need to get back to the basics. Jesus. God's Love. Loving God. Loving and serving others. Telling people about Jesus.

When will we get back to the basics? When will the Christians wake up and see what they are missing? Are we so disgustingly comfortable to let our church leaders and those around us live in gross sin and corruption as they did centuries ago, that we just sit back and flippantly comment and shoo the problems away?

Young people, teens, you and I are the next generation. God has called us to be an example. Are we to just sit around and goof off until we're thirty and then settle into a working lifestyle where we become too busy to care? We need to be shining so brightly with the Light of the world that lives inside us that others are blinded. We need to find our way back to the basics. This generation will be a generation of change.

We will be the next Reformation, the next Great Awakening.

Live on in us, Martin Luther. May the world never forget what God accomplished through you.

Emily Elissabeth

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

O come, o come Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appears.

Rejoice, rejoice,
Emanuel shall come to thee, 
O Israel!

O come, thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits with Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight.

Rejoice, rejoice,
Emmanuel shall come to thee,
O Israel!

O come, thou Wisdom from on high,
And order all things, far and nigh;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And cause us in her ways to go.

Rejoice, rejoice,
Emmanuel shall come to thee,
O Israel!

O come, Desire of nations, bind
All people in one heart and mind;
Bid envy, strife and quarrels cease; 
Fill the whole world with Heaven's peace.

Rejoice, rejoice,
Emmanuel shall come to thee,
O Israel!


This hymn was written in two parts; in 1851, and in 1916, yet now, in the wake of the shootings in Portland and Connecticut  as well as the stabbing of twenty-two children in a school in China, these words of prayer could not be any more appropriate. We look round our world at the violence and the sin and the horror of reality, And we as a nation, and as Christians, turn to God, and cry out "Why, God? Why has this happened?" People in the United States turn to the President, and say, "What will you do about this? This needs to be taken care of." I can only imagine what the rest of the world sees when they look at us. "Well, that's what America gets for embracing violence, and not having firearm regulations."

People, this is not about politics, this is about a spiritual war going on! When will the country wake up and realize that this isn't about your personal political views, but about the moral degradation of this country, of our country? This should never happen.

We as Christians know, we live in a sick, twisted world. But what are we going to do about it? We yell and join the uproar of commentators in a storm of riots in outrage, but eventually the hype dies down, we forget our anger, and replace it with sorrow.

Do NOT be overcome with sorrow. This is a WAKE-UP CALL! We can no longer sit on our rears and believe that our prayers will simply change the nation for us. We must do something about this. Don't ask the President, the Congressmen, or the lawmakers to fix it, because they can't. Humans, no matter what kind of power they hold, will never be able to fix the gross sin problem of this world. Only God, the perfect King and Righteous Judge can do that...


O come, o come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here;
Until the Son of God appears.

Oh God, come down to the nation You have blessed, that You have allowed to prosper. Come, live among the hearts of these people again, and save us from the exile we have brought upon ourselves through our immorality. Save us, change our hearts, and guide us until the day You send Your Son back for Your children.

O come, o come thou Day-spring, come and cheer,
Our spirits by thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight.

Come, give us a spirit of peace about these tragedies, and help us to remember the joy that came with Jesus's birth on Christmas.Remind us that You allow everything to happen for a reason, and that the victims shall be missed, yet give us a glimpse of your hope and mercy in these dark days, and comfort us with knowing that You are always with us, even in the darkest of times. Allow those who have lost loved ones and children, remember the good of them and be thankful for the time they had with them, and not bitter about losing what was only Yours to begin with.

O come, thou Wisdom from on high,
And order all things, far and nigh;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And cause us in her way to go.

Lord, give us and the leaders of our nation the wisdom to fully understand the situation and take the appropriate measures  Let us not forget that all wisdom comes from you, and let our leaders turn the nation towards Your Light in the midst of this darkness.

O come, Desire of nations, bind
All people in one heart and mind;
Bid envy, strife and quarrels cease;
Fill the whole world with heaven's peace.

God, let this time of sorrow and anger not tear the country apart, but bring us together as a whole for once, to make it better. Let us not throw our anger upon others, but comfort those around us, though we do not see their battles. Do not let us argue aimlessly, but ban together to take action. Fill u with peace that we might one day understand why.

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. ~ Plato.