Finding God

About a month ago one of my good friends followed the call of God and moved to Austin, TX to begin a new chapter in his life. He used to serve as the worship leader and associate pastor of the church that I currently attend. He also started a high school youth ministry while he was here. I had volunteered to be a part of the team back in late September, simply to help out where I could and possibly gain some experience in the field of ministry. I had never lead a group of high school teens before, and would never claim to be well-versed in the area of ministry by any means.  I would consider myself to be a fairly "new" Christian, considering that I spent the first nineteen years of my life faking my way through religion. I have never read the entire Bible, I don't have many verses memorized, and I haven't lead anyone to Christ since I was in the second grade. It's clear that I don't have the experience or the expertise anywhere near what is required of ...

Wednesday marked the beginning of the 40-day Christian observation known as Lent, which is a season of the year that believers use to pursue their relationship with the Lord by fasting, praying, and intentionally pursuing the Creator. I was raised in the non-denominational contemporary church, so I have never truly been introduced to the practice of Lent. My parents have practiced it off and on, giving up meat or chocolate, but I have never genuinely participated until this year. I have generally shied away from practices of strict ritual, but I have come to realize just how valuable these practices can be. It is a beautiful thing when followers decide to deliberately pursue their Father in a very specific and intentional way, allowing the busyness and chaos of the world to fade from view and choosing to focusing solely on the King. Lent is a time for us to go beyond what is required and to love in a way that we haven't loved before. Most people generally give up red meat for L...

It’s time to get dirty. Roll up your sleeves, pick up a shovel, and dig in. If you claim to be a follower of Christ, you better be living out your faith – on a daily basis. So many proclaimed “Christians” live out their entire lives without significantly impacting the lives of those around them. We were not called to live comfortably or casually. We are all called to very specific purposes, ones in which we are to fall in love with our Savior, ultimately compelling us to share the Love that He has so graciously given us to those around us. But how many of us actually do that? Don’t you realize what He has done for us? Don’t you claim to follow Jesus? He died for us. He gave up His very life to save our broken souls from what we deserved – an eternity separated from any semblance of hope. If you have grown up in America, you know full well the promises that this country so proudly offers – “The American Dream”. If you work hard, you will ultimately become wealthy and/or ...

As a follower of Christ, it is easy for me to fall into a routine – going to work, going to class, going to my other job, going to sleep, and initiating the same cycle every morning, five days a week. While I may include a few Biblical or “Christian” activities in my schedule – such as volunteering at a homeless shelter, leading a youth group, or reading my Bible – these actions are only as good as the amount of prayer and preparation that I’ve put into them. Put more simply – living as a true follower of Christ requires intentionality, and I am not intentional. When I work at the downtown homeless shelter, I may be serving the homeless and working poor in a physical way by giving them a hot meal, but I am not serving them spiritually. I can’t think of a time in which I’ve actually prayed before I’ve made my commute to the alley in the city. I haven’t prepared my heart to see the work that God has already started in so many of these peoples’ lives, and I haven’t allowed God to use...

Over the past week I have been thinking obsessively over buying a pair of road bike shoes for my bike. I currently only have cheap plastic commuter pedals with toe straps, and it can be extremely inefficient to ride long distances in a pair of flimsy tennis shoes. I already have clipless pedals, but I need road bike shoes in order to use them. A pair of road shoes can cost anywhere from $80 to $350, but I was strongly considering simply charging them to my credit card, despite the fact that I don’t have cash to cover the cost. Every time I ride, I think about how much better it would be if I had a pair of brand new, Specialized carbon-fiber-soled road shoes; or if I had a carbon fork and seatpost from Easton or Bontrager, a pro-grade Echelon helmet, a hand-built Rōl wheelset, Swissstop engineered brake pads, a new Specialized Body Geometry saddle, or a custom bike-fitting from the local Trek store so I could ride more comfortably and with more efficiency – and I’ve only had my newest b...