Why am I not Satisfied?

The past couple of weeks in our High School youth we have been discussing this idea of what Jesus means by going green (thank you LifeChurch for allowing people to use your resources!) The main scripture that it uses is John 15:1-6. This is when it discusses that Jesus is the vine and we are the branches and we should stay connected to Jesus in order to receive what we need and produce fruit; you know like the fruits of the spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

We talk a lot about receiving from God. Sometimes in a not so healthy way like he is our personal giant vending machine that gives us what we need if we put the right amount in. I think this can be true for our ministries. So often I put work into an event, or my ministry and I start expecting a certain outcome in return. Because I have spent x amount of hours planning for Sunday night God should provide me with at least x amount of students to show up. I know from experience this isn't always the case. Sometimes I prepare really well and nothing, and then sometimes I feel under prepared. What it really comes down to I think is where we are receiving our satisfaction.

This has been a focus on our study the past few week, what are you receiving satisfaction from and what are you rejoicing in? If it's not Jesus than what is consuming you that is better than Jesus? I throw out the typical examples for teens, is it sex, drugs, alcohol, boyfriends/girlfriends, popularity, academic success? All of these our good things when used properly and not to replace God (except for drugs, and possibly alcohol depending on who your asking). However, I wonder how often "godly" things or "religious' things get in our way of actually receiving satisfaction and rejoicing in Christ. If I am attempting to receive satisfaction from ministry then I am going to be disappointed. If I am attempting to receive satisfaction from how much money I tithe then I am going to be disappointed. If I am attempting to receive satisfaction from going to church then I am going to be disappointed.

The only thing that I will not be disappointed in is if I receive my satisfaction from Christ and out of that satisfaction flows ministry, tithes, family, relationships, church, work, everything. Only then can we be satisfied....easy said than done of course.

What do you look to satisfy you? If not Jesus, how is better than him?

Rethinking Christmas

I really enjoy Christmas! I like to watch people interact so I find going to the store during big sales somewhat adventurous. I love picking out presents for friends and family members and see them get excited when they get something they like, and of course I enjoy getting presents. By far one of my favorite activities is trying to guess my presents wrapped in delicious looking candy cane wrapping paper. (There are many techniques you can use....shaking, feeling, smelling, and tasting to name a few).

As I have gotten older and grown in my relationship with God I have started to question the way Christmas is celebrated. As a Christian I celebrate Christmas because it is God sending his son, Jesus,  to Earth so that he can live a perfect life and someday die for humanities sins. Ultimately, and it's a mind boggling idea that I still can't even grasp my mind around, it is God coming down to Earth in human form...or the fancy church word for it...the incarnation of Christ.

When I begin to wrap my mind around this I start to wonder where all these other Christmas traditions came from. Take giving and receiving presents for example....where did that come from? Now I know that the holiday of Christmas itself has it's origins in Roman mythology and the church introduced it as Christ's birthday so Christians would have something to celebrate that wasn't pagan. From what I understand the giving of Christmas presents was actually suppressed by the Roman Catholic Church during the middle ages because of it's pagan roots (I read that on Wikipedia, so it could be false).

The main point I am trying to make is regardless of how Christmas originated and got connected with Jesus' birth is irrelevant. The important thing is that this is the holiday that we choose to celebrate God coming to Earth. How do we choose to celebrate it though? Most of us say, myself included, yeah this is Jesus' birthday...yay Jesus! But then we go off to to the store and charge our credit cards and spend hundreds of dollars on presents, and fall into a consumer oriented Christmas instead of a Christ oriented Christmas.

What would happen if our gift buying reflected our relationship with God? Would we buy the same gifts that we have already bought, or plan to buy for you last minute people, or would we buy gifts that not only gave to one person but also helped other people out as well? What if we bought gifts for people so they could use those gifts to serve God and bring him glory? What if before we woke up and tore into our presents we set time aside first to worship God for what he has blessed with us? What if we went against culture, and didn't get caught up with the consumer minded antics, and created a Christ-centered culture that worshiped God fully this Christmas season?

Tonight I will go home and turn on my Christmas tree, turn the lights on that wrap my porch, and then head off to a Christmas party. As I continue to ponder over the idea of Christmas and what Immanuel (Christ with us) means to my family, my ministry, and myself and what response of worship can truly be worthy of a God that came down to me...it can only result in my whole life going to Him.