Bob.

I've noticed a pattern. Not in anyone in particular, but in all of us as Christians. 

We like to copy each other.

A lot of us believe in Creationism, but it's still a big game of monkey see, monkey do. (Ok, sorry, I had to throw that one in there... ;) 

This topic has been on my mind for a long time, and I think that God has finally given me the words to talk about it. 

It goes like this. 

You get a person who has a great relationship with God, and it shows in everything they do. They have a sweet personality, they dress a certain way, they get along well with everybody.

People see this person (let's call him Bob), and go, "Wow... Bob is such an amazing Christian. I want to be like that." 

But how do they do it? When they say "I want to be like that," do they mean they want to be an amazing Christian, or that they want to be like Bob? All too many times, we get confused by that. Then this happens. 

Ew. Not literally. But basically what I mean, is that we become carbon copies of Bob. We talk like him, act like him, dress like him. We try to convince everyone else that we're like Bob, because he's such an amazing person. Then, soon enough, someone is going to come around seeing how Bob is and how we are, and want to be just like that too. 

After a while, Bob's the word. The unspoken rule. The standard. Bobs are cropping up in each pew and corridor. And what's the problem with this? 

Bob picks his nose when no one's watching. 

He swears when he stubs his toe. 

Sometimes, he takes a banana chip from the bulk food bin at Winco. 

In other words, he's human. 

But because we perceive him to be almost more than human, we not only try to become Bob, but we try to become SUPERBOB. 

The Bob without faults. 

The Bob without struggles, doubts or drama of any kind. 

The Bob who isn't real. 

We then create this perfect standard of what we're all supposed to be like and how we're all supposed to dress, act and essentially become... and it's not realistic. We only make it look realistic, because faults and troubles don't just melt away once you become Superbob, you just keep them secrets because everyone else is doing soooo much better than you are. 

It's funny, because we think that if we copy the best Christian we could find, we'd be doing what God wants us to. But does God want us to be someone else? 

1 Corinthians 12:27: "Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually." Paul goes on to talk about how everyone is given different gifts. We all have different talents, personalities, senses of humor, likes and dislikes. He didn't create us to have the same style and personality. He wants us to trust that He'll help sanctify us to become better versions of ourselves, not someone else. 

And after Paul talks about all the different gifts, he says, "...And yet I show you a more excellent way," and it leads into the next chapter. 

That chapter is 1 Corinthians 13, also known as the "love" chapter. 

If there is anything we're supposed to do the same, it's to be loving towards each other. Even when people wear shoes that don't match or scratch their armpits in public. Even if they think that pirates are cooler than ninjas or are constantly saying words like "Epic" or "Legit" as adjectives in casual conversation.

So you can say that Superbob is dead, but Jesus is very much alive. 

We'll never be able to function if we all pretend like we're perfect, but we don't have to. 

We're real people. And it's pretty awesome. 

This post is about Jesus, and if you don't share it you're going to hell.

Did the title get your attention? Did it scare you a little, or did you flippantly pass it by like the heathen you are? (I guess if you did that you wouldn't be reading this question anyway, so I'll assume you were terrified!)

Because this is a post about Jesus. 

Do you love Jesus?
Because if you do, you better prove it by sharing this blog post.

You do know what Jesus says about not forwarding these kinds of things on email, Facebook, or Twitter... right?

Ok. So this is something that's always kind of bugged me, and I wonder why I haven't really written about it before (or why Blimeycow hasn't made a video for it, for that matter. ;) But I think God might have told me "Go for it!" So here I am, writing this post when I meant to write a different one. :D

There are a lot of chain letters on the internet.

Some are just random: 

"Share this if you heart Justin Bieber!!!" 

Some are threatening: "If you don't share this post or send it to everyone you know, your toenails will grow into your mattress while you sleep, you'll never find love, and a demonic warthog will kill your family."  

And some make you feel guilty: "Matthew 10:33 says, '...Whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.' Share this post if you're not ashamed!!!" 

 The first one is harmless (maybe a bit annoying, but harmless), but the second and third chain letters can get really annoying. The second one because they typically verge on ridiculous, and the third one because, well, they're a different kind of ridiculous.

I can't say I know the intentions of the people who make those kinds of pictures or stories that are passed around by religious guilt. Either they want to make something that gains popularity so bad that they feel the need to guilt people into sharing it, or they actually think it's their way of evangelizing or something. Whatever the reason, there is no logic in it. If somebody posts a picture of a sock, and I don't 'like'/share that picture, does that mean I've just denied the existence of socks? Um... no. I like socks. I wear them. People see me wear them. I just didn't happen to share the picture. :P

Living with the internet, there are a lot of interesting things going on that weren't issues before. People can play games about exercising without ever exercising their jiggly behinds. People can convince the world that they're a beautiful blonde twentysomething when they're really a middle aged bald guy with a foot fungus. And of course, people can proudly proclaim they're "not ashamed" of Jesus at a click of a button without having to commit to it in "real life."

How did people prove they loved Jesus before the internet? 

They used their lives. 

They followed His commands instead of following Him on Twitter. 

They shared God's word in love instead of threatening hell to people who won't share a picture.

If you don't want to deny Jesus, then don't actually deny Jesus. If people ask what you believe, tell them. If other people deny Jesus, don't agree with them. That's what Matthew 10:33 is referring to.

So the next time you get one in your email, or your news feed, or your Twitter page, or your blahblahblah... Don't let it make you feel guilty. Look at it as a challenge to prove that you love Jesus by obeying Him! I've shared stuff like that before, so I'll do it too. :D

Ditto

Does this look familiar to anyone?

This creature is called a Ditto. It is a Pokemon. He's what the gum on your shoe would look like if it had a face.

Dittos pretty much do what it sounds like they do: they morph into the shape of any other Pokemon.
"You're a Mr. Mime? Ditto.
You're a Bulbasaur? Ditto.
You're a Pikachu? Me too."

Now you may be asking yourselves why on earth I'm writing about Dittos.
It's because I'm noticing how easy it is to be one.

This lesson has been screaming at me from every direction. I hear it echoing from the voices of people closest to me, and coming from people I don't even know.

Last week my Worldview class ended. The video on the last day gave a statistic, saying that 80% of college students believe there are no moral absolutes. It was sort of interesting to think about. It made me wonder how many of those students just accepted the idea without questioning it. It could be such an easy thing to do.

 I learned a lot from that class, but some of the things that stuck out the most in my mind were the stories they told of people who stood up in their college classrooms, all eyes on them, and defended an opinion that was way different from their professors and peers'. They were brave enough to speak the truth, even though it scared them to death.

I've always hated having attention drawn to me. I like to just hang out in the background and blend in with everyone else. Normally if I disagree with someone, I don't go further into the conversation. I just smile, nod, and say, "Oh." That's usually the end of it.

But what good does that do? The conversation either dies off or becomes really superficial because you're too nervous to dive into a deeper conversation with someone who might disagree with you. Who might think your opinions are "weird," "intolerant," or "backwards." Then they go their own way and you go yours, but along with your differences comes this one: You're always going to wonder what would happen if you'd have spoken up, and they won't even know.

 God doesn't want us to be Dittos; it's not how He created us to be. "Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." (1 Corinthians 15:58) 

I might touch on this subject in a different post, but one thing that's important to remember too is learning how to stand firm without being a "Bible Thumper." You don't want to be condemning or in peoples' faces. "Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel." (Philippians 1:27)

So, yeah... that's my little "mini sermon," of sorts. :P lol If you have anything interesting to share, I'd love to hear about it in the comments!

Power House Conference

Today I went to the Power House Conference held at our Church.

The speaker?

Gregg Harris.

You know how sometimes (although you don't like to admit it) the speaker's sermon isn't exactly the best, or it just doesn't leap out at you? So you sort of wind up spacing out and staring at the backs of people's heads while fighting the urge to drift off to lala land? (DON'T JUDGE ME! You know it's happened to you!)

Well, Mr. Harris is not that speaker. ;)

He's come to my Church on a couple occasions, and I really like his sermons. My brain and his sermons are good buddies, because a lot of the time he likes to use stories and analogies to get his points across.

So here are a few of the things I learned:

If you're single and want to marry someone with good character, work on your own! It doesn't help looking for someone who's a good listener if you're an awful listener. You can't expect to find someone who's selfless if you don't become selfless.

Dating sometimes gives you a bad impression of who a person is, because you're not seeing how they react with their family. Courtship allows you to view them in their "natural habitat," and see how they interact with their family, because, chances are, the way he treats his mom is the way he'll one day treat you. (Here's my post on courtship, for people who are interested...)

How do you avoid contact with people?

(This point was from a different sermon). Have you ever thought of this? I thought it was sort of an interesting point he was trying to make. He was saying that we need to reach out to people as witnesses for Christ, but instead we sort of avoid opportunities where we can do this. This message was one of the messages I heard today that hit me the most, because it fell on the ears of a girl who's used to doing this:

It's not that I'm anti-social... just slightly awkward and horrible with coming up with topics to talk about. Once I can get in a conversation, it normally goes just fine; it's just starting the conversation! It's just one of those things that falls out of my comfort zone, but that's all the reason why I should do it anyway, right? ;)

Anyone else struggle with this one? Any suggestions?