The Blog

A while back I was faced with a dilemma. You see I was listening to a message that a good friend was preaching and he made a very bold statement. He said something along the lines of, “You can’t sacrifice to God, you have nothing you can give to God, because everything is already His.”

Sounds pretty good, huh? It kinda gets you pumped up, excited, and feeling all fuzzy inside doesn’t it? I’m ashamed to say that I probably wouldn’t have had a problem with the statement. Except it conflicted with a message I had just preached about how what we sacrifice indicates who or what we worship.
Now, after reading the title of this blog, you may be thinking, “What does all this have to do with doctrine?” You see this is something that has stuck with me for a while now, and the issue of doctrine is something I’ve been giving a lot of thought to for almost a year. How often do we settle for warm fuzzy thoughts and comfortable ideas rather than hard, uncompromising, rational Biblical truth?

This past summer I read The Shack. It was a great read, excellently written with a great story and a compelling plot, but, throughout much of it, I kept reading statements that I know contradict scripture. (On the subject, the book is great. There is a lot you can learn from it. I just encourage you to read it with a careful consideration for what is good to hold on to and what needs to be disregarded.)

The thing that I‘ve realized through my study and prayer, is that it is important to hold doctrine in high regard. To know the Word of God and to sort out what truth is according to that word.
2 Peter 2:1-2 talks about false teachers and the people that follow them, saying that they, “will bring the way of truth into disrepute.” As Christians it is important for us to know what truth is so that we will not dishonor the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Teachers, especially, need to be careful that they do not unwittingly become false teachers, leading themselves and their followers into destruction.

I urge everyone, figure out what the Bible says, and what you believe. Submit your beliefs to the Word of God and to spiritual authority so that you will not be misled and so that you may honor God with your mind and with your life.

This year for Impact we tried out a new idea, camp magazines. In our magazines we included lots of articles from our youth church staff. Here is one of those articles...

In Christian circles around this time of year there is a phrase that gets tossed around a lot, “camp high”. It sounds really odd when you think about it, almost like saying that everyone does drugs at church camp, but that’s not what we’re talking about. The “camp high” refers to that incredible closeness that you feel with God, that incredible passion that begins to burn in you while you’re at church camp. My only question is this why does the camp high end? What is it that causes people that were so passionate in August become the same person they were in July by December?

Think for a moment about camp. What comes to mind? Food? Basketball? Music? God? When you get down to it most of the things we experience at camp are things you can do, or experience, in everyday life. So what’s the difference? What is it that makes it so easy to be passionate around camp that isn’t there the rest of the year, and can we change that difference?

YES! We can! And I’ll tell you how. The difference between camp, and the rest of life is the emphasis. Camp focuses on God, we start the day with God, we end the day with God, we talk about God, we think about God throughout the day. At camp the emphasis of our lives is on God. What about outside of camp? What is your life’s emphasis then? Girls? Boys? Sports? Video Games?

When you make God the emphasis of your life it becomes easy to remain passionate for Him. Discipleship (making God your life’s emphasis) happens when you do what Jesus said to do in Luke 9:23, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” This means letting go of the things in your life that don’t honor God, and sacrificing yourself to live for God. When you do that the “camp high” becomes your new standard for life.

... Even if the camp high part of this article doesn't apply to your current situation, it is our prayer at Crossfire MC that you grab hold of the part about discipleship and apply it to your life. Regardless of whether you haven't been to a camp in years or you just got home yesterday you can always make the decision to make Jesus your life's emphasis.

9 years. To some of you 9 years seems like an eternity. To others, 9 years is a small slice of time in comparison to the rest of your life. Well, on this day 9 years ago I realized that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for my sins so that I could live my life in relationship with Him. 9 years ago today…I stopped living for myself…my agenda…my plans…my will, and I started to learn how to find His.

I’ve just been reflecting on my life and what the last 9 years have brought me, and what they have taken from me. It is so humbling to remember who I was before I surrendered my life to God. I was this hurt, lonely, broken, purposeless girl; and I seriously doubted that I would ever be able to enjoy life. Then God interrupted my life. He interrupted my loneliness and showed me of His great love for me. He interrupted my worries and fears to teach me trust. He interrupted my addictions and taught me about the freedom that can only be found in Jesus. But beyond all this, He gave me purpose. Not just so I could be a “Christian” but so that with this life that God gave me, I could serve Him. Not as a job, or out of duty or obligation; but out of love for Jesus, who loves more that I can even understand.

I can’t fathom who I would be if August 9, 2000 had never happened. And looking back at it all…the high points and the lowest of lows…I can’t even believe how God has done all the things I see in myself. I am truly proof of the grace, mercy, beauty and hope that Jesus can bring to a heart that is longing and willing to surrender everything to Him. Thank you Jesus, for everything…