Around a month ago I went to Ski Sawmill's slope style competition they have held yearly for a few years. This was my third year competing in the competition and I all the years before I never got into the top three. I knew I was better than last year, but so would everyone else.
This year I have grown a fair amount and I have been learning to try and give God the credit for things. When I think about it, who is the one who gave me the passion and desire to get better at snowboarding? God. Who has allowed me to be able to improve my skills? God. Ultimately God could either put me on top of the podium or at the bottom and off the chart.
If God is the one who is controlling my life, He is then the one who should get and deserves all the credit. As a result, instead of trying to win the competition to prove my abilities and hopefully gain status as a snowboarder, I tried to give glory to God through the competition. Even though I was unsure of how to glorify God while snowboarding, I prayed that God would somehow show me how to do just that.
I ended up getting third place, not that was anything really great, but it did give me a lot to work with. Instead of trying to take the credit for myself and saying that I was good. I could instead try and give all the credit to God.
Who are you giving credit to and glorifying? Yourself, or do you realize how God profoundly deserves all the credit and glory?
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Desire Fame?
I think most of us want to be famous. Well, maybe not famous per say, but known, liked, and seen as good at something. Personally I wish I famous enough to become a professional snowboarder. However, is fame really as good as we may think it is?
Fame - The condition of being known or recognized by many people.
Fame is something that some people can handle well and others can't. In reality its quite a burden. When your famous its easy to become prideful, lose sight of what is important, and even depressed.
Either you take in the praise or shove it away. When you take in the praise you typically become prideful and maybe even addicted to it. Fame can feel like a buzz, to hear you name called, written, and exclaimed all over does not feel like normal life, but surreal. If you get addicted you will keep on doing what can you do to get more and more praise until you end up where you never thought you would. You will find yourself doing things you may have promised yourself you never would. And then either you find that even fame doesn't fulfill you or the fame will run out and you will chase that buzz in other things as such as drugs.
If you shove the fame away, you seclude yourself because you feel oppressed or don't know how to react. When one doesn't like the fame its easy for them to shut the world out, but its nearly impossible when they have so many people wanting to see them.
Either method of living with fame doesn't seem any good, but I didn't mention the one other way to live with fame. Instead of taking in the praise for ourselves or trying to push away the fame we can direct and give it to God. God deserves all Glory and we are to give it to Him. When you know that it is God who has given you everything you have no reason to have any sort of pride in yourself.
As Christians, no-matter what people say about us or how famous we become we know that its really not us or about us. We know that we are only good because of Christ in us and we know that we are only at the very place we are now because of His perfect plan.
Do you still think you want some fame for yourself or do you wish to give it to God who profoundly deserves all praise?
Fame - The condition of being known or recognized by many people.
Fame is something that some people can handle well and others can't. In reality its quite a burden. When your famous its easy to become prideful, lose sight of what is important, and even depressed.
Either you take in the praise or shove it away. When you take in the praise you typically become prideful and maybe even addicted to it. Fame can feel like a buzz, to hear you name called, written, and exclaimed all over does not feel like normal life, but surreal. If you get addicted you will keep on doing what can you do to get more and more praise until you end up where you never thought you would. You will find yourself doing things you may have promised yourself you never would. And then either you find that even fame doesn't fulfill you or the fame will run out and you will chase that buzz in other things as such as drugs.
If you shove the fame away, you seclude yourself because you feel oppressed or don't know how to react. When one doesn't like the fame its easy for them to shut the world out, but its nearly impossible when they have so many people wanting to see them.
Either method of living with fame doesn't seem any good, but I didn't mention the one other way to live with fame. Instead of taking in the praise for ourselves or trying to push away the fame we can direct and give it to God. God deserves all Glory and we are to give it to Him. When you know that it is God who has given you everything you have no reason to have any sort of pride in yourself.
As Christians, no-matter what people say about us or how famous we become we know that its really not us or about us. We know that we are only good because of Christ in us and we know that we are only at the very place we are now because of His perfect plan.
Do you still think you want some fame for yourself or do you wish to give it to God who profoundly deserves all praise?
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Are you living It?
I have mentioned this one good Switchfoot lyric before, but this time I mean to look at it differently. It goes; This is your life, Are you who you want to be? Even though this is a really good self evaluating motivator I think that as Christ followers we should probably look at it a little differently. What we should maybe ask instead is; This is Christ's life, Are you living it? See, as disciples of Christ we are trying to become more like Him and we have given our lives up to Him. So in a profound deepness the life we "have" is really Christ's life, but are we living it?
Are we living for Christ? Are we living the life He has for us? Are we living the life that Christ lived? He taught those who would listen and those who would not listen about the Father and eternal life. He cared for the sick, the poor, and the cast outs. By cast outs I mean adulterers, stealing and dishonest tax collectors, and the unclean lepers. He cared for them because He loves them and He knew that they could be made new, that they could receive eternal life and a relationship with Christ. He got dirty and laid down His time, His life to serve those who needed saved and to show the way to the Father. He glorified His Father with everything He did.
Once again I must ask, are we living as Christ did? As Christ followers we are trying to become a mirror image of the one who made us in His image? Do we love the destitute, the poor, the sick, the lonely, the adulterer, the lier, the drunkard, the dishonest salesman, the homosexual, the man next door, the annoying one, the creepy one? Yes I know its not easy to love those people and we probably don't want to. However, we must realize they are just like us except for one thing, they don't have Christ in their life. They don't have the Spirit of God inside of them. Only until you see them as they are will you start to love them. When you realize that they are just like lost sheep trying to find their way in life. They don't know their full purpose in life, but we do. We are living for Christ and we know that it is all worth it. We have experienced and felt His amazing love. We have tasted the living water, we know what it means to really live.
They don't know true love, they don't know true life. Are we going to show it to them? God is the one who possesses and grants the love and life, we are merely the ones displaying the glory and love of the Father just like Jesus.
This is Christ's life, are you living it? Are you living as Christ profoundly did, are you glorifying God, are you displaying His love to the nations?
Are we living for Christ? Are we living the life He has for us? Are we living the life that Christ lived? He taught those who would listen and those who would not listen about the Father and eternal life. He cared for the sick, the poor, and the cast outs. By cast outs I mean adulterers, stealing and dishonest tax collectors, and the unclean lepers. He cared for them because He loves them and He knew that they could be made new, that they could receive eternal life and a relationship with Christ. He got dirty and laid down His time, His life to serve those who needed saved and to show the way to the Father. He glorified His Father with everything He did.
Once again I must ask, are we living as Christ did? As Christ followers we are trying to become a mirror image of the one who made us in His image? Do we love the destitute, the poor, the sick, the lonely, the adulterer, the lier, the drunkard, the dishonest salesman, the homosexual, the man next door, the annoying one, the creepy one? Yes I know its not easy to love those people and we probably don't want to. However, we must realize they are just like us except for one thing, they don't have Christ in their life. They don't have the Spirit of God inside of them. Only until you see them as they are will you start to love them. When you realize that they are just like lost sheep trying to find their way in life. They don't know their full purpose in life, but we do. We are living for Christ and we know that it is all worth it. We have experienced and felt His amazing love. We have tasted the living water, we know what it means to really live.
They don't know true love, they don't know true life. Are we going to show it to them? God is the one who possesses and grants the love and life, we are merely the ones displaying the glory and love of the Father just like Jesus.
This is Christ's life, are you living it? Are you living as Christ profoundly did, are you glorifying God, are you displaying His love to the nations?
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Trusting God's Advice
The other day I was over at a resort snowboarding. As always I was working on learning new tricks or improving ones I already knew. This day I decided I would finally try and land my first switch backside 540 single cork. Now I'm sure that means little to you who are reading this, but just see where I'm going.
I had tried the trick last year at the end of the season and this year I attempted it before, but I kept on landing on my stomach. One day I decided to ask one of the guys I knew could cork for some tips and suggestions. I found out that one of the main things I was doing wrong was I would open up and let my arms and legs out. What I needed to do instead was to keep my body compressed.
This is what I thought and how I felt while trying to land this trick. - I was ready to take off and it all felt pretty comfortable, I was confidant, and had faith in the advise I was given. As I left the snow and flipped around in the air my thoughts started to change, I started to feel uncomfortable I started to doubt whether I was doing it right, I doubted whether or not the advice I was given was correct. I decided to trust my fears and think I was right and knew what I was doing. I opened up and once again practically fell on my stomach almost getting the trick, but still too far away to land.
Recently I have happened to realize that the process I went through while flipping in the air is very much like a process I go through in life.
I read God's Word and see how He is so good those He loves. I realize that I can trust Him with my life, He knows what is best for me. Then when I have my newfound trust and faith in what God says in His word about His caring love, I go and try a "new trick". I realize that what God has said about His faithful care is true and it feels good, but then He does something I don't feel comfortable with. I then start to think that what I know is good, is good. However, God has a different plan that is so much better even if it doesn't seem so at first. If I start to trust myself and go my own way trusting in my own knowledge I will just belly flop again. However, if I decide to hang in there, have faith in what God is doing in my life I will come around and see that He was right all along. I will know that He is good. I will know I can trust Him with my life.
Are you going to trust God to care for you, or are you going to believe in yourself? We should profoundly realize that God knows best and He has the best planned for us. We may not see it that way because we don't normally like going through hard times, but in the end when you land, once again you will know that God greatly loves you. His purpose for your life is so much greater than any attempt at a good life we can make.
I had tried the trick last year at the end of the season and this year I attempted it before, but I kept on landing on my stomach. One day I decided to ask one of the guys I knew could cork for some tips and suggestions. I found out that one of the main things I was doing wrong was I would open up and let my arms and legs out. What I needed to do instead was to keep my body compressed.
This is what I thought and how I felt while trying to land this trick. - I was ready to take off and it all felt pretty comfortable, I was confidant, and had faith in the advise I was given. As I left the snow and flipped around in the air my thoughts started to change, I started to feel uncomfortable I started to doubt whether I was doing it right, I doubted whether or not the advice I was given was correct. I decided to trust my fears and think I was right and knew what I was doing. I opened up and once again practically fell on my stomach almost getting the trick, but still too far away to land.
Recently I have happened to realize that the process I went through while flipping in the air is very much like a process I go through in life.
I read God's Word and see how He is so good those He loves. I realize that I can trust Him with my life, He knows what is best for me. Then when I have my newfound trust and faith in what God says in His word about His caring love, I go and try a "new trick". I realize that what God has said about His faithful care is true and it feels good, but then He does something I don't feel comfortable with. I then start to think that what I know is good, is good. However, God has a different plan that is so much better even if it doesn't seem so at first. If I start to trust myself and go my own way trusting in my own knowledge I will just belly flop again. However, if I decide to hang in there, have faith in what God is doing in my life I will come around and see that He was right all along. I will know that He is good. I will know I can trust Him with my life.
Are you going to trust God to care for you, or are you going to believe in yourself? We should profoundly realize that God knows best and He has the best planned for us. We may not see it that way because we don't normally like going through hard times, but in the end when you land, once again you will know that God greatly loves you. His purpose for your life is so much greater than any attempt at a good life we can make.
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Controller or Controlled? - The One About Technology -
Over the past few months or so I have thought more and more about the influences of technology on culture and people. Just over the past decade crazy advances in technology have occurred. At this point in time just about everybody has a cell phone, a computer, and maybe a tablet. Now of course not everybody has a cell phone, but many do and I think I can also say that at least 50% of those who have cell phones have smart phones. They also rely on them quite heavily. I remember back in 2008 when I first held an iPhone, I remember thinking it was really cool, but I didn't think there was much of a reason to have one. I thought that you wouldn't really need all those features in normal practical life.
Less seven years from the time that phone was released in 2007 we now wonder how we live without our smart phones. How did that happen? How does something that seems maybe useful, but completely unnecessary later become so "necessary"? The labeling of an item as a necessity is merely a result of the changing of our minds ability to understand life with or without the said item.
Cell phones, computers, laptops and other advances in computer technology are quite useful. They help us to accomplish things faster and easier. They make it possible to accomplish certain feats and gain more knowledge. However, the overuse or incorrect usage of such technology isn't good for anyone.
I don't really have a cell phone, but from my observations of others that do I have come to the realization that cellphones are really a bother. At any moment of the day and even the night anyone can get a hold of you. That is nice for important things and predicaments of emergency, but that also means that whenever you hear your phone ring or ding you feel compelled and obligated to look at what it may be. If you don't believe me just try and not look at that notification on your twitter, facebook, and whatever else. Most likely its not important anyways.
I also have another hypothesis about the affect of cell phones and technology on us. I feel like we may be becoming more forgetful and easily distracted. Here is why; when you are reminded at the right time when you need to do something by your devise why do you need to exercise your brain's ability to remember? When we are so easily distracted by the ding of a notification, how do we not get distracted when it comes to anything else? I know this for myself really. I think that our giving in to all the distractions online is changing out mindset to a point where we have a hard time focusing on anything. Is it causing us to get distracted easier when reading God's Word or hearing the sermon at church? Have we given control over to our devise?
I'm not saying we should all get rid of our cell phones, tablets, and computers, but I'm saying that we should evaluate how the presence of such devices affects our lives and mindsets. Are we being distracted by our devises when we are focusing on something that is actually important, like living for God? Do we control our live, does God control our life, or do our devices somehow profoundly change us into someone we don't wish to be? Are we controlled by the very things we control?
Less seven years from the time that phone was released in 2007 we now wonder how we live without our smart phones. How did that happen? How does something that seems maybe useful, but completely unnecessary later become so "necessary"? The labeling of an item as a necessity is merely a result of the changing of our minds ability to understand life with or without the said item.
Cell phones, computers, laptops and other advances in computer technology are quite useful. They help us to accomplish things faster and easier. They make it possible to accomplish certain feats and gain more knowledge. However, the overuse or incorrect usage of such technology isn't good for anyone.
I don't really have a cell phone, but from my observations of others that do I have come to the realization that cellphones are really a bother. At any moment of the day and even the night anyone can get a hold of you. That is nice for important things and predicaments of emergency, but that also means that whenever you hear your phone ring or ding you feel compelled and obligated to look at what it may be. If you don't believe me just try and not look at that notification on your twitter, facebook, and whatever else. Most likely its not important anyways.
I also have another hypothesis about the affect of cell phones and technology on us. I feel like we may be becoming more forgetful and easily distracted. Here is why; when you are reminded at the right time when you need to do something by your devise why do you need to exercise your brain's ability to remember? When we are so easily distracted by the ding of a notification, how do we not get distracted when it comes to anything else? I know this for myself really. I think that our giving in to all the distractions online is changing out mindset to a point where we have a hard time focusing on anything. Is it causing us to get distracted easier when reading God's Word or hearing the sermon at church? Have we given control over to our devise?
I'm not saying we should all get rid of our cell phones, tablets, and computers, but I'm saying that we should evaluate how the presence of such devices affects our lives and mindsets. Are we being distracted by our devises when we are focusing on something that is actually important, like living for God? Do we control our live, does God control our life, or do our devices somehow profoundly change us into someone we don't wish to be? Are we controlled by the very things we control?
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
The Good Life
What is the big question we all as humans ask? Is it who we should marry, where to go to college, what we want to do for a living? Those all are big decisions that bring lots of big and hard questions, but I think that to encompass what we all wonder the question is; What is the good life? What I mean by the good life is the life that it worth it, that means something, and has purpose.
Something that I find to be interesting if I am right is we don't directly ask ourselves that question often. Even though we don't normally ask what the good life is we are always searching and trying to find it. Some think its being rich, others think its about doing good, being kind to others, saving the earth or whatever. I must say that while some of those practices are good, they are not and do not lead to the good life.
Do we really see what the good life is? Or are we blinded by what society tells us it is each and every day? Society and popular desire says that the good life is when you prosper, when life is plentiful, when life is fun, when you are famous, when you are known and loved because of what you do. The world tells us that the good life is about getting the best for ourselves. The world asks; Its our life isn't it, so we should do want we want and what makes us happy.
You know what I have found? I have found that the good life is when you are in deep harmonious relationship with Christ. He is the one who makes your life the good life. Furthermore my relationship with Christ is only right when it is no longer me living, but Christ living inside of me. I think we all as Christians have this problem, we think we know best and we think we know what the good life entails.
When we live out Christ's desires we are living the good life. When we see that it is not our own life, but Christ's we live not according to the flesh, but in connection with the Spirit and according to God's Word.
Christ's life is the standard for the good life, but we are unable to live it without Him because we are sinners. The closer we get to living for Christ, living in deep relationship with him, and living the life He lived on earth, the closer we get to living the good life. In reality the answer to the long asked question of what the good life is can be profoundly reduced to one the simple answer. The good life is when you are in deep harmonious relationship with Christ and are not living your own life, but the life that God has for you.
Something that I find to be interesting if I am right is we don't directly ask ourselves that question often. Even though we don't normally ask what the good life is we are always searching and trying to find it. Some think its being rich, others think its about doing good, being kind to others, saving the earth or whatever. I must say that while some of those practices are good, they are not and do not lead to the good life.
Do we really see what the good life is? Or are we blinded by what society tells us it is each and every day? Society and popular desire says that the good life is when you prosper, when life is plentiful, when life is fun, when you are famous, when you are known and loved because of what you do. The world tells us that the good life is about getting the best for ourselves. The world asks; Its our life isn't it, so we should do want we want and what makes us happy.
You know what I have found? I have found that the good life is when you are in deep harmonious relationship with Christ. He is the one who makes your life the good life. Furthermore my relationship with Christ is only right when it is no longer me living, but Christ living inside of me. I think we all as Christians have this problem, we think we know best and we think we know what the good life entails.
When we live out Christ's desires we are living the good life. When we see that it is not our own life, but Christ's we live not according to the flesh, but in connection with the Spirit and according to God's Word.
Christ's life is the standard for the good life, but we are unable to live it without Him because we are sinners. The closer we get to living for Christ, living in deep relationship with him, and living the life He lived on earth, the closer we get to living the good life. In reality the answer to the long asked question of what the good life is can be profoundly reduced to one the simple answer. The good life is when you are in deep harmonious relationship with Christ and are not living your own life, but the life that God has for you.
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Our Accomplishments or God's?
As you probably already know I'm really into snowboarding. A few weeks ago was I started to care a lot about what I could do and what I needed to work on to achieve my goals. I wanted to get better at snowboarding. I wanted to get more famous. But, however much I tried to get better at snowboarding and land tricks I just couldn't do it.
Through that inability God showed me that He is the one who made me. He is the one who gave me the skills to snowboard. He is the one who allows me to be able to land tricks. He is the one who gave me the passion to snowboard and get better at it.
However, then when I would finally land a trick or do something right I would think I was pretty good at snowboarding. I began to worship an idol. The idol of my own abilities. I should instead worship God who gave me those abilities.
1 Corinthians 4:7
For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?
This is your life, but God is the one who gave it to you. Will we use our lives for him? Will I use my snowboarding abilities for God or my own selfish gain? Is there anything in your life that you boast over when it is God who gave you that very thing?
We should profoundly realize that what we do is not by our own doing, but by what God does through us. What we accomplish is not a result of anything we can do on our own, but what we can do with God's help and guiding. God deserves all credit, honor, and worship not us.
Through that inability God showed me that He is the one who made me. He is the one who gave me the skills to snowboard. He is the one who allows me to be able to land tricks. He is the one who gave me the passion to snowboard and get better at it.
However, then when I would finally land a trick or do something right I would think I was pretty good at snowboarding. I began to worship an idol. The idol of my own abilities. I should instead worship God who gave me those abilities.
1 Corinthians 4:7
For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?
This is your life, but God is the one who gave it to you. Will we use our lives for him? Will I use my snowboarding abilities for God or my own selfish gain? Is there anything in your life that you boast over when it is God who gave you that very thing?
We should profoundly realize that what we do is not by our own doing, but by what God does through us. What we accomplish is not a result of anything we can do on our own, but what we can do with God's help and guiding. God deserves all credit, honor, and worship not us.
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