What Do We Have Here? (Pt. 1)

The first thing we have:

We have a Solid Foundation
Isaiah 33:6 says “He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.”
As Christians, we have something to stand on. The "He" in this passage is referring to the one mentioned in verse 5, which reads "The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high, he will fill Zion with his justice and righteousness." So before diving in any deeper than verse 5 and the first 5 words of verse 6, we know that the one to be our foundation is both just and righteous. I have met lots of people who go through life without ever having a solid base for their thinking, their actions, or their lives. As believers, though, we have the best foundation because it comes with more than just a bare area to stand on. it says that God is also a "rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge."  We have access to the wisdom and knowledge of the all-knowing God! Granted, he chooses to reveal it in his time, and in bits and pieces, but all we have to do is ask! Not only that, but He is a "Rich store of salvation" too! So, really, all we have to do is cry out to him and he will pick us up and set us on a foundation that is solid and trustworthy.

You might be thinking to yourself, "that's great, but I built my life around [insert something besides God].  Well, you can try to make that work, but it won't end well for you.  1 Corinthians 3:11 says “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.”  As one with a construction background, I know the importance of a good foundation. If your foundation is not put in right or is weak, there will be problems. Some of the problems show up right away, others take years before they present themselves. Either way, building on an unstable foundation is pointless. If there is only one stable foundation, then only the things on top of that foundation will remain standing. Life is no different. The point of your foundation is to build something. In this case, a life that matters, with purpose and reason. Without starting with Christ, making a life with purpose is a futile endeavor. However, with Christ in the picture, we have a chance to grow and become someone who has a positive, Godly impact on the world around us. We can try to build on other things, but just like a build there will be problems. Sometimes they are immediate, sometimes they take years to develop. This why, I believe, so many marriages split after many years of marriage. Relationships built on money, sex, possessions, or stature will eventually loose their luster and crumble. When any relationship, not just marriage, or life is built on something that is worldly, it is doomed to fail. A life built and focused on God, however, is headed towards splendor and great things. 

What Do We Have Here? Intro

So, so many times Christianity gets stereotyped as nothing but a bunch of rules and "Thou Shalt Not"'s. Other times it just gets labeled as boring. Any way you look at it, these quick descriptions do not even come close to doing justice to what Christianity actually is, or what it contains. I do not claim to be able to fully describe it, but hopefully I can shed a little bit of perspective on the subject. So here you have the (newly renamed) What Do We Have Here Series. It is an attempt to show some highlights of what we actually have as born-again Christians.  If you have any questions along the way, or about the phrase born-again Christian that I just used, please ask away!

The first three parts will be from the devotional that I mentioned in a previous post. If I come up with more, I may very well post those too.


So, without further ado, please silence all cell phones, pagers, and electronic devices and turn off all Instagram filters. Please no flash photography, as it will get you weird looks. Thank you and please enjoy tonight's presentation of What Do We Have Here?

The Start of Something

So, not this summer, but the summer before, I went to summer camp at Lake Ann Bible Camp. It was a program designed to be a week of in depth discipleship and evangelistic training. As part of the week, we spent three hours on Wednesday spread out on a beach to spend some quiet time with God and come up with a devotional to share with the group later. Well, the time came to share, and because of time constraints only a handful of the 20 of us got to share, and I never got picked. So I'm going to be going through it on here over the next couple days. Enjoy!

~ES





1 Peter 3:15 (NIV)

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

Brace Yourselves... A Rant is Coming.

The world recently lost one of it's greatest comedians with the death of Robin Williams. This funnyman has been entertaining people and making folks laugh for years, with different characters and sketches, as well as his interviews and general demeanor. However, he was holding something in, as we now know. Behind the smiles, laughter, jokes and good times sat a man who was without hope. He is quoted saying "I used to think the worst thing in life was to end up all alone, it's not. The worst thing in life is to end up with people who make you feel all alone."  There is a lot of truth in that statement. While the nation, and maybe even the world, stops to look back on this man's life, we are quick to jump to the happy memories and very slow to think about the problem that led up to him taking his own life. Now, I didn't know the man personally, so I'm not gonna talk like I did. However, from what I've gathered, I can say that the things he kept inside did not leave him as a special case.
     I was fortunate enough to grow up in a good home. Both of my parents are Godly people, and have raised myself and my siblings very well and were protective. This being said, I wasn't exactly the problem child growing up and was what most people would describe as under a rock for the first part of my life. Well, when I got to high school, I decided to start taking my friendships seriously. By that, I mean actually taking the time to see how my friends are doing and what's going on rather than just living with the "I'm good. Everything's dandy" answer that we all spit out as soon as the words "how are you?" escape someone's lips. This change brought about quite the revelation. You see, as soon as I started investing the time into my friendships to see what was going on with the people around me, I quickly realized how much hurt and pain is really in the world of an average American teenager.  Poor relationships with parents, fights, abuse, depression, and just built up frustration, along with all sorts of other struggles came up in different conversations with various  people. And there seemed to be one overlying factor: the idea that pain can't show. Sure, if you're having a bad day it's one thing to go take it out on anybody and everybody you come in contact with, but our society seems to be one that wants everything to be perfect so badly that we sweep the bad stuff under the rug. I had someone tell me once that they had deleted a post on Facebook because it was too sad. That Facebook was only for the happy stuff. While daily complaining and sob stories get old really fast, it's not a bad thing to let others know that, "hey, this and this just happened. I'm kinda having a bad day." That lets those of us who care enough to read it know what's going on, and ask for details if we would like them. I have found that nine times out of ten what people really need is just somebody who will sit and listen to them. To go to someone and ask, "hey, I saw this happened, how are you doing?" means a lot more to most people than we think.  The world we live in is so fast paced that to take the time to sit down and chat with somebody (face to face, not texting) is pretty much a lost art. Even over technology, conversation deeper than small talk seem to be getting more rare.


Now, about the Robin Williams bit I started with. But here's where it all comes around: people wind up feeling alone because no one takes the time to actually take a genuine interest in their lives. They feel alone because no one lets them know that they care about them. People get depressed because they try to carry all of this life's problems by themselves. People give up hope because they go too long with these feelings. And once their hope is gone, it's hard to get back.

So, if you are willing, invest in someone. It might make you uncomfortable, but that's ok. Take the time to make someone feel appreciated, and see where it takes you. You just might save someone's life.

~ES

Well, This Could Be Intersting...

So, I'm gonna give this blogging thing a shot...
I have no idea what's gonna be flowing from my fingers, so don't be surprised when some things are off the wall... Some will probably be for humor, others more serious. And they will come spontaneously, so sorry if you were hoping for a regular daily or weekly installment. I warn you now, I can be long winded, but hopefully you won't get blogged down in all of words (pun intended). Happy reading! ... if anyone.. actually... reads.. this... O.o

LET THE ADVENTURE BEGIN!

~ES