Self-Help or All Satisfying Saviour

Some say that Buddha and Christ are similar.....I say that they are very different. Buddha taught that inner peace is a human achievement, Christ taught that it was a God achievement. Buddhism basically says that life is full of suffering due to human desire and you must enlighten yourself to end it. It seems to me that this is simply far too self-preservational to have a solution behind it. If enlightenment meant the end of human suffering, then why do we still suffer from evil? Is it because of the lack of enlightenment? or is it because of something else? If enlightenment is the key then we should all just meditate and read books and evil will just simply leave. This is why Jesus is not equal with Buddha. Enlightenment is not to be taken personally, but corporately. Meaning once we have the Light (Jesus) we are not to keep Him to ourselves, but to spread Him around to others. Jesus taught that we suffer from evil because mankind is inherently evil due to his twisted nature that was born out of Adam's sin (falling away from God) Jesus taught that the only way out of this predictament was to believe that He is and was the Son of God, that He died on the cross for mankind and that He rose to liberate us from these sinful desires and the evil that rages in our hearts. Not a self help guru, but Saviour. Either Jesus satisfies all the desires in your heart, or you are still a slave to your sin. One or the other. Jesus cannot simply be a way to a better life when He is the way to the Father. Jesus said it himself if you do not believe I am who I say I am you will die in your sin. There are only two choices when it comes to Jesus. Either He is who he said He was or He's a stark raving madman. There isn't room for a great moral teacher/self help guru. He is either Saviour or the saddest mental case in all of history. But there's not a trace of His bones on Earth. However you can visit Buddha's grave. Kinda makes you think doesn't it?

Greatness vs. Success

People often say I want to be successful but hardly ever do you hear people say I want to be great. Possibly because the two terms have been overused and confused with each other. In success there may be a measure of greatness but greatness is never measured by success. In my mind I hear Success asking Greatness "How I can be like you?" and I hear Greatness replying "Forget about yourself, but do it all for others." As far as my writing goes I want to be remembered for my honesty, my openess, and my ability to allow others to understand why I do this. I could care less for success, I desire greatness over success. When you think of me I want you to think that young man is great, I really mean like one of the best of all time. One day I'll be in the same breath as Hughes, Dunbar, Frost, and Woodsworth. Most of these men were not "successful" until they died but they were considered greats long before the measureable success came. So honestly my true goal in writing is not to get fame or get rich I just want to leave you with some fingerprints. Something to inspire my kids with if they come. If not perhaps I'll just be one of those figures you read about how this person had a passion for what they did and poured themselves into it regardless of what they were repaid with. Honestly my greatest fear is measureable success, I have no desire to sell myself out for a little bit of money. It's never worth it to alienate the people you love nevermind the Lord above but this is just me. Someone else might say I'm not trying to be broke all my life, but allow me to ask you is any of this notoriety worth the tagged price? The lost time with friends, the loss of privacy, the loss of touch, the loss of humility....oh but you make a lotta money though. Something here says success lies in the way of greatness...success makes you settle for good enough because you get paid for mediocre content. What I write I feel like nobody else can offer up because everyone else worries about perception, I know I'm not perfect and I don't care to put up curtains like I'm some kinda super Christian. It's really sickening to me personally when people paint this rosy picture of serving God as if you'll never have problems, struggles, fights......it's all a part of carrying that cross. That cross means death it means pain but it also provides you with hope, for Christ overcame the cross. Again success versus greatness.....Christ wasn't "successful" but He sure was great. I realize great is a weak word when it comes to Jesus but I'm going somewhere with this and other distinctions between success and greatness.The last thing is just two definitions that probably illustrate the point greater than anything I've written so far. Check it.Success:the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors. 2. the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like. 3. a successful performance or achievement: The play was an instant success. 4. a person or thing that is successful: She was a great success on the talk show. Greatness:unusually or comparatively large in size or dimensions: A great fire destroyed nearly half the city. 2. large in number; numerous: Great hordes of tourists descend on Europe each summer. 3. unusual or considerable in degree, power, intensity, etc.: great pain. 4. wonderful; first-rate; very good: We had a great time. That's great! 5. being such in an extreme or notable degree: great friends; a great talker. 6. notable; remarkable; exceptionally outstanding: a great occasion. 7. important; highly significant or consequential: the great issues in American history. 8. distinguished; famous: a great inventor. 9. of noble or lofty character: great thoughts. 10. chief or principal: the great hall; his greatest novel. 11. of high rank, official position, or social standing: a great noble. 12. much in use or favor: “Humor” was a great word with the old physiologists. 13. of extraordinary powers; having unusual merit; very admirable: a great statesman. 14. of considerable duration or length: We waited a great while for the train. So let me ask you, would you rather be a success, or be great?

The Real Reason for Racism

As I look around at the recent injustices done to two Black people and 74 protesters it has occured to me that this is less a skin issue as it is a heart issue. Although I realize that God's justice will come about, I also believe that it is our responsibility as a society to ensure that the justice we enact is rightly done. My problem is that Oscar Grant was clearly an innocent man and the little girl that was killed by mistaken police was clearly an innocent and senseless death. How do you pull the trigger on a little girl and show basically no remorse? This shows a clear deficit in the matters of the heart it is not enough to say that these actions are "racist" because that lets the root of racism off the hook, the darkened heart of man. It is easy to say that Whites abuse their power but it is harder to say why with a clear understanding about it. My thing is this: If it is only because they are White and have power to abuse, should not this happen much more frequently? Do not more Whites have power than Blacks? So in my mind this is not the clear answer, but a very attractive scapegoat. People find comfort in whatever conviently explains away the problem, but offers no solution. So it is easy as a Black male to say that these things happened because they were Black and the people who have done it were not, however this does not offer up any solutions. The ones pulling the triggers suffer from something deeper than simple racism, they suffer from a lack of knowledge about God and how God feels about ALL of His creations. Albeit racism may be a side-effect of this ignorance it is not the root cause for racism. The root of racism is a dark and evil heart. Something that we do indeed all share as a result of our human condition. It is not limited to one particular shade of people, but we all share this darkened heart. What is the cure for this evil? Understanding that Christ's sacrifice was not made for a group of people, but for all people. All of God's children suffered from delusions about sin. The Jews thought salvation was only meant for them, without understanding that God's plan included all of humanity. This is the delusion that died with Christ. Should not the delusion that justice is only for the rich or for the privliged die as well? Racism is not the reason, but only a symptom of the reason. Remember that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but principalities and powers and wickedness in the heavenly places......our fight is not with them, but the demons they allow to rule them.

The Foolishness Of Human Empowerment

Empowerment:to give power or authority to; authorize, esp. by legal or official means: I empowered my agent to make the deal for me. The local ordinance empowers the board of health to close unsanitary restaurants. 2. to enable or permit: Wealth empowered him to live a comfortable life. —Synonyms 1. warrant, commission, license, qualify. With that being said, there is no way that a human can truly empower another human simply because it is outside of our scope of ability. There is but one who can give power or authority and His name is Jesus. Humanly I may be able to speak encouraging words, words of life, words teeming with life, but then who empowers me to do such things? Certainly not myself. The power comes from one with much greater authority, much greater power than I could think to even possess. The gifting does not come from the vessel itself, but the gifting has to come from the one who is molding the vessel. Therefore, empowerment itself is a gift of God not of men. I implore those of you who glean some kind of encouragement, some kind of growth from what I write to you to seek Christ's empowerment. The human empowerment that I give is only meant to supplement what God has already given you. Perhaps I am meant to serve as a reminder for what the Lord has already spoken into your life. True empowerment comes from a higher source than I am even capable of supplying. True empowerment comes from the Christ of the cross. Seek His empowerment.

The Standard

What are healthy standards? People say that those who want a lot have "high standards" but is that really a bad thing? God has high standards. He desires that we be perfect and holy, but we desire that we be imperfect and compromise what He requires us to be in the interest of being "cool" and "acceptable". Funny how we don't want God to fade on His standards but we fade on ours and rather eaisly at that. As a man, my standards are simple. I only want to be like Christ. As a man, I have standards that anyone that I'd be thinking of pursuing must have. They must desire to be like Christ. See how this works? our standards are not to be superficial, but they must be no more than we are willing to be ourselves. Otherwise you have forayed into that hypocritical zone. No one wants a hypocrite. I say that to say this: Where are the standards? Where is the pressure to conform to an image of Christ? Where are the Fathers, the men who would teach the younger generation how to be like Christ? Where are the Mothers, the women who would teach the younger generation to say with conviction, If I perish for the sake of Christ, I perish? Looking at the standards which have been bent and honestly broken so much over the years, one comes to wonder, where are the standards at? Homosexuality is commonplace and even accepted in the church. There are men in the church who sleep with married women in the church, vice-versa. There is more evil in the church than there is outside of the walls. One reason and one reason only, there aren't any standards based on Christ. Fix your standard on Christ and it will not be shaken or moved. Make Christ's approval your standard.

Lost?

I hear a lot of people say that the sisters should be "lost" in Christ. Let us look up the word lost. no longer possessed or retained: lost friends. 2. no longer to be found: lost articles. 3. having gone astray or missed the way; bewildered as to place, direction, etc.: lost children. 4. not used to good purpose, as opportunities, time, or labor; wasted: a lost advantage. 5. being something that someone has failed to win: a lost prize. 6. ending in or attended with defeat: a lost battle. 7. destroyed or ruined: lost ships. 8. preoccupied; rapt: He seems lost in thought. 9. distracted; distraught; desperate; hopeless: In this light, I believe the more accurate statement should be grounded in Christ. When lost in Christ what do you have to hold to? I prefer that she is grounded in Christ as opposed to being lost. Again let us look up the term grounded. the solid surface of the earth; firm or dry land: to fall to the ground. 2. earth or soil: stony ground. 3. land having an indicated character: rising ground. 4. Often, grounds. a tract of land appropriated to a special use: picnic grounds; a hunting ground. 5. Often, grounds. the foundation or basis on which a belief or action rests; reason or cause: grounds for dismissal. 6. subject for discussion; topic: Sex education is forbidden ground in some school curricula. 7. rational or factual support for one's position or attitude, as in a debate or argument: on firm ground; on shaky ground. For our purposes let us focus on the fifth definition, there ought to be a foundation of Christ that has been laid down that you can firmly stand on as opposed to not really knowing where you are in Christ. I say this because if you are lost in Christ, do you know where to stand? Being grounded in Christ allows you to truly understand where to stand and why to stand. I don't care if you agree or disagree with what I say, I just ask you to think about what it means to truly be grounded and sustained by Christ and what it means to say you are lost in Christ. Just keeping it real.

The Mind Of Christ

Let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus. A simple sentence packed with so much to dig into. Think like Christ. How did Christ think? Glad you asked. Christ thought Kingdom first, how to get the rest of the people to understand the Kingdom second, how to get them to apply Kingdom third. Now if this is the pattern of the Chief Shepard then what does it say of the sheep who say they follow Him? Should we not be concerned with the matters of the Kingdom first? Should we not seek for others to understand this Kingdom and then apply the Kingdom mindset to Earth? Examine how Christ sought God's glory in all that He did. Every miracle that He performed screamed To God Be All The Glory. Christ did nothing to make His own name great, but due to His obedience to God, God brought His name glory. He was even obedient to the humiliating death of the cross, which God used to lift His own name up. What a ironic turn of events. That which they meant for shame and humiliation, God used for Glory and exhaltation. Let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus. The mind of Christ says Glory to God not Glory to Man. The mind of Christ says I only accept Glory from God and not Glory from man. The mind of Christ says service over savoring sensation. Christ's mind says that this walk is not about me, yet this walk is about us, brothers and sisters in arms carrying each other to the finish line. The mind of Christ says give and give with reckless abandon. The mind of Christ.