Stay True

Now a days, Christianity is not being focused on as much as it should.  People are because more focused on what is around them and how they turn out, then the plan that God has for them.  Christianity in America is becoming less and less important over the years.  There are many assumptions on how the religion acts that many people are starting to not see it as God's plan for His world.  Christians need to keep spreading His word and sticking to the plan before us, which is glorifying His world. As both Christians and Americans everything is getting influenced by society, so we need to keep battling for what is right in our society.

Struggling to Stay Relevent

The problem for Christians who live in this modern society with rapid cultural change is the struggle to stay relevant. Over the past 10 years society has changed its views from predominately christian to a more atheistic perspective. As our culture accepts more and more practices that go against our religion, people view us as a religion who lives in the past and doesn't except change. We could possibly be labeled as "irrelevant and close-minded". If we are labeled as such, following the commandment in Matthew 28:19 which says, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,..." would be difficult. People would not want to be part of a faith that does not accept "basic human rights" or what they believe to be acceptable in terms of marriage and sexuality. It is our job to be examples of how to live. We can do that, not by rejecting the people who are against us, but by loving them. Being a minority does not matter. What matters is that we as Christians continue to uphold our morality and beliefs. If we continue to do this, loving everyone, regardless of their opinions on the normality of society, I believe we can begin to push back and make an impact in our country and world.

John 13:35

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

God's Not Dead

Today, it is more important than ever for Christians to stand up for what they believe in.  In a country like America, where it is possible to practice, believe, write, speak, etc.. about any religion, Christianity is simply grouped into this category by many people.  We as Christians have the ability and are commanded to make sure people don't see Christianity as "just another religion"  because we know it is more than that.  And even though Christians were always supposed to do this throughout history, it stands out more today because of the difficulty and adversity we face as Christians in America where society has influenced everything into becoming politically correct, and look down on groups who oppose some ideas of political correctness.  It is because of this, that Christians today have a difficult task ahead of them, but on the bright side, they have a multitude of opportunities to share.  

Hidden Persecution

In today's era, it is exceptionally difficult to maintain a relationship with Christ as we are supposed to...but, a lot of people don't notice that their faith is being persecuted because they're so wrapped up in various activities like sports, hobbies, etc.. 
The definition of persecution is "hostility and ill-treatment, especially because of race or political or religious beliefs; oppression".
We are so focused on being MVP/Captain of our sports team, lead in drama, or top of the class at school we lose sight of what it means to have that relationship with God. We need to realize that these things are great, don't get me wrong, but they're also temptations that are keeping us from our Lord. Our activities are not directly the persecution, but they are things that get us persecuted for. When we "get in" with a group of people that don't believe what we believe gets us persecuted. Sometimes we don't notice it because today people talk to each other in such a sarcastic tone that we don't know when someone's messing with us or shooting us down. That's why I titled this "Hidden Persecution" because we can be the ones persecuting, or we could be the ones that are persecuted. The world today has become so judgmental that we can't focus on the important things, Christ and kindness. 
Today and onward, I want to try to be kinder and to maintain the relationship I have with God so I'm not affected by the persecution or the one persecuting.

Actions Speak Louder than Words

Christianity in America is getting put on the back burner. In the society we live in, we are constantly surrounded by temptations which lead us down the wrong paths. If we keep taking the wrong turn away from God, it's easy to get lost in the grey areas. Our generation has more grey areas now because things that used to be clearly a sin, have become more acceptable. As Christians, we need to stand up for what we believe in and start to make those lines black and white again. We have to follow what is in the Bible and let our actions speak louder than our words, we have to be willing to be persecuted and ridiculed for what we believe in, and we have to pray for others who many not know God or have a personal relationship with God. We need to keep fighting the war for Christianity because that is what God instructs us to do.

“And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.'”
                                                                                          ~ Mark 16:15

Punching Satan in the Face

In the world we live in today, keeping a relationship with God isn't easy. More than ever Christians are being approached with discrimination and temptations that didn't exist before. As high school kids preparing to take on the rigorous events of life after graduation, our faith will be under attack especially. We will graduate into a world that is very different from the one our parents' lived in when they were our age. They're are so many more opportunities now to stray away from the path God has laid out for us. Staying on that path and keeping the relationship with God will be a challenge. But just because it will be hard doesn't mean we should turn our tail and take the punches that the devils throwing. We should be doing the exact opposite. When in a fight, you don't let your opponent knock you around as they please, you show your grit and you punch them right back. As Christians in the world today we need to stop being passive and start being active with the faith God has given us. The world may seem more corrupt than its ever been, but in that corruption, our faith should shine brighter than its ever been as well. We are in spiritual warfare. There is an urgency to the word warfare that we need to stop taking so lightly. When we head out into the world its going to be a trial through fire to see if we can keep roll with the punches and fight right back. So are you ready to fight?

See you tomorrow amigos,

Dalton

Is being a minority bad?

In today's culture as Christianity is pushed out more and more we have begun to realize something, we are no longer the majority in America. As more and more people turn away from God and turn to things like Atheism,  many people have begun to doubt and despair. These people that are in despair are eventually leaving God too. Well how about we change things up a little? Instead of looking at all the changes in our society and how our society is no longer Christian based as a bad thing, look at this as a test from God and a opportunity to spread the word. When we look in the old testament we see that time and time again God tested his people. Well what about now? This is nothing more than a test that God has laid before us, a test that we can and will pass. In today's society we are becoming a minority yes, but becoming a minority has opened the eyes of a lot of people. Despite all the persecution of our belief's I've seen many people actually stand out in the crowd and spread the word to all those that would listen. The people that haven't turned away from God in this test are doing great things in the world and bringing people to Christ. So why shouldn't we do the same? We should stand and fight for our beliefs alongside those who already are. Yes we are a minority, but we can be a minority that can thrive once again.