Rachel

Hillsong United is a popular worship band among most Christians I know. I love them. Sometimes the simplicity and passion behind their lyrics just inspires me.

"Hosanna" is one of their more popular songs. It speaks of the King of Glory washing away our sin, and our generation rising up to take its place with selfless faith. It's really a beautiful song.

There's a line in there that bothers me, though:

Break my heart for what breaks Yours.

My issue is with my generation, who sings this song and songs like it, but then lives to no standard of holiness. My generation, who sings this song but doesn't want to hate what God hates. In fact, they don't even know what God hates.

My generation wants God to save them, and to make them feel good. They don't want Him as Lord and King over everything they do. They want to control their lives.

Why?

Does my "Christian" generation really understand that they are created to worship God, and than in doing so they'll find ultimate satisfaction?

I'm not legalistic and I'm not perfect, but every day I wake up and learn to hate my sin more and more, because God hates it. It defiles and distorts His perfect creation. He suffered for it, and He now calls me to righteousness.

My heart breaks.

But no, my generation wants to feel good, not to be broken. They don't really care about God's standards.

And still they sing that song.

Why?

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I guess it was yesterday that I was finishing reading the book of Colossians, and I noticed a couple of things about prayer, and I thought I'd share.

For one, in Colossians 4:2, Paul tells the church to "devote themselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving."

In discussing this with my family, I came to the conclusion that I do not devote myself to prayer. In fact, my prayer life is one of those things about my faith I let slide all the time. Very rarely do I set aside time to pray, and when I don't do that, I often forget to pray at all. It's a shame, really, because it also indicates I'm probably not always aware of God's presence in my life at every moment.

Recently, I've gotten better. My goal is prayer in the morning and at night, and whenever I think of it throughout the day. My goal is to make my life a prayer. Whenever I think of something I'm thankful for, I give thanks then and there. Whenever I'm overjoyed by something, I praise God in that moment. Whenever I need help with something, I ask for His Spirit to empower me to do His will. And whenever someone else is in need, I pray for them the moment I think of it, or else I'll likely forget and never get around to it.

It's a habit I have to form, and it isn't exactly easy. I'm so used to being distracted and thinking, but I'm not used to actively communicating with God. That's where the second thing I noticed comes in to play, though.

Colossians 4:12 - "Epaphras, who is one of your number, a bondslave of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings, always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God."

That's the NASB. Young's Literal Translation uses "striving" in place of "laboring," and the ESV uses "struggling."

Point being, sometimes we must labor in our prayers. Sometimes it will be very hard to manage to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and to "pray at all times" (Ephesians 6:18), but we are called to live lives of consistent communication with our God.

One thing that helps me to live a life devoted to prayer is realizing what a privilege it is to even be able to speak with God and have Him listen! Jesus tore the veil the moment He died, and we are now reconciled to God. He is with us! He hears us!

So... this is an area of my life in need of discipline, and it's one I'm working on. I encourage any readers to also exercise self-control, and learn to devote yourself to prayer. Practically speaking, it's one of the the most beautiful, amazing, sacred, and beneficial aspects of our walk with Christ.

I mean, you--a sinful human being, saved by the grace of God alone to a beautiful inheritance--can now speak with the living, almighty, amazing, powerful God. Take advantage of such a privilege. Take advantage of such a gift. Add a comment

My youth pastor is leaving soon to plant a church in Tampa, FL. I am so excited to see what God is going to do through them down there! He and his wife have been a blessing in my life, and I'm just... ecstatic about their ministry there.

In thinking back over all I've learned from him over the past year, the concept of Godly character stands out to me. In a message he once preached, he said that there is no substitute for Godly character. What does that really mean?

Wikipedia says about character that it is, "an evaluation of a particular individual's moral qualities. The concept of character can imply a variety of attributes including the existence or lack of virtues such as integrity, courage, fortitude, honesty, and loyalty, or of good behaviors or habits."

What does character look like in our lives as Christians? Does how we behave reflect Christ? Not just our beliefs and our theology, but our attitude toward others, toward life, and toward God?

Are we men and women of integrity, who are consistent and adhere to what we say? Do we live out what we claim to believe in?

Are we courageous? Do we even posses courage of any sort? Courage to surrender our being to Christ? Courage to spread his Gospel to those around us and in the world?

Are we people of fortitude, who, in difficult or trying situations, bear a soundness and strength of mind by the power of the Spirit? Are we able to endure with courage and faith in God? Or when trials come our way, do we break down emotionally and beging to lose hope?

Are we really honest? Is our yes truly our yes? How about our no? Do we shy away from the truth out of fear or shame? Are we even honest with ourselves before God?

Are we a loyal people? Are we loyal to our family and friends? Are we so loyal that we work through difficult situations together? Are we loyal enough to forgive and work our relational problems? Or do we allow unforgiveness or bitterness to govern the relationships we have? Are we loyal enough to be servants of one another, just as Christ came to serve us? Above all, are we, as Christians, loyal to our God and Savior? Are we faithful to worship and to glory in Him? Are we faithful to spend time in fellowship with Him, or do we forget about Him first chance we have?

And how our are habits? Do the patterns in our lives show that we are free in Christ Jesus? Are we enslaved by sin or by anything that destroys us? Do we have habits of love for others and for God?

The truth is, you can have it all together and still not have your walk with Christ all together. You can have proper theology, you can know your Bible backwards and forwards, you can pray meaningfully, and you can worship passionately. You can be the good Christian who "knows" what you're talking about. But if you aren't honest and loyal, faithful and true, full of integrity and courage--if your attitude is one of bitterness, anger, dishonesty, selfishness, or immaturity, you are not living as a new creation. Unless you have the Godly character, which enables you to live out your beliefs, you become a poor reflection of Christ Jesus.

The beauty of the New Covenant is that it changes who we are. Because of the cross, the Holy Spirit changes our hearts.

So... how's your heart? How's your character?
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