The Common Fear

Fear is one of the most powerful forces in the world...just look at what fear has given people the ability to do. The Holocaust, the Cold War, the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Fear cripples a person, a community, even a civilization. Some of our weakest moments in our lives are during times of great fear. It is truly exhausting for a person to live in fear, waking up in the morning to a pit deep within you that is filled with fear. It takes your energy, your mind, even your hunger. Once fear has broken someone, they will turn to literally anything that will relieve them, even if only for a second or two. That relief is where the danger lies in wait. This relief is what causes civilizations to crumble, causes friends to be forever broken, causes people to lose faith. It is in these moments of relief that the worlds biggest mistakes have been made. All any mistake takes is simply saying yes to someone or something, and in a weak moment many people will. We sometimes forget how easy it is to create turmoil. In a weak moment we look to others, the people we surround ourselves with. Do we have trustworthy people to lead us on out of the darkness or will they simply ignore you and continue on?
It is hilarious to me when I look back on my life and the situations I have been in. The time the girl punched me in the stomach when i told her that I loved her (3rd grade). Impressive right? Yeah I tell it like it is. The time I flipped my dirtbike and told my friend Logan that I broke both of my knees, I was just in shock though. When I had to ask a girl to my first homecoming, yeah I was shaking. My first speeding ticket and when I had to tell my mother and father about it. Graduating from highschool and having to go to college. The hilarious thing about each of these situations is that I was probably thinking that this is the scariest event that I will ever experience in my life, nothing will ever change me like this has. I feel that everyone thinks that exact same thing each time we get trapped in fear. Take heart though! We are stronger than we realize...and very few realize this. Everyone has the ability to stand on their own two legs and face a situation. It is with the confidence and strength that God designed us with and instills into us everyday that we walk this earth in faith. Yes we have seen what fear has done in this world and it is truly daunting, but look at what man has done in this world. The Lunar Landing, the Golden Gate Bridge, Dubai...look at the civilizations that we have built across this planet earth! How can fear be so daunting when we have accomplished so much? It is because we understand that fear can easily destroy it all. But while fear can destroy something, it is in faith that it may be rebuilt stronger than it ever has been.

Rome is Still Burning

In AD 64, the world watched as one of its greatest and most powerful Empires burned to the ground. A historic Empire losing itself and spiraling out of control thanks to one event. There are many theories as to how the fire actually began but a few seem to put the blame on one person. Emperor Nero. One man brought down Rome, thats all it took...

When did it become okay in this world to ignore personal responsibility? When did it become a social norm for people to be a person of faith yet belligerently break God's commandments and challenges, and be able to walk into church that Sunday and no one say anything to them? When did pastors become more concerned about numbers...those attending church, facebook friends, twitter followers, radio show listeners, amount of people saved in a service, contacts in a phonebook...it used to be all about one. I have been taught in my life as well as learned that if you can do anything, save one, help one, do something for someone. If you decide something isn't important because no one is going, you are severely missing out. This fear of losing numbers has caused pastors to become "soft". They now allow, "'I'm working on it", to fly instead of only recognizing, "I'm sorry and I'm going to change." We've created a community of Christians where it's almost "too safe." We don't challenge each other or go out of our comfort zones. Why do you think that "Sunday Christians" exist? Its because we haven't taught people to stand up for themselves. We will play christian in church because its a safe zone where no one will judge us for standing up for our spiritual beliefs but as soon as a challenge prevents itself elsewhere away from our safe haven, we crack, afraid of what those around us will think, do, or say. Heck in that instant that you stand up for yourself you might lose that facebook friend or twitter follower...Pastors won't challenge their churches. I don't mean challenge as in, "this week let's try to act like we have faith", I am talking about using strong words instead of sugar coating it. Make people serious about coming to their church. BUT that fear of numbers scares the crap out of church leaders. So much so that they miss the big picture by staring at the numbers. If they can't save one hundred at once, don't do it. Be nice to our church-goers. We can't teach them to be God fearing, how would that look? People scared of God...its just not right. People aren't learning the truth.

The truth is It only takes one person to destroy an Empire...history has proved that, but we've also witnessed in history that it only takes ONE to save us all.