who Jesus came for

Jesus came for the chewed up, crossed off, crying out

The dropped out, edged out, fizzled out, and freaked out

The have nots, the held back, hung over, and knocked around

He came for the left out, the loaded down, and looked over,

The locked up, led astray, laid off, and let down

The messed up and the mixed up

He came for the passed over, the picked on, put down, pinned down and pushed around

The ripped off, the run down and the run over

Jesus came for people who are screwed up and the shrugged off,

The shut in and shut out

The smashed up, the stacked against, and strung out

Our Savior came for the torn up, thrown away, and the turned off

Those who used up and walked over,

The washed out, the worn out, the wiped out, and the written off

He came for you. And me.

source: morethandodgeball.com

church

I posted this comment on my facebook site earlier in the day...
"What's the difference between saying your a Christian and acting like one?"

Then my good buddy Nate followed that up with what I think is an even better statement...

"likely similar to going to church and [vs] being the Church..."

Apparently a few people clicked on the "like" button on facebook about this status. I guess that's a good thing. What I'd like more is that we all wouldn't simply "like" this quote but rather that we'd "live out" this quote.

I seem to wrestle with this whole concept more and more now about "going to church" vs "being the church". Throughout most of the mid 1900's people often "went to church." It was the socially accepted thing to do. To get dressed in your "Sunday Best" and to head off to the local church...then to go back home and resume your "non-Sunday Best-church" life for the next 6 days.

Things have changed since 1950-2000...less people are regularly going to church. While this statistic somewhat saddens me, what also can be seen from this, is that those who go to church do so because they're not solely go to church, they recognize that the way they live on Sunday's is NO DIFFERENT than the way they live the other 6 days of the week: they are being the church.

So what does it mean to "be the church"? The best example of what "being the church" is really all about is shown to us by the early church written about in the book of Acts.

"They devoted themselves to the apostle's teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and sings performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." (Acts 2:42-47)

They had no building, no worship centre, no gym, no youth room etc... but what they did was lived out what the church was supposed to be like...

...it was EVERYDAY FAITH. Hmmm...sound familiar?

Now do we do this still? Do we live out the good news of Jesus? Do we not only say we're a Christian but act like one too?

Somewhere early on in my faith journey I remember hearing this quote:

"just because you go to McDonald's, it doesn't make you a cheeseburger"

Enough Said.

-Ty

"Ex" Series T-Shirts

WOW. I'm still not 100% sure what to think about these t-shirts being being put out by "The Passion 4 Christ Movement"

Here's a quote from their site:

"Yeah we said it….Nobody talks about it, but most people have done it or are still doing it. It's seems to be a rite of passage for both girls and guys into the world of sex. Some say masturbation is not a sin, some say that it is. But is it really okay in the eyes of God?"

Two Questions:

1) Would you dare to wear one of these shirts? (hey that rhymed)

2) Does this only spur on the "I think I'm better than you" mentality of so many Christians?

Either way...I've seen my fair share of cheezy Christian t-shirts before. Too many to be honest with you. Just one trip to Creation Fest every year and my eyes have seen enough for another year.

On a more serious note: if you are struggling with masturbation, find an ADULT to talk with. (since a friend is likely struggling with this too). Pretty much like 95% of teens/young adults struggle with this...you ARE NOT ALONE. TRUST ME.

-Ty

(ht to Marko for this)