Over the past few weeks I have been participating in Old Chicago's Oktoberfest Beer Tour, at Oktoberfest in Lincoln Park, and enjoying watching football for 3 weeks with an ice cold beer.
It's Wednesday, middle of the week, no reason to celebrate, and what's on my mind? Sam Adam's Oktoberfest. Why is it that fall and beer go so nicely together?
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Living for Today
Lately I've had encounters with people who are living for today. Both individuals are in different life stages and so that choice leads down different paths. But as someone who can relate to each life stage I feel a bit torn as to what that means for me.
You have the single perspective of doing whatever you want. No kids, no family, nothing to 'hold you down'. This living for today looks more like flying by the seat of your pants and living somewhat of a carefree life. There are no worries about the future and in reality some of the situations of today don't hold much weight.
On the other hand theres the other side where there are many other aspects of life to consider. My friend in this boat has a life situation where his parents are affected and his mom may pass away any day. He's got a mortgage, wife, and holds a little more value to decisions today. When you are married or in a serious relationship that matters because you have kids or a spouse to think about.
I have to say that I'm in the middle. I don't have that weight of decisions but for some reason I can't let myself live 'carefree' like I did a majority of my life. Where's the line?
You have the single perspective of doing whatever you want. No kids, no family, nothing to 'hold you down'. This living for today looks more like flying by the seat of your pants and living somewhat of a carefree life. There are no worries about the future and in reality some of the situations of today don't hold much weight.
On the other hand theres the other side where there are many other aspects of life to consider. My friend in this boat has a life situation where his parents are affected and his mom may pass away any day. He's got a mortgage, wife, and holds a little more value to decisions today. When you are married or in a serious relationship that matters because you have kids or a spouse to think about.
I have to say that I'm in the middle. I don't have that weight of decisions but for some reason I can't let myself live 'carefree' like I did a majority of my life. Where's the line?
Thursday, September 10, 2009
3 types of people
I went to a young 'church' type gathering the other week where 20-somethings from various churches came to worship and listen to a talk. There was no doubt that the speaker was very passionate about his views and his relationship with Christ. I think the difficulty in gathering people who are used to worshipping differently is that they may walk away with a completely different message then intended. This is what I walked away with regarding the 3 types of people in the world...
The first person is the weak person that can be prayed on by good or evil. Usually the worldly things snatch this person up. They aren't strong enough in anything to stand for themselves or what they know is true. I would categorize this person as someone who is unaware of how different life could really be.
The second person is someone who knows the Bible, knows passages, claims to know Jesus and falls into sin. Their church tells them it's okay to sin, if their heart is in the right place. In my opinion, I felt as if this was presented that night as the 'luke warm' Christian.
The third person was someone who knew the Bible in and out, who proclaimed the Truth to whomever was around and who was 100% sure they knew where they were going, how they need to live their life and how to get others to follow. This person knew the Bible was the only way to salvation and it was the roadmap for hte future. Nothing else mattered but studying the Bible finding out direction. (which I don't entirely disagree with) It was clearly presented that this was the 'correct' person of the three.
Maybe it's just my past experience in finding faith, but the Bible directly did not lead me to Christ. It was the people who loved me for who I was when I was a sinner, that told me it was okay to come to Christ without being perfect that helped lead me to salvation. I felt very attacked that night because if you were to ask me, I'd say I was the second person. The 'Luke Warm" Christian if you will. I don't know the Bible in and out, I make mistakes, I have fellow believers who support me through those mistakes, but I KNOW where my heart is. It's a journey we make in becoming like Jesus. I would rather be the person exploring my faith and changing every day because of the fact that Christ has my heart then the one who is so sure of everything that may tend to slip into the person that isn't very Christlike, the 'Know it All" type of Christian.
No matter what person you are, love God, love others, and you'll do just fine.
The first person is the weak person that can be prayed on by good or evil. Usually the worldly things snatch this person up. They aren't strong enough in anything to stand for themselves or what they know is true. I would categorize this person as someone who is unaware of how different life could really be.
The second person is someone who knows the Bible, knows passages, claims to know Jesus and falls into sin. Their church tells them it's okay to sin, if their heart is in the right place. In my opinion, I felt as if this was presented that night as the 'luke warm' Christian.
The third person was someone who knew the Bible in and out, who proclaimed the Truth to whomever was around and who was 100% sure they knew where they were going, how they need to live their life and how to get others to follow. This person knew the Bible was the only way to salvation and it was the roadmap for hte future. Nothing else mattered but studying the Bible finding out direction. (which I don't entirely disagree with) It was clearly presented that this was the 'correct' person of the three.
Maybe it's just my past experience in finding faith, but the Bible directly did not lead me to Christ. It was the people who loved me for who I was when I was a sinner, that told me it was okay to come to Christ without being perfect that helped lead me to salvation. I felt very attacked that night because if you were to ask me, I'd say I was the second person. The 'Luke Warm" Christian if you will. I don't know the Bible in and out, I make mistakes, I have fellow believers who support me through those mistakes, but I KNOW where my heart is. It's a journey we make in becoming like Jesus. I would rather be the person exploring my faith and changing every day because of the fact that Christ has my heart then the one who is so sure of everything that may tend to slip into the person that isn't very Christlike, the 'Know it All" type of Christian.
No matter what person you are, love God, love others, and you'll do just fine.
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