This past Sunday at Crosspoint, Blake Bergstrom gave a fantastic message on Pride versus Love.

He brought up points on the different forms that pride can take.

• Selfishness
• Self-promotion
• Self-doubt
• Fear
• Arrogance
• and more…

These are all examples of pride. Some of not typically seen as pride but when you get down to it, pride is anything that makes us take our eyes off of God and on ourselves. All those points fit in that definition.

Some of his highlight points were:

Our decisions are often based on what feeds our egos.

How many times have I said no to someone who asked for my help, because it inconvenienced me?

How many times have I ignored people who needed my attention because I didn’t feel like talking?

We need to examine what is feeding our egos… Are they things that will bring more life to others?

When you recognize whose you are, you can recognize who you are.

Anybody else need to check what is feeding their ego?

“But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.”  Isaiah 53: 5 [NLT]

There is incredible imagery in this verse. Pierced, crushed, beaten, whipped, all for us. He endured this pain so we would not have too. Because of this, we can be whole; we can be healed.

Whenever I let pride creep in and think for a minute that I’m okay by myself…I just remind myself of this verse. There is no room for pride in a verse like this. I am eternally indebted to what he did for me on the cross. This verse always has a way of putting me in my place.

The cross is THE reminder we need to remind us that we have nothing to boast about. Our best, our “righteousness” is but filthy rags. We were too helpless to pay our own price, we needed an innocent man pay the price for our sin.

Thank you Lord for your grace, mercy, sacrifice, and your love.

“He was wounded and crushed because of our sins; by taking our punishment, he made us completely well.” [CEV]

I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak his praises.” Psalm 34:1 NLT

I’ll be honest, it’s hard to praise the Lord at all times. In fact, I think it’s harder to faithfully praise God when things are really good, then when things are really bad. We press in and press in when the storms of life come, but what about when we the season of life and is calm and successful?

When we hit the mountain top, it’s easy to relax and grow complacent. Sometimes a truer test of our devotion is how faithful we are when things are easy and not just when things are hard.

“Exercise daily in God—no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever. You can count on this.” 1 Timothy 4:8 MSG

1) Keep a daily devotion time.

When things are good, I find that I get a little lackadaisical and tend to believe that I have things under control. Spiritually speaking there is no really a long “plateau” period. Because of the forces that are bombarding us, we tend to either be growing or not.

“Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” 1 Thess. 5:16-18 NLT

2) Keep with Community

Our church, friends, and family are important for our spiritual growth. They can support us, encourage us, and make sure that we stay on the right path. Community is huge.

3) A lifestyle of worship.

Worship is so much more than just the 20 minutes on a Sunday morning. It is really a lifestyle. We need to view life through a lens of worship. Everything we do is worship. When things are good…keep praising Him. Keep a joyful noise on your lips.

“So love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.” Mark 12:30 MSG

That verse explains that loving God is a holistic act. 1 hour of church every weekend is not enough to be movers and shakers in this world.

Let’s set a good example. Let us not only reach out and cry out in the bad times, but let’s press in during the great times as well.

Do you find that complacency creeps in when things are good?

Sometimes I wrestle with hard questions…

Like why part of my faith seems to contradict itself.

I believe that God is love. The greatest, biggest, most all-encompassing love we can fathom and way beyond. And yet bad things still happen to good people. I believe that at any instant God can instantly change our situation and the course of history. Yet He also will allow a single mom of 3 to die of cancer, or a father to lose his job 6 months before retirement. And still, He is no less God, no less loving. He will furthers His plan, and can have our best interests in mind.

I believe that God is fair and just, yet can’t begin to understand why a murderer may walk and a newborn will never be given the change to live. I won’t ever fully understand how it is that we have relatively fresh produce in our roughly 85,000+ grocery stores* , and yet over 900 million* will go hungry tonight.

I know that my faith cover’s me and wholly saves me, yet seems to only adequately answer a few of life’s big questions and will leave the rest to…well faith.

I know that in order to be rich, I must be made poor. In order to be raised up, I must be humbled. In order to be filled, I must be emptied. When struck, to turn the other cheek and go the extra mile.

I know that people greatly struggle with these issues. I know that many times faith seems counterintuitive and overall the opposite of what would make sense, but the truth is,

I’m okay with that.

I believe that Christ died for the church, but also that His salvation is absolutely available to anyone who will receive it. People may ask, which one is it? I would say both. And the truth is,

I’m okay with that.

God may choose to answer the flippant prayer of a drunk man, and not answer that of the faithful Christian…He is no less fair. No less just. No less God.

I’m okay with that.

There are certain concepts that I will never fully know the answers to and may drive me crazy; and my faith may not always have the prettiest answers or even adequately answer some of my questions… but the truth is,

I’m okay with that.

I think that if I knew all the answers and could figure out life’s deepest and hardest mysteries simply by looking up at the sky or studying creation, then there would be no room or need for faith. There would be no need for trust. No need for love or grace. Ultimately no need for God.

All in all, I’m okay not knowing. I’m okay with trusting; with believing and going in blind.

He is God, I am not.

And I’m okay with that.

{sources: bls.gov & worldhungor.org}

As I am finally finishing up my college career, there are definitely many things that I have learned. Some have been the hard way, and others just from experience; but here are just a few that I think are important for people to remember when they enter college.

Do Your Best to Create A Four-Year Plan

This may seem really difficult and somewhat pointless as the average college student changes their major a million times, but it is extremely beneficial if you know what you want to do. I wish I had done a better job at this. I had a harder time because I changed my major at least twice and transferred schools after my sophomore year. But none-the-less, have a plan. Outline your classes at least for the next 2 to 4 semesters, this will give you a goal and a plan to stick to and save you a lot of headaches when scheduling classes.

Get Involved.

College will seem like a whole new world at first and there are lots of opportunities to get plugged in. Do it. Find an activity, club, ministry, etc. that you like and get plugged in. You may just find that your best (lifelong) friends will be in these groups. This is a great way to really brighten your college experience. You’ll feel like you’re part of something and supported…those two things will help you get through the hard times that you may have.

Avoid Dating Your Freshman Year.

I know this may seem a little weird but seriously, no ring by spring. I have seen it so many times, and most of them have ended badly. The truth is, you grow up and mature a ton in your freshman year and you really start to shape who you are and what you believe in. I would wait until after some of those changes take root before going down the relationship road. Just be friends with everybody first…you’ll be glad you did. This one may not be for everyone but I think it’s worth mentioning.

Keep An Open Mind.

It’s college. There will never be another time or experience like this for the rest of your life! Yes, there will be times where you absolutely hate it and you are completely overwhelmed (a.k.a. midterms and finals) I get it, I totally do. But just realize you are given an incredible opportunity. The college bubble can be a really fun one if you allow yourself to engage fully in the experience. Your resources are near endless and most are provided for you. Take advantage of the services that your school offers…they are there for YOU!

Remember to be smart. Keep a good head on your shoulders and put your faith first. The next 4 years of your life will seriously fly by!

“Pride leads to conflict; those who take advice are wise.” Proverbs 13:10 NLT

Pride can take many different forms. Arrogance, self-pity, false humility, and boastfulness just to name a few. Some are easier to spot than others, but one that I fear the most is the pride I struggle with. . . The pride of thinking that I don’t have a pride.

In this case, not being aware of our struggles can be far more dangerous and destructive then us knowing we struggle and failing to change.

I tend to cause conflict with the people around me when I fail to recognize my faults and don’t trust their opinion of myself. My pride keeps me blinded from the truth. My pride inflates my self image. My pride will stunt my growth. My pride will distance me from my intimacy with Christ.

With pride comes destruction, despair, conflicts, humiliation, downfall, and more. But the trade-offs for humility are grace, honor, wisdom, exaltation, and preservation. . . There’s no comparison!

Bottom line: Prides needs to leave.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10

That is my recent prayer…for God to search my heart, brings things that I need to deal with to the front, and then to clean me out.

It’s always important to take a good, hard look at yourself and see where you need to go. Trust the council around you enough that when they point something out, they are doing it to help you and because they love you.

“Arrogant know-it-alls stir up discord, but wise men and women listen to each other’s counsel.” Proverbs 13:10 MSG

I’ll be honest to say that although I didn’t particularly love writing this post, I know it was something that I needed to say.

Are you dealing with or have thoughts on pride?

In church we like to talk about Jesus (son). We even don’t mind talking about God (father), but what about the Holy Spirit? How much time do we spend talking about him?

Why does the Holy Spirit weird us out?

Why does a conversation all of a sudden turn weird or get hokey when we start to mention the Spirit?

It has always intrigued me why so many Christians seem to be uncomfortable with this third of the Trinity. And yet really we should be most comfortable with it. After all, the Spirit lives within us and our bodies house him.

Is it because we don’t like the idea of following something that is seemingly even less tangible than Jesus or God? Or is it because we don’t like the idea of being led by someone other than ourselves?

“What does the Spirit do? His works are ineffable in majesty and innumerable in quantity. How can we even ponder what extends beyond the ages? What did he do before creation began? How great are the graces he showered on creation? What power will he wield in the age to come? He existed, he pre-existed, he co-existed with the Father and Son before the ages. Even if you can imagine anything beyond the ages, you will discover the Spirit is even further beyond.” St Basil the Great

Thoughts?

Beyond just differences in denominational beliefs, why do you think the Holy Spirit is such a difficult subject?

1) They Are Tough.

Long-distance is not for everyone and now I know why…it’s stinking hard, even when you are with the right person. If you aren’t willing or ready to put in the effort and hard work then I would suggest not entering a long distance relationship. It’s not for the faint of heart. It will at times test your patience and may even make you question what you got yourself into (usually more-so in the beginning)…but never be too quick to throw in the towel.

 2) Great Relationships Don’t Just Happen, They Are Built.

You don’t just wake up and have great relationships. Sure some seem easier than others, but all require maintenance and upkeep. This is the same when it comes to long distance, but it is concentrated. Since you can’t just meet up and hang out, you need more strategy. You have to be specific and intentional in how you do things long-distance in order to grow while you are apart.

Abby and I make sure we text a lot, email a lot, share interests with each other throughout the day (through email, twitter, and facebook) and then call and/or video chat at night. It’s our way of staying in touch with one another and feeling like we are doing an activity with the other person, thereby, supporting interest and building a relationship.

 3) Intentional Communication is Key

I can’t stress this one enough. You have to be intentional in your communication. If you are not, you simply won’t talk or communicate well. Be intentional with your schedules and talk about and plan when the best time to talk is and be consistent with it. If you need to, put those times in your calendar as date nights and protect that time you have to talk and communicate with the other person. These times will be vital to your health and growth as a couple.

Abby and I talk at night, we have found this works best for us. We both have had to make changes at times to our scheduling to make this work. I make sure to and do my work earlier in the evening so that I’m free by the time she is able to talk.

 4) Technology Can Be A Huge Blessing.

Abby and I started out just talking on the phone, which is normal. Then she got a Mac (finally ) and we just started iChatting and video chatting (which totally made things better). If at all possible, in a long-distance relationship, I would suggest some type of Skype, Facetime, or other video-chatting program, it makes a huge difference when you can see the other person and not just hear them. This adds a more human and emotional experience to your communication. You are just hearing words and processing things logically, but now your seeing them and feeling them, which will totally change things and have the ability for you to grow as a couple quicker than it would with just a traditional phone conversation.

 5) Be Gracious.

No ifs, ands, or buts…you just need to be. You need to develop a slightly thicker skin, you need to give them the benefit of the doubt, and you need to ask before assuming. Unfortunately even with cutting-edge technology, things will get lost in translation. Nothing beats a face-to-face personal conversation. Everybody has bad days and it will only get amplified through the medium you use. Usually just asking one more follow-up question, or asking them to clarify, is all it takes to avoid many arguments that stem from misinterpretation or misunderstandings.

Also make sure you are trying to bring your best to them and not just your leftovers. Leftovers will kill the relationship…they deserve better! It may be the end of a really long and tough day, and you may being feeling empty, frustrated, and annoyed; but your partner doesn’t know that and it’s not fair for them to get you at your worst.

There are so many more things I could mention and maybe one day I will. Maybe a dating e-book for long distance relationships, haha, we shall see…I hope this helps.

Also for your reference, Abby and I are about 1200 miles away from each other and have been long-distance for about 12 out of the 13 months we’ve been dating.

To love is to be vulnerable is very true. Love is big. For most, it is also very scary.

Love has risks. There is no certainty in it’s return, yet the reciprocation of it can be life-changing.

Love knows no bounds, has no limits, and given the chance, will never stop spreading…

Love can bring you the most joy and yet also the most pain. It can both heal you and hurt you.

Love is invisible yet tangible, personal yet universal, both instant and long-lasting.

Love is definitely risky…

But is the risk worth the reward?

I say YES!

You? Thoughts on the quote?

Hey all, just in case you missed them, here are my top posts for the month…Check them out and enjoy the end of your week!

1. Keep On Keeping On

2. What’s Hurts More?

3. How Would You Answer This Question?

4. Transformation: Changing The Way You Think

5. Idols: Blocking Grace

Be blessed!