Wearing the Cross

One of my favorite apps right now has to be Vine. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's an app where people post 7 second videos, most of them being very funny. Although I have watched some really hilarious videos on there, the other day I watched a video that was under  the "On The Rise" category that really disturbed me.

This girl was standing in a mirror, wearing a shirt that had a giant leopard print cross on it. She went on to say "People ask me when I wear this shirt: Oh! Are you religious?! 

And I say: Hell no! I'm just into fashion!" 

In Matthew 27:46, we read the last words Jesus says before he was crucified on the cross to wash away our sins. He went through excruciating pain and agony up on that cross for us.

It's sad to think that in today's society, we look at a cross and instantly think "fashion". Jesus didn't die for us to be more fashionable, he died because he loves us.

When we do wear clothing that has crosses on it, we need to be asking ourselves if we are respecting what Jesus did for us. Are wearing a cross tank top because we want to stand out and be "trendy"? Or are we wearing this cross because we want to remind others of what Jesus has done for us and to share our faith?

It's sad to think that clothing companies such as Forever21 sell 355 items (yes, I went online and looked) that have some sort of cross on it. Some of them even have upside down crosses, which some people don't even realize is a symbol for being anti-christ. 

How often do you think that the people who buy these items even have a relationship with God? Or have even sat down recently and prayed to Him? It's hard for me to think about, but I believe the odds of the people who actually go to that store buy those cross pants or necklaces because they want to represent what Jesus did for us.

We need to respect, love, praise, and give our hearts to God always. Jesus died on the cross for us, and we need to respect the powerful meaning that a cross has.

For All Have Sinned

As I learn and study the bible more, I've been realizing specifically about what is right in God's eyes and what is sinful. While I'm learning, lately I've found it hard to not think of people in my life who have sinned. It's so extremely difficult to look at my friends and family from the past and present when I read what God disapproves of. It's so easy for me to point the finger at them and scrutinize them for what they did or are doing wrong. 

I feel like we all at times are like this. We can have a hard time looking at ourselves and our mistakes, and we would rather talk about how others are sinners. 

We, myself obviously included, need to stop and take a look in the mirror. We are ALL sinners.

Romans 3:23 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

Jesus died on the cross for not just my college classmates who party, drink, have sex before marriage, etc, but for me as well. 

A few months ago, I saw on Facebook and heard from a lot of my friends who go to UNR that there was a group of "Christians" who had a booth outside on campus. I heard horrible stories of this group yelling at people saying to other students on campus that they were going to hell because they were sinners.

I think it's interesting how they call themselves Christians, but yet they don't even understand the concept that they are sinners too. When we are baptized, are sins are washed away and we are forgiven.

Acts 2:38 "And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

Just because this is true, it doesn't mean that we don't sin and that we are perfect because we are Christians. Everyone of us has given into temptation and gone away from what God wants. If we think that yelling at others is the way to get people to know God and His plan for us, they don't even understand the concept of God.

We are told to be like Christ and because He is a forgiving, merciful God, we need to be too.

I know that for some people, this can be an easy task. For me, it can be a struggle sometimes. It's not easy to look at ourselves and face our imperfections, but it's necessary and important if we want to be loving, humble, kindhearted people. 

Growing Spiritully & Becoming Stronger

This past month, I have been thinking a lot about growing. I'm sure that most of us have photos as kids in elementary and middle school, and when you look at them, you can't help but realize how much you have changed and grown over the past years. It's hard for me to even imagine that I used to be a small little baby that my mom would rock to sleep. Although I have obviously grown since birth, it's so interesting for me to think about my spiritual growth.

About 7 months ago my life totally changed. Getting baptized was the best thing I ever did, and I've probably grown more mature in these past few months than I have in four years combined. One of my good friends Sucelly, who was just baptized a few weeks ago, told me the other day that even she had grown to be a different person in just a few weeks of being with the church and putting God first in her life. There is no doubt in my mind that when we commit our lives to God, we will become stronger.

Exodus 15:2 "The LORD is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him."

Psalm 29:11 "The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace."

One of my professors this past semester made a really good point that I won't ever forget. She said to the class "If you are never feeling uncomfortable, you aren't growing." I think this quote stuck with me so much because I have always hated being uncomfortable. I mean, who likes feeling out of their comfort zone? I think that's one of the reasons why it took me so long to get baptized. The idea made me squirm! I had been to church all my life and heard about how extremely important it was.. I just always felt this huge pressure. My life would change. My relationships with people would change. My priorities in life would change. I was scared of all these things, and I was honestly scared to grow. Turns out though, that change was the best decision in my life that I have made. 

Now, I'm not saying that you should always go out and do something that makes you feel extremely uncomfortable, but I think it's important for us to sit back and look at the current situation and ask ourselves if it's an opportunity to grow and be stronger Christian people.