If you had to wear a T-shirt printed with a message of no more than eight words most accurately describing your outlook on life, what whould your T-shirt say?

     (If this is the first of my notes you are reading, I am drawing these questions from Ask…(Life’s Most Important Answers Are Found in Asking the Right Questions) by John L. Mason and my previous answers can be found at http://wakeupgeneration.wordpress.com/).

     You know when you’re walking down the street and you see a familiar face? You would wave, but now you realise that they weren’t the person you thought they were. Then you walk away saying, “Man, I could have sworn that was ____.”

     That’s the situation I want to be in at every turn in my daily life–so close in action, word, and thought that every person would bet money that I was Jesus. Here’s my T-shirt slogan: “I want to be mistaken for Jesus” (that’s seven words, by the way).

     Am I ready to wear that T-shirt? Well, to wear it would mean that every person I ran into would be judging Jesus based on my actions, which is a scary thought. But guess what: you are wearing a billboard saying “Compare me to Jesus” every time you wear Christian T-shirts, little cross necklaces, and little fishy bumper stickers. Look at your actions towards waiters, gas attendants, unsaved friends, and people next to you in line, and if they do not compare positively to Jesus’ life–take it off! Please, for the furtherance of the gospel, remove it.

     Let me start with waiters: leaving a tract and 50 cents is not witnessing! Complaining about the food the whole meal, forgetting the waiter’s name, and complicating orders and leaving a 30% tip is not witnessing either. Treat waiters like humans. When you’re about to pray, ask the waiter (by name) if there is anything they would like you to pray about. Doing this has brought many waiters to tears because someone they don’t know actually cares about what they are going through, and can be more of a witnessing tool than a tract that they will almost guarranteed throw away. Witness even while you are having lunch, but witness with your life.

   Gas attendants: I stopped for gas on a long trip and started just a basic conversation with the Indian cashier, just asking a little bit about where she was from and why she chose America. When she asked me what I was doing this far from my home I told her I was selling Bibles. She immediately exclaimed, “I knew it!” I was taken by surprise and asked her how she knew, and she just said, “Your face gave you away.” All I had done was smile, look her in the eye, and ask her more about herself. It was then that I pulled out a tract and asked her, “Would you like to know more about me?” Her eyes shone as she took the tract from my hands.

   We must learn to witness wherever we go and to be mistaken for Jesus as we do it.

Do you make decisions from a place of confidence or fear?

Nailed. Man, John Mason sure knows how to pick good questions. I would say that a good 50% of my decisions are based on fear. Disgusting, I know. In my last note I spoke of my fear of failure. I tend to just ignore the problems in my life because it’s easier than getting kicked in my dairy-aire (da’ rear). When something goes wrong with my car, I just pretend to ignore the “check engine soon” light and hope it goes away. When my grade goes from an A to a B to a C in half a semester, I just hunker down and pray that somehow before the final exam, I will be able to understand it instead of admitting defeat by getting help. When I play music up in front of people or give a speech or confront somebody about their sin, I tend to be on edge the whole day.

If I am truly grounded in my relationship with God, I will be able to make decisions that will honor him, for God has not given me “a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1:7).

Honestly, what my fear of failure has to do with is my fear of failure in front of other people. One of the greatest books on the topic besides the Bible about the fear of man is When People Are Big and God Is Small by Edward T. Welch. He put everything in perspective for me by saying that “having more fear of man than God is idolatry.” Fear of God is the cure because it not only makes situations or other people smaller, but also makes me smaller. Fear of God makes me love others more and need them less to boost up my view of myself.

Check out this awesome video by Louie Giglio on his How Great Is Our God Tour that put God back where he belongs in my mind:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2mcCvHT1wY

Have you noticed that 99% of the things you worry about don’t ever happen?

    It’s funny, but I was actually taking about three days to fully think out this question and one of my worries made it into the 1% category—my car died this week! In the meantime, though, I have to agree with the question. I worry about too many things (most of which are TBA in the future I might add):

    I worry that my car will die soon (not anymore! what a relief!).

Do you know how much energy I spent every day when I got in my car just worrying about whether it would die soon? It is exhausting! I would much rather jump in my car from a long day’s work and just laugh when it sputters and squeals and thank God for giving me a car in the first place.

    I worry constantly about whether I am pleasing God.

God does not need me to please him. He has 10,000 angels shouting praises around his throne. In fact he was completely pleased with existing by himself before he created the world or even the angels. I am not that important in the big picture. Is worrying about my works before God in every waking moment really how God wants me to live? It’s more like torture because I know I can never please him fully. So do I just quit offering my works? Or am I content with offering my two bits (as much as I have in me every day to give) just like the poor widow and her offering?

    I worry that I won’t have enough to pay the bills by the end of the summer (and also post-college debt).

Am I so insignificant that God does not know my need? I am his child. If I am meant to pay the bills completely, he will bless me with enough energy, hours, and opportunities to work to be able to pay it. And if I can’t pay it, what more could God teach me spiritually through that circumstance than if all the bills were paid for comfortably? God is after my heart and nothing else. He wants to grow my faith. My only real need is food (which I have in abundance), and unconditional love (which I also have in abundance).

    I worry that I will be unfaithful in my marriage because sexual temptation while I’m dating is so strong.

Part of this fear has to do with higher and higher levels of temptation as I mature in Christ. I look at Job and see his maturity and how Satan had to take away his family, friends, and all his possessions just to tempt him. But I also know that God will not allow me to be tempted “above that which I am able” and that more importantly I have the Holy Spirit that can fight for me on request in any situation.

    I worry that I will fail in almost any situation.

    Fear of failure is one of my deepest challenges. It keeps me from taking risks. It keeps me from going deep with God. It keeps me from standing up for Christ in the workplace. It keeps me from witnessing. The only reason I fail is because I am trying not to fail. If I sit in apathy, I will most assuredly fail. But if I push myself beyond my limits and into faith on God for my success, I will succeed in this life (even if I sometimes fail in the daily battles) because I will have won the bigger war of giving God glory.

Are you known by the promises you don’t keep?

    I truly hope I’m not a promise-breaker. But then again maybe I am.

    I honestly promise to do too many things for God. I fail many temptations. And in my state of guilt and willingness to try and impress him, I promise that “I will never do that again!” but end up sounding more like a broken record. “Again. Again. Again…” Does God want my empty promises? I wouldn’t stay in a relationship with someone who continually breaks promises, yet God has done that for me! So what do I say then? That “I’ll just try harder next time”?

    Let me tell you something: God doesn’t want my tries or my promises. He wants my heart. He wants to change my desires. He uses even the most horrible temptations to change my heart (Romans 8:28). Hallelujah!

Where I generally mess up is in where my effort fits in. Romans 8:13 says I can “put to death the misdeeds of the body by the Spirit.” Well I have the Spirit, so everything’s peachy, right? Just “depend on the Spirit” (however you do that) and he takes care of everything? Both you and I know it never works that way. So why doesn’t the Spirit just automatically give me the strength I need? Well, let me ask you this: Would that really bring God more glory or would it create a community of robotic super-Christians that always does everything without sin?

Out of my own experience, I can say that only deliberate prayer to the Spirit within me for help has conquered temptation, and it has worked every single time that I have done it. Luke 11:13 “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

What a powerful tool that I just let sit there! And just so you know, I still have to work just as hard to pray this simple prayer in the middle of a temptation, but the difference now is that I’m not trying to beat down my sin with my own strength, but receiving the Spirit in that moment and seeing him free me far above and beyond just a “way of escape”!

If you don’t have a dream, how can you make a dream come true? (Oscar Hammerstein)

    This is a question that makes me say, “Well duh, soldier,” but I’m also tempted to ask myself, “What is my American Dream?” I could imagine many things that shout out “I am successful!” to those around me, but to pursue these things would be foolish and against God’s will for my life.

This will be a bold statement: I truly believe that even in Christian circles, we have a tendency to make the American Dream the god that we serve. I am not saying that this has happened in every American Christian’s life, but I am saying we have a predisposition to making the American Dream our idol at the same strength that someone who has grown up in an alcoholic family has a predisposition to becoming an alcoholic.

Is the American Dream bad? It can be, or it can be good. Is the internet bad? It can be, or it can be good. The American Dream more often than not keeps Christians from living like true Christians. Take for example the American mantra of “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” in my own life:

Life –The number missionaries from out of our country have dropped significantly in the past years. Have I been trained all my life to pursue health to the point that I will avoid God’s call to the mission field because I fear sickness or death might overtake my family? Another question: Did the early church have life insurance, or did they practice Paul’s command to the church in 2 Corinthians 8:14 –”At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality.”? If my church is doing its job correctly, do I really need life insurance?

Liberty –How often do I have an attitude of entitlement towards God when I start asking that he take a sin, situation, debt, or consequence away because “it’s not fair”? How often do I fight for my freedom to listen to the music I want, freedom to get a tattoo, or freedom to drink through spiritualistic “Christian liberty” (whatever that is now) while I neglect to use all my energy to fulfill God’s command in Deuteronomy 15:7 –”If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother.”? Am I really that self-focused?

Pursuit of Happiness –Have I been brainwashed by so many commercials that my wants have become my “needs”? (My very own walk-in closet, my decision to live on my own, my own car, my own music) Why do I constantly have to suppress the urge to buy fast food instead of waiting a few more minutes so I can make dinner at home? Have I pursued someone else’s happiness
today? Since when was I created to be happy in the first place? Did God really create me to make me happy? Think that one through.

These are just questions I gave myself from my own life.

Has the American Dream killed your Christian walk? Have you committed idolatry without even realizing it?

Are you willing to fight for your dream? (You’ll have to!)

    What does my dream boil down to? That God will change me into a perfect being.

    There’s no question that he will (because he promises to), but I will still have to pick up my sword and fight. It astounds me how God can give us free will, yet maintain complete control over our lives. He never says in his word that I should sit and wait for him to make me holy. But he asks me to run towards him. He asks me to fight the good fight. And while I move toward him and he moves toward me, my desires will become more like his, my actions will become more like his, and I will become more and more perfected by the righteousness of Christ. These things cannot and will not happen while I am sitting in a pool of apathy.

I love how my college class teacher at church defined the condition of the church today: “We have a lot of spiritual streakers that run into the battlefield with only the helmet of salvation on. Put some clothes on!”

I must stop trying to be David running out against the three Goliaths (Satan, the world, and my own sinful nature) with only a helmet of salvation (and no slingshot). Jesus promises that temptation will come! It takes more faith to trust God at his word when he says “put on your armor” than the faith it takes to run out blindly into the fray! I must stop being mowed down by Satan’s piercing arrows, sucked in by the world’s sand traps, and hit from behind by my own flesh. I must be actively pursuing holiness. I must be adding on spiritual armor “in increasing measure” (2 Peter 1:8). So back to the original question: Am I willing to fight? My answer is in the form of another question: Am I sitting in apathy or putting on armor?

Napoleon is quoted as saying: “‘Impossible’ is a word found only in the dictionary of fools.” What words are found in your dictionary?

    You callin’ me a fool, dog!? Or maybe his point is that I sometimes call myself names like ‘failure,’ ‘clutz,’or ‘idiot.’ And I tend to look at the little things that go wrong as screwing up the whole operation or thinking of me being the screw-up. Or here’s a good one: “I guess the reason this isn’t working is because this isn’t God’s will for me.”

    The fact is that God’s will for my life is very simple to understand. God states it so clearly for me in verses like:

1Thess. 4:3 – “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication.”

1Thess. 5:18 – “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

1 Peter 2:15 – “For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.”

These verses (and other passages I will not quote for sake of brevity) are the verses I often forget when I am looking for the ‘right’ major, the ‘right’ job, or the ‘right’ wife. Yes, these are life-changing decisions, but if I am not doing the will of God on a regular basis, how will I “choose” the will of God in this decision? And furthermore, God knows my choices in advance. He is not surprised by my choices. And he uses even my bad choices for his glory. So which one do I decide? Whichever one helps me most to do God’s will that he described in the above verses and in other commandments in his Word.

But even knowing these things, God’s will still seems impossible to keep –and it is. But Romans 8 declares the power of God’s own Spirit within me to do his will. (And who better to help me keep God’s will but God?) But if I still doubt, I can go to Jesus’ own words in Luke 18:27 – “And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”

What good is aim if you never pull the trigger?

Ouch. Man these questions are a little heartless, but helpful nonetheless. Actually I’ve been considering this question long before I was asked. There have been many “good” ideas that I just have not acted on … like cleaning my room –just kidding.

I’ve always wanted to learn the guitar. I hear it’s easy to learn (especially compared to the violin) so I’ve always wanted to do it. I’ve wanted to knock out a bunch of the books I’ve always wanted to read (which I’m making actual headway on). I’ve also wanted to finish writing a sci-fi novel that I started a few years back but never picked up writing it since college started.

One good thing I’ve wanted to do is start a website dedicated to youth ministry. I’ve run into so many problems that it’s been a little disheartening and I honestly do not have the time I want to put into it right now. I don’t know if answering this question helps me get anywhere while I’m working two jobs and going full-time in school, but at least I can set goals for my vacation times.

Do you count your blessings or think your blessings don’t count?

This one made me stop and think a minute. Why do I get these kinds of questions when life stinks? It’s like God is daring me to be self-centered … which I am already.

I was also amazed that my good friend-slash-discipler gave me the same advice. Satan has been hammering me the past two weeks using my own flesh against me. Even though I know it’s not a sin to be tempted, I explained to my friend that I feel incapable of fighting temptation. I have to “take every thought captive” with direct prayer to God (which always works in the moment). But as soon as that temptation subsides another thought rushes in and I am constantly forced to choose either to sin or to ask God for the Holy Spirit’s power over the flesh. After I finished venting, my friend said,

“I know this doesn’t sound encouraging, but you’re probably going to struggle with this temptation the rest of your life. What God has commanded you to do right now though, is to thank Him in all things. Here’s why: in order to overcome every temptation that comes your way, you have discovered that praying directly to Him kills the temptation. And over the past few weeks you have been confronted with temptation after temptation and have had to hide yourself in Him and go to Him directly in prayer (probably more than usual). I know it doesn’t make it any easier in the moment, but God is allowing this temptation because He wants you to fall deeper in love with Him. And you will have this temptation the rest of your life because God wants to keep you close to Him.”

And he was right. It isn’t any easier in the midst of temptation, and it’s discouraging when I look at a lifelong battle, but I am thanking God for his blessing me with this temptation and keeping me close to Him.

I just recently found a book in my basement about the questions we ask ourselves: Ask…(Life’s Most Important Answers Are Found in Asking the Right Questions) by John L. Mason. He is a Christian and addresses the “churchy” questions we ask ourselves as well. My goal is to ask myself one question a day. So here goes:

Do you need a good swift kick in the seat of your “can’ts”?

Since I’m taking each question very seriously, I am also answering this question in depth. In a word, the answer is yes. Then I asked myself what “can’ts” am I telling myself?

Can’t: Start a men’s prayer group

Reason: no time

Reply: how much time do I spend watching TV? (10 hours)

Reason: working too much in the evenings

Reply: in 2 weeks I can change my availability at work

Reason: no experience

Reply: it’s prayer dude…

Reason: not a strong leader (in my eyes)

Reply: I will have a group of leaders there

Can’t: Finish my online class

Reason: no time

Reply: I have Tuesday evenings off every week

Can’t: Have a Bible study with my girlfriend

Reason: not what she really needs when we get together

Reply: it’s what she says she loves the most

Reply: it’s how she fell in love with me

Can’t: Fight sin

Reason: it’s too big for me

Reply: true.

Reply: is it about how strong I am or about what/who I put my trust in?

Reason: everybody else is doing it

Reply: maybe.

Reply: did gold medal winner Michael Phelps eat junk food because “everybody else did”?

Reason: the stronger I get, the harder the temptation is

Reply: so I quit?

Reason: don’t know if it’s worth it

Reply: so find out.

Reply: either believe all that God says in his word or don’t. Don’t ride the fence.