Food For Thought..

Jesus became your sin, absorbed God's wrath, died the death you deserve, and rose again to give you life. This is gospel.

Monday, December 26, 2011

Catalysts

"When will we surrender.
When will we strive for what is good and not for what man has created.
When will we no longer trample the poor.
Ignore the stomachs of the starving.
Renew the hearts of the hopeless and the strength of the helpless.
Those who can't stand on their own two feet.
Those who can't stand on their own two feet.
We gotta change what means the most to us.
When will we look to the hurting before we bandage our own wounds.
We say we are martyrs, but we'd only die for ourselves.
We gotta mend the wounds of the desperate.
We have the power to change circumstance.
We have the power.
We have the power to change.
Let us rise above the storm.
Rise above the storm.
Set sail into the sea.
Set sail into the sea.
Into the sea.
When we pass through waters, we will not sink.
When we walk through fire, we will not be set ablaze.
We will not sink.
We will not be set ablaze.
Instead we sink into your grace.
A furnace of your mercy.
Because you chose the despised and lowly.
You choose the despised and lowly.
I am despised.
I am lowly.
We will be the catalysts to reach out to the hurting.
We will embrace those who have been abandoned.
We will be catalysts.
We will embrace those who have been abandoned."

Catalysts by Hundredth
thanks, chadwick johnson.
BIT nation.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

just a little rant.

Hi, I'm Ryan Lee Sears. I stink at studying for finals I have in 8 hours. I am terrible with words.. "words are hard," right, Dex? I have so many shortcomings and my heart is holey. I make the worst jokes ...that i laugh the hardest at, the previous joke for example. I like going to QT just to love on the clerks. I like going outside when it is entirely too cold, which I also love, to see full moons. I love little coffee shops. i love people who don't love Jesus. I love people who love Jesus. I attempt to love people who say they love Jesus, and probably do, but fight the wrong battles. The people who think they're serving the Kingdom by doing things God couldn't care less about.

Maybe that's a little harsh. Well, I'm offensive sometimes. Scratch that, I am offensive pretty often. but in reality, i have almost stopped caring. Almost. I am beyond over the majority of what i witness on a daily to weekly basis. I am beyond fed up with the majority of what I am surrounded by at the moment. Honestly, my dream is to move back to Portland. I wouldn't do that, but sometimes I wish i would. Here, all I see is people who cannot see past their own noses. Here, I see people who love Jesus, but can't figure out how to love people as Jesus loves people, much less loving them as they love themselves.

We hold ourselves to such lower standards than everyone else. 

We would crucify gays if we could. I wouldn't. I would probably give gays the right to marry if I were king for a day. Why? because they're people. have you ever stood face to face with a lesbian and admitted your stance on gay marriage, even worse, your belief in God's pure hatred for it? I have. Would you like to know what the hardest thing I have EEEEEEEEVVVER had to do in life was? THAT. Gay people are PEOPLE, and we justify judgment by slapping a "contend for the faith" bumper sticker on our vehicle of self-righteousness. We don't get it. We just don't get it.

If God turns them over to their sin (Romans 1), why wouldn't we do the same? We aren't God, so why not just obey God and love them. We can't change them, but we can walk them to the cross. Who cares what they say when they get there, that's between them and Jesus. I mean.. I care, but I care more about my obedience and worship than theirs. Sue me for it. Maybe I'm just the kid who went away to college and got all led astray and such, but, last i checked, my university is no different than my childhood.

Speaking of, I am slowly moving toward libertarianism. I feel like the first person who reads this might alert the media and have me shot. I am trapped by conservatism. consumed. Republicans run rampant around my small little life. You people are everywhere. Can I just say God doesn't care about our party affiliations, but i can promise you, if you're staunch in your political stance and it interferes with your disciple making, He cares.

Jesus said greatness in the Kingdom is measured by how obedient you are in keeping and teaching His commands (Matt. 5:19). What would it look like if we stopped arguing over Rick Perry being the best republican candidate and hating on Obama and started loving people as Christ loves people? What if we stopped trying to shove more guilt in the face of a rape victim for choosing abortion and started loving her through it? Why forfeit her life because she couldn't handle the shame?

Yes, I am the most outrageous person ever if you say so. Yes, I am a lunatic. Yes, I am too tired to be blogging. Or maybe I'm onto something. Let's just grow together through our disagreements and let Jesus speak for Himself. I love you, whoever you may be, and I'd like you to know my life, though sometimes I won't reflect it, has been radically transformed by the man called Christ. Pride was shattered three years ago. please, i am begging you to let God have a chance. You will thoroughly enjoy the outcome.

Believer, Christ and the Spirit are currently interceding for us. Persevere in the face of trial. I love you. Grace and peace be multiplied to you by our Lord Jesus Christ. Know that I long for the Kingdom of God to be advanced beyond all else, and, though I may not have the best delivery, my heart is genuine.

ps... let's get off this little proverbs 31 movement. gnosticism has no place in the Church. I love you.