Remembering Mr. Yuk...

I remember when I was little we had these cool neon green stickers all over the house.  Mr. Yuk was there to warn us that whatever his face was on was not for us to eat or drink.  It was "yucky."  For some reason I always thought they were a scratch & sniff stickers.  Mr. Yuk smelled yucky too.  But it was such a simple, yet effective, way to make sure I wasn't taste testing the bleach or using the Windex as a squirt gun.  I knew to stay away.  Whatever had a Mr. Yuk on it was not good for me.

I don't remember exactly when it happened, but at some point in my life I didn't need a Mr. Yuk on something to know I shouldn't drink it, eat it, or spray it in my eyes.  I don't think it took some ER visit to get to that point either.  I just knew that if I put that stuff inside me, it wouldn't be good for me.  It could hurt me, maybe even kill me.  It's poisonous.

Funny how I never drank poison, but I willingly poured it into my ears for hours a day, every day.  Not literally, but in the music I listened to.  The music wasn't really the problem, but the lyrics were.  It's amazing what messages I would willingly download into my brain just because I liked the music.  Truth be told, I began really liking those messages.  They became who I was.  Or, more accurately, I became those messages.  Messages to hurt myself, hurt others, be angry, stay angry, love wrong, live wrong, give up, lose hope, let go.  And this is how I felt, every day. 

Galatians 6:7-9 says "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

I definitely remember the night that I realized I was poisoning myself through the junk I was listening to.  I had a dream, a vision, so real, so gripping, that I woke up shaking, scared to the point of tears.  It wasn't even so much what I saw, but how it made me feel.  I felt like this blackness, pure darkness, evil, was completely overtaking me, filling every cell of my body.  And I was powerless, totally paralyzed and unable to resist as it consumed me.  It felt like I was living death.  Here I was:  a senior in high school, 6'4" tall, 235 lbs, varsity football player, varsity wrestler - nothing scared me.  But I was terrified.  I went whimpering to my dad and asked him to pray for me.  I knew this was spiritual, demonic, and there was only ONE that could help me.

That night saved my life.  As I went back to bed I knew what it was all about.  God revealed immediately that I needed to change what I was listening to.  I slowly, more slowly than I should have, began tossing out CDs.  It had begun.  A collection of CDs and tapes (dating myself now) that I had accumulated over the course of 6 years was about to be replaced.  I was taking my mind back.  Darkness was not going to have me anymore. 

I re-committed myself to God.  I listened to things that supported my commitment.  I wouldn't, couldn't let myself listen to those things my flesh so desperately wanted.  It wasn't easy, and it wasn't instant, but I lost my desire to hear those things anymore.  My mind had been renewed.  I was sowing, planting the right messages inside my mind.

An interesting change happened.  I wasn't angry all the time.  I stopped feeling hopeless.  I started seeing value in myself.  I no longer wanted to give up, let go, or live a life apart from God.  I felt stronger.  I felt more like myself.  I felt right.

Proverbs 6:5 - sometimes deliverance requires radical, extreme, "overboard" actions.  Just like a deer escaping a hunter or a bird escaping from a trap.  It's the fight of your life.

I'm not willing to go back.  I'm not willing to let go of who I am.  I'm not willing to trade in who God has created me to be for some trashy version of myself.  I will never go back to that stuff.  Not that the temptation isn't there.  But He always gives me a way of escape when I'm tempted.  And as I continue to surround myself with the right influences the temptation and desire disappears.  Thank you, God, for not letting me destroy myself! 

Music is so poweful.  It's so easy to sneak messages that are opposite of God's Word into something that has the right beat or sound.  And it's so easily absorbed into our memories that it's difficult to remove.  All the more reason to be cautious and selective about what I allow in.

Extreme?  You bet.  Too much?  Tell that to the angry, hopeless, miserable person I used to be. 

No, I'll continue to stay completely and totally committed to my God and His cause.

Psalm 91 - He's got me covered.  No longer afraid of the terror by night.  It won't come near me again.  Thank you, Heavenly Father, for your protection, not only of my body but my mind!
Philippians 4:7-9 - Think on these things, allow these messages in, and He will bring peace to my mind and guard my heart!

#alivealertunashamed

Here we go...

I've considered starting a blog for quite some time, but never thought myself of enough importance to require such a seemingly introverted communication medium.  But I was wrong.  Not about being important - I'm not.  But wrong about this being all about me.  I've been so inspired lately by the blogs of others that I felt compelled to finally get one out there.  Not for my own self-glorification, but ultimately to put the attention and glorification on the One who truly deserves it, God Almighty. 

I don't consider myself an expert or authority on anything, but if I've learned anything it's that His strength can truly show up when I'm weak, His greatness when I'm nothing.  So I embark on this blogging thing (amazing how old that statement makes me sound).  My intention is to try to encourage and maybe inspire people to live the life that God has called them to. 

So, in this inaugural blogging event, I'd like to share something I've recently been seeking God about - Relevance.  I'm a youth minister, and in my years of working in youth ministry this is one of the most over-used buzzwords I've heard.  It's often used as an excuse to take God out of our services, events, and lives in an attempt to fit in or gain the approval of the lost world that we're trying to reach.  I know that there is an appropriate level of adjustment that takes place to account for a particular audience.  But is it really an adjustment to help the audience understand or is it simply just compromising the message and reality of who God is? 

Being a Christian, living right, seeking God with everything, is not a decision to be taken lightly.  It's not as easy as saying "I 'liked' God, so I'm good."  It's a commitment, a life-changing event.  And so, in a world that sends such blatantly opposing messages to people, that wrong is right, right is old-fashioned and therefore not relevant, I asked God "How can I be relevant?"  It's easy to get caught up in pop culture, trying to follow the latest trends in music, fashion, etc...  But is it necessary to be so informed on everything the world is doing in order to reach that world? 

Romans 12:2 comes to mind.  The Amplified Bible says it like this:  "Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you]." 

What a relief!  I am not called to keep up with the "external, superficial customs" that are constantly pushed on me.  Instead I take on new ideals, a new attitude, so that I can do what God determines to be worthwhile, right, and perfect.  I could waste my time staying "relevant" or I can simply lay my life at His feet.  He has a life designed specifically for me to live.  Submitting my will to His, I find myself being transformed into His image, becoming a reflection of Him. 

So stop trying to tell me that I'm supposed to spend my time pursuing what the infected world thinks is important. I'll spend my time pursuing what the Almighty God says is important.  God has been relevant to every generation since the beginning.  And by laying my life down, wholeheartedly seeking Him, and committing to "live a life worthy of the calling to which I have been called"(Ephesians 4:1), I am relevant.

#relevancethroughradicalrighteousness