Lent, and Vertical Faith

Open Bible did some research around Twitter to see what most people are giving up for Lent. Here are the top items.

Well, today was Ash Wednesday, and the beginning of Lent. Lent is observed by the Catholic and Orthodox churches, and some Protestant churches as well. Churches and denominations do it differently, but the main constant theme is giving up something.

Now, I've been brought up in the non-denominational church all my life. Some don't understand what a "non-deonom" is. Well, basically I believe that the Bible is God's word. I believe everything it says, in its correct context. I believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins. If we choose to follow him, and if we give him control of our lives, and repent of our sins and confess that he is Lord, and that there is no way for us to get to Heaven--that we need him--he will give us the gift of salvation. Salvation is a free gift. It's free, but it is not cheap. Just because it costs us nothing doesn't mean it didn't cost our savior something. But I don't follow Jesus for that gift. If I did, I would be worshiping the things he gives me, and not Him. I follow Jesus because I get so much joy out of serving Him, and following Him, than I do when I try to serve myself. I've talked about this in past blogs, so if you want to hear more on this topic, search around this site and you'll find it!

But oh yeah, going back to non-denominational churches. Basically, I love Jesus, I'm a Christian, and I don't want to put a label on my faith. I don't want to belong to one set denomination. Because there isn't just one way to worship Jesus. There isn't just one way to do church. I like checking out churches that do have denominations, and when I do, I am fascinated to see how it's different. It's different, but it is still Christ-centered. Not every church is Christ-centered. There are a lot of bad churches out there, and a lot that preach the prosperity gospel. Don't get me started on that one. But oh yeah, I love the Lord, and there's not much more to it than that.

The reason I bring this up is because I have never been a part of a church that has really observed Lent. So I have never participated in Lent. This may surprise a lot of people, because to some, I am "that Christian kid", but yeah, I haven't.

While I haven't participated in Lent, I have fasted. The two are one in the same. I've always loved the concept of Lent. The reason there is Lent is to take something out of your life that you feel is a big part of your life, or maybe a distraction, and replacing that with Jesus. Instead of filling yourself up with that thing, fill yourself up with Jesus. This is most effective when we take away something that we feel is essential or a necessity.

Sadly, not everybody that participates in Lent, is looking at it with this perspective. They complete the first half of it, by cutting something out of their life. Maybe they do it so they can observe Lent and be a part of it, or maybe they do it because it is an unhealthy habit and this is like their New Years resolution part two.

Now I don't want to come down and condemn those people or anything like that. Because it is a good thing that they are participating, and it isn't easy to go without something you love or need for a month and a half. Everything I say in this blog is out of love, and it is all intended to just get people thinking.

The thing that is most on my mind is the idea of having a C+ Christianity. For the first 16 years of my life, that was my life. I wanted to have the right mix of religion and Christianity in my life. I wanted to be good enough. I figured if I was nice, and if I didn't drink, smoke, swear, and if I stayed abstinent, that that would make me good enough. That if I was good like that, I would be rewarded, and I could go to Heaven. I wanted to do enough to get by, and just make it a part of my life. I wanted to be good, but I didn't want to give up control. I still wanted to do things my way.

And I think most people have this same mindset. When some parents are raising their kids, they want to have "enough" church, or "enough" Jesus in their kids' lives. Maybe it's because they feel they need to. Maybe it's because they want to be a part of that kind of community. I don't know.

But what I've been realizing over the past few years is that, you can never get "enough" Jesus. Nor should we ever want to have "enough". The truth is, once you encounter that unspeakable joy that comes from our Heavenly Father, you're addicted. You want more and more of it. It quenches your thirst better than anything of this world ever can. You want more of that joy. And Jesus is no longer a part of my life. Jesus is my life.

Our faith should really be an all or nothing thing. This whole idea of Vertical Faith is something I have been obsessed with for quite some time.

We should never want to just stand still when it comes to our faith. We should never be satisfied with where we are at, until the day we are with Christ in Heaven. Every single one of us has room to grow. It's not about us growing, but more about Jesus growing us. Only he can change us. Here is a video for a series my church went through a few years ago called "Lord, Change Me". Please check it out:

Here is one more short video I want you to watch from our church:

The thing I keep going back to is that we should never be content with where our faith is at. We should always want to keep pushing and to keep growing. This past summer I decided to make fitness a bigger part of my life. From the beginning of July till the end of the summer (September), I was in the gym every day. While I started making lifting a bigger commitment, I was pushing myself. And while I was pushing myself in one thing, it helped me push myself in other areas of my life, including my faith. Here's a line from a Bryan Loritts' sermon that I really liked that related to lifting: "If you want to get big, you gotta pick up something heavy." It's time for us to get big, my friends.

What I've learned is to always keep pursuing Jesus. No matter what the day is like. Good day or bad day, Jesus is always good, and he's always better than everything else out there. Keep turning to Him in your times of need, or when things are going great for you. Keep praying and reading your Bible, and listening to worship music, and striving to worship Him in all the things that you do. Because He is so much greater than anything that is of this world, and I know that His plan for my life is dang better than any plan I have for myself. So really I want to challenge you to pursue Jesus this Lent. I'm praying that God reveals himself to you in this time, and that he uses this as a time for us all to grow closer to Him.

Lastly, I want to say that I will be participating in Lent this year. I'm focusing on the personal ongoing sin in my life, such as stubbornness and laziness, and trying to cut those things out of my life. Hebrews 12:1-3 says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." I'm hoping and praying this is a time that I grow closer to Jesus, and I hope you do too. 

Thank you for reading my blog. Would love to hear your thoughts! Are you participating in Lent? What are you giving up?

Survivor Cagayan Week 1

Survivor is back! Yes, my favorite show in the entire world has just returned for its 28th season. And I hope to be writing about it all season long! So without much further ado, why don't we dive right in and start talking about the season premiere?

So the big twist of the season is Brains vs. Beauty vs. Brawn. This is a neat social experiment. I wasn't too excited for this season, as this is the first season to feature no returning players since Survivor: One World, which was one sloppy mess of a season. One World was so boring, I actually stopped watching it a few episodes after the merge once it became clear that Kim Spradlin was going to be the eventual winner. Some seasons have been obvious, but they can still be entertaining. Anyway, I had a fear that this was the next One World. 

In this first episode, it was clear that these tribes aren't 100% true to their labels. When you have a tribe of brains, I don't want there to be a guy looking like a 'roided-up Joey Tribbiani. I want a team of Cochrans. Nevertheless, the Brains tribes is a mess. In the first ten minutes, I watched Garrett and thought, "man, this guy could be the full package." He's smart, he's cunning, and he's fit... and now he has an idol? Malcolm Freberg 2.0? Boy, was I wrong.

Garrett started to annoy me pretty early. He started whining about about how he was bored and he didn't really want to play. If that's your mentality on day 3 or day 4, then just get out. You're taking up a spot on the Survivor roster from fans who would die to play the game and have been watching the show for 14 years. 

Garrett proved he wasn't a good player when he wanted to have an open discussion about who was going home. That doesn't work on Survivor. Far too many players have made this mistake before. You don't want the person that's going home to see it coming, otherwise they have time to scramble and try to persuade others to vote a different way. And even worse than scrambling, J'Tia, goes with the Brandon Hantz move and throws the tribe's rice in the fire.

When I first saw this, I cringed. Is this what Survivor is turning in to? Is this what people are going to do now when they think they're going to get voted out? Are they going to "go out with a bang" or "be the author of their own fate"? I don't like this. It's dumbing the show down to the kind of garbage they put on MTV. It's drama, and it takes away from the gameplay aspect, that the fans of the show have come to love.

What's even more ridiculous? J'Tia gets to stay and isn't voted out. If someone on my tribe is going to just throw our food supplies in the fire, I don't feel safe living on an island with them for 39 days, I'm sorry. Garrett might be a wildcard, and could be a threat later in the game, but that tribe needs him. They need to win challenges to make it to the merge. 

I don't know if anyone has ever had a worse first night on the show than J'Tia. She blew two challenges, bossed everyone around and annoyed them, threw out the rice, and she stays? Amazing.

The only member of the Brains tribe I was impressed with was Spencer. Spencer is sharp. The dude's a gamer. He is Cochran-esque. He had some funny lines, and he really impressed me in tribal council. I have a feeling that the Brains tribe is going to end up like the Matsing tribe in Survivor: Philippines. IN Philippines, Malcolm and Denise were the last two people remaining in their tribe and then became valuable pieces for alliances come merge time. The two made it to the final episode and Denise has the unique distinction of being at every tribal council in her season. She also won. I could see Kass and Spencer survive the tribe and maybe make it far in the game.

I was disappointed that Miami Marlins president David Samson was voted out first. David had a lot of potential, and he really did everything right except for coming out of the gate too strong at the beginning by openly targeting Garrett, and not trying to really patch things up with him. David built a great championship team in the 2003 Florida Marlins (starting rotation: Josh Beckett, Dontrelle Willis, Carl Pavano, Brad Penny and AJ Burnett), and I was curious to see if he could build a championship alliance on this season of Survivor. I think he would have lasted much longer on a season with bigger tribes. In a tribe of 6, it's much easier to get voted out than it is in a tribe of 8 or 10. I would love for David to get another chance to play Survivor. 

As for the other tribes, there isn't as much to be talked about. We didn't get to see as much of them, nor did we them vote. The guy I was most intrigued to watch this season is none other than 1994 NBA All-Star, Cliff Robinson. We've had some former sports personalities on the show, the biggest names being Gary Hogeboom and Jeff Kent. Both were able to keep their identities a secret (for the most part), but it's going to be nearly impossible for Uncle Cliffy to stay undercover, as he is about 6'10. 

Cliffy played it right by being upfront and honest with his tribe. It's funny because his tribemate Tony did not. He didn't want people to think he's a cop. He actually does have that "cop look" so to speak. But lying about his profession unless it's a huge deal, is idiotic. With that said, I did enjoy watching Tony. Tony's a good character. Do I think he'll be a great game player? I don't, but time will tell. Perhaps my favorite moment of the episode was when Tony built the "spy shack". Phillip had to have been watching this and been upset that he had never come up with such an idea or built such a thing in his two stints on the show.

I really liked Woo. Seeing Woo talk about Cliff and his playing days really made me smile, because I can relate to Woo. The people that know me will tell you that I'm a basketball fanatic and NBA historian. Seeing a genuine guy that is also a big fan, I just really enjoyed that. 

On the Beauty tribe there is't a ton to talk about either. Morgan impressed me with her lie at the beginning. She's clearly a very good-looking girl and she won't have too much difficulty getting some of the guys to side with her. Brice could be a pretty good player too. He seems to know the game and he had some funny lines. The pair of those two will be good. If they can pull in a couple more, they could have a good group that could go far. 

The Beauty and Brawn tribes haven't lost yet. I think the tougher of those two tribes is the Brawn. They are basically everything you could want a Brawn tribe to be. They're strong and athletic, easy-going, they get along, and they win. However, Tony could stir up some trouble sooner or later.

All in all, after Wednesday night's first episode, I am pretty excited to see what is to come on Survivor: Cagayan. So what do you guys think? How did you like the first episode? Tweet me @vellvita7, or comment below. Or let me hear your thoughts on the Viva La Vita Facebook fan page. Thanks!