vwagenjetta's Revelife

I Am Demon Hunter

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:28:53 GMT

Many of you know that Demon Hunter is (to say the least) my favorite band. A long while ago, I started a post entitled "My Favorite Demon Hunter Songs" but never finished or published it. Well, tonight I looked through Demon Hunter's albums on iTunes, and found the iTunes review (by the people at apple) to be quite puzzling. It's supposed to be a description of the CD that will make people buy the album, but for every DH album reviewed there was something more of a negative listener review posted there instead. Obviously the reviewer is not into good music, because s/he basically talked about how mainstream death metal bands are way better, and how hardcore music is supposed to make depressed and/or angry people feel all the worse. They also went so far as to say that Stryper is the "only well-liked Christian metal band." Really? What an idiot! Anyway, I'm going to attempt to select five Demon Hunter songs that I will call my "favorites" (in no particular order, I assure you) and some reasons behind my love for them. Here goes!

1. A Broken Upper Hand (Demon Hunter): This song is a straight forward letter to Satan and how he'll never take control of me, no matter how hard he tries or how close he gets. The bible says that sin starts in the mind, and that Satan tricks us into sinning by introducing thoughts into our minds that make sense to us, but are really justification for sin. The song begins "Trapped behind my state of mind, I took your words and now I'm blind." The more we believe the thoughts and ideas that Satan puts into our heads, the more we put ourselves in his 'state of mind' and the more likely we are to feel less guilt when we sin. My favorite lyric in this song states "I can't pull away my blank stare, a thousand times should prove I don't care. But hands can't steal the light that makes me, or bring me to the fate that breaks me." The pull of sin is embedded within us as human beings, and in our lifetimes we will give into sin countless times, which should prove to God that we don't care, but because of his graceful forgiveness and our faithful dedication to Jesus, no one, not even Satan himself, can take our salvation away from us.

2. Anihilate The Corrupt (Summer of Darkness): This song is rather depressing, but for a good cause. It opens with the words "Behind the eyes of my compassion lies a suffering soul, and in my blood a bitter darkness slowly taking it's toll. I feel the death of our connection and the fading of light between the shards of sudden panic from choking on my life." Wow. This is a clear statement of how every "outwardly Christian" person is. No matter how happy we appear, no matter how in tune with God we profess to be, we all have our own personal issues to deal with. Yes, being a Christian is intensely fulfilling, and knowing that God forgives our every sin does leave us joyfully fullfilled, but as human beings we tend to hold grudges against ourselves. In Matthew it says that it would be hypocritical to ask God to forgive our sins if we hadn't forgiven those who've sinned against us. This includes ourselves. Satan knows us very well, and he uses the guilt caused by our sins against us in a way that keeps us from asking forgiveness (or makes us beg for it when all we have to do is ask) which either keeps us from forgiving ourselves, or makes us think that we cannot be forgiven. The song continues with the prayer "I can't breathe alone. You can guide me home." This is a statement of complete surrender. To me it says, "God, without you I can't so much as breathe. Guide me towards you." Amen?

3. Fire to My Soul (The Triptych): Not only is this one of Demon Hunter's best sounding songs, it also holds a deep meaning. The instrumentals are brutal, rythmic, melodic, and harmonic all at the same time, and the vocals are done in classic DH fashion ranging from hard and heavy to slow and poetic. The song is about how we shut God out of our lives by completely ignoring him and going with the flow of our world-taught instinct instead, only to realize in hindsight of our poor decisions that God was telling us not to go through the door that we're now trapped on the wrong side of. This song is one of my favorites because if I'm listening to it, I'm totally moshing out from start to finish. Awesome.

4. One Thousand Apologies (The Triptych): It's the lyrics of this song that make it a favorite of mine. It's almost as if this song was written by me! I'm sure I've posted the lyrics to this one before, but I'm gonna put 'em here for good measure.

There you stood in disbelief, trying all you could to see through these lies.

And every word that I could breathe would find you more inclined to leave, but I tried.

And knowing what I've done to you, with every thought you suffer through

My heart as black as evil can.

And everything I could have been, erased by what I wanted then.

I couldn't think of a lesser man.

Oh, the delicate ways that I deepened our graves; My apology pales.

Oh, the pain in your eyes! My regrets have never known such sorrow!

Oh, the shame that you hide! Resolutions are the same tomorrow.

So now I reap what I have sewn, and any rapture I had shown has bled dry.

And I walked the streets alone, accepting pain I'd never known, as you died.

Then I hurt myself to see it too, to feel the knife I put in you;

My heart as broken as my ways.

I never should've let it pass! This fall was never meant to last!

The reason's gone, the damage stays.

Wow. That's so deep, and so close to home, I can't help but love it.

5. Thorns (Storm The Gates Of Hell): Most deffinately one of my favorites, this song is sung slowly, leaving it's meaning in plain view for every listener to hear. I love singing along to this song, and my favorite lyric is "Sister, don't you sleep through your own eulogy. Don't sever what you are for what you couldn't be." Think about that. What is a eulogy? it's what a pastor, priest, or perhaps close friend or relative says about the person you were at your funeral. It provokes the thought of what your eulogist will say at your funeral. A eulogy contains all the high points, the good memories, and the positive aspects of one's lifetime. The times in one's life that positively affected the speaker, and perhaps the audience. Are you going to "sleep through your own eulogy" or are you going to make something of yourself and your faith that will reverberate through the lives of the people around you? "Don't sever what you are for what you couldn't be." Don't try and be something your not, because the people who truely care about you care about the real you, not the person you wish you were.

Well, there you have it. It was extremely difficult to choose a mere five DH songs that hold special meaning to me, and for the record, this post took me three days to complete. Every one of their songs is absolutly amazing, both in sound and in meaning, and I highly recommend all of their work to anyone looking to mosh for Jesus. Perhaps later I'll post a "top ten" list of my favorite Christian songs of all time. It'll be a difficult ten, but I think any readers I may have might get to know me better through it. Until then, thanks for reading.

A Beautiful Reminder

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 18:13:06 GMT

Matthias Replaces Judas
by Showbread

it is so that my transgressions have born a withered fruit,
the sun has scorched the rising plans;
alas they have no root, the bleached bones of animals bound by leather strips,
dance through the air with laughter as i wield this wicked whip,
as you did warn me carpenter, this world has weakened my heart,
so easily i disparage, self-seeking the work of my art,
and there you have come to me at the moment i bathe in my sorrow,
so in love with myself, sought after avoiding tomorrow,
where do you find the love to offer he who betrays you?
and offer to wash my feet as i offer to disobey you,
your beauty does bereave me, and how my words do fail,
so faithfully and dutifully i award you with betrayal,
the weak and the down trodden fall on broken legs,
as i walk past a smile i cast, fervor in my stead,
but my bones like plastic, do buckle backward now,
i lay in this field by Judas' bowels and anticipate the plow,
i can not be forgiven; my wages will be paid,
for those more lovely and admirable is least among the saved,
and where would i fit Jesus?
what place is left for me?
the price of atonement is more than i've found to offer up as my plea,
Jesus my heart is all i have to give to you, so weak and so unworthy,
this simply will not do, no alabaster jar, no diamond in the rough,
for your body that was broken, how can this be enough?
by me you were abandoned, by me you were betrayed,
yet in your arms and in your heart forever i have stayed

Your glory illuminates my life, and no darkness will descend,
for you have loved me forever, and your love will never end

A time for change.

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 01:15:59 GMT

This is it. A time for change. When I started keeping track of my finances to the very last penny at the beginning of this year, I learned a few things about myself that were quite humbling. My careless spending habits had remained in the shadows since the day I got my first real job, and now that I have a family to look after, and real bills to pay, these habits are beginning to rear their ugly, consequential heads.

Thanks to my grueling efforts toward figuring out where my money was going, I found out that McDonald's [top] dollar menu wasn't saving me any money at all; I found out that 21% interest and a $2400 limit was a big deal rather than a good deal; I found out that being impatient is the last thing you want to be when buying a used car. I found out a lot of things. But I found out too late. Far too late.

The consequences of my impatience, my lack of personal finance skills, and my impulsive, impatient spending have caught up to me, and at this point there's nothing I can do but weather the storm. Of course, being laid off, and supporting a family of five on a single, hourly income have added fuel to the fire, but here I sit, hundreds of dollars overdrawn, thousands of dollars in debt, and with no way out this side of a miracle. But do I deserve a miracle?

God has always provided for my needs, financially. Even in my current situation, and at my current job, my bills are paid. I have every penny accounted for, bills, income, and unnecessary spending, from February of this year up until Decebmer 31st of this year, and without the unnecessary spending, my bank account will not go below zero. It has been my impatient, and impulsive financial decision making thus far that has gotten me here, and it has been a sincerely humbling experience to actually see the numbers on my computer screen.

I'm not angry at God, or at anyone who may have influenced my behavior. I am angry at myself. Why am I doing this? Why, even when I know I can't afford it, do I still pull up to the drive thru? What could possibly be slipping my mind when I swipe my credit card for things that will not provide anything besides instant, short-lived gratification? I pray every day that I will come to understand the horrors I am putting myself through when I do such things before I do them. I would greatly appreciate some prayer support. I've been going it alone all along, and this is where my lust for sole control has gotten me.

God bless you,

~Josh

A Good Set of Miracles

Sun, 25 Jan 2009 17:26:02 GMT

I’m sure by now you all know the deal. My hours have been cut to 32 per week, and I’m being laid off. Being that my current financial situation is beyond dismal, and finding a job in this economy is virtually impossible, I begged God for a miracle. And God delivered! But I didn’t just get one miracle, I got several.

Miracle #1: The severance I’m getting is two weeks for every year I’ve been employed. I’ve been working at my current job for almost four years now, but I quit in January of 2007 to go to school. I went for one semester, and then returned to the same job where I’ve been working ever since. It was because of this that I should only be getting severance for one year, but since I was only gone for a few months, I’m still in “the system” as having started in August of 2005!

Miracle #2: A few weeks ago, my shift lead called me up and asked that I call my supervisor about an available job. I called him up to find that he had a friend (a local hardware store employee) that was getting rid of some people at his other job at a food manufacturer and was looking for several new warehouse workers. Knowing that I had warehouse and SAP experience, my supervisor recommended me for the job. I applied, I got the job, and now all I had to do was request my severance early.

Miracle #3: Yesterday I called my HR representative to inquire about receiving my severance early, and found that she had to okay it with a few people before she would know for sure if I could. She said she would call me back tomorrow (which is now today) with an answer. Well, this morning, my supervisor called me to tell me that there was to be a meeting at 2:30. I was totally passed out when he called because this was the first day this week I’ve actually been able to come home from work and sleep rather than having to go fill out paperwork, or take a drug test, or whatever else I had to do before starting my new job, and my phone was on silent so I missed the call, and the meeting. However, when I woke up and saw that I had three missed calls, two text messages, and two new voicemails (the calls and the voicemails being from my supervisor), I gave him a call and found out what the meeting was all about. Apparently they’re going to put those scheduled to be laid off on paid leave (at 40 hours a week, which is more than I’m working now) until their scheduled release date, at which point the severance package will be given.

What does it all mean? It means that I will be receiving my severance for three years of working time and putting it straight into the bank, getting a new, full time (with benefits) job right away at a decent salary, and for one month I’ll be getting paid for 40 hours a week at my current job and getting paid for 40 hours a week at my new job!!

I have been praying to no end that I might survive all of this, and God listened. He heard my prayers, and saw my persistence, and met my needs as I requested. I am so happy right now I can’t even think straight! God bless all of you, as he has blessed me, and, again, I can’t thank those who prayed for me enough.

Miracle #4: My friends on Xanga. You guys really mean a lot to me. Without your help and prayers, I believe none of this would’ve happened. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

Can I get an Amen?

"The Sin of Sloth" - A New Year's Resolution

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:06:15 GMT

Of the many paintings at the Sistine Chapel in Rome, Michelangelo’s portrayal of Adam and God is probably one of the most well known and easily one of the most magnificent. Sure, you’ve all seen it, but have you looked at it closely? Studied it? Given more than just a passive thought as to what it’s supposed to be representing? I’d like you to take such a look at it with me now, because this particular work of art holds a profound message which happens to be very important to us as people, and more importantly as Christians.

Look at the figure that represents God. Notice how his body is stretched out and twisted, his muscles are taught, his finger is pointed and his eyes are gazing directly into Adam’s heart and soul. Notice how the painting depicts the sense of urgency that God and all his creation has to connect with mankind. Do you see it? Now take a look at Adam, the representation of mankind. His posture is a little different, isn’t it? He appears laid back. His muscles aren’t taught, the posture of his hand is saying, “Well, I’m not sure I want to lift that finger.” His finger is just kind of laying there, there’s a gap between his hand and God’s, and it almost looks as if Adam, mankind, is waiting for God to do a little bit more to close the gap. And God did. He gave us his son, Jesus Christ. What else could he do? We weren’t being obedient, we weren’t in tune to his love, so he made the greatest demonstration of love possible by sending his own son to die on the cross for us.

Friends, sometimes I think we live this way. God is rushing at us, passionately pursuing us so that we may come to know him. He wants us to experience his love in compelling ways, and we’re just passively living our lives, saying, “Yea, I’m a Christian.” Even while knowing that he’s given everything including his own son Jesus Christ for us, we ask for more. As we begin this new year in 2009, I’d like to invite you into a life of passion and urgency to know God with the same sense of urgency in which God wanted to know you. The distance between us and God at any given moment is small, and all he asks us to do is respond by receiving through grace his gift of Jesus Christ, and by faith trusting him with our lives.

The past year has brought terrible tragedies to thousands of people, me included. In this new year, I challenge you to revamp your faith, to persist and prevail in prayer, and to succeed in doing God's mighty will. This is a terrible situation we're in, and it's going to take some miracles to get out of it. Go with God, and be the miracle.

Revelife: The Publicity of Faith

Sat, 06 Dec 2008 10:43:10 GMT

Matthew 6:5-18 (NLT)

When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him! Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one. If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins. And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get. But when you fast, comb your hair and wash your face. Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.

Here Jesus clearly states that bringing your faith into public view in a manner that draws attention to you rather than to Him is a hypocritical behavior. Take a look at some of the blogs here on Revelife, yours or otherwise, and really think about why they were posted. Is the writer just a Christian who happens to be proud of his or her writing skills, or are they putting their problems out into public view as a cry for help or attention from other people, or are they really attempting to turn readers' eyes toward God?

I've used Revelife and Xanga as a means to gain publicity for my writing, which I do pride myself on. This passage has sincerely challenged my thinking, and will greatly benefit my relationship with God now and in the future.

What are your thoughts?

What's on Your CHRISTmas list?

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:59:37 GMT

I'm a Christian. Christmas is about God and His message of giving is central to my Christmas activities, because in God's eyes giving is better than receiving. My Christmas wish list is as follows:

1. Jobs for the Unemployed. Over the past few years, millions of people have lost their jobs due to the current economic state. I've gone from working 12 hour shifts 3-4 days a week, to working 8 hour shifts 5 days a week, and over 200 people will be laid off next year. I can't imagine the pain these people are going to face. I lost a lot of hours, and a lot of money with the switch to 8 hour shifts from 12 hour shifts, and my income is barely covering my bills which has been a very stressful transition, but every day I thank God I still have a job.

2. Homes for the Homeless. Not only is the unemployment rate at an all time high (and still growing), but there are also millions of people who have lost their homes. My apartment is tiny, too small for the four of us that live here, but at least we have a place to call home. If I could I would invite as many affected people as I could fit to live here with me so that they might be able to share in the luxury of having a roof over their heads.

3. Food for the Hungry. Losing hours and income has sincerely fractured my diet. Over the past few months I've lost almost 25 pounds, which puts me at 6'0", 143lbs. I'm making just enough to cover bills, and have been getting my groceries from the food shelf. With the unemployment and foreclosure rates skyrocketing alongside grocery prices, there's no doubt in my mind that there are millions of people out there who can't afford to feed their families, and are far worse off than me. In going from living at home and eating three good meals a day to living on my own and eating very little has been a very humbling experience. Don't take a single thing for granted, because there are people out there that can't afford even the little things. Thank God for your food, and keep these hungry people in your thoughts and prayers as if you were one of them.

4. Gas for those who need it. I would like to add this one to this list, because I just went out to defrost my car and noticed that I'm out of gas. I remember the days when I would complain about how much it was costing to fill my tank, but now, even though gas prices are back to where they were before people started complaining, I don't have any money to put gas in my car. Losing money at work has really shown me some of the things I take for granted, and it's been a truely humbling experience. People need gas to get back and forth to work, and there are some people out there, like me, who just can't afford it.

So before you go asking for everything in sight, and/or getting angry because there was a 5 minute wait on your McNuggets, take a moment to consider the condition of a good bit of Americans in this financial crisis.

I could write a book! But I won't.

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:29:21 GMT

For some reason I was recently thinking about all the things in life I have to complain about. I hate whiners, even the ones who have real reasons to bitch, and I've never really complained (publicly) about anything. I've known so many people who do nothing but complain about everything either to get attention, or find people who agree, or sometimes for no obvious reason at all. But I took a step back from myself just now, looked around, and noticed that if anyone should be complaining, it's me. I don't want to write a whiney post about all the complaints I have, but I am instead going to use them as examples of why people shouldn't complain.

My apartment sucks. A lot. The windowsill in the second bedroom is rotting out, there's mold in the walls next to my bed, most of the appliances in the kitchen are close to useless, the heater runs 24/7 through the winter keeping my apartment at 90 to 100 degrees all winter long, and through the summer there's more spiders in, on, and around the place than you could possibly imagine (EEK!). I could write a book! But I won't. Why? Because the reason I'm living in a place like this is my fault. If I had saved my money, rather than spent it, while I was still living at home, I could've been in a very nice apartment, or a fairly decent house, at this point. My mistake; lesson learned.

My car is in far worse shape than my last car (which I could've gotten $4000 for, but traded in for $100; another terrible mistake). My dad had to buy me new tires, because the ones it had were within 30 miles of blowing out, the mass airflow sensor is "experiencing some blow-by" sucking all of the oil out of the engine, and sending it out through the exhaust system making it rattle quite loudly, the center console is totally busted (which is a huge pain in the butt), the glove box (which houses my proof of insurance) will no longer open, the key hole to open the trunk doesn't work, and the upholstery is absolutely filthy. I could write a book! But I won't. Why? Because when I was looking to get into a different car, I got really excited when I found this one and completely overlooked all of it's faults in my own impatience. I wanted a 5-speed Jetta more than anything in the world, and I had finally found one at a price I could afford. If I had taken a second to think, or even a second to look the car over, I wouldn't have made the terrible mistake of buying it. My mistake; lesson learned.

I hate my job. Each and every day is absolutely the same, my back is beginning to hurt badly, I'm fighting to keep things normal while working 12-hour nights, I'm barely making ends meet and my job security is headed in a very negative direction. We're losing hours, we're losing money, and we're no doubt headed for disaster. I could write a book! But I won't. Why? I was young, and still living at home when I first started this job, and the level of income I was drawing was absolutely massive, given the fact that all my previous jobs were part time, $100-$200 a week jobs. It was a temporary gig, at first, but when was offered full time and decided to take it, rather than going back to college, was when things took a turn. It was great, for a while, but when I moved out of my parents house, and things began to unfold as they are now, I realized that my income wasn't as massive as I thought it was, and that I had royally screwed myself by taking on this job over college. If I hadn't been so stupid, I could've been out of college and into the real world with a real job by now. Can't complain; my mistake; lesson learned.

Do you see how constant complaining will keep you from understanding just how your complaints came to be? Philippians 2:14 says, "Do everything without complaining or arguing." Sure, I could whine to everybody I came across just how bad off I am, and maybe they would tell me how dumb apartment management companies are, or how evil used car salesmen are, or how greedy CEO's spit on the little guy to put money in their own pockets. But what would any of that help? If you spend your life complaining and seeking out those who can agree you'll end up nowhere, and you may in fact worsen your situation. It's important that we do everything in our power to get ourselves into the situation we want to be in, and figuring out the real reason behind your being in a terrible situation is the only way to get out of it. If it's your mistake, take it as a lesson and fix the problem.

The Unforgivable Sin

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 04:11:26 GMT

Exodus 20:7

"You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name." (NIV)

"Do not misuse my name. I am the LORD your God, and I will punish anyone who misuses my name." (CEV)

What Exodus 20:7 means by "misuse my name" includes:

Breaking promises
Telling lies after swearing to tell the truth
Using the Lord's name as a curse word

The definition of a promise is, "a verbal commitment by one person to another agreeing to do (or not to do) something in the future." The word "promise" is mentioned over 200 times in the bible, and every time it comes up it is in the context of a statement made before God. Say I promise my wife that I will be faithful to her for the rest of my life. When I promise that to her, what I'm really doing is telling God that I will be faithful to her. If I'm not faithful from that point forward, the statement I made before God would become untrue, and this verse says that I will not go unpunished for lying to God.

The second point, telling lies after swearing (or promising) to tell the truth, is quite the same as the first. If you promise (swear before God) to tell the truth, and instead tell a lie, you have lied not only to the person you swore to tell the truth to, but also to God; a sin which this verse says you will also be punished for.

As offensive as it probably should be, I don't even take notice when people say "Oh my God" or even just "God". It's when people come out and say "Jesus Christ" (or "Jesus" or "Christ" alone) that really, sincerely brings me a feeling of tremendous pain meaning both awkwardness and physical discomfort. I hate it, I despise it, and there is nothing that offends me more. I've pondered the reason for my not caring about those who say "God" verses my feelings toward those who say "Jesus" and I've come to the conclusion that "God" is far less specific than "Jesus" is. When I say "oh, god" I honestly feel I'm not taking the lords name in vain. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the word "god" is really just that; a word. When I'm talking to God I say "Father" or "Heavenly Father" or something equally as specific and/or honorable. With all the 'religious diversity' out there, "God" is just to non-specific for me and I think that's a major factor in why it doesn't strike me as offensive when people say it.

No matter the exact meaning, this commandment has always been a favorite of mine. It really brings into perspective how serious God's rules for man are. Sure, we can all walk around saying "You're going to Hell if...." or "God will punish you for eternity if...", but this message isn't just someone saying God will or might punish you, it's God himself saying I will punish you.

What do you think? Is taking the Lord's name in vain unforgivable?

Fear of Judgement

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 04:45:17 GMT

by vwagenjetta

As you read this, please consider the following quote:
"We probably wouldn't worry about what people think of us if we [only knew] how seldom they do." - Olin Miller

I've noticed a type of fear in some of my closest friends that is holding them back from living full lives, and recent events have inspired me to come out and say something about it. The fear I'm talking about is that of offending others, and of others' judgement. People with issues such as these are so worried about others being hurt or upset by their actions, or even their presence (amongst a specific crowd), that they will avoid even the most enjoyable of situations because of it.

There have been times when I've let some things slide in my life because I didn't want to offend those involved (simply to avoid unwanted or unnecessary conflict). I believe all of us have at one time or another. Avoiding embarrassment is human nature. But going out of your way to avoid any and all embarrassment, or judgement, or offense is a pathetic way to live. Really pathetic! Here's why...

#1 - It's selfish. When we hold our tongue instead of speaking up, or keep away from situations where people might think less of us for whatever reason, we no longer care about helping others move forward in life. We only care about dodging conflict and keeping things comfortable for ourselves.

#2 - It's cowardly. The refusal to voice our opinion regardless of who might be offended shows our lack of courage. It reveals the ugly truth that we allow others to intimidate us into submission, and basically lead our lives for us. Proverbs 29:25 says, "Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the Lord means safety." If we flee from, or dodge, the judgement of others rather than trust in the Lord's safety, we are not at all living in the way God calls us to live. Isaiah 44:9b says, "Those who [speak up for sinners] are blind; ignorant to their own shame." I believe that not speaking up against sin is no different than speaking on its behalf.

#3 - It's dumb. Offending GOD, whose judgement is far more important than that of mere humans, is a lot worse than offending a friend, a community, or an individual; especially someone you don't know, and will probably never see again. Offending God has eternal ramifications. THAT should concern us more than someone's precious little feelings getting ruffled (yours included).

#4 - It's arrogant. You are a sinner. I am a sinner. Everyone is a sinner. 1 Corinthians 15:33 says, "Bad company corrupts good morals"; avoiding contact with someone for fear of being seen with a sinner, however, is not at all what this verse is talking about. You shouldn't be afraid to be seen with someone who's "sinful lifestyle choices" you don't approve of because you're no less of a sinner than they are. Just because you sin less, doesn't mean you're sinless.

Here's my point. Don't let fear (or low self esteem) hold you back from living out God's purpose for your life. Proverbs 19:21 says, "You can make many plans, but the Lord's purpose will prevail." God's plan for your life cannot be avoided and putting it off will only give you less time to fulfill it in the end. Be bold in your faith, avoid and speak out against sin, and trust the Lord's judgement rather than fearing the world's.