Perhaps you’ve seen kids do this on occasion – cute. Adults doing this – not so cute.

Anyway, I recall what went through my mind when I saw a butterfly come close to me when I was a child. I glanced at it and immediately wanted to have it up close to me. My curiosity drove me to chase the butterfly. Sometimes I would be successful, but most of the time I would fail, only to see it fly out of my reach where I could no longer appreciate its beautiful colors. It’s rather disheartening. I obviously meant no harm to it. I just wanted it to stay so I could stare at all of its patters and color combinations. If only it could understand.

Sometimes I would be successful in catching it. In my overly excited state of mind I would sometimes become oblivious to just how different in size we were and would forget just how easily I could harm the tiny thing. I’m sure you’ve discovered (in this same way) that all of its beautiful colors are nothing but a thin coating of powder that comes off so easily, it should almost be a crime to touch it. After a couple of incidents where I had either broken off a wing, or smeared its color patters, I decided I had no business trying to trap one.

Yet sometimes, in the rarest of occasions, one would perch itself either on my head, or shoulder, or arm, or hand…and it would stay there almost as long as I wanted. Just enough time for me to hold it up close and admire the patters, colors and fragility of this small thing. It’s as if it knew I had always been curious to admire it. Maybe, for that split second, we understood each other.

I may be completely off here. I sense that God’s love demands that same respect. His love is beautiful and complete in its perfection. Our understanding of His love is minimal, but that doesn’t mean we’re not drawn to its beauty. Granted that God’s love is there to be taken and given, OUR OWN perception of love is what usually ends up distorting what that love really is.

In our brokenness, pain, anger, loneliness, we begin to chase after a love that won’t let itself be captured. Because at that point we’re driven by our selfishness, our lack of patience, our lack of wisdom. We believe that “true love” equals everything that [in our minds] is pleasant, enjoyable and happy. I’m sorry to say that I don’t believe this to be true. The GREATEST act of love was a brutal display of submission – the Crucifixion. This was neither pleasant, enjoyable nor happy.

Love can’t be captured. Love befalls us when we least expect it, and I think that’s the way it should be. It’s all around us and IT WILL perch itself on you when you least expect it, by way of a random person on the street, a family member, a friend, etc.  And you’ll admire its beauty, its uniqueness. And for that split second, you’ll understand that “love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails…and now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

The most amazing thing about this is that WE all have the capacity to bring that to someone’s shoulder – anytime, any place.

I’ve yet to understand the fullness of His love, but I don’t expect to achieve that in this life. There’s no way my mind can wrap itself around it. I’ve been blown away so many times by the love God has placed in people’s lives around me. So glorious, so beautiful, so fulfilling. I can’t even imagine THE FULLNESS of God’s love when we’re all rejoicing in His Presence.

But for now, I’m satisfied with loving to the best of my spirit.

I hope that helps. But please ask questions, there are many people here that have wise words to give.

-mars

Hi guys!

It’s been quite some time since my last posting. I have to admit that a lot of things have picked up pace since my last posting – work, band, life, etc.

Lots has happened since then as well. But that’s not important.

For now, I’d like to hear what YOU have to say. What would you like me to blog about? Any specific topics, movies, music?

Let me know and I’ll do my best to write about it!

cheers,

-mars

Hello everyone!

Just wanted to pop in for a little bit during Spring break, which all just LOVE to brag about.

My week started off well, but quickly headed towards a very unexpected place. Without going into too much detail, I’ve been thrown into the middle of a spiritual war. Now granted that there is spiritual war going on 24/7, we’re not always involved in it. I’ve been pretty sensitive to it in the past and [I admit it] I’ve usually tried to avoid it. In my case, it’s incredibly intense and leaves me shaken. I know I haven’t engaged it in the proper way — I don’t know that I’ve relied on God, mainly because I would rather NOT be caught in it.

But as this week moves forward, I can’t help but sense that God is basically giving me no choice but to rely on Him and engage the enemy.

I apologize if this post seems rather vague, but I prefer to keep details to myself at this time, at least until God reveals more. Trust me, I will be talking more about this in the future. For now, I can only pray and ask for prayer. I’ve been restless and I need God’s peace and rest.

That’s all for now! Hope your week is going fantastic!

Grace & peace,

-mars

THIS IS AN OLD BLOG I WROTE BACK IN SEPTEMBER

I arrived home today from a 24hr staff retreat.
Up until yesterday, I wasn’t exactly excited nor hesitant about going…I was just going. We weren’t told what were going to talk about or what was going to be discussed, but I was hoping it wouldn’t be more of the “same old thing”.

I don’t want to expand too much, but I will be as fluent as I can…let’s discuss the lost art of “disciple-making”.

You may be turned off by this title, but please guys, stick around; it’s about more than what you think.

Why is radical disciple-making a lost art?
Because we underestimate our “Nero Threat”

* The Early Church had to rise against Nero
* The Chinese Church had to rise against Mao
* The American Church has to rise against ??? who?

I would say Consumerism.

I believe we have it harder nowadays as opposed to the early church; back then it was BLACK AND WHITE. You either followed or you didn’t.
Today, there are SO MANY ways to get comfortable and fall between the cracks that it poses a larger threat against the continuation of Jesus’ message.
Consumerism, complacency and comfort. Convenience, selfishness and personal gain.

The single worst thing that happened to the Church was the adoption of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman nation…because there was no threat.
The American Church tries so hard to achieve a “Christian” government, but they don’t realize that that will further destroy the Church.
As the American Church, we’ve named the wrong “enemy”…we’ve always pointed at things such as Liberalism as the enemy. It’s not Conservatism, Liberalism or any of these. It’s OUR consumerism, OUR assumption that when we “convince” everyone about what we believe, that when we finally get everyone to do what we say, that everything will be ok.
Our goal is not to convert Governments. Our goal is to disciple people.

It would seem that we NEED to have the Mao’s, the Nero’s, the Hussein’s, the Hitler’s for the Church to rise to the occasion and show what being a Christ-follower is all about. If none of these existed, then what is there to show for? We’d be living in a perfect world…and THAT is reserved solely for Heaven.

All this to say:

We need to disciple people.
Very few of us have been discipled, at least intentionally. I’ve only to thank a handful of people that have led me towards uncharted waters by way of conversation. People like my friend Jim, whom I miss dearly.

You may ask:
What would I have to offer?
How can I disciple ANYONE?!
What does “disciple-making” even look like?

I really don’t know, but I know it has to do with LIVING LIFE together.
It’s not result oriented, although it does yield results.

I’ve learned this recently with a teen very dear to me.
For almost 2 years now, I’ve been pouring whatever it is that I have to offer into his life. Many times I’ve felt like I have nothing to offer and many times I’ve felt like he doesn’t listen to me when I DO have something to offer.
Sometimes I’ve felt like a utter failure because I haven’t been able to successfully “shield” him from trials.

Recently, I had to make a tough decision. I had two choices and I naturally voted for the easiest one, but God reminded me of how I had called the young man to very high standards several months ago – when he was faced with a very tough decision.
I decided to confess this to him and told him that he was calling me to the same standards without even knowing it. He was graceful enough to affirm and love me.
I’m no Paul, Peter or John, but I do what I can.

It’s in porch conversations with my roommates Micah and Mike that I realize how we keep ourselves in check and “disciple” one another.
In sharing our thoughts, our frustrations and then realizing we’re not perfect.

It’s nothing official. It’s just people living life together.

Grace & Peace,

-mars

Several times [I'm sure] we’ve misplaced our keys… can I get an AMEN??

I know I have…a million times. Most of the time it’s at the MOST inopportune of times: at first I’m startled, but quickly go down the slope of anger and begin picking things up and throwing them across the room after realizing the keys weren’t there. Before I know it, I’m thinking out loud and ultimately cursing the keys, as if they were plotting against me to remain hidden and make me miserable; I begin to think to myself, “I hate those [insert favorite adjective] keys!!!”, because it’s clearly the keys’ fault, right?

Then I quickly realize they’re in my jacket’s pocket, where I left them. Now I’m overrun with anger towards myself for not putting them in a more obvious place for myself to find later [this is also called having A.D.D, but that's an entirely different topic]. The keys, it seems, were the cause of all this grief. How DARE they lay quietly right where I left them, right? Would I be happier if they weren’t?

I doubt it.

In the end, the keys perform their purpose, whether I’m angry or not.

I’ve realized that I seek out God in the very same way: when I “need” Him, I just can’t seem to find Him and I grow increasingly angry at Him for “not being there” when I need Him. I suppose God is sitting in my pocket, wondering why I haven’t searched in the place we left off. Or maybe I expect Him [or the keys] to just jump out in front of me and say, “Here I am!!”, and in many ways, He does. But the point I’m trying to make isn’t whether God jumps out in front of us or not. The point I’m trying to make is that we have the tendency to grow angry when we think God isn’t where we want Him to be — that it’s His fault we can’t find him.

God’s a gentleman. He’s loyal. It’s the perpetual dance between the black & white pieces on the Chess board — one only moves after the opponent has made his move first. God will meet you where you left off. Sometimes His moves are BOLD and aggressive and sometimes His moves are so subtle that you wonder, “What is He thinking?”. And sometimes we ask ourselves that question NO MATTER WHAT HE DOES!

I guess my longing is to seek out God like He seeks me and not like I seek my keys.

I’m not a father, so I can only imagine what it’s like to go searching for a lost son or daughter when they’ve vanished from your sight.

I recall in one instance when I hadn’t heard from a close friend of mine for quite some time… One night, his mom called asking me if I had heard anything from him that day and I said I hadn’t. It was clear to me that his mom was mortified, and quite honestly, I began to fear the worst myself. For hours we tried to get ahold of him, to no avail. Finally, a call. He was at a friend’s house, in the basement, with no phone reception. Thank God.

I remember the feeling of anxiety, the fear of loss, the unknown, as I tried to find my friend. So many thoughts rushed through my mind. I can only hope to seek God out with the same diligence and passion and love.

I’m not sure where this leaves you. I’m not sure where it leaves me. I’m not sure where it’s supposed to land.  To me it feels like this post has an open ending…and perhaps that’s where it needs to be. Maybe it ends with you [and me]. And only you and God can finalize the story.

Forever seeking God alongside you,

-mars