Alex on #ImpressivelyGreat

Have you come face to face with the amazing, incredible, majestic, heroic, and impressively great God?

I love taking pictures of sunsets, sunrises, mountains, flowers, and other aspects of nature. When I look back over my previous pics and I see something glorious - I can't help but be amazed and in awe. God made the sunrise you slept through this morning and he made the sunset you'll see as you get ready tonight. God made these incredible things.

Do you stand in awe of Him? Do you smile at his creation, thank him for his gifts, and talk with him each day? When you look at God and what he's made, are you amazed? Or do you pass it off as "normal"? Hey, there's nothing normal about a baby's new life or how clouds hang poised in the air, or how trees grow... those things are incredible.

Building 429 sings a song called "Incredible", which says:

You have made the sun
And the moon and the stars
And the wind and the fire and the rain
It's so beautiful
And you saved my soul
Gave me hope in the midst of the joy and the pain
And I know
It's incredible

I've found that the more I see God's creation, the more I love God. God is so awesome! And what about people? People are also God's creations, and we are called to love them more than we love ourselves.

To make our lives impressively great (or "epic!"), we need to love God and love people.

It's not about me, it's about Him and them.

Alex on #Discontentment

Are you living an Epic life? A life that draws people toward Christ? A life that is continually serving? A life that will be remembered after you've passed away? At your funeral, are people going to say to each other, "She was nice." Or "He was so popular." Do you want them to say that about you? Or do you want them to say: "She really loved God." Or "He was always on fire for Jesus." Do you want to be remembered for your heart for God?

At Varsity, we talked about discontentment is not always a bad thing. In fact, it can be really good. For example, my discontentment with being shy and uninvolved prompted me to take Drama class, volunteer at church, and take on some leadership roles. This past Wednesday night, my discontentment with talking about Jesus rather than talking with Jesus made me decide to spend more time conversing with my Savior - and listening to his voice.

We should continually be satisfied with our possessions and our stuff. Believe me, I'm not rich, but I have more than many people around the world. We don't need anything else. We should also be continually unsatisfied with our relationship with God and our effectiveness in serving others. There is always something more that we can do; whether we spend some extra time in God's word each day, whether we spend a Saturday helping homeless people instead of watching tv, whether we try to meet new people who need Jesus... The goal is to become more like Christ.

So, I'm going to leave you with some big "preachy" words. Justification happens when you first accept Jesus Christ into your life. For me, it happened when I was young and I prayed to Jesus one night. For some, it happens while at Varsity or a camp or youth trip. It's that first initial step. Then there's sanctification, which happens continually. It's a constant process to become more like Jesus. Read one of the gospels (Luke and John are my favorites) to learn about who Jesus was and what he did.

To live an epic life, be discontent with how much you serve people and how deep you connect to God. Work on being sanctified!

Alex W / Message Writer

Alex on #Ablaze

When you get enthused with excitement for something, people want to see it! John Wesely said, "Catch yourself on fire with enthusiasm and people will come for miles to watch you burn."

So, what are you excited about? Clemson fans plaster orange all over themselves and their cars. Artists are always sketching, and many will stay up into the wee hours to finish a drawing or painting. Musicians and band members are also very dedicated! What are you excited about?

What about God? Are you enthused with his love and excited for his work in your life and the lives of those around you? Do you want God more than you want anything else?

I urge you to be wholly devoted to God, ridiculously excited about Him, and "caught on fire". Live the kind of life you're asking others to follow.

Let's be completely sold out for God; ablaze and on fire with his love. Mark 12:30 says, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."

Alex W / Message Writer