This post comes from something I heard a few days ago that didn’t really settle well with me. This person said that God gave them a certain disease so they could now minister to those with that same illness. What? God gives diseases to bring folks to Him now? That’s a new one. Let’s discuss this.

What’s a topic/statement you’ve heard someone say lately that you don’t exactly agree with?

I tweeted the other day that I’m not a “Jesus fish” or a Christian bumper sticker kind of guy. I got a couple of questions on that comment, so I wanted to go in a bit more detail. Well, it’s because I’m probably not the best example all of the time and I doubt anyone reads “Jesus is Lord” on the back of a car and says to themselves, “You know what, they’re right!!!!!!!!” I guess we can do a trial run here with sticker conviction. Do the bumper stickers make you love Jesus (more)?

found at http://christiannightmares.tumblr.com

Here are my 10 favorite songs at the moment:

If I’m in my car with no cd’s or an iPod, there is no way I’m listening to the Christian radio station longer than 3 songs. They play the same stuff from ten years ago.

My playlist has changed quite a bit from what it was just a few weeks ago. My top ten songs last month would have been a mixture of Snow Patrol, Drake and 3OH!3. This month, every one of my favorite songs are “Christian” songs. I mean, I still listen to “secular” music (whatever “secular” means), but Jesus Culture and Trip Lee have been hitting me hard lately. That’s a good thing, by the way. I like all kinds of music. If it has good music behind some good lyrics, I’m all for it, whether it be from Kim Walker or Eminem. There’s definitely a feeling I get from different types of music, though. With Kim I get an uplifting feeling and with Eminem, I get some sort of an angry feeling.

So, here’s my question for you…

Do you think Christians should only listen to “Christian” music? Oh, and what music are you listening to these days?

If I do all things “Christian” ONLY in public, then it is to make myself look good. This should not be the point. It seems that character and my true relationship with Jesus is developed and molded when I’m alone with Christ. These are the times that you will never know about. If the most spiritual thing I do all day is retweet @rickwarren or @lecrae on twitter, it is again to make myself look like awesome spiritual guy. Also, that makes me a pretty bad “Christian” if that’s all I do. I need to be able to create my own tweets and writings to describe my relationship with God. I shouldn’t need other’s words to say who Jesus is in my life. Here is a challenge to you. Don’t rely on your parents, girlfriend, boyfriend, spouse or pastor for your relationship with God. Create that individual, personal relationship with Him because in the end, it’s YOUR responsibility.

Thoughts?

We all want to see some sort of return on what we put time into. This would then make time an investment. Then there are those things that we all do where we don’t expect a return. This of course includes mentoring, discipleship, volunteer work and the list goes on and on. For me, blogging falls in between these two areas. It’s an outward expression of how I’m feeling, so part of me feels like I’m just journaling. The other part of me says it takes a lot of time and effort to blog, so if I can put ads on the blog and make some extra pesos, why not? Not too long ago my friend Anne Jackson, author of flowerdust.com, announced she was going ad free on her blog. Before this I never really thought about it. I guess this is because every “Christian” blogger I know has ads on their blog. But, just because everybody else is doing it, doesn’t necessarily make it right. So, this got me thinking about putting ads here on jackalopekid.com. I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s an individual’s personal feeling/conviction on this matter.

What do you think? Do you feel that it’s wrong to advertise on “Christian” blogs or any blog for that matter?

My views have changed since I became a Christian and I’m sure yours have, too. It has changed the things that I want and don’t want to do. I made sure not to use “stuff I can and can’t do” there because us Christians still have fun. We play skipbo and drink pink lemonade while watching reruns of “The Brady Bunch”. Fun stuff. It seems God is in the changing business now that I think about it. He changed what I wanted to dwell on, what I wanted to look at, who I wanted to hang out with and what I spent my time doing. Most people seem to think God is in the, “You better be perfect or I’ll get you” business. But you see, when you find God, YOU WANT to be a better person. At least I did. God changes you when you REALLY find Him. That’s why you can come to Him just as you are.

So, since you became a Christian, on what subjects have your views changed?

Well, here’s your chance to win a fancy LETGOdwork + jackalopekid t-shirt. I’m in the giving mood today, folks. All you have to do is answer this next question.

What is your favorite color shirt to wear?

The winner will be selected at random. Contest ends on March 31st at 11:59 pm mountain time. Good luck!

I try to live the Christian thing out each and every day to the best of my ability. There are probably quite a few things I need to change, though. One of them being that I don’t talk that much. This comes in handy when trying to make people feel welcome, but this is just part of my personality. Crazy, I know. I also know the Bible says to have the joy of the Lord. If you ever do meet me and hang out with me for a while, I think you will see more of a straight face with an occasional smile. You probably will not see the bubbly, talkative guy that I think of when I hear “the joy of the Lord”. This is just something I’ve dealt with through my Christian walk and after much thought I have decided to just be me. But again, it is in the back of my mind quite a bit. What do you think? Is the joy of the Lord an outward thing that should always be present? Or can someone be quiet and to themselves and still be joyous at the same time?

Ever since I was a kid, my family has been in church. While attending church I’ve noticed how styles have changed quite a bit. I used to think Michael W. Smith, choir robes, sweaters, long hair, Mark Lowry and glasses were the coolest things out there. Oh, and I can’t forget Carman. It seems that this just isn’t the case anymore. So, I started compiling a list of what makes church people “cool” in 2010. Here are the top 9 things I could come up with:

1. Gotta have a scarf around your neck. That goes for everybody.
2. Gotta have a pair of TOMS shoes. You say you’re helping out a kid, but we all know it’s for the coolness factor.
3. Gotta have a mac. A PC just won’t cut it.
4. Having an iPhone is a must. Mainly for reading YouVersion off of it and you look wicked holy while doing it.
5. The Fauxhawk is a must. God will not love you if you do not have one.
6. You have to be talking about the latest book you’re reading. Talking about what’s in the Bible is so yesterday.
7. You have to go to at least 2 conferences a year. You will not know what you need to know to be saved.
8. Everyone has to find a way on that stage. You better sing, play a musical instrument or something. Get to dancin’.
9. Every cool Christian must have a tattoo of some sort. Oh, and a part of that tattoo must be showing to the public. If it’s on your arm, make sure you roll up your sleeve just a tad. A cool story behind the tattoo is a must (preferably Biblical).

***I couldn’t think of #10, so maybe you can help me out.–

10. ??????