Simplicity

I am flooded with ideas and words that need to be written. I let the chaos of everyday life get in the way even though I am constantly feeling and hearing God tell me to "write it down." I hear Him boldly yet let life take-over. Not anymore. After today, my passion to get out the name of Jesus and all He is doing in my life and how alive, active, and relevant He and His Word are today is beyond measure. So, here I sit with three loud crazy boys playing around me trying to write one of the most important messages I can ever write. I will try my best to relay this precious message that has been on my heart for ages... "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me." John 14:6 Commercialism. Humanness. Man-made rules. Religion. Hypocrisy. Lies. Manipulation. Marketing. Complicated. Judgment. Terrified. Do you ever feel like you are being "sold" on Jesus? Like He is some commodity that needs to be on the market with the best advertising? A Super Bowl commercial that has everyone talking the next day around the infamous water cooler? Or have you felt like He is shoved down your throat and you have no other option but to believe otherwise you are going to be forever placed on the judgment seat or burn in Hell? Has someone proclaimed to be a Christian yet lives a life in complete aversion to the faith turning you off from all this Jesus mumbo-jumbo? In our society, marketing and trends are everything. Whatever can relish in the most tweets at that moment is what everyone will buy. We are sheep. However, we are following the wrong shepherd. Isn't it ironic that Jesus refers to Himself as the shepherd and we as His sheep yet we pretend we aren't part of a greater herd? We are all followers to some capacity. We all follow something. Often times, I feel like the church, as a whole, today is a great marketing scheme trying to find the best way to sell Jesus. How can we have the hippest looking staff or the most current music? What can our series title be in order to entice people to come? Don't get me wrong, I LOVE church, especially my church. I have a passion for people who don't know Jesus and will do as much as I possibly can to tell them about my Savior. I just feel that lately we, as a whole, have lost sight of the simplicity that is Jesus. He was born in a manger. He wore sandals and his feet were dirty. He washed others' feet; served. He used his hands and built things. He lived simply and lived fully for the one message, the one thing, he was here for; his purpose. He came to DIE and SAVE the lost. Period. No catchy phrase. No jingle. No fancy clothes or car. To save. And all we have to do is receive. That's it. Yet we muddy it up and complicate it. What if we all stopped following the latest trends and started following the one Shepherd who actually did something worth a hoot? What would our lives look like? Our world? If everyone stopped selling religion, living in hypocrisy, changing the rules, making new rules, judging. What if we all stopped and lived simply? VIA, VERITAS, Vita Blessings, Megan