Hey guys,
The past couple of months have been interesting in my life. I have been working hard in school as well as work. The things I have seen here in Memphis are sometimes unbelievable… and sometimes they are great. You get my drift. I see so much need for what my age group is searching for. I myself am not immune to the lifestyles and choices other people might make. When you put yourself in the lion’s din, you will eventually get eaten. I have been going to churches, bars and restaurants around here, trying to understand the culture in which I live in… def having a lot of great conversations. The reason I have been doing this is that “we” as a whole ,are missing in the community, (20-30′s). “We” as a church body are suffering from the effects of what this culture in Memphis has experiences in the past with the word church. Kids, teens and young adults are running in the opposite direction of the Love that is available. I have seen more drug activity presently than I ever have, but I have hope that something can change…
All of this, when I look around at the scenery of girls wearing almost nothing in the pursuit of acceptance and love…. and the guys being, well… guys every weekend, boils down to one thing… A bunch of hurt. We all hurt and sometimes the consequence of that hurt is the consequence and which makes us think that we are incapable of being loved. If our definition of Love is wrapped up in the opposite sex and what they can give us, then we have a distorted view on what love really is.
For instance, I had a conversation with a guy the other day, that was twice my size and looked like he could tear my head off at any point, and bodly I asked him, “Bro, Is it hard for you to receive love?” He looked at me like no one had ever spoken to him like this and said, “Yes.” So my point was made to myself, no matter what our stories are or what we think we are on the outside, it’s just a facade for people to think we are something that we are not. I told that dude, “Bro. You are loved without all of this and you have a purpose in this life… We just have to get all of the mess and junk out to find it.” It was awesome to walk away from that conversation, knowing that I might have encouraged him to change one thing in his life. Just one! That’s all it takes. One change in the pattern or addiction to move towards Him. I am not writing this to make you think I am hero or villain. I am sharing this with you, to pray for this city. Pray for me in this city. We need your prayers.
Change… Is change a hard thing for you? See if you can change one thing about your day and see what happens. Change the perception of the world you might currently have… change the image in which the world sees you. Do something good for your brother and sister in this life… Listen, we all have giving hearts and love that is trying to find its way to our hearts… We just have to remove the junk to let what is good back in. I am not perfect, I am a flawed man, but I do care and I love my Jesus. I hope this reaches you well. J
- “Therefore be followers of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us (Eph 5:1)
- “Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith … ” (1 Tim 1:15)
- “Let all that you do be done with love.” (1 Cor 16:14)
- “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together … ” (Heb 10:24)
- “Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling … ” (1 Peter 3:8)
