Why Christianity Is Failing

The Church – Poem 
(Not at all directed towards my church; it is filled with great people)

Welcome to our church.

Here we make it our number one priority to make sure you can praise God!

We never want you to feel odd,

so we give you the same message that tells you all about our loving God!

After all, God is Love, right?

Here at our church we sing songs about His love all the time, so take a deep breath!

And we won't judge you, because we don't even know who our pastor sleeps with.

Here at our church, you can leave feeling happy without any spiritual affliction.

Just make sure to put on your church face when you're here, we don't want to see your porn addiction.

Here at our church we have the greatest youth group!

Oh and don't mind the sniffing in the bathroom,

they're just kids! They'll grow out of that phase soon.

See our church really isn't a church at all,

it's a spiritual tomb.

I guess if God's the groom, and we're the bride,

we're secretly a prostitute to this world living a lie.

Cheating on God with money and the cheap pleasures that arrive.

But my oh my look how we've grown,

we've got a large band now just to drowned out the heartless groans.

Our church is the best.

Come be our next guest as we strive for success.

You'll never have to leave the nest.

Because God is medicine, there should be no pain!

On the outside of that church is love tattooed with a red stain.

But on the inside is a lust far greater than that, filled with money, sex, and fame.

               So if God is willing and Able, I guess that makes this church, Cain.   

  

     Let's jump right into this. Today’s church isn’t what it should be. Pastors don't act like they should. The congregation is hanging on by a thread. And heck, a lot of the times our comfort becomes a bigger issue than how we are going to reach the outside world. Why is this? Sometimes the answer is so simple that it is complex. We completely dedicate our lives to making our image look better instead of realizing that the reason we hate ourselves so much is because the problems we are struggling with on the inside are being ignored. What are these problems exactly? It's the sin nature we so enjoy. It is the "harmless" things we partake in every day. We don't even realize they are transforming us away from the image of God. In fact, the moment we were born we were given the task to fight our fleshly desires. This is where I got the catchphrase "Freedom From Myself".

      My whole mindset of finding “freedom from myself” starts with taking an in-depth and personal look at my own heart. It isn’t just a phrase, for me it’s something I have to think about everyday. I know that people have come up with catchy slogans to live by before, so that’s not my point. It is a mindset that I always have. Many people, even in the church, feel depressed, broken, and worthless because they are caught in sin and feel a thousand miles away from God.

     We are in a constant battle with ourselves. We as humans love to be selfish. We as humans love to be able to attain anything we want. We as humans love ourselves.

We as God’s children hate all of that.

Our soul longs for something deeper than what we can find on our own. The desires of the flesh get in the way of finding the true joy found in Jesus Christ. Fighting for freedom from myself means I am challenging my sinful side. My evil twin, if you will. That evil twin is not who I really am, but he is with me while I’m on this earth. I say that in the hopes that you will take a look at your heart, take a look at what you desire deep down in your soul, and murder the darkness that consumes you.

     In today’s society, I see this darkness infecting everyone. I only see that because it has infected me too. Our minds are filled with twisted thoughts that are disguised as good and clean. We probably even see them as perfectly okay and reasonable. For example, I have seen many people who say the church just isn’t for them. That’s a sad and scary statement. Most people would say, “Oh well, they’ll regret saying that one day!” But if we were really properly portraying Jesus’s love and how He intended the church to be, they wouldn’t be saying that.

     They should see the church as a hospital. The church should be a place for worship, healing, fellowship, advice, people who share your struggles, and getting closer to our Creator! Instead, it is being portrayed as a house full of Pharisees and hypocrites who look down on the world. There are the preachers on TV who love taking your money “in the name of Jesus.” They tell you that the Bible says we’re supposed to be rich, and healthy. If that were the case, the apostles would have been about the worst Christians ever. They were all dirt poor and mostly died as martyrs.

     The verses they quote that are not talking about physical wealth and health. Jesus doesn’t promise physical health and physical happiness. If you have those things they are either blessings from God, or proof that you might not be as devoted as you say you are. Having a nice house or being rich isn’t bad; don’t get me wrong. It’s what you do with those blessings that show who you really love.

     A lot of pastors however preach that if God hasn’t blessed you with riches, then you’re doing it wrong. That couldn’t be further from the truth, nor can those verses be taken further out of context. They’re talking about spiritual wealth and spiritual health. Following Jesus isn’t easy, but it’s worth it. He gives rest to our souls, not our bodies. He rains down mercy and grace... not money. He is our supplier spiritually, first.

     I look at it like this: if the apostles were to live today, those TV preachers would probably call them the worst names, tell them they are doing it all wrong, and that if they were truly following God they wouldn’t be so short-changed. I’m surprised they can stand up in the pulpit and say something like that. They miss the whole point. Our life is about God, not our comfort. Next time you are praying for safety, pray for God’s will instead. He asks that you give up everything (your plans for your own life) to follow Him. He doesn’t hand out a monthly pay-check. He is the greatest reward.

Think.

Why You Are Not Alone In Feeling Alone

-Psycho-

Am I really all I've got?/

I do the same thing, fall for the same things, struggle with the same things, guess I'm a robot/

Quite honestly I feel like a psycho/

In fact these words have become my new Bible/

I've replaced God with talking about God/

And the sad part is I'm already gone./

Well, my mind is gone at least/

I've pretty much mastered the art of acting Christian./

I can show up to church and talk about Jesus with my friends, then stop and tie my shoe lace/

Next thing you know I see a pretty girl and it's too late/

I should watch out for Batman cause I'm Two Face./

Heck, I'm even scared to open The Word./

I go from claiming Jesus, to saying his name as a verb./

And you know what's worse?/

It doesn't even hurt./

My filter in my head is all bad so there's nothing my mind won't blurt./

I'm living a lie and feel like a psycho./

I feel like I messed up and my whole life is a typo/

God if you're listening, I'm sorry for this./

I'm sorry for the deeds in my head that I can never forget./

Maybe none of this would have happened if we could all have been honest./

The only reason I keep up this fake lifestyle is because I think everybody else is flawless./

Everybody will hate me if they find out it wasn't God I was seeking/

I wish I would have known that's what everybody else has been thinking/

I'm quite scared of my nightmares cause they're right there. And I even have the nerve to glare at God and scream, “I DON'T HAVE WHAT HE HAS, THIS ISN'T FAIR! DO YOU EVEN CARE?!"/

I can't escape this dream, but I know there's something more/

And one day I'll wake up, see Him and my jaw will hit the floor./

I won't have to worry, but for now I do/

But I'm never giving up and you'll never hear me say, "God, I'm through.”

     In this day and age it is easy to get on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat or whatever you use, and easily have contact with most, if not all, of your friends. If you’re like me, then you can be very insecure a lot of the time. You might compare yourself to other people, just like me. Or even think that you are all alone and that nobody else thinks like you. Its where we get the stereotypical teenage saying, “Nobody understands me.” This is a struggle for me and for most other people.
     But it is also one of the biggest lies from Satan. He wants us to think that we are all alone. He wants us to hide in our rooms and pray to a God we really haven’t studied. Where we fail, is thinking that we already have the answers. Just know you are not alone. There are plenty of others that are questioning their faith, just like you. There are plenty of others that have absolutely no clue what they want to do with their life. There are plenty of others that have two identities: a smart, witty person who seems to have life figured out, and the confused weakling that doesn’t have true faith in anything at all. (And not everybody shows their good side in public)
     The good news: that’s okay! Living in an imperfect world will result in confusion. We won’t ever have all the answers. Frankly what lifts my spirits is when I can consistently do a devotional or something as small as that. When we burry ourselves in sorrow, guess what happens? All we see is sadness (Shocker!). But when we constantly feed that flame of hope, even when we don’t feel like it, God will be faithful. 
     You are not alone in feeling out of place. Which if you think about it, actually makes you fit right in with the misfits. With that being said, just because everyone else struggles with something, doesn’t mean that it is justified. We need to open our eyes cling to the hope that is right in front of us. If we can be honest with each other, we can get a lot more done. Instead of feeling guilty and alone, we can feel free and safe! This is all a mind game. And the devil is pretty good at distorting it.

Find Freedom.

Dear Friend (Poem)

Dear Friend, (Poem)

All you seem to care about is your friend’s opinions. As if they’re the master of your life?/

Seriously, you’re turning into a jerk. Your excuse for everything is to just laugh it off passing around high fives./

What’s funny is even though I’m telling you all this, you won’t care. You won’t do anything about it./

You might even text your friends and tell them how stupid I’m sounding/
That still won’t change the fact that it’s true./

Girls won’t solve your problems. Still you think about them 24 hours a day, I do too./

Every guy does. But just know, instant pleasure won’t be enough./

After that, you’ll only find guilt. Unless you take the time to invest in one girl, the way God set it up./

But HOLD UP. It's getting pretty old telling you the same old things every Christian parent tells their kid. In fact, why do I even mention God to you?
The only time you ever mention Him is on Facebook, so that you can impress your friends./

Or maybe you act deep and spiritual around girls? Really it’s only so that you can impress them./

Although you don’t want to think about that, because then you might start feeling guilty./

I get it. Just close yours eyes and think clean thoughts, then maybe you won’t be so filthy/

We’ve all been through what you’re in. It’s hard to avoid, like a train avoiding a train station/

It’s funny, one of the strongest forces in the universe doesn’t actually exist. It is only a figment of our imagination/

We let it creep inside of us. Satan slowly pushes it inside our brains, down into our very souls./

Peer pressure can destroy a person, despite what you’ve been told./

All your life you said, “Psshh I would never let other people’s opinions decide for me.”/

The weird thing is, they are starting to make sense. I mean, what makes calling him a douche bag so unholy?/

He is, after all, acting like one./

We don’t ever take into consideration that he goes home, thinking about what others have done/

Even though he seems ok, there’s a dark secret underneath that distorted depiction/

He thinks he can solve everything by taking that pain out through addiction./

Just like you.

Oh, we haven’t even had the chance to cover your addiction. Perhaps you’re not… or, well, at least you wouldn’t classify it as an “addiction”./

You aren’t like that one person who was sent to rehab because he couldn’t function/
At least not yet…

“Haha yeah, like THAT will ever happen.”

Remember back when you were little? And you always thought teenagers were cool and had everything figured out?/

You would always think that being one was so far into the future and well… Guess what? You’re one now./

…Kind of like how you laugh off the fact that you’re becoming the same tool your parents and old buddies used to warn you about?/
Ya, exactly.

It’s going to sneak up behind you. You won’t be able to stop it, because it will be too late./

In the split moment of embarrassment where you just got caught in the act, and everyone’s uplifted opinions of you come shattering to the ground, you’ll be asking how this became your fate./

You will look back and realize that your story now belongs with all the other stories from teenagers who lost a big part of themselves to social, mental, and physical slavery./

And you won’t even know how it happened. But your blindness didn’t stop the walls from caving/

...I can tell you’re bored so you can stop reading now...

Then again, this message intrigues you. You don’t want to admit anything because you still see yourself as a good person./

But why listen to me? I’m just another teenager who’s got an anxiety problem/

It isn’t like this happens to everybody…
Wait.

I say all of this because I care about you.
Because you’re a son of God who’s been made new./
I love you, but I hope the Lord breaks you./

From your closest friend,
You.