Leave your complaints at the door/cross...

Ok, by a show of hands, in the last couple of months who has:

1. Had a bad day?

2. Been yelled at by their boss?

3. Stuck in a job they don't really like?

4. Been insulted and put down over something they didn't do?

5. Been beaten with a whip?

6. Spit on by random people?

7. Had to wear a crown of thorns?

8. Been crucified?

Where am I going with this you ask? Well our complaints seem so futile when we compare them to what Jesus had to go through. When Jesus was crucified, he not only took our sins and everlasting pain, he took our ability to complain, away. He went through life, knowing he was going to die for something he didn't do. He was never wrong to anyone, never did a horrible job in the workplace, he never passed the blame to someone else. He took it all. His compassion and love for us is why we are still here today.

Dictionary.com defines "Complain" as to express dissatisfaction, pain, uneasiness, censure, resentment, or grief; find fault.

The part of that definition that sticks out with me is "to find fault". By finding fault in a situation, we are saying that we have found a fault with God's plan.

The reason I say God's plan is that through faith, we believe that God's plan will always prevail even though others may not follow it, or want it to prevail.

The Merrian Webster Dictionary defines Faith as (2) : complete trust.

By having Complete trust in God, we believe that through all situations, nothing will stop God from continuing his plans for our lives, even through the hardest of times.

²¹ You can make many plans,but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.

Prov 19:21 (NLT)

This verse is simply stating that through our plans and tribulations, God's purpose will still come to fruition. That others can mess with our lives, with our job status, family situations and other little things, yet God's plan will always be the outcome.

Let's go to a boss reference. Not all people are Christian's, therefore we can't expect everyone to try and act in a fitting manner; we can't even really expect "Christian's" to act in a fitting manner. So if a boss yells at one of us over something that seemed trivial or unimportant, and then we go and complain on how he's not a good boss, his communication skills are lacking and yada yada yada. We are simple stating that God is not going to deliver us from this situation, whatever it may be. We are stating that there was a fault with this situation and that it is not part of God's plan.

Yet through faith we believe that God promises to deliver us from evil in every way possible.

⁹ “I will look favorably upon you, making you fertile and multiplying your people. And I will fulfill my covenant with you.¹⁰ You will have such a surplus of crops that you will need to clear out the old grain to make room for the new harvest!¹¹ I will live among you, and I will not despise you.¹² I will walk among you; I will be your God, and you will be my people.¹³ I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so you would no longer be their slaves. I broke the yoke of slavery from your neck so you can walk with your heads held high.

Lev 26:9-13 (NLT)

For these people, God delivered them out of Egypt from slavery, something so big in comparison to our needs.

Even though the situation has already passed, God can still and always bring good from it. By complaining about the situation, we are stating that God's plans will not come through for us.

At the same time, when we complain, we are putting OUR needs at our highest priority, we are in fact, making our complaints a "Idol". We are saying that there is nothing more important at this moment than how I feel.

¹⁴ Enoch, who lived in the seventh generation after Adam, prophesied about these people. He said, “Listen! The Lord is coming with countless thousands of his holy ones¹⁵ to execute judgment on the people of the world. He will convict every person of all the ungodly things they have done and for all the insults that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” ¹⁶ These people are grumblers and complainers, living only to satisfy their desires. They brag loudly about themselves, and they flatter others to get what they want

Jude 1:14-16 (NLT)

Are our complaints so important, that we should put them before God? Are our worries and troubles above God's Powers? The answer is simply NO. God's plan and love for us is always going to be stronger and more important than any worldly complaint we have.

Then you guys ask, but cameron, if there is something going on in my life that I feel I should complain about, what should I do? And I'll ask you, what's the difference between a complaint, advice and a prayer request?

A complaint is stating that a situation has happened, there is nothing good that can come from it and it's over, there is nothing we can do about it. It is leaving NO room for spiritual intervention on God's behalf.

I feel that advice and a prayer request should go hand in hand. That the person we are asking advice from, should be asking God for guidance through the situation.

A prayer request is used to ask God for his will to prevail, at least it should. It should be formed in a way that is open to God's intervention. I know when I pray, I'll say, well here are my two options. When in reality there are sooo many options because I can only see what is in front of me. Instead of praying for the immediate situation. We should ask for guidance in how to pray for the situation. Instead of asking for an immediate answer, we should ask for wisdom in how to approach the situation.

¹⁴ Do everything without complaining and arguing,¹⁵ so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.¹⁶ Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless.¹⁷ But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy.¹⁸ Yes, you should rejoice, and I will share your joy.

Phil 2:14-18 (NLT)

We look at life as if our worries and struggles are too big for God. How do we know he didn't set up a situation, so that we are able to learn from it? God's purpose will prevail no matter what. So next time, instead of complaining, I urge to rejoice in the fact that you have a God and savior that has laid out a plan that will prevail even through all of the troubles we go through. Do not be dismayed by life's little worries but know that God is always and will always be in control.

So let me ask some more questions

1. Who has a job in this horrible current economic status?

2. Who has a healthy family?

3. Who has a bed to sleep in, and a shower to clean up in every day?

4. Who has a savior that continues to love us, no matter what we do?

Jesus Loves you and so do I!

Thanks for reading,

Cameron

The not so mad scientist...

There was a not so mad scientist. He had many different creatures and creations that he created to "give life" too. Each creature was unique in the gifts it had. Some were big, some were small, some were even shaped like a ball. Others were to tall to fit in the hall that was used as a room, and others were as skinny as a broom. Long rhyme short, each creature was unique in the song that it sings.

The scientist fabricated each creature with time and love. No creature was created without a use, the scientist was so ingeniously smart, he knew each creature so well that he knew how each one could be used for his lab. His creatures had the ability to do what they wanted, but the design the scientist had laid out for the creatures would lead them to the most happiness possible. His creatures were his life, and nothing else satisfied his curiosity, and time as his creatures did.

The scientist had an amazingsom idea, he wanted to create a creature never thought of before. This creature was going to be different from all of the other creatures. This creature stood tall on two legs, just as you and I do. This creature's capacity for knowledge and love was beyond any of the other creatures previously created. The scientist enjoyed and loved these creatures so much, he called them "lovings".

These "lovings" were to be care takers of the other creatures in the lab. The lovings were to love and admire all of the other creatures as the scientist loved them. To follow, feed, and defend the other creatures as if they were children.

Sadly, one day, a creature became jealous. He became so jealous he wanted to destroy the lovings, he wanted to turn them against each other. His only focus in being was dependent on the lovings listening to him. He did not let the lovings know his uncanny hate for them. He couldn't, as the old saying goes "keep your friends close, and your enemies closer". While keeping the trust of the lovings, he was able to lie, deceive and lead them down paths to their own destruction.

Thankally, the scientist was a genius. He saw the evil creatures plans for the lovings; he caged what he now named the "beastrosity". The beastrosity was left on a shelf in the lab, with a label over him stating "danger, his ways will in no way lead you to a happier life than the one already planned by the scientist".

The scientist warned the lovings and other creatures about the beastrosity. He told them to never listen to the beastrosity, to ignore everything it said. If they were able to do this, he would give them a special present. A present so fantalastically great, it was too hard to pass up. The lovings had to be patient to receive this gift though, their faithfulness to the scientist was what mattered most.

The scientist continued creating lovings and creatures, his love endures forever.

More to come?

Thanks for reading,

Jesus loves you and so do I!

Peace out,

Cam

a.w. I did not proof read/edit this so it might be a little "choppy"

It will be known as...

So, when I decided I wanted to start writing a blog, I thought to myself "self, what should it be called" then I thought about my biggest influences in life. Legos were a close third but Jesus and Ninjas are definitely the two biggest contributers to my life as we know it.

Then I remembered, Jesus IS a Ninja. I know, I know, you were not aware of this, well, let me drop some knowledge on you. Jesus did a multitude of Ninja-like maneuvers while he was traversing Earth. The probably most well known Ninja skill he possessed and used would be his ability to walk on water.

Yo tengo la prueba aqui!

45 Then he [Jesus] at once compelled the disciples to embark in the boat and go before him to Bethsaida on the other side, while he sent the people away. 46 After he had taken leave of them, he went away into the mountain to pray. 47 And when evening came, the boat was half-way across the sea, while he was on shore alone; 48 but when he saw them distressed in rowing (for the wind was against them), about the fourth watch of the night he went to them, walking upon the sea, 49 they thought it was an apparition and shrieked aloud, for they all saw him and were terrified. 50 But he at once spoke with them, saying. "Courage! It is I. Do not be afraid!" 51 Then he got into the boat beside them, and the wind ceased, and they were utterly astounded, 52 for they had not understood about the loaves; on the contrary their heart was hardened.

Mark 6:45-52 (MontgomeryNT)

Now, I know what your thinking. Cameron, Jesus most likely didn't wear a mask, and he definitely didn't kill or assassinate anyone. He most likely didn't perform any acts of espionage or have a Ninja Sword for that matter, how can he possibly be a Ninja? Again, let me enlighten you.

There are MANY different types of Ninjas. There are Ninjas in everyday life. There are Ninjas in cars and Ninjas from afar, there are Ninjas at the beach and Ninjas that like to teach. There are Ninjas with long hair and Ninjas that don't play fair. Long rhyme short, they are everywhere.

So back to the original topic, Jesus = A Ninja. So ya, throw some sort of time frame in there and you have the title of my newly developed blog.

Thanks for reading,

Jesus loves you and so do I!

Peace Out,

Cam

a.w. Ninja was used 15 times in this post

The first in the lineage

Okay so, this blog is meant to be just another creative outlet for me. There will not be any structure to it, most likely. No requirements to be followed, just pure "me".

It may be something about my day, or week, or how someone touched my heart this week. It may even be about a dream where I was a transformer and I rode a t-rex (true story). Truthfully, I am excited to see where this blog will go. Maybe,.... hopefully it will be a place where God can speak through me to get a message to people. I have had a pretty big drive within the past 6 months to start writing more, even if it is just to get my thoughts down on paper....er keyboard. Either way, I have high standards for how this blog will turn out and look forward to reading comments from whomever reads it...even if it is no one.

The first topic will be the inspiration for the name of this blog. Thanks for reading.

Jesus loves you, peace out!

Cam