All the time is spiritual time

"Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." - Mark 8:34

I'm already excited for next semester of college, and for me (and literally everyone) the only thing that stands in the way is time.  So I suppose the important question is what am I going to do with my time.  I don't mean like literal time, that is going to be taken up with work and vacations and stuff.  I'm talking about the only time that really matters, spiritual time.  

Spiritual time should mean more than just time allotted for reflection and prayer.  It should mean more than just time spent with God.  Spiritual time doesn't exist separate than normal time, it can and should exist at the same time as normal time.   Spiritual is time spent living the way Jesus calls us to live.

But what does it mean to live the way Jesus called us to?  How did Jesus call us to live?

Very good questions.  You get a gold star for today.  Mark 8:34-37 (also see Luke 14:27, Matthew 16:24) says:

And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. 36 For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?37 For what can a man give in return for his soul? (ESV)
Jesus is basically saying that following him, takes effort.  It takes commitment, it takes the denial of what ever you want to do with your day doing what God wants you to do.  This is not easy, nor should it be.  

Every part of our culture is about comfort and self indulgence.  'You!, You! You!'  This has been said before so I wont focus on it.  But what Jesus is saying is completely counter cultural.  He wants us to DENY that part of our self, that part of our self that seeks being comfortable, and puts itself first.  

I keep a copy of Mark 8:34 in my wallet

Deep down, all I want to do this summer is work, hang out with friends and stay in my room playing xbox.  But God is calling out me in this verse.  This summer God wants me to break back out of my comfort zone, something that was easy to do starting college, but now back home it will significant effort.  God wants me to talk to people, deepen the spiritual relationships I have with current friends, and most importantly, spread his Gospel.  That thought just makes me uncomfortable.  

And that is a good thing! Because by keeping to myself, by pursuing what I want, and doing what I feel comfortable doing, I gain a lot on this earth.  But when I die, I can count that all as lost, because all that will be left is my soul.  And what profit do I get for gaining the world but then forfeiting my soul.  

If someone is reading this and says "Well Christianity sucks, I could never be good enough to be a part of that."  Stop thinking that.  Because no matter what I do, no matter what any of you do, we will never be good enough for God.  The only way that can happen is if we accept Jesus into our lives.  It's Jesus that saves us, not being a good person, not being 'good enough'.  These works are a result of us being saved, not a cause.  Even if I were to absolutely fall flat on my face in failure this summer, I can take hope in the fact I'm not saved through my works, only through the blood of the lamb.  I think that's one of the most misunderstood facts about Christianity.  

So I know what I'm doing with my time this summer.  I going to spend all my time in constant spiritual time.  I'm going to let God take control, and I am going to pick up cross, and make an effort to follow God.  Even if fail, Jesus is there to pick me up.  Always.  Stay thirsty my friends.  Or not.  John 4:14

God has a plan, it just dont make sense

I don't want to be cliche and say this freshman year of college has been like an emotional and spiritual roller coaster, but there have certainly been ups and downs along the way.  While I've let my emotions take control at times, thanks to the accountability of friends and my bible study, I've seen a steady uphill growth in my walk with Christ.  Praise be to God for that.

My word of advice for any high school senior about to open a new chapter in their life is to GET CONNECTED.  I think this looks a little different for everyone, but for me, it involved finding an on-campus ministry like Cru.  Being connected through friends who genuinely care about you and a ministry that wants to deepen your relationship with Jesus help, like a lot.  It's just something you dont even realize how beneficial it is until you dont have it anymore.  I'm not trying to advertise Cru or anything, that's just the one I'm involved with.

A reoccurring theme this semester for me has been trying to figure out Gods plan. Actually, this has been an something I've been trying to figure out my whole life. We all know the verse in Jeremiah 29:11: "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." (ESV) If this verse is new to you, the gist of it is God is in control. The God of the universe, the God of heaven and earth, of good and evil, the God that breathed out stars, that same God has a plan and purpose for your life. And it's a good plan. Wow, that takes my breath away a little bit.

"The Pillars of Creation" (left pillar is 7 light years long)

But still I'm left asking the question "What is my plan?" I want to know the details, I want to figure everything out. I've come to learn the problem with this way of thinking is that we cant just 'reason out' Gods plan for us. Around the beginning of this semester I was starting to think it all made sense. I had Gods plan figured out, I knew exactly who I would be with, and what kind of person I would end up as. I would look back on things that had happened to me in the past and say "well that made perfect sense because I now I'm here doing this. I now know why God did X and Y." Just recently, God turned that way of thinking on its head.

God's plan does not really make sense.  It's unexpected, rude, hilarious, frustrating and at times strange.  To really make any sense of it, we have to look at the big picture.  Like the picture above.  (Get it, big picture, because the picture is of something really big but its also a saying).  The omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient God, made every single star, and planned out when each would die and be born.  He did the same  for every single human that has been born, or ever will be born on this planet.  God isn't just shaping us into who we are going to be next week or next month.  He is also not just shaping us into who we will be in 20, 30 years.  He is shaping all mankind for what it will be in a thousand years, a million years.  When you look at the big picture, it makes perfect sense.

I look back on my freshman year on all that has happened, I can hardly make any sense out of half of it.  But I do know that I came through it all closer and more knowledgeable of God.  Stay thirsty my friends.  Or not. John 4:14.