Real - Are You?

Who are you today?

I know who I am. I am someone who is busy, but loves every minute of it. I am a leader, and am scared sometimes that people will follow me and do what I say. I am a musician, cause music = life. I am a Spirit-Filled Christian (side note: Don't you love how we divide Christians up into different groups?)

But most of all I am real, cause I've worn the mask before and it sucks.

Being real is a skill that my generation doesn't understand. Yes we are bombarded by the world telling us what's cool and what's not: That showing love (real love, not that media stuff) is a sign of weakness, that nobody really cares how you genuinely feel on the inside. Well you know what? I've been there, and I can tell you that this world has got it wrong.

Straight. Up. Wrong.

Being who you are is as essential in this life as is near anything else, cause who's gonna believe a hypocrite?

But not only is it a must, I'd be willing to bet that God hurts everytime you put on that mask over who you are. He created you to be YOU. Do you get it? You are a special, one-of-a-kind miracle of creation that God made, and God ALWAYS knows what He's doing.

Real...Are you?

"Lightbulb Moments"

Ever heard that phrase before? When someone has a good idea and says "I just had a lightbulb moment".

I was doing devotions a few days ago and read Matthew 5:16. "Let your light so shine before men". I've heard all the sermons and how Jesus is to shine through you by what you say and do. And I understand that, but how can you make this 'relevant' to today's generation?

How about a lightbulb?

For a lightbulb to work it must be properly created or prepared. If it is not ready to shine its light, it won't work at all once the power gets turned on.

For a lightbulb to work, there must be power flowing through the connection between the lightbulb and its source.

For a lightbulb to work, someone's got to turn it on.

But you know what a working lightbulb does? It drives away the darkness and replaces it with light.

Eventually the lightbulb burns out, but the power is still flowing to the lightbulb. The lightbulb just needs its inner workings to be fixed and/or refreshed.

So are you a working lightbulb? Or are you an empty socket?