I Need to be Unashamed.

Luke 9:26
26 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.


I can't tell you how many times I've been on a Christian retreat, conference, concert, mission trip or something along those lines and it's been great! I've always been passionate about God and Jesus and the whole spiritual thing. Honestly, it feels good and it's so comforting to feel the spirit pour out over you like the Amazon river is overflowing its banks.

DCLA was another one of those times...it was a conference that I attended a few days ago. I'm on fire for God while I'm there and then for every hour that I'm back in the real world (and it's only been a few days) I literally feel like I'm losing that steam at an exponential rate. I just hope and pray that I don't lose that sensation, along with the others who went on this trip. The good news is that I don't have long before I leave for a mission trip. In fact, I leave on Sunday. Hopefully, this is all God's plan to keep the youth group on fire this time. I certainly don't want to lose it.

Meanwhile, another transition that is bound to happen every time we come back home is the feeling of being ashamed. It's not socially acceptable to be on fire for Christ and glorify his name, according to the world. They say, "How can you possibly be joyful for something that you can't see?" Sometimes that fire puts itself out quickly as the world influences Christians. I'm starting to feel less and less ashamed each time. However, my goal is to ensure that I'm 100 percent UNASHAMED all the time. I think the only way that is possible is to block out what the world says. Use the WHO CARES method (pretty much self-explanatory)!!!

Just like with everything else as Christians, we have to block out what the world says, whether it is in regard to image or fear, for example. Focus on what you're called to do. Obviously, if you go any of these types of trips, then God is calling you to work in his Kingdom; you need to overcome obstacles that will pull you away, if you want to gain something from it.

Realize that if you feel ashamed that you have something to look forward to. You have God's love, grace, and mercy reaching out for you every time. It's something that not everyone has. You may even feel ashamed because of what your past involves. Don't worry though because God expects us to mess up. Just accept his grace!

Starfield was the band who led worship for us at this event. Perhaps we should keep the song "Unashamed" in mind when we feel broken, worthless (as they describe in the song) or as I mentioned above whenever we glorify God's name in the world!



P.S. If you have trouble with the video stopping and starting, keep the video paused, and let it "buffer" (load) as it's called for a while. You will see the red bar along the bottom advance (speed depends on your Internet connection). Wait until that bar gets pretty far along (I'd say more than halfway) before you play the video and it shouldn't pause.