“The time of death is 11:08.” – Spokeswoman for the Georgia Dept. of Correction confirming that Troy Davis has been executed.

Try to imagine this scenario. Waking up in the morning, knowing you’re going to die. When you see the sunrise, knowing it will be your last. Wiping the crust out of your eye, brushing your teeth, eating breakfast….all for the last time. Every person you walk past is a surreal moment in time, knowing you will never see them again.

The clock ticks closer and closer. You can probably hear the second hand moving every notch. Every deep breath of air feels so much better than any other day, and you wonder why you took it for granted. The grass looks greener, the sky bluer, the relationships all the more meaningful. But it all comes to an end today.

You walk up to the execution chamber knowing what to expect. You know the charges, and the consequences. It’s just a matter of time. And that time has come.

But then a call comes from no where…

The execution is delayed.

The entire day, you’ve been mentally preparing to die. You know what you’ve done. All the fighting back to save yourself has failed. It’s time to die. No more arguments, no more lobbying. Everyone has given up on you. The highest authority on the planet cannot save you. It’s time to go.

But who would literally stop death? This isn’t a scenario you have to imagine. It is completely real, and is true for all of us. We deserve the death penalty. The consequences of our sin is death. None of our good works, none of our cries for help, and not even the Supreme Court can save us.

That’s what Jesus did for us. He literally overcame the sting of death for us, when we truly deserved it. This isn’t about capital punishment or even Troy Davis. It’s about a story so much greater. Many people have mixed reactions about capital punishment, whether we have the right to perform that action or not. But stop and think for a minute what reactions were going through Troy Davis’ mind as he was strapped into that chair, and then getting a call that there is a delay.

The story doesn’t end well for Troy Davis. The Supreme Court denied the stay of execution and he was put to death. The delay was only minimal, and he was served with the punishment. We deserve death too, but Jesus came to save us from it. So what do we do with this amazing grace? Do we go back to our old ways knowing the immense sin He saved us from? How can you go back?

You have the chance to smell the flowers again. See another sunrise, brush your teeth, and eat breakfast. But if you want to throw it all away, it’s almost as if you have been given a pardon from capital punishment and tell the judge to just go on with the injection. Sounds crazy right?

It’s painful seeing someone experience death, but even more painful that there are people out there who don’t know they’ve received a call. A call that conquers death. A call from a Savior.

God bless,

Jobbin

Give us cleans hands give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another
Give us cleans hands and give us pure hearts
Let us not lift our souls to another

Oh God let us be a generation that seeks
That seeks your face oh God of Jacob
Oh God let us be a generation that seeks
That seeks your face oh God of Jacob

I was in church listening to this song during our praise and worship. I’ve been feeling pretty down lately because it seems I can’t get a grip on some bad habits in my life. Considering that I’m part of ROC 3:22 I should be on top of this but that’s not the case for me. I take this role pretty seriously and it angers me when I fail. When I sang this song, I know God was speaking to me because in a warm room I suddenly got goosebumps all over my body. This is my prayer that I seek God through the good and the bad times. I know I speak alot about failing and saying your forgiven and just “get back on the horse” but sometimes we need to really reflect on our actions. We have to be accountable. I was reminded of that just recently. Let this be not only my prayer but all of ours.

I consider the word “religion” to really suck.  It makes me feel like there are a bunch of “know-it-alls” sitting somewhere, dictating rules and pointing in all sorts of places… like gnomes. (Man I hate gnomes… they just point in random directions and have no real meaning… but anyways…) THAT’s what I think of when I hear the word “religion”, but then I read this verse:

James 1:27 (NLT):  ”Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.”

Now that I can do :)  Or at least I’d love to!  Sometimes we consider following Christ as this game of staying within the lines and boundaries in order to please God.  Then what’s the point of Love?  I was reading my bro’s Philly’s blog right before I wrote this one (scroll down and read it if you forget!) and he’s dead on!  We strive to do “right”, but there are going to be times where even as Christians, we fail and fall short of God’s Glory – God knows this and even reminds US of this in His Word (Romans 3:23).  Then, if you read my bro’s Jobby’s post (scroll down again and read it!) he talks about replacing your sin, instead of just trying to quit it.  What’s my point?

I really didn’t know what to write about in this blog, but both of these topics have been on my mind lately and this verse has been crazy on my heart as well.  Then, I come on here today and read both of these guys’ posts and knew that there’s definitely something we can’t let go of right here.  What is it??  Don’t worry about what this world dictates as religion.  Don’t worry about what this world has to offer – forget all of the (short-term) temptations that get you that “suga” rush and focus on what God is asking of us.  Pure and Genuine religion.  Care for the orphans – people who do not have parents, or have been neglected by their parents.  Care for the widows – people who have lost their spouses.  Refuse allowing the world to corrupt you.  You might think “I can’t just pick up and go find orphans and widows at this minute”, or “I dunno what you expect of me, when I have work/school to worry about”, or whatever other excuse there might be… or maybe even “I’m entitled to have a little ‘fun’ and can mess with the world for a little bit longer”, etc… YOU GET THE POINT.  No more excuses!!  Get up off yo feet and start caring.  Start refusing.  Start taking a stand for people who cannot help themselves.  Make this a lifestyle, not just a momentary ‘assignment’.  Do this because it’s pleasing for God, not because of some self-satisfaction!

Honestly?  Don’t even do it because I wrote about it… because next week, there’s going to be a different blog and it may not relate.  DO IT by understanding who God is, and what God is about – Love.  DO IT out of LOVE for others around you.  You might ask “how does refusing the world to corrupt me show someone else love??” I’ll tell you exactly how – there are people around you, that you are involved with right now.  Think about all of your “identities”.  It’s all based on someone else!  You might be a brother, a son, a co-worker, a boss, a teacher, a pastor, etc… but you couldn’t be ANY of those things without another person defining you to be that.  Meaning??  You couldn’t have been a brother without having siblings… if you didn’t have siblings, you’d just be a son.  You couldn’t have been a son, without your parents existing.  You can’t be a co-worker, unless you have another worker in the first place that you are “co-working” with.  You can’t be a boss, without having employees to be a boss over!  You can’t even be a teacher, without having someone to teach, or a pastor, without having a congregation to be a pastor over!!  Why does this all even matter???  Because YOU do NOT DEFINE yourself!  You have SO many people around you that impact and affect your life, and VICE-VERSA.  Don’t let the world corrupt you and ruin the impact that you are to really have as a son, brother, co-worker, friend, boss, pastor, etc… Stand up to this world and refuse it from corrupting/changing you even for the Love of the people around you :)

And that kind of Love??  Is Christ-Love.  That kind of Care??  Is Christ-Care.  That kind of lifestyle, will change this world’s definition of religion.  That kind of lifestyle, will perfect God’s meaning of religion in each of us – a self-less religion, a religion that gives before it ever got anything back.  A religion so perfect and genuine – it’s Love-driven.

God bless you guys.

"Hater don't hate; participate"

It’s that time again. It’s our 2nd Annual Project Outreach event, and this time we are partnering up with New Creation Ministries from Chattanooga, TN! We will be going out to Millennium Park in beautiful downtown Chicago to pass out lunches to the homeless. Join us as we serve as a community for Christ!We will be dividing into groups and meeting at “The Bean” sharply at 1:00pm on Saturday, September 3rd. If you would like to be part of a group, help out, and minister with us, join our event page on Facebook or email us at info@roc322.org. Many participants from last year are now leading groups this year so don’t miss out on being a part of our growing community!

Follow us on twitter @roc322 for the latest updates, and check out our video of the epic lunches we are making :)

God bless and see you Labor Day weekend!!

You ever get a postcard like this?  If not, I’m sure you know what I’m still talking about… you know, those postcards from loved ones who go away and want to send you something or a letter showing the location that they’re at – they usually include some saying like “wish you here” or “just not the same without you” or something along those lines…

Ever see one from God?  You know, that moment that strikes you clearly that God elsewhere than where you’re at, and He wishes you were there with Him, but instead… you’re not… Funny thing is… you never realized God was elsewhere until He sent you the postcard! lol

There’s a song from Newsboys called “This is Your LIfe” – it’s kinda catchy, check it out when you have the chance… it talks about how we all have one chance, and it’s Now.  This life that you’re living is your life – so live like you KNOW you should. Fight for what’s right, and reflect Christ, so that wherever you may go, your LIFE may reflect Christ and lead people (your friends, family, coworkers, teachers, siblings, etc…) to the Father…

To me, this song inspires me to really take up my cross and follow Him daily – this song may not be your genre, but give it a listen, and hear/understand the words.  I feel like these words are Jesus’ desires and prayers for our each of us… to stay strong and persevere and to just DO what’s right.  Struggles come and go all the time, but a friend recently told me that “for everything that discourages you, there’s a God who’s bigger than it ALL combined.”  What true, true, TRUE words! :)

I challenge you today, take up your cross daily, so that you can follow Christ daily – no matter where it leads, remember the cross that you’re carrying, remember what it resembles and remember the sacrifice – the price – paid for both you and me.  Remember Him always – when you’re eating, playing ball, working, driving, listening to music, doing homework…

..remember Jesus :)