Outrageous Joy

And I am not talking about my children either. :)

I have to tell you, sometimes I get so frustrated with Christians, especially those of us in the United States. We have it all - the freedom to worship and share Christ without fear of persecution - and we tend to waste it bickering with each other over how we choose to go about doing that. Sometimes I think people enjoy being miserable and being the center of attention, regardless of whether it's negative attention. We get so caught up in our right to share our opinion that we forget that just because we have the right doesn't make it right. Taming of the tongue -- forget-about-it -- we let it all fly, screw the consequences.

We are so full of ourselves, aren't we?

I am always reminded of how petty and ridiculous the American church can be when I receive my monthly newsletter from The Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) or get an email update from Life of Hope Ministries.

There ARE people in the world that choose to follow Christ and by doing so they choose an actual, physical death. They are KILLED, literally, because they are a Christ-follower. Don't believe me? I dare you to subscribe to The Voice of the Martyrs FREE monthly newsletter and see for yourself. Your walk as a Christian here in the United States WILL be challenged when you read the stories of those persecuted for their faith in Christ.

I read one such story that I wanted to share with you. It was one of those stories that has helped me today keep things in perspective.

In this month's newsletter there was an article from one of the high school students who went to Vietnam with VOM earlier in the year. A reality show detailing these adventures called "Underground Reality: Vietnam" was taped while there and is available here.

At one point the students traveled 13 hours to the Central Highlands of Vietnam to visit a tribal church and deliver 500 Bibles. The students didn't know what to expect as they knew that by just being there they brought additional danger to the local underground churches. This students words:

"I was expecting to see a church trying its most to hide and conceal itself. Nothing could have prepared us for what we were about to experience. The small, dilapidated, wooden shed held hundreds of people, jammed in together. These believers were not just singing, they were praising God from deep within their hearts. Passion filled the air and we were overcome by their outrageous joy. As a young Christian from a contemporary evangelical church, I was overwhelmed by the atmosphere that filled the room. God was real to these people, like I had never known. They did not hold anything back, but rather surrendered everything to come before God's throne in praise and thanksgiving. I could do nothing but join in singing with my Vietnamese brothers & sisters, "Hallelu-Hallelujah, Amen! Hallelu-Hallelujah, Amen!"

The next time we're in church perhaps we can worship God with outrageous joy, with passion and without holding anything back as opposed to sitting around looking for ways to disagree with each other and argue.

Make JESUS famous people - that's what it's about.

It's not about us, it's about HIM.