An Easter Reflection...

If you haven't heard the song "Christ is Risen" by Matt Maher, you need to stop reading this and skip down to the video right now. I have honestly never heard a more powerful, accurate, and beautiful Easter song. Unfortunately, the importance of the resurrection is often overshadowed by the picture of the cross these days. I'd dare say that most Christians don't know how vital the resurrection is to their salvation. Listen to this song then read the segment of a 4th century sermon posted below it. Dwell on the resurrection. Meditate on the victory over death. Rejoice in the beauty of new life. 

Paschal Homily

St. John Chrysostom

Let all partake of the feast of faith. Let all receive the riches of goodness.
   Let no one lament their poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed.
      Let no one mourn their transgressions, for pardon has dawned from the grave.
         Let no one fear death, for the Saviour's death has set us free.
         

            He that was taken by death has annihilated it!
               He descended into Hell and took Hell captive!
                  He embittered it when it tasted His flesh! And anticipating this, Isaiah exclaimed: "Hell
                  was embittered when it encountered Thee in the lower regions".

                     It was embittered, for it was abolished!
                        It was embittered, for it was mocked!
                           It was embittered, for it was purged!
                              It was embittered, for it was despoiled!
                                 It was embittered, for it was bound in chains!

            It took a body and came upon God!
               It took earth and encountered Ηeaven!
                  It took what it saw, but crumbled before what it had not seen!

O death, where is thy sting?
O Hell, where is thy victory?

   Christ is risen, and you are overthrown!
      Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen!
         Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice!
            Christ is risen, and life reigns!
               Christ is risen, and not one dead remains in a tomb!
For Christ, being raised from the dead, has become the first-fruits of them that have slept.
To Him be glory and might unto the ages of ages. 

Amen.

Real Talk

Reality. What a word. What a concept! I've been thinking about all of this for the past couple days without success. So I'm hoping that writing it out might help make clear the jumbled mess going through my head. (Don't worry, the "jumbled mess" isn't due to dire circumstances or a plunge into insanity. It's simply how life inside my head usually progresses: without stopping. I'm sure many of you know of what I'm speaking.) Anyway, reality. A concept like this could hardly be tackled in my little blog. Heck, they've been fighting over the very reality of reality since the ancient Greeks! So if you're hoping for answers here, sorry. My answers may be lacking, but my thoughts are quite the contrary, especially when it concerns my walk with God.

When it comes to God and me, I talk about real love, real faith, and real relationship all the time. But how much of it is real? I mean, I totally agree with the whole "perseverance of the saints" stuff. I'm not questioning the reality of my salvation as far as its existence is concerned. But how much of what I say, what I think, and what I do is really real? Like, even down to the very title of my blog. How much of that is real?
I am average: more-or-less a fact.
I am living: fact.
My emotional state is "excited": more often than not a fact.
My biblical status under Christ is "slave": a hard fact.
To that extent, the title of my blog is a 100% true description of myself. But reality, in this case, is more than mere existence. In my Christian life, reality must be verbal, not simply adjectival. In other words, "average, living, excited slave" can't just describe me, it must be me. This might sound like a total over-analysis of reality, but think of it like art. Before Vincent van Gogh sat down in 1887 and painted his eternally famous Self Portrait, he thought about characteristics of himself. Maybe he looked in a mirror and verbally described what he saw, or maybe he asked some friends to help describe himself. I don't know. But either way, he took characteristics of himself and accurately portrayed them on a canvas. Van Gogh's brush strokes describe him in the same way that the words in the heading of this web-page describe me. And we can say that they are accurate because they mimic truth or existence. But what if after painting this portrait, van Gogh shaved his beard? Can we still call his painting accurate enough to be considered a "self-portrait"? Yes, of course it is. It is still a description of van Gogh, except now, the beardless van Gogh fails to actively be his description. So when I fail to actively live for Christ, when I fail to be excited in my Christian life, when I fail to treat Jesus as my Lord and Master, its like I shaved my beard.

God painted the picture of what I am to look like in Scripture and called it "Christ." That's where I got the title of this blog. Jesus, when it came to living an every day life, was the epitome of average growing up. He was definitely living. The Gospels make it obvious to how excited he was to be on mission here on earth. And Scripture also talks about how Jesus was a servant. Because of God's grace on the cross and in my life, when he looks at me he sees that description. He sees the perfect portrayal of Christ. But that doesn't mean that I am the perfect portrayal of Christ.

Hopefully one day, the title of my blog will be a reality when it comes to what I say, think, and do. That's what I need to work toward via the help of the church and the Spirit. But thankfully, I can struggle through these points in my life that seem absent of life, excitement, and surrender, without fear, knowing that God sees me as the perfect portrait of his Son. And in that sense, I can still, and always will, be able to say that He is my Lord and I am His slave.


An excited servant of God,
Cameron Francis

Raised Right: How I Untangled My Faith from Politics (Review)

When I ordered this book to review, I had pretty big expectations. I had read reviews on Raised Right before ordering it, and, to me, the story Alisa Harris had to tell sounded quite similar to my own. Alisa's memoir begins with the riveting remembrance of a childhood dominated by abortion clinic picketing and Republican campaigning followed by a young-adulthood of questions. Questions we all should ask:
If war involves killing, how can it be moral?
Is an economy based on self-reliance or community-dependence more biblical?
Is Women's Rights possible within a Pro-Life society?
What should a Christian's response be toward the Gay-Rights movement?

Though still surrounded by an overwhelmingly conservative setting, she refused to seek answers in traditions or politics. Rather, Alisa writes of how she searched Scripture and experience from human relationships for her answers. She doesn't impose her conclusions on the reader; however, she does write in the attitude of a cry for a biblical response toward these questions. She cries for Christians to quit buying into the worldly proposal that answers are found in politics.

"Our primary job as Christians is to love people, and we can't love from behind a barricade. But we have other God-given responsibilities too--to fight against those who make unjust decrees, rob the needy, and deprive the poor of their rights. . . . Sin and pain are spiritual--we treat them in a spiritual way. Pray for the sinner. Speak to the sinner. . . . But when injustice, robbery, and inequity are not just individual but institutional, it's time to take a political stand. The government can't sure sin or heal pain; it can stop robbery and create laws that treat the poor justly. And it's our to demand that our leaders do so." (p.210)

This book is convicting. It's real. It's raw. It's refreshing. And it's a much needed cry for revolution in Christianity's response toward the heavy-hitting questions of today's American culture.

Click Here For More

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Here We Go Again . . .

I've kept journals before. I've also had a blog before. But never have I kept a journal on a blog. So, I've decided to try it out. If you're reading this, it's probably at least a couple weeks old. I'm still in that awkward "I want to write stuff, but I don't want anyone to read what I'm writing" phase, but it should pass soon. 'Cause deep down, I do want you to read this blog. I want your accountability so I stay consistent with my writing. I also want your accountability so I stay consistent in my walk with God.  I'm gonna do my best to be real on here. To truly tell you what is going on in my life as I pursue true Joy in my sacrificial service to God. I need this accountability. So hopefully my dumb pride will fade quickly, so I can get the word out about my blog.

I hope the potential encouragement that I can see occurring through this site is the real deal. That's my goal in this endeavor. I want you to be encouraged by my honesty and raw portrayal of how I live my life for God. But I also want you to read and comment on my posts. This will encourage me more than you know. So as you read, comment and start a discussion on what I'm writing. (Trust me, some of my content is sure to be debatable.)

So take what I write for what it's worth and tell me what you think. In this, we can strive to push each other to better love and serve our Lord, Jesus Christ.

It's all for His glory. That's how it works when He is my Lord, and I am His slave.

An Excited Servant of God,
Cameron Francis