Thoughts on 'Young Life'

While hanging out in CNU's Student Union today, I ran into my friend Elizabeth, who is on the same Young Life team as me. She introduced me to one of her friends, telling her "this is Jimmy, he works on the Young Life team with me." This struck me as very odd, as I have never felt that I my time spent doing Young Life activities has been work. For those of you who do not know what Young Life is, it is an organization that seeks out high school kids in order to either show them how awesome a relationship with Christ is, or (for those who know the Lord) how to grow in their faith. So how is this different than other ministries? We are one of the only ones I know of that actually seeks out students WHERE THEY ARE instead of waiting for them to come to us by word of mouth. This means we go up to our respective high schools multiple times a week and make an effort to hang out with the kids we meet. It sounds kinda creepy, I know, but I swear we're a legit organization.

So why do we do this? We believe that high school students have no reason to listen to some guy or girl they've never met. Why should they take us seriously if we start talking about God to them without even taking time to learn their name? Instead, we choose to follow in Christ's footsteps: love them with the same love that God has for them. By doing that, and by holding bible studies and clubs full of fun activities and short talks about the nature of Jesus Christ (I swear it's not as lame as it sounds), we hope that they will listen to us because we first invested in them. Then, hopefully, they will become interested in this Jesus that we've been talking about.

Anyway, back to the point of this entry. The reason it really doesn't feel like work is because it's not! All I do is hang out with high school kids, talk to them a little bit about God, act like an idiot in hopes of making them laugh, and just generally loving them. That's all I have to do. It's definitely not the hardest position in the world. So how can so little work be so effective? It's because we don't try to teach kids a lot about God. Kind of lost? Let me explain. Instead, we introduce them to God and then let Him teach them about Himself. If I wanted someone to know about me, I wouldn't refer them to an acquaintance, I would tell them myself. So why should I, an imperfect person, try to tell someone about the living, perfect God when I can introduce them to Him and let Him take over.

It's so easy to try to take on the world by itself. But we have to remember that we are limited beings. God is powerful. And what's more, his desire is to be our strength. In 2 Corinthians 12:9, Paul says "But he said to me 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'" Take comfort in knowing that God is more than enough to get us through anything. Once you surrender to his strength, He will absolutely show you how powerful he really is.

Introduction to Ryan

Kevin has been trying to get me to write on this blog for a while so here I am Kevin you can stop whining.

So here’s an introduction to me and the type of stuff I’ll write on. I’m in my first year at Liberty and I’m studying Philosophy, as the side bar says. Being in my first year, I’m not the brightest cookie in the tool shed and whatever I talk about will not be so advanced into the arguments for the existence or non-existence of God but I hope to provoke thought.

I think and reflect on a lot of different things. It’s been a pattern of mine for a very long time and out of that has grown a passion for validating Christianity through intellect. Intellect alone can’t save anyone of course, but I find it increasingly more important to have an intellectual understanding about what one believes. I think that all people ought to involve systematic skepticism into their beliefs, especially Christians. I mean that we should reflect on what we consider to be truths of Christianity and consider their truth against reality. This doesn’t mean that we should be trying to disprove ourselves, but rather we should really consider why we believe what we believe. If people are to be won over we must not assert what we believe to be truth so harshly without reflecting on what it is that we believe first. If we believe someone who claimed to be God was in fact God and did in fact raise from the dead, we better be able to defend that adequately because that is quite a hefty claim to make. If we grant to others that we don’t have all the answers, then more people would likely be won over. We may not be able to answer every question but we ought to have a logically rational basis for believing something and I believe this basis exists.

Also, it is important to note that God cannot be proven with absolute certainty in a philosophical sense. For example, I was on Facebook and saw that someone on my news feed became a fan of atheism. I clicked on it to see what was said on the wall of this group. The most recent post began with, “I am an atheist because of deductive problems with God.” Well of course he has deductive problems with God! If something is deduced, it essentially means that it is absolutely certain, assuming that is both valid and sound. We can’t deduce that God exists anymore than we can deduce that God doesn’t exist or even the other person in the room with us exists. The best we have on any of these is induction. With induction we can only argue for what is probably true, not absolutely certain. However, induction is still a powerful tool and that is where I begin…

-Ryan Jones

Stir

Lessons from Downhere - Part 3

Check out their music and albums www.downhere.com!

Stir
You belong here, everyone's invited
You can't fail here, 'cause we can't fail united
It's safe to be yourself here
And it's time to go beyond here

Anyone who has known me over the last few years knows that I adamantly believe in our need for relationships with other people. I truly believe, as the song says, that we cannot fail united. As believers in Christ, we have an unbreakable bond holding us together. When I think about this, I also think about all the other Christians who I have ignored, or perhaps even ridiculed. It makes me realize how unlike Jesus I really am. He always sought out the least among society. He healed sick people who others had given up on. He spent most of his time with people who I would never even give the time of day. Let us learn from Him and love those who seem unlovable.

We've got life to give,
So why don't we do what we we're saved for
Come along, why don't we stir?
You know you and I could do so much more together
We are the new at heart, so why don't we stir?

When I hear this song, I really think about how much more Christians could do if we stood together for Jesus. Think about where you work or where you go to school... do you know who the other Christians are? If so, do you have a plan to reach the unsaved among you? We have Christ within us, and we have been called to stir among the people we come into contact with.

We are the "new at heart," as the song says. "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old is gone. the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17)  Thank God! I would hate to be stuck the way I am. By His mercy He creates in us a new heart... one that desires to serve Him and love Him. Let us use this gift to stand together, united in Christ, as a light in darkness.

Beggar Who Gives Alms

Lessons from Downhere - Part 2

Check out their music and albums www.downhere.com!

Beggar Who Gives Alms
There are no mystic jewels, embedded in my prose,
No moonlit haloed cherubs, perched on my piano,
No lyrics laced with pixie dust, no angels sing along.
I am just a beggar who gives alms.

"And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins. And He said, 'Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had'" -Luke 21:2-4 

Gold and silver have I none, but such I have give thee,
Borrowed words from the one, who gave the gift to me,
The pearl that I could never buy, this life, this dream, this song,
And I am just a beggar who gives alms.

The sense I get when listening to this song goes along with the widow's gift in Luke 21. God is not after what's left over... He is after everything we have. This is unsettling, to say the least. I have so much that I really really want to hold on to! How can we come to a place where we desire to give Him everything? This is, for me at least, one of the hardest places to come to as a Christian. 

I am not the creator, but a scribe with a pen,
I'm recreating visions, through a cracked and broken lens,
Only one has ever seen the home for which we long,
And I am just a beggar who gives alms. 

When we stop and really think about what God has done for us, we will realize how truly amazing it is. Something that we never could have received on our power has been given to us. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)  Not one of us could ever do enough to save ourselves from sin and death. But God has freely offered us salvation through His Son. This is what draws our hearts to give Him everything. The Apostle Paul said "What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ" (Philippians 3:8)

If you are like me, you desire to have a heart like this, but find yourself struggling to fight against the forces of this world. Don't worry... I believe that God will help us come to this point if we will faithfully seek Him. But we must be committed to seeking His heart by spending time in prayer each day. Only through His power working in us will we ever be willing to give Him everything.

God is Good

Hello Littleman Journal readers, this is Jimmy Robson, rhythm electric guitar player for the Littleman Band, brotha-from-anotha-motha of Kevin and Ryan Jones, and (most importantly) Christ follower. I am a junior at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia. I am studying to earn a bachelor's degree in English with a concentration in journalism, with hopes of one day writing for some sort of Christian publication. Kevin has asked me to contribute to the blog, and I am more than happy to oblige him, as A) I love to write; and B) It's good practice for my future career!

Something that has been on my heart for the past week or so has been the story of Job. I know its sort of a morbid topic, but it is an important concept to grasp all the same. About a week ago on Saturday, April 3, 2010, my best friend Matthew Shortt lost his brother, Daniel, in a car accident in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was seventeen years old. Matt received news of it the morning it happened while he was still at school Radford University in Virginia. Although this was a terrible tragedy, it is not the focus of this post. Don't get me wrong, I miss Daniel terribly, but it is Matt's reaction to the situation that left the biggest impression on me. Matt has not once blamed God for the loss of his brother, but rejoices in the fact that Daniel is now with Christ.

Matt reminds me a lot of Job. The Bible tells us that Job declared "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised," (Job 1:21). What faith! Although Job was stripped of everything he had, he never once blamed God. In fact, he PRAISED God! Job had every right to curse the name of God (and according to Job 2:9, his wife encouraged him to), but he refused. Job did this because he had faith that there was one truth in the world: God is good. He knew that by blaming God for everything that had happened to him, it would be the equivalent of doubting God's goodness.

If we can't trust that God is good, what hope can we find in the world? Jesus told his disciples while he was on earth "…in the world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world," (John 16:33). I admire Matt and others who have the faith of Job when the world seems to be falling apart around them. It is their faith that PROVES that Grace is more precious than anything we can hold on earth.

Two New Contributors!

The Littleman Journal will now include the writings and thoughts of Jimmy Robson and Ryan Jones, members of the Littleman band! Information can be found on them on the info bar to the left. Each post will also include the author at the top so you know who wrote what.

You can also sign up for email updates from the Littleman Journal to the left. Just enter your email address to receive updates in your inbox!

Thanks for your support everyone!

Cathedral Made of People

Lessons from Downhere - Part 1

Check out their music and albums www.downhere.com!

"Cathedral Made of People"
If they shut down the churches,
Where would you go?
If they melted all the stained-glass windows
Replaced every sanctuary with a condo
Where would you go?
Where would you go?

We are a cathedral made of people
In a kingdom that the eye can't see
We're a house, we are the bride
Where God's Spirit lives inside
And nothing ever could stand against her


This is something I often think about. In America, we are very comfortable in our faith. The government doesn't persecute us, nor has it made our faith illegal. But what if it did? How many of us would remain faithful to Christ? Throughout history, and even today, people have given up everything for the sake of Jesus. They have no where to meet together and worship Him, unless it is in secret.

This is why it is important to realize that the church is not defined by a building. The Church of Jesus Christ is His people. In Matthew 16, He promised that the Gates of Hell could not prevail against the church He would establish. This should challenge us to look beyond our church walls and look outward toward the lost and hurting people that Jesus would seek out.

If they burned every Bible What would you know?
If they tore your marked-up pages
How would you grow?
And declared your devotion to be criminal
What would you know?
What would you know?

We have access to any version of the Bible, yet if you're like me, you struggle to even open it and grow from it. Many Christians must face the troubling fact of going to jail for reading the Bible. I confess that I would know very little of the Bible if my many print and electronic versions were taken away. I have unlimited access to the richness of God's word, but I ignore it on a daily basis. How can I take such a beautiful thing for granted?

When they throw you in prison
What will you do?
When they hate you for the things that you know are true
They can tear down this temple,
But they can't touch you.

May this song be a challenge to us. We have been granted the gift of salvation and grace through Jesus Christ, and no one can take that away from us. No matter what else they may take, Jesus will stand for us and with us. His kingdom goes beyond what the eye can see. While we may lose everything of material value, we have been given everything we need through Jesus. May we, as Paul, believe in the truth and beauty in these words:  "But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ." -Philippians 3:7-8

Walking the Path

"She told you exactly what you needed to hear, that's all. Neo, sooner or later you're going to realize, just as I did, there's a difference between knowing the path and walking the path." -Morpheus, The Matrix


In my many conversations with people, it has become obvious that one of the most difficult things for a person is to be unsure of his or her future.  It is something we all fear.  The first time this really hits us hard, it seems, is right after graduating college.  Being a college graduate, who still has no idea what he's doing, I hope this post will help you overcome that fear.

In The Matrix, Neo acts on the assumption that he is not the "one." This is something he would not have done if he was truly the one.  He re-enters the matrix with Trinity and they save Morpheus.  It is then revealed, through his abilities, that he must be the one! So Neo wonders... why did the Oracle lie to me? Why did she tell me that I'm not the one?"  And thus, we come to Morpheus's declaration: "She told you exactly what you needed to hear."


Sometimes God tells us what we need to hear in order to fulfill His purpose for us. This is difficult to understand... you may say, God is not a liar, He would not lead me astray.  But at times we simply follow a path we believe He ordained for us, only to find that it has changed a few days, months, or even years later.  This does not mean that God has deceived us... it simply means that He tells us what we need to hear in order to fulfill the larger purpose He has set before us.

I thought for certain that God had called me to receive a degree from one seminary, but yet I only spent a semester there.  But that was not a mistake.  I was supposed to spend that semester in Raleigh... it was a fulfilling and rewarding time.  But I never would have gone there for those few months had I known that I would only be there for one semester.  But God told me what I was supposed to hear in order to accomplish the bigger purpose in my life.  And He will do the same for you if you seek Him.

Curtain torn in two

"You shall hang up the veil under the clasps, and shall bring in the ark of the testimony there within the veil; and the veil shall serve for you as a partition between the holy place and the holy of holies"-Exodus 26:33

In the Old Testament, God chose to live among his people on a box called the ark of the testimony, more commonly known as the ark of the covenant. A priest would enter the holy of holies only once a year to offer an atonement for the people there. (Exodus 30:10)  This was a place so holy and sacred that God would strike anyone dead who did not follow His commands regarding it. For this reason, the priest who entered this place would wear bells on his clothing and a rope around his waist so that he could be pulled out if he died.  This is a picture of God's holiness, and the consequences of approaching Him as a sinful creature. By his grace did he allow only one a year to come into His presence to offer a sacrifice to forgive the sins of the people, because "without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." (Hebrews 9:22)

Ultimately this veil is what separated God and mankind. We were doomed to remain in this state of separation unless God intervened. And guess what? He did.

Three gospels record the same thing happening as Jesus breathed His last breath on the cross. The veil of the temple, the symbol of separation between God and man, was completely torn in two.

God has no longer chosen to live on a box behind a veil in the temple. Through Jesus' shed blood, we can enter the "holy of holies" and come into His presence. This is why He shed His blood for us. Sinful man no longer needs to fear, because Jesus made us holy in His sight.

Good Friday

We enter into one of the most important times of the year for followers of Christ around the world.  Today is the day we remember the suffering and brutality that Jesus endured on our behalf.  He took the punishment that was rightfully ours. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."  I think also of a song that says "It's an unfair deal on the part of Christ: He got my sin, I got eternal life."  If we stop to really think about that, it should bring us to our knees in worship. This is our hope of glory.

Ours is the only faith where we are powerless to save ourselves. Our good deeds can never do anything to bring us salvation.  Many see this as a stumbling block: "What do you mean I can't be good enough? I feel as though I am a good person. That should be enough, right?" Nope. It doesn't matter how many times we go to church, or how many people we help, or how many benevolent organizations we give our money to. These are all great things to do, but they can do nothing to save us. Then where is our hope? How can anyone be saved?

Our greatest hope is found in our greatest weakness. While we are completely powerless to effect our own salvation, God is completely powerful to do so. And He has! Jesus Christ suffered and died on the cross to bear our sins. That is the story of Good Friday. But it is not the end of the story... It is not the final verse...

"The Power of the Cross"

Now the daylight flees;
Now the ground beneath
Quakes as its Maker bows His head.
Curtain torn in two,
Dead are raised to life;
"Finished!" the victory cry

This, the power of the cross:
Christ became sin for us;
Took the blame, bore the wrath—
We stand forgiven at the cross.