Simply Living

So many times we make life too complicated. Life wasn’t meant to be complicated. God didn’t send Jesus down to earth to make things complicated. He sent Jesus down to earth to make life simpler. Do you want to have a better relationship with God? Get rid of the distractions, stop making things complicated, and live simple.

Simple: not elaborate: lacking decoration or embellishment and therefore plain in appearance. Jesus did not come to this earth as a king or a ruler, he came a normal man. He was calloused. He didn’t live in magnificence or royalty. Jesus was simple. Jesus was not about hype or flash, he was real and honest. He spoke the truth. He didn’t make things complicated, He just got his point across. He was never distracted and always had His eyes fixed on the job He was sent to do. He did not waste time on trivial matters. He went about His fathers business.

There is a point in most people’s walk with Christ, that things are made way to complicated. We begin to focus on everything that comes along with being a Christian and the religion instead of focusing on our own personal relationship with our God. We lose sight of where God has us and what we are supposed to be doing. We become distracted, and that is where simplicity is lost.

We forget that we are here to spread the good news. We focus on people we don’t like in our church, or how much offering is in the plate. We have lost sight of the simple church. And it didn’t start in this era. This has been happening for as long as religion has been around. People make church about a show instead of a relationship with God. Church has been made into a ritual instead of a want. People struggle to be on time to church and to get involved. It’s looked at as more of a hassle instead of a weekly blessing to be in the presence of God with a group of people.

I am not bashing the church or the people of it. We just need to learn how to take away the distractions and the complications and bring it to where it was meant to be. It was not meant to be a weekly ritual, but an opportunity to grow in faith. And this doesn’t even have to be the actual church you attend, it can be you, because we are all God’s church.

Simplicity, in today’s world, is a hard thing to accomplish. We are always running around and doing something. Many of us don’t set time aside to relax. We are a group of generations that, for the most part, are always doing something. It is hard for many of us to just sit there and be quiet and listen to what God has to say to us.

Living simple is something we should begin to work towards. The more simple we become, the easier it is to listen to what God has for you. When you live simple, you begin to see things around you, opportunities, or relationships, that you wouldn’t have noticed with all the clutter in your life. Stop making things overwhelmingly complicated and just look at it from a simpler point of view. To see things the way God wants us to see them and to love Jesus without complications. Be prudent in your thoughts, but be simple in your living.

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.”  ~Confucius

Use Me

There are a lot of people in today’s world that have an issue with surrendering. It is not human nature to surrender anything. From a war to a bite of food, we do not like to give up the things we have. We do not like to let down our guard and we usually put up our walls when things are questioned or when things become uncomfortable. We don’t like to give up our spot in line because we are impatient. Most of the time we, as people, fight harder to hold on when we are asked to give something away. We are selfish. We especially having a problem with giving away our thoughts, our desires, and ourselves away to God.

We have trouble saying just a few little words, “Here I am. Send Me.” Isaiah 6:8. It is extremely difficult for people to grasp their minds around the fact that when you say “Here I am” it means all of you. God doesn’t want just portions of you, He wants everything. You, as a follower of Christ, must surrender your entire self to God so you can be used beyond what you can even imagine.

The whole concept of giving yourself away is hard to understand. It is an almost impossible task. Most of us have no desire to give away every little thing about us away for something we can not even see. That is a constant struggle for me. It is hard for me to look at every single situation and be willing to give the control to God. Now am I saying I think you should ask God what kind of coffee you should get at Starbucks, or what you should wear that day, probably not. But the important things in life that could make an impact, or in a situation you are in, or in your daily relationships, yes. There is something about the guidance of God that can change your life. When you begin to give yourself away to what God has called you too, you begin to feel fulfillment, you begin to experience peace and joy in your life.

Imagine what would happen if entire group of people, any group, oh I don’t know, anyone who calls themselves a Christian, decided to completely give away themselves to what God wanted for them instead of their own selfish ambitions. Sit there for a second and really think about it. If people would stop surrendering just part of themselves, no one would be able to use the words “hypocrite” or “fake”. It would be undeniable what God was doing through each and every one of us. Imagine the impact if any political leader prayed out loud before a speech. So many things would change if people really and truly searched to be used by God. 

We can no longer sit back and wait and expect for others to do the job God has called us to do. Now there are different areas people are good at and different things that certain people can do better than others. But make yourself available to what God has for you. I’m sure you have heard it a thousand times, but God doesn’t call the prepared, He prepares the called. Be willing to step out and sacrifice things for the Kingdom of Heaven and watch how God will bless your life. Challenge God to use you. Trust me, one thing I have learned in my short 19 years of life, is God doesn’t back down from a challenge.

God has each and every one of us on this earth, at this time, and in these situations for a reason. Be willing to sacrifice your desires and your wants where you are so God can use you where you are.

“Great achievement is usually born of great sacrifice, and is never the result of selfishness.”- Napoleon Hill

Hopefully this becomes something more than what I can imagine. I’ve thought about starting a blog for some time, but just didn’t. So here we go, something new.

My name is Justin Jantz and I am 19 years old. I’m no one special, but I feel that God has given me a calling for ministry. I grew up the son of pastors and saw first hand the struggles that many people do not realize. God never promised his work would be easy, but He did say it would be worth it. That is what drives me. I did not always know that I wanted to be in ministry or have anything to do with the church. It was always a choice for me, and I just chose to be apart of something that I enjoyed. I am no where near perfect and I know that I will continue to make mistakes, but I have a goal for my life and I am striving to get there.

My parents always told me they did not want me to go in to ministry because of the things they went through, and just like any child that is told to stay away from somewhere, that’s the only place I want to be. Being in the presence of God is a feeling like no other, a feeling that I continuously long for. It is in the quiet where you find God, and so that’s where I am looking.

My goals for this is not to be something flashy, but something truthful. I hope that the words that are put on this page come from the Lord to help someone, whoever it may be, with whatever they are experiencing. I’m not looking to be famous, just impactful.  

“A life is not …

“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.”- Jackie Robinson