Monday Messages: "Reflection On the Past Year"

Today's Monday messages is number 9, but it is also (obviously) going to be the last one of 2015. I'm gonna be doing this one a little bit differently. I'm gonna reflect on my year as well as find ways I can improve for 2016 and ways you can also relate it to the upcoming 366-day leap year. Oh, and of course a Bible passage too :)

2015 has been one of the best years of my life. At the same time, it has been a very sad and depressing year, too. Also been a year of growing in the Lord. I'm going to talk about that all in this post, but before I get to any of that, I'm gonna kick it all off with a Bible passage!

Today's reading comes from Luke 16:1-13

1 He also said to His disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and an accusation was brought to him that this man was wasting his goods. 2 So he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward." 3 “Then the steward said within himself, ‘What shall I do? For my master is taking the stewardship away from me. I cannot dig; I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have resolved what to do, that when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.’ 5 “So he called every one of his master’s debtors to him, and said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ So he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ So he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’8 So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly. For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light. 9 “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home. 10 He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. 11 Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own? 13 “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

This year, I struggled a lot with finding myself in God and keeping my faith. Whether it was a bad rejection or being unemployed for 9 months, it was a test to keep my faith in 2015. The biggest struggle with my faith was trusting God had a girl out there for me somewhere. Even though I was only rejected twice this year, it still sucked sitting on the sidelines while my friends were getting engaged, having a first kiss, going on dates, having babies, etc., though. I was a mess about a week and a half ago in this part of of my faith. Then, surprisingly enough, God used an Atheist (WHAT!) to show me that I don't need a relationship to be happy. She basically said that her boyfriend lost love for her and if being lead on or rejected hurts, I couldn't even imagine how much it would suck to have some that you have been in love with for awhile just say "I don't love you anymore." So I just thought about that and it totally changed me and now I don't mind waiting on the sideline because when it's my time, I will be on deck to bat!

At the same time of it being a depressing year, there were parts that made it not so bad. I mean, I got to see Switchfoot and needtobreathe on the Beach, saw Taylor Swift  put on the best 2-hour show that I have ever seen and even turned down a job at Disneyland! Wait what did I do? I have told this story on Monday Messages before. But, for you who haven't read that, I was offered a position at Disneyland in September and had a week to accept it. In translation, I had a week to pray about it. So I did and turned down the job. That same week, I started as a youth leader at my church's Middle School ministry. I have now been with the ministry almost 4 months and it has blessed my life a lot. Also, a few weeks after that, I was offered about 5 interviews. I was even hired at Domino's with no interview. I have been there for a month and a half and I can truly say I enjoy the job and have already made friends.

So how can we make 2016 a depressed-free year? Yes, WE not just ME! For one, it is going to start with God. There is no way anyone can have a good year without God. You have to trust Him with everything. Which FINALLY brings me to relating the Bible passage haha. I would like to mainly focus on verses 10-12. It talks about being faithful, which is what the main point of this message is about. If you're faithful with little, you will get little, but if you are faithful with much, you will get much. That's not saying expect something for being faithful. Expect nothing and you will be way more blessed than if you expected anything. Here's my challenge to you. Keep God at the center of 2016 and it will be the best year yet!

Thanks for another great year on this blog! Here's to 2016 and maybe reaching 10k views on here :)

Until Next Year, Alex

Monday Messages: All I Want For Christmas Is... "Mas Christ"

I hope you guys are enjoying this series! This series has been all about keeping the true meaning of Christmas around, obviously. In Spanish, the word "mas" means "more." Seriously, the more Christ that we are gonna have in Christmas, the better. Today's message is going to be all about spreading the love of Christ by serving others.

During this season, there are probably 100 different things that you could do to serve others. Some of those are going to a local homeless shelter (seriously they are everywhere), helping at a community cupboard, buy a homeless person a lunch, or as I mentioned before, buy the car behind you's food or drink at Starbucks or Taco Bell in the drive thru. This leads us right into our bible reading for this week.

Today's reading is going to come from Matthew 25:37-46.

37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ 41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink;43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ 44 “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

This entire package talks about serving others. Did you know that whatever you did got even the lowest of people, you did for Jesus? The main verse I want to focus on, though, is 40. Jesus assures us that no matter who we help, we helped Him. God/Jesus created each and every one of us very uniquely. Even identical twins! So no matter what mistakes that you have made, Jesus is still very much a part of you and a part of Him is with you. You can never change that no matter how hard you try. My main point is, you can't make a mistake big enough for God to leave you because you're a part of Him and you can always serve Him.

So as I close out this message and this 3-week mini-series, I challenge you, just like I have before. Go out, spend an hour at the senior center or homeless shelter. Tell them about Christmas. Tell them about Jesus. Make sure you walk out of there with changing a life. Just like with the candy canes, it will bless you and others! :)

Until Next Time, Alex

Top 20 Releases of 2015

This year may be the hardest year to pick a top 20 albums for me but here we go.

20.) II by Capital Kings
19.) Tomorrow We Live by KB
18.) The Wonderlands by Jon Foreman
17.) No Closer To Heaven by The Wonder Years
16.) American Beauty / American Psycho by Fall Out Boy
15.) of Beauty & Rage by RED
14.) The Story So Far by The Story So Far
13.) To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar
12.) Being As An Ocean by Being As An Ocean
11.) Blurryface by twenty one pilots
10.) Coming Up For Air by Kodaline
9.) Future Hearts by All Time Low
8.) Badlands by Halsey
7.) We Came As Romans by We Came As Romans
6.) Surrender by Kutless
5.) Diamonds by Hawk Nelson
4.) Unbreakable Smile by Tori Kelly
3.) Uncomfortable by Andy Mineo
2.) Delirium by Ellie Goulding
1.) A Head Full of Dreams by Coldplay

Monday Messages: All I Want For Christmas Is... "Candy Canes"

Have you ever had a candy cane? If not, have you at least seen one? I'm sure you have. Besides the delicious sweet and slightly spicy treat that we get every Christmas season, there is actually a deeper meaning to the famous Candy Cane. First, I want you to look at the colors. Red and White stripes, right? Well, what that means is Jesus's red blood washed our sins as white as snow. Now, if you turn the candy cane upside down, its shaped like a "J"! That J stands for, would you guess it, Jesus! I'm not making this up, trust me. Now you see, even the candy industry has taken away the true meaning of Christmas.

Today's Bible reading comes from Isaiah 1:15-20

¹⁵ When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. ¹⁶ “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, ¹⁷ Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow. ¹⁸ “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool. ¹⁹ If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land; ²⁰ But if you refuse and rebel, You shall be devoured by the sword”; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

The main verse I want to focus on today is the second half of verse 18. It puts the candy cane story into a biblical perspective for all who don't know what it is. If Jesus didn't die for us, our sins would be red. I know this is starting to sound like an Easter message but Easter wouldn't exist without Christmas so just bear with me. Jesus could have killed all those men with a snap of His finger and could have jumped off the cross unharmed but He didn't because He was selfless and wanted to save the world rather than save Himself. The world would be a living hell if He was selfish. Not that it already isn't, but it would be much worse than it is now. 

As I close out this message, I challenge you to get a plain old package of candy canes and hand out all 12 to strangers and tell them the same story I just told you and give them the bible verse too. It will bless their day unless they say "bah, humbug." I hope you accept this challenge and if you do, please tell me either in the comments section or shoot me an email at alexvanderspek@gmail.com

Until Next Time, Alex

15 15 15

Monday Messages: All I Want For Christmas Is... "Christmas Must Be Something More"

Welcome to week 6 of Monday Messages! This is a start of new series on my blog titled "All I Want For Christmas Is ___." All around the time of Christmas, we all want something. Whether that is a kiss under the mistletoe or the new iPhone, the true meaning of Christmas gets lost. There is only one reason that we celebrate this holiday and that is because our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ was born. Not because some fat guy comes down the chimney to satisfy our wants and needs.

You may not associate Taylor Swift with being the most worshipful or Christian person in the world, but back in 2007, she released a Christmas EP which had two original songs. One was "Christmas Must Be Something More." The lyrics are as follows:

What if ribbons and bows didn't mean a thing
Would the song still survive without five golden rings
Would you still wanna kiss without mistletoe
What would happen if God never let it snow
What would happen if Christmas carols told a lie
Tell me what would you find

You'd see that today holds something special
Something holy, not superficial
So here's to the birthday boy who saved our lives
It's something we all try to ignore
And put a wreath up on your door
So here's something you should know that is for sure
Christmas must be something more

What if angels did not pay attention to
All the things that we wished they would always do
What if happiness came in a cardboard box
Then I think there is something we all forgot
What would happen if presents all went away
Tell me what would you find

You'd see that today holds something special
Something holy, not superficial
So here's to the birthday boy who saved our lives
It's something we all try to ignore
And put a wreath up on your door
So here's something you should know that is for sure
Christmas must be something more

We get so caught up in all of it
Business and relationships
Hundred mile an hour lives
And it's this time of year
And everybody's here
It seems the last thing on your mind

Is that the day holds something special
Something holy, not superficial
So here's to Jesus Christ who saved our lives
It's something we all try to ignore
And put a wreath up on your door
But here's something you should know that is for sure
Christmas must be something
Christmas must be something
Christmas must be something more

There's gotta be more
There's gotta be more

Now I don't know about you, but no artist, Christian alike, has ever hit the hammer on the head like she did. I believe every lyric in that song came from her heart and I think everyone needs to hear the lyrics because it will hit them hard.

Today's Bible passage comes from Deuteronomy 6:10-19.

10 “So it shall be, when the Lord your God brings you into the land of which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you large and beautiful cities which you did not build, 11 houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, hewn-out wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant—when you have eaten and are full— 12 then beware, lest you forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 13 You shall fear the Lord your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name. 14 You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are all around you 15 (for the Lord your God is a jealous God among you), lest the anger of the Lord your God be aroused against you and destroy you from the face of the earth. 16 “You shall not tempt the Lord your God as you tempted Him in Massah. 17 You shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, His testimonies, and His statutes which He has commanded you. 18 And you shall do what isright and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may be well with you, and that you may go in and possess the good land of which the Lord swore to your fathers, 19 to cast out all your enemies from before you, as the Lord has spoken.

The main verse I would like to focus on today is 12. The reason I want to look at it is because it talks about forgetting God. Like I said a little earlier, we seem to forget God and Jesus, who are the true reason for the season. We even were arguing a few weeks back about a non-Christian company removing the Christmas decorations from their cups. The old designs we also snowmen, Christmas trees or ornaments. Last time I checked, those aren't Christian Christmas designs. We need to stop in all our business during this time of the year and focus on the true meaning. We have all gotten lost in it, me included, when last year I worked an 8 to 9 hour shift at Macy's 6 days a week. I invite you to step back a little bit and show God's meaning of Christmas to an unsuspecting stranger this season by buying them a coffee or praying for them. I hope to inspire you this Holiday season.

Until Next Time, Alex