Get God's SWAG

I am excited to have Sophia as one of my guest bloggers. She loves life and God but most of all she loves to proclaim God in her life. Here is a recent proclamation that she recently made in our congregation that has inspired us. 

Take it Easy in God's Blessings

Tom

One of our cool young professionals brought up the word, “SWAG” during the casual conversation time at a recent church retreat. This word got my attention. SWAG sounded like a funny or odd word to me. So I asked, “What is SWAG Anyways?”  He briefly explained, “It means someone who has a lot of confidence. Like an abbreviation for swagger.”  

SWAG sounded very similar to the word "PHAT" from the 90's or  like the word  "bad", in the 80's. If I was a bit older then perhaps word "groovy" in the 60’s would had been that decade’s SWAG.

Since I have heard this term before with a different meaning, I decided to do my Google research. In the  urban dictionary, SWAG means "something we Asians got", (which I thought was funny since I am Asian). Another meaning that seems more common is that SWAG means, Stuff We All Get in reference to the gift bags given at conferences, or award shows.

Then I found an intelligent blogger who defines SWAG in the same way that my younger millennial church goers understand the term as “a type of style or presence that exudes confidence and is sometimes interpreted as arrogance.”

Now my thoughts turned back to the conversations from our church retreat. I began to recall all the people that I know who have SWAG. They exude confidence without even trying. They have SWAG no matter what they wear, say or behave. I thought to myself, “I should try to reinvent myself with some SWAG.” Then I asked my younger family members about how to get the kind of SWAG that would increase my confidence and cool factor just like the Millennials. As I learned about what it takes to get the cool up to date SWAG, I thought, “Wow, that’s a lot of effort to feel accepted as cool.”

Thank goodness being God’s child does not require that kind of effort.  Unfortunately, we like to set rules and definitions of how people should behave in order to receive acceptance. We allow popular culture to define us by the worldly SWAG  This type of phenomenon does not just happens in a secular society, it is also very common in the Christian circle, we want to be accepted by church goers and so we try to live according to their perceived rules. This merely Christianizes worldly SWAG into a form of Christian SWAG.

I remember not knowing how I should act when I first became a Christian and started to attended church. The concept of Christianity was so foreign to me.  I thought in order to be considered a "good and practice Christian" I should:

Go to Church every week

Be part of a fellowship

Pray before I eat

Use Christian jargons (ie. “Let go Let God”, “WWJD”, “We humbly bow” and “Lordship”)

Read the bible at least once a day

Hang out with Christians

And the list goes on Sometimes I did all these things and at other times I did not.  I really wanted to be a good Christian. As I reflect on that time in my life, what I really wanted was the Christian SWAG.

When I began to read the book of Galatians, I saw how the Jewish Christians were pressuring the new Gentile Christians to have their form Christian SWAG. Some these older believers thought that the Old Testament ceremonial practices must still be followed. They even believed that circumcision for new adult converts was necessary in order to be a called a Christian. I can identify with how these newly Gentiles Christians were a little confused about living a Christian life.

As I read Galatians 3:26-28; 4:7, I believe that I have found the real SWAG from God that gives me confidence because of the Salvation We All Get through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Chris have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew or Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus….So you are no longer a slave, but God's child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir. (NIV)

(1) We ALL get to be His Children.

(2) We ALL get the to be Clothed in Christ’s character as we walk with Him in life.

(3) We ALL get to be important to Christ no matter our life’s status in the world may be 

(4) We ALL get to receive His inheritance of eternal life saved from judgment.

The good news is that we are all able to receive God’s SWAG! 

This is the SWAG I want for my life. What about you?

Sophia Vi-Tsang
October 2014

Does the Message of Christ Live in Our Lives?

My TIE Value: "Trust in the Lord and do good..." Psalm 37:3a

The time that I spent in the US Army Reserve as a Chaplain’s Assistant served as an intensive training for my future ministries. A portion of my time was in Desert Storm / Shield (1990-91) where adding ammunition to weapons gave every problem an opportunity to go sideways to disaster. Knowing this, there were several individuals who gave their problems and fears to the Lord.

One such person was in his fourth year at Clemson University. He grew up in a family whose faith was genuine and engaged in God’s Kingdom. Like many university students, he took a sabbatical from church as he went to university. He enjoyed being caught up in the spirit of university life.

Being mobilized for war motivated him to pick up his faith and Bible once more. The place I got to know this individual was in one of our remote water detachments where his unit lived outside of a couple of dangerous villages and among the Bedouin nomads who were known for their shifting loyalties.

The chaplain and I would spend the night during our weekly travels to our remote units. We would often slept in the tent where the media resources were set up during our visit. Individuals would come to watch tame movies around us as well as engage in conversation about life, theology and the Bible. This particular individual turned out to be one of the best Bible students throughout our travels.

On one such road trip, he received a care package from his university buddies. He was excited to share the package that consisted of packaged snacks in the university's colors and logos. Then there was a video tape. He had not seen it yet but wanted to see what messages his friends wanted to send him. He told us, “They should have lots of encouragement for me.”

Here is what we saw when we plugged in the 30 minute video:

-          Drinking games played in route to the weekly football game

-          Flashes of female body parts with the phrase “For the troops”

-          Practical jokes played on competing fraternities and unsuspecting loners.

-          And a lot of shout outs, “Stay safe. We wish you were here BUUUDDY!”

He turned off the video and said, “I’ve received better encouragement from my Bible than from these friends.”

My TIE Moment: Deepen the Message of Christ in Life

I have reflected on this experience many times in the last 20+ years. Like the soldier receiving the video from his friends, he found no real encouragement in the fun but shallow relationships they had to offer one another.

Sadly, we church going Christians can offer a G-Rated shallowness of the story I had just described by allowing our conversations be consumed by the:

-          Movies we have seen

-          Video games we have played

-          New items we have bought

-          Great food we have ate

-          And other fun times we have spent with our friends

In the end, there was no room for the message of Christ to enter in our conversations.  Unfortunately, there was no faith investment that will help each of us get through trying times we will face.

Paul writes to the Colossians,

 

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. Colossians 3:16 (NIV)

How do we allow Christ’s message to deepen its roots in such an expression of worship?

Colossians 3:1 states, “Since, then you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.” (NIV)

#1 We let the Message of Christ live in our lives when His resurrection is a daily reality 

We have the opportunity to choose words, actions, and support from people who enrich our lives with God’s practical wisdom. We can experience trust and strength when we lack certainty about our present life’s outcomes.

#2 We let the Message of Christ Live in our lives when we place our passion where Christ is Present

There is no higher place than God’s right hand to put our passion. God’s right hand is the place of God’s eternal strength, and authority that cannot be affected by instabilities. God’s right hand is the place where our forgiveness is secured through Jesus. And God’s right hand is the place where our prayers and praises are heard by God Himself. We can be assured that Christ has given us access to the highest place possible to put our passions of joy, calling, and even our suffering.

#3 We let the Message of Christ live in our lives when we put to death our sinful passions so that God’s passion for life may flourish in our lives 

In Colossians 3:5-17 Paul shows that we often let our sins of impurity, lust, and greed that make us place our heart in a lower worldly place. This is where we lack courage when we need it. Even worse, lack the faith that God is present in all of our life’s circumstances.  But by putting to death such passions the end result is that we are able to “[Live] all of life in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Col. 3:17b).

A Final thought, as we live in community with other Christians let's be determined to let the message of Christ to live in us so that we can let the courage of Christ's message live through us everyday.