Michael Tolosa

If you knew in advance that your team was going to win the Super Bowl, how boldly would you cheer for them during the season? During the playoffs? During the Big Game?

We tend not to be bold in our sports predictions, because we’ll lose face if we’re wrong. But if we knew for certain who would win, we would tell the world who we were rooting for, bet all the money we had, and be the proudest, wealthiest person in the world when our team wins it all.

Well, here’s a news flash… God wins in the end.

Jesus WILL return and establish His Kingdom. He WILL separate the wheat from the chaff and throw the chaff into the fire. This is a fact. This is what is going to happen when Jesus returns. Every Christian should know this with 100% certainty.

The problem is we don’t have faith in what the Bible says to be true. Though we think Jesus triumphs in the end, we don’t live our lives in a way that expresses this belief. Instead, we look around us and see a world that does not believe in Jesus or obey Him as Lord, so we become bashful and keep our beliefs to ourselves. We certainly don’t want to go out on a limb expressing these beliefs, then find out we’re wrong. That would be embarrassing.

We also see life as an 80-year process. It’s a long road — so we’ll get to the religion stuff towards the end. Assuming we live that long. Because EVERYONE dies of old age, right?

Well, here’s another news flash… The end is near.

Does that sound fanatical? Do I sound like a crazy person on the sidewalk with a cardboard sign? That’s what John the Baptist sounded like — and we see what happened with his prediction.

Faith is being bold about a truth only you seem to know. Being willing to be perceived by those around you as a crazy person. Accepting the fact that you will be mocked and discriminated against — and being okay with that, because you know, in the end, you’ll be on the winning side.

“For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” – Mark 8:38

How differently would you live your life, if you knew Jesus was coming tomorrow? What would you stop doing? What would you start doing? If He was coming over for dinner, what would you discard from your house? If He was going to review your personal finances, what expenses would you try to hide? How much more would you tithe? If He asked you how you spent your time, what would you honestly say? What would you like to say?

Here are two certainties: 1) You are going to die, or 2) Jesus will return before you die. Either way, the end is near. You have about 80 total years on this earth to know God, obey Him, and make Him known to others.

What are you waiting for? It’s time to go all in.

I have a bike I’m trying to sell. It’s brand new and never used — so to me, it’s worth exactly what I paid for it (about four hundred dollars). But to a complete stranger, it’s old and “used,” so it’s probably only worth about three hundred dollars. I’ve resold many items in my lifetime, including books, DVDs, video games, and comics. And what I’ve come to understand is that something is only as valuable as what someone else is willing to pay for it. I could tell you that I own a hard-to-find collectible that’s worth hundreds of dollars, but if the only buyer I can find is not willing to pay more than twenty-five bucks for it, it’s only worth twenty-five bucks.

In the same way, a human life is only as valuable as what someone will pay for it. Couples pay twenty thousand dollars to adopt or artificially conceive a child. Wealthy relatives pay millions to ransom their kidnapped loved ones. And an individual will make any payment required to get the surgery he needs to stay alive. In fact, there’s probably no more valuable object in this universe than a human life.

But the world sometimes forgets this and puts the value of selfish comfort, business, natural resources, land, and politics above human life — which has been the cause of wars and bloodshed throughout history. In these cases, human life doesn’t really seem valuable at all. It seems that life is valued on a relative scale. Sometimes it’s of value, and sometimes it’s worthless. Is there any way to know for sure the value of life?

I believe so. Again, the value of something is based on how much someone is willing to pay for it. One Man paid the ultimate price in order to save the lives of many.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to Earth in human form in order to live a perfect life, die a physical death, and pay the ultimate spiritual price of receiving God’s wrath upon himself, so that you and I could be freed from the penalty of our sins and live eternally with Him in Heaven.

In John 3:16, it says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” It says in Romans 5:8 that, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

Don’t miss what that verse in Romans says… “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” That means when we were still hostile towards God and religion and couldn’t care less about Jesus, He still died for us.

Do you want to know what your value is? While the people you walk past in the mall, or the people driving on the highway beside you, or even the country’s government all seem to see you as nothing more than an obstacle, nuisance, or money source, there is Someone who values you above His own life. As unlovely as you and I feel each day, there is Someone who loves you immensely — a Friend who sticks closer than a brother (Proverbs 18:24). Jesus loves you, even when others don’t.

You are more valuable than you know. Jesus didn’t die for a political cause, or to acquire land, wealth, resources, or power. Jesus died for you. So that you could live.

You’re that valuable.

I was finally baptized on Sunday, November 8, 2009 at Frontline Silver Spring at the age of 33. Though baptized as a baby, I figured it was about time I was baptized as an adult & professing follower of Jesus Christ.

Conquer Your Fear, Share Your Faith by Ray Comfort & Kirk Cameron
Good summary of their Way of the Master evangelism training. Not much new, if you–like me–have already gone through the training course.
Grade: B

For Men Only by Shaunti & Jeff Feldhahn
Great insights on women — how they think, communicate, and feel appreciated. Important for any man to read.
Grade: B

For Women Only by Shaunti Feldhahn
Interesting reading for me. Many Christian women read this book, so I felt it was necessary to find out what they’re being told about men. Pretty much right on.
Grade: B

The Five Love Languages Singles Edition by Gary Chapman
Excellent book on how people express love to (and receive love from) other people. If you can’t seem to communicate your love effectively to other people, then you’re probably not speaking their love language. Learn to identify your own love languages and discover the love languages of others. Whether it’s words of affirmation, touch, quality time, gift giving, or acts of service, once you become familiar with the 5 love languages, you will find it much easier to express love and appreciation to other people.
Grade: A

Found: God’s Will by John MacArthur
Read this a couple times, because it’s so short. John gives 5 or 6 concrete steps in the Bible for finding God’s will for your life. Then surprises you with a final principle for discovering God’s will for specific concerns in your life. This book cleared up any doubt I had regarding God’s will for me in the coming months.
Grade: A

I just finished reading The Five Love Languages Singles Edition, which is one of those books talked about amongst Christian circles. I have to admit, I was skeptical of reading it, because I thought it sounded gimicky. Single Christians I know would always ask each other, “What’s your love language?” which sounded as trivial as, “What’s your sign?” I was pretty convinced this was just some Christian fad.

But in my ever-growing hunger for knowledge — especially on the topic of relationships — I figured I would have to familiarize myself with the 5 love languages at some point. So I got the book this week and finished it moments ago.

I admit I was wrong. This turned out to be an important book that I believe all people should read. Not only will it help you in your romantic relationships, but with all relationships in general (family, coworkers, friends).

Similar to secular self-help books that say everyone has a preferred “sense” in which they tend to communicate best (e.g., visual, audible, tactile), Gary Chapman — the book’s author — suggests that everyone gives and receives love in one of 5 ways (read: love languages). These five languages are…

1. Words of Affirmation
2. Gifts
3. Acts of Service
4. Quality Time
5. Physical Touch

Should you not recognize the love language of your romantic partner, friend, or colleague, you risk building conflict in the relationship through their perceived lack of love coming from you. If the way you choose to show love and appreciation is not the way the person wants or is capable of feeling love, then your efforts are in vain.

For example, if the other person’s love language is Words of Affirmation, all of your sacrificial service or gift-giving is not going to make up for the lack of verbal affirmation the person craves. Likewise, if the other person’s love language is Quality Time, then all of the encouraging emails and bouquets of flowers aren’t going to make up for the lack of love they perceive from the little quality time you spend together.

Right away, I knew what my weakest areas of showing love were… Words of Affirmation, Acts of Service, and Physical Touch. For most of my life, I was very distant in my relationships with other people. I was distant verbally (didn’t often talk, much less provide encouragement to other people), and I was distant physically (wasn’t much of a hugger). And I certainly didn’t like to do acts of service — not even service that acted in my own interest, not to mention others’ interests.

If I was good at any of these languages, it was gift-giving (I love to give stuff away) and quality time (I love to spend time with the people I love).

As it turns out, my primary love language is Quality Time. I both love to give and receive quality time with those I love. I can’t think of a better way to experience the love of another person than having the chance to hang out with that person for long periods of time.

Secondarily, I think I also respond well to Words of Affirmation. I’m not totally convinced about that, as I tell myself I don’t care what other people think of me or what I do — but I’m sure much of that is bravado, and that I really do appreciate it when others publicly appreciate me.

Aside: If someone wanted to make me feel unloved, all that person would need to do is stop hanging out or communicating with me. (Can’t help but laugh at this, given my recent personal circumstances. It explains so much.)

The challenge for me is learning to identify the love languages of other people, then using their love languages to communicate my love and appreciation for them. As I said earlier, I have a lot of work to do in certain areas. The biggest of which I think is Words of Affirmation. I’ve grown up with and around such cynical, critical people that it’s hard for me to say something encouraging to someone without sounding disingenuous to myself. That’s just something I’ll have to get over.