Wearing my, Christians On Campus T-shirt Today - One Meaningful Thing I Did Today (30-day challenge)

This may not mean much to some people, and it is definitely not "an item of the faith" or something that everyone should practice or else.... No, this is just my recent experience with this. The United Kingdom, and Western Europe in general, is not just in "open rebellion against God", but many people hate everything that is Christian while at the same time they declare themselves to be atheists.

If you try to talk to someone on the street about the Lord, you get looked at, rejected, talked back despisingly, ridiculed, and even hated. The Muslims have more effect or impact on the society than Christianity. Someone from the USA recently, after going out with the saints to speak to people about the Lord, asked, "WHY are people here so rude? If you don't want to hear about this, just say NO THANKS, but don't be so RUDE!" People are not afraid to show their real feeling towards God / Christians...

What I have been impressed with while being in Western Europe / the UK, among other things, is that people don't feel shy to express themselves, to express how they feel, even if this means being almost naked, staying up late on streets, drinking, putting on a lot of make-up, trying to copy all the latest fashion or pop stars, having lots of tatooes or piercings, etc. One of the main things they do is they WEAR stuff - some wear simple stuff, others more bright colours, some classy, while others wear all kinds of T-shirts with all kinds of inscriptions / slogans. Sometimes just by reading what those T-shirts are saying you are defiled and filled with death - and young people wear them, recommend them, and boast with them! This is why I'm now coming to,

One Meaningful Thing I Did Today - Wearing my Christians On Campus T-Shirt!

Christians On Campus at UC Berkeley -
similar to the T-shirt I wore today 

I walk about in London, travelling to work, to meet saints, visiting, sight-seeing, etc, but I very rarely see anyone wearing anything that has a "Christian message / text" on it. Rather, the heavy metal, skull bones, rock inscriptions, and all kinds of dark and weird writings can be seen on people that look relatively normal. Just like Lot(2 Pet. 2:8, For that righteous man, who settled down among them, in seeing and hearing tormented his righteous soul day after day with their lawless works), my spirit has no rest, and you are stirred up within...

The only ones that wear something related to God are either pastors, evangelists, street-preachers, ... and they are mainly older ones. If they are young and wearing something Christian-related, it is so "cool" and complex that you "have to think about it"... - there's no life, divine life, that you receive from reading something like that....

Even us as lovers of the Lord many times have no problem wearing what's sold "on Oxford Street" in Next, Topshop, Accessorize, Burton, Halfords, JJB sports, JD Sports, House of Fraser, French Connection, Topman, Uniqlo, Gap, Banana Republic, Primark, etc, - even in the meetings! So when I went to the gym these past few months I gladly wore my Poland Camp T-shirts - The Birthright, The Nazarites, the Testimony of Jesus, The Spirit, And The Rock Was Christ, etc. Though it's just a "piece of clothing", I felt like it sanctified me, separated me, and kept me.... People would look at me, some trying to read the writing, some were curious what's written / what's that, while others turning their head from me... but I believe there's something of the Word that's infused!

Actually this week I was wearing The Testimony of Jesus Poland camp T-shirt and someone approached me and said, Nice T-Shirt! After I conversed with him it turns out he's a brother and he's looking for fellowship with believers - since he has a hectic schedule at work! I have been praying and I am praying + enjoying the Lord at the gym, and may the Lord continue to sanctify the environment we're in even in this way! We don't know who is seeking, but we can be a testimony! I'm looking forward to meet this brother soon!

But today as I went to the brothers mtg I wore my Christians on Campus T-shirt(I received it as a gift, Christians on Campus at the University of Oklahoma), and I really really felt people looking at me. Who would wear a T-shirt with the word Christians on it? I felt the people stare at me as I was walking, but this only encouraged me to pray and continue enjoying the Lord. Even in this simple way, wearing something with the Word of God inscribed on it, we can preach the gospel! I may not have the courage to go speak to a stranger on the street, but I can wear something that gives him Christ! If someone is hungry, he knows where to go and get some real spiritual food! I would feel people's looks and pray for them as I was walking...

Again I say, this is not to "promote" this, even though it would be good - as the brothers have advised in some conferences - to have some T-shirts or jackets / jumpers with "O Lord Jesus!" or "Taste and see that the Lord is good", or another call to salvation and drinking... But I realized that even what I wear can preach the gospel, or at least can be an entrance to the gospel! Yes, people will stare at you, but some also will look and smile approvingly - this is how you know where the believers are! And if there are seeking ones, they will come to you - or you will see them being ready to talk to you!

Praise the Lord for the Christians on the campus! Praise the Lord for the Poland camp and the T-shirts we receive there! Praise the Lord for all the saints who are consecrated to the Lord and know how to and can design some clothing / inscriptions on clothing - with God's economy! There are so many who wear the "SUPERDRY" stuff (what is THAT all about?) but WHO wears something that tells people about God's economy? How will people hear or see or know about God becoming a man? How will man know that he needs to repent? ... This is why I love this series of Students Testimonies, Christian Students on Campus facebook fan pages / web pages collection, or Christians with a blog online - compilation of links. If we don't speak, WHO will speak?

.... Lord, what about the things I wear? Lord, make my living the preaching of the gospel, expressing You even without words! Make us living testimonies, Lord, and sanctify the things we wear! Save us from wearing what the world wears - save us from BEING like them even in this! O LORD! We open to You even in this matter...

Leaving In Haste from the Carnival in Notting Hill Gate - One Meaningful Thing I Did Today

I'm just like everyone else - a person who likes to explore and "have adventures" - in the proper sense. When I was in Romania and we would visit some saints in a city I have never been before, I would go and "explore the city" for an hour or so - of course, no google maps or any other map to direct me. I would just walk around, look at the things, buildings, stores, tram stops, buses, people, schools, streets, etc... and try to "make some sense" of it, especially when it was time for me to return. I kind of had an idea of how to come back to where the people we were with lived, but I really wanted to "find my own way around".

Nowadays this habit can get you in trouble and even in serious danger if you do it in the big cities like New York, London, Tokyo, etc - especially if you're not in the center of the city. Praise the Lord, until now the Lord took care of me even while "exploring London" or any other major city I happened to visit... And even while going to home meetings, young people meetings, prayer meetings, etc - and returning late at night, it can be dangerous ... - but the One we serve is Greater than the one in the world! It's very good to stay out of trouble, but sometimes you just want to look around or worse, as I used to call it when I was younger, you just want to visit a city and "try to get lost, then find your way back". ... And now, coming to the,

One Meaningful Thing I Did Today - Leaving In Haste from the Carnival in Notting Hill Gate!

You may have heard or seen pictures / articles / movies / shows about the Carnival in Notting Hill Gate, London... and since I lived in London I always wanted at least to see what is it about - especially since it's ON this weekend! Of course, there are several parades in that area of the city that you just don't want to be involved with... but c'mon, the carnival! So today after the Lord's Table Meeting - which, if you remember from last week, IS indeed THE MOST MEANINGFUL THING I DID TODAY!!! - and lunch with the brothers (Malaysian food.... yummy!), I decided that since tomorrow we have a Bank Holiday (no work!) maybe I can take a look at what's up with the carnival!

I have never seen such an utter expression of the rebellious flesh of man before! Some people call it fun, but if you look at what's going on outwardly, with the music and the dancing and the stripping and all the other stuff... it's really what Psalms 2 talks about. But I'm not here to judge - the impression I got as I was walking through the crowded streets with thousands of young ones(most of them eating Carribean food, jerk chicken, curried goat, rice and peas, roasted sweetcorn, drinking all kinds of beverages from supermalt to coke and alcoholic drinks, dancing, listening to loud and upbeat music; hey, I even saw for the first time someone in the crowd selling weed!) was

A THIRSTY MANKIND, even - a Thirsty Young Generation!

At one point one of the "songs" was "we're drinking!" But everything these guys do really shows that mankind is thirsty - and no matter what they do, drink, eat, fill themselves with, NOTHING but God as life can satisfy man! People all around me tried to have fun - they really tried! - and got tired so easily... but they were NOT happy! They were rather tired and looked worn out. Not to mention the police doing some searches, arrests, running around, since may of these ones love starting trouble and getting into trouble! So as I was there and walked about, taking some pictures, there was a prayer in me,

Lord, save this young generation! Make them THIS MUCH for You or even more! Gain a generation of absolute ones that will bring You back!  Save so many of these precious young vessels for Your purpose! Limit Your enemy in his desperate desire to usurp and spoil the man created by You for Your purpose!

.... eventually, even as Lot was among the people in Sodom, my spirit within me didn't give me peace! I had no rest, no peace, to continue visiting / being there - so I had to Leave In Haste From The Carnival - I had to look for the nearest exit / bus stop to go home! I was there for a bit, and as I was trying to leave hundreds more would just arrive and "start the party".... But even the "leaving" part was not easy - all the buses and the tube stations around the area were closed! I had to walk a long way until I found a place where the buses operated... - which really shows that if you get involved with what the world offers to drug you and capture you, even if you want to escape and go home in the church, it's not easy!

O, Lord... how much I need You to sanctify even my "desire to explore" and my desire to know things, people, customs, cities, areas.... - may it be something unto building up! ... so many times as believers in Christ we get "caught up" in situations, things, environments, where we just "go along" with what others usually and habitually do - and then we realize, according to the feeling within, that THIS IS NOT THE PLACE FOR ME TO BE IN! We are sanctified human beings, God-men, with the divine life and nature, and there's a Living Person in us - the Lord Jesus! Yes, He spent time with the sinners, but He did not seek to "go to their carnivals"; rather, they came to Him and spent time with Him! There's no excuse or accusation ... but there's a way to RUN BACK! Run back to Christ! Run back to the Word of God! Run back to the saints! Praise the Lord for the continual supply in the Body, in the Word, and in our spirit....