We All Need God (And So Does Justin Bieber)

Can I make a confession? A tiny, little confession that's a little bit big? I hope you won't judge but I just have to say it. Justin Bieber looked just a little bit funny in his mug shot. Every time I turned to another channel or another news story came up and they showed the now now infamous mug shot, I couldn't help but laugh. Not at his situation (I would never laugh at that) but at the fact that he looked too young and baby faced to be in that situation. Most times when I think of a mug shot, I think of some hardened career criminal with a frown that would scare anybody. He also looked scared, uncertain, bewildered and a little bit lost. He looked like he was asking himself how he had gotten to that point. I hope he continues to ask himself that question and that he finds the right answer. Sadly as I watched him, I wondered if this was just the first of several visits to a judge.

In the last few years, we have watched Justin Bieber's life play out in front of the media and we have watched the slow but sure descent down the road to possible infamy. Not only Justin but Lindsey Lohan, Amanda Bynes, Britney Spears and others. We have stood back and watched as they got high not only on fame but marijuana, cocaine, barbiturates, amphetamines, uppers, downers and then speedily went on to make train wrecks of their lives. Some are able to get their lives back on track. Others are not so fortunate. They are privileged to have so much money, many advisers, retainers, bodyguards that they don't have to listen to sound advice anymore. Some of them are encouraged and enabled by their own parents who sadly see them as a way of making money.

According to reports, a cocktail of marijuana, alcohol and amphetamines were found in his system. There are also reports that he recently hosted a party where cocaine was one of the main things on the menu. I ask, what is wrong with this world that someone needs a narcotic to try and escape from? How can you have so much money and fame and yet you're looking for some kind of escape, an escape that doesn't last? Why does every generation that comes round think that a quick fix of a narcotic is what they need even when they can see what it did to others before them? That's why I'm worried about what's happening in Colorado and other states thinking of legalising drugs. According to President Obama, what's happening in Colorado is an "experiment". Okay, if the experiment is successful, what next? The legalisation and over the counter sales of cocaine, heroin and crack?

Solomon speaking in Ecclesiastes said God has put eternity in the heart of man. I believe there is a God sized hole in every man which can only be filled by God. Alcohol, drugs, sensual pleasure, ambition, fame, money, friends or whatever is the latest craze cannot fill it. But that has never stopped people from trying. It seems the emptier life feels, the more they try to fill it with something that was not designed to fill it. Only God can fill it. I earnestly pray that this will be a wake up call for Justin. I hope that he puts on the brakes and realises that things are either going to get better or worse. I pray he comes to know God and not just hear of him. I pray this is the last time we hear a negative Justin Bieber story and that he realises he doesn't need drugs to enjoy his life which is the lie the world has told him. He just needs God, just like I do. Like we all do.

JC Cruz is the author of DECEPTIO published by WestBowPress, a division of Thomas Nelson publishers.http://bookstore.westbowpress.com/Products/SKU000194087/Deceptio.aspx and LOST, BUT FOUND available at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DPLLEUQ/. You can follow him on Twitter @Cruz_JCReal

Only Jesus Saves (Really, It's True You Know)

The elections in America have come and gone and we have a winner. President Barack Obama has been elected for another four years. However, even though the elections are over, we understand that the nation itself is more divided than ever. The campaign in the run-up to the elections was said to be extremely divisive and negative and now that a winner has been announced, both of sides of the ideological divide are experiencing differing emotions. While the liberals on the left are basking in the euphoria of victory, the conservatives on the right are licking their wounds and smarting as they wallow in what is described as "the agony of defeat". From the differing emotions experienced by both sides and the violence of those emotions, one would think that the people thought the candidates they supported were some kind of saviour. It would seem that the people had invested their candidates with some kind of supernatural power to solve all their problems. You would be forgiven for thinking that the two candidates were some kind of supernatural human beings with the cure for all of the worlds problems, instead of human beings like you and I with their own problems, insecurities and the inherent ability to make mistakes. (Yes, you read that right. They make mistakes). And the fact that they think that their ideological leanings and their particular "vision" is the solution to all the problems in the world is the first mistake.

The Oxford Advanced Leaners Dictionary defines the word save as "to keep somebody/something safe from death, harm, loss, etc." In the end, only Jesus can save both spiritually and physically. There must however be a saving spiritually before there can be a saving physically. 3 John 1 v 2 makes us understand that a man's soul must first prosper before his life can prosper. And before a person can prosper spiritually, he must put his trust in God. The Bible makes it clear that putting our trust in man, instead of God is a futile thing. Especially in these times that money has failed, thinking that one man is going to solve all the problems afflicting us or the world is funny.

Now that the elections are over, I believe that the time has come for Americans to refocus. Regardless of whether you think you "won" or "lost", the time has come for everyone to let go of whatever bitterness, dissappointment or anger they feel and for the country to focus on what's important. I believe it is extremely important at this time that everyone comes together to support the man elected to lead the country. And by support, I mean praying for him because the task is enormous and the journey is long. If you not agree with his ideologies or policies then you need to pray for wisdom for him. He needs it. Like I earlier said, men make mistakes. To draw an analogy, America is like a bus and the president is like a driver. If the driver of the bus makes a mistake in his driving, everyone on board is in trouble. It is not in anyone's interest that the bus derails or that America fails.

JC Cruz is the author of DECEPTIO published by WestBow Press, a division of Thomas Nelson Publishers. (www.westbowpress.com)