Where Was God When....

In light of what has happened lately, I just want to take a moment and talk about the basics.

Just like 9/11, the tragedies of Connecticut and Portland will spark the age old question: Why does a loving God let things like this happen?

That's a tough one. Why does God let this awful stuff go on? Innocent lives taken because of one messed up dude. Kindergarteners! It is so easy to ask God where He was and why He didn't stop it.

What we have here is an amazing opportunity to share the good news. We just have to make sure we don't blow it by trying to answer that "Why" question.

You see that why-does-a-loving-God question isn't a question so much as it's a pointing finger. It's not an inquiry as much as an accusation. Another way of saying it would be, "Look at what you let happen God! A bad thing happened and you the 'loving' God sat back and did nothing! What kind of God are you anyway?" It's Satan's way of trying to shift the blame. Satan tells us that if we turn away from God, we will be happy. but when we do turn, bad stuff starts to happen and Satan tries to point at God and say, "Hey look! He said He was loving and sovereign and He let you mess up! He let you turn away even when He knew it wouldn't be good! And on top of that, He let the bad things happen to you without even trying to stop it! How dare He!"

Questioning why is normal and natural. We want to make sense of it all. We want to understand the world around us. We feel we have the right to know.

In the Book of Job we read about what a righteous man he was and how God had blessed him because of it.  Then Satan comes along. He claims that Job will stop following God if he loses all of his blessings. So God lets Satan attack Job. Pretty soon Job has lost everything he owns, all of his kids and his health. His friends and his wife try to make sense of it all. They try to come up with reasons for why Job seems to have so suddenly lost God's favor. Even Job tries to figure it all out too. You would think that of anybody, Job deserved an explanation. He's sick and ruined and God doesn't seem to care. What kind of a loving God would do that?

The truth of the matter is that Job never got a reason for all of his suffering. Instead, after chapters of Job and his friends trying to make sense of it all, God speaks. He does not tell Job why, but basically tells him it's not for Job to know why God let it happen. The only reason Job gets is that God is God and Job needs to trust Him. Wow! That hardly sounds fair from a human perspective.

But God is God. He was the one that created the heavens and earth in six days. He was the one that made man and gave him life. God was the one that forgave Man gain and again  I AM was the one that sent Jesus so that we could be saved from this awful existence. He created the universe, not you an me. It's not our place to have an explanation but to trust Him and point others to Him. You see, the whys and wherefores profit no one. Why a bad thing happened is not as important as fixing it.

And the thing is we really do know why. Let me give you a hint: it starts with a 's' and ends with a 'n', and God has the remedy.

So when people ask the why-does-loving-God question, don't try to have all the answers. Jesus is the only answer. He is the one that can mend a broken soul and fill it with His love. He is the one that comforts a hurting heart. Asking why isn't going to bring back those children any more than gun control will solve the violence. But Jesus can not only give peace to those who have lost loved ones, He can also turn such hatred into love.

Shake us up, Lord!

The Poor

Two people walk into a church.

 This isn't the beginning of a bad joke I promise!!

Anyway, where were we? Oh right. Two people walk into a church. The first is prominent in the community and the other is a pan handler on the street. Which one do you greet first?

Honest answer folks. I'm not fishing for some spiritual answer. I want you to answer the question truthfully. Honest answer for me? The famous guy. That's the cold, hard truth. I'm not the only one either. The early Church too struggled with favoritism.

"For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, 'You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor'-well, doesn't this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives?"

James 2:2-4

James warns against giving special attention to rich or famous people just because they're rich. In modern times we call it "sucking up". Why would you be nicer to the famous person rather than the homeless guy? 

First of all, it's called human nature. As people, we are drawn to power and fame. Because they are well of in society, we want to be near them and share in their good fortune. Maybe if that rich person starts going to your church, they will give lots of money. Or maybe you could have their stamp of approval so that more people will start coming to your church. 

Secondly, our lack of compassion for the homeless guy is our culture talking.

When you see a guy on a street corner begging for money, what do you think? Do you lock your car doors and try not to make eye contact? I know I do. We look at that person and think, "Get a job! Stop asking me for money. I'm not going to give you a dime of my hard-earned money! You'll just spend it on booze and drugs!" We shake our heads at the people that hand them money. "Stupid people!", we scoff. Don't they know it won't be helping society to keep giving them hand-outs? 

Why do we think that? Because the Bible says so? Or is it because our culture says so? 

If you said culture, you are right. These people who stand at the street corner are useless to the greater good of advancement. They suck on all our resources but don't give back. They don't work, but they still live off of the government programs. They are a drag, a bother and they aren't worth keeping alive. They are no longer people. They're a number and a statistic. No one notices when they're gone. 

But that's not how we should treat them as Christians. "Love you neighbor as yourself." Remember that? That includes the homeless panhandler. Each person is precious and worthwhile to God. Jesus didn't die for the rich alone, He also died for the poor. Just because hey're messed up, doesn't mean they aren't people. In fact, it's the very fact that they're messed up that we need to love on them and show them compassion. Have you ever wondered why they are the way they are? What drove them to the streets? Maybe they came from an abusive home, or maybe they're parents never gave them the love that they needed. Maybe drugs were the only way out of their depressing life. 

But, you may say, it's still not wise to give them your money. It's not like they're going to use it for things they need! We can't dictate what people should and shouldn't do with their money. After all, we buy stuff we don't need all the time with our money. Does you boss ever try to tell you how to spend the money he paid you? It's not his to control so why would he try to? besides, it's not your money to use for your pleasure. It's God's. He provided the job that pays you. Everything you have is only "yours" because of Him.We are only the stewards of it. So why shouldn't you bless somebody else with it. You have no problem giving it to a friend in need so why should you be stingy to a homeless guy in need? I'm not saying you have to give money. Maybe a sandwich or something. But passing him by and locking your car doors isn't right. 

Sure, we have outreach ministries to the homeless...I'm not discounting that fact. The problem is when they decide to come into church. Do we make them feel welcomes and loved? Or do we just let them slink into the back and ignore them? Maybe it's not intentional. Maybe we're just too into our own friend group to extend a hand of welcome. but the fact is that it happens. 

How are we able to preach the love of God, if we can't love them? How are they able to see the love of God if we don't show them? What does it matter that they are beggars...they're headed to hell as you were once upon a time.

Shake us up, Lord! 

The Me Church

Over the next few posts, I want to take a look at how our culture affects our Christianity. As Christians, we are called to live counter culturally-being in the world but not of the world.  But as Americans, we are being bombarded every day with our culture's philosophies and values-all of which are not in the least God-like. As westerners too, we are at a disadvantage to our culture because the Church was started in a culture far different from our own. So let's take some time to think about how we have bit into our culture.

Jack and Jill are new in town. They are Christians so of course the first thing that they must do is find a church to go to. Where will they go? Jack and Jill cannot decide. Every Sunday over the next few weeks, they happily go from one church to the next. At the end of each service they stop and reflect: Did I like the music? Did I agree with the teaching? Were the people friendly to me? Di I have things on common with them to better connect? Are the programs I can get plugged into? If they answered "yes" to most of them that is the right church for them. But if the answered "no", that is not the right church for them.

Consumerism. It's a big part of our culture. It is all about me: What's best for me, what I like, how it made me feel. Me. It's at the heart of consumerism-literally.

Now this attitude has it's place. It's ok to be a consumer when you go out to eat or shop or when you buy a new appliance. After all, your the one that has to live with it. Of course, if you're being a total you-know-what to the waitress at a restaurant, that's not cool. But that's beside the point. Consumerism however, has no place in the Church. If you're walking in with the mindset of a consumer, you might as well stay at home. After all, it's not your church. Church isn't about what I can get out of it. It's about glorifying God and encouraging one another.

Christ is the Head. It is His Church, not mine or yours. It's not your pastor's church or your denomination's church. It's Jesus Christ's. We are the Church, the Bride. He is the Groom. A bride cannot be her own bride, she is her husband's bride. He is the Builder and we the blocks (Hebrews 3:3-4). Our job is only to bring Him glory not fit in with each other.

You know something though? If we were to dedicate ourselves to not worrying about all the consumer stuff, He would make us fit. Just like a builder makes a house fit together, Jesus can make us fit together in perfect unity. Look at the early Church. 3,000+ people from all over the world. They had different cultures, interests, likes, and dislikes. But what does Acts say?

 "A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity-all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved."

They all came together, sharing with each other  worshiping together, eating their meals together-all with an attitude of joy! What was the result of this? GOD added daily to their numbers. Because they set themselves apart in their actions and love, they gave God the glory and more people were saved. It was a witness to their culture of the love of God. 

Our focus has turned from God to us in our churches. While we go to Church worship God,  we go to our church because we like it there. Because we make our lives about us, not God. We have bitten into the American way of living: Your life, liberty and the pursuit or your happiness. Hook, line and sinker.

I was talking to my older sister yesterday. She has just moved to a new city working as a baker of a restaurant there. He hours are crazy early so she doesn't have a lot of time to figure out going to church, so she just goes to the one that's most convenient for her. She said that it's kind of a hipster church (she's not a hipster) and most of the people there are not the kind of people she hangs out with. But she says that she needs to go to church so none of that really matters. "After all," she told me," It's not about where I fit in. I just need to go to Church so I do." 

If you're searching for the right church,I encourage you to stop. Go where you feel God wants you. Maybe it's to the church just down the road, or the one across town. Wherever it is, though do it because God wants you there, not because you get warm fuzzies. 

Consumerism can lead to judgmentalism, and we all know what Jesus has to say about judging others: DON'T. 

Shake us up Lord!  

Precious

What is your self-worth?

How do you measure yourself?

What is your worth in others' eyes?

Society tells us that our worth is based on what you have done. The more you do, the better you are. The more you have, the better you are. If you have a significant other you are a better person. If you are striving for the American dream, you are worth respect.

How often we get caught in the rat race of life. We try to be someone, earn others' respect, and make ourselves look good. We climb the ladder of worth one rung at a time. But it is never enough. There's always something more we can do to become a somebody.

You're nobody til somebody loves you.

That's what they tell us.

It's easy to think tat if we just get that job and move into that house and get that girl or guy, our lives will be a little better.

But now? You're unemployed, single, and living with our parents. You're not a real person. When people ask you what you do, you shamefacedly admit to your lowly place in society and watch the look on their faces as they put a giant L on your forehead. You are a Loser. A nobody.

God doesn't see you that way.

"For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God."

1 Peter 1:18-19

You are somebody. Not the loser that lives with their parents. Not that single person with no love life future. You are PRECIOUS.

Jesus was the only way for sinners to come back to God. His blood was the only price to be paid,.It was unique and one of a kind. Gold and silver are only precious because they are rare. They are very dear and expensive. But the Bible calls them "mere". Like they're every day run of the mill metals. 

How much more dear must Jesus' blood be! And God willingly paid that price for you. Not because you are a good investment or because He'll get a good return from you. Because he loves you. 

God sees you as precious. Otherwise He wouldn't have sen Jesus. 

But He did. 

He has given you worth. You have a price and it was Jesus' blood. And it was paid in full. Because you are precious to Him. 

Don't let Satan tell you otherwise. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. No matter your station on life. 

You are a precious child of the most high God. Live like it.

Shake us up, Lord!

Because He Said So

Sometimes I wish I could change the world. Maybe that's why I blog.

I know usually blogs are just people journaling or letting off steam. No one really takes this stuff seriously. I mean, I know I don't read some blog and then think "Oh! What a great idea! I will now put this into practice!" Sure, I may think it's a great plan but I rarely put it into practice because it's just too much effort and I like the way I am.

Change is hard. I like to think of myself as a pretty easy-going, flexible person. Change can be good but it is still hard. It's easier to do nothing than make an effort to do something when it might fail. That's my thinking anyway. I take life as it comes at me...I'm not generally a boat-rocker. But no matter how hard it is to change: change we must.

You see, without change, we become lazy and set in our ways. Without change the bad things in our lives become worse. I know you may not see our disunity as a bad thing. It's not great but it's not that bad either. But over and over again in the New Testament unity of the believers is brought up. Jesus prayed for it. Paul preached it. It may not seem important but if it is mentioned as something believers need to have then maybe we should take it seriously.

I know it may seem unimportant or unnecessary to try to break down the barriers of denominations. Truth is, I think we're scared to change.

I want to challenge you to  do more than than to read this and think, "Hmm nice thought" and then go about your business. Not because it's my blog and I want you to take me seriously. Not at all. I am not the important part of this blog. God is. His word says we should have complete unity and love sacrificially. That's what we need to take seriously. Because it's God's word and His Word is truth and final.

Shake us up, Lord!

The Symphony of Unity

Have you ever heard a Symphony? It can be a beautiful thing. All kinds of instruments of every shape and size playing different parts in the same piece of music. One music, many parts. That's what makes it good. If it were just the french horns playing their part or the string bass or any other section singled out, it would be incomplete. Every part is as important as the rest and just as valid. Even if you are only playing one or two notes.

In John 17, Jesus prayed that the believers be one as He and the Father are one. This is Jesus' prayer for us on the night He was arrested. Why is it so important? So that the world will know that God had sent Jesus and that He loves us as much as He loves Jesus. By our unity we validate Jesus' love and message.

By loving one another we glorify God. I'm not talking about the universal "we love our brothers in Christ" kind of talk we so often revert to after slamming one another. I'm talking real life, rubber-meets-the-road, putting aside our differences kind of love. That's how we glorify God. Jesus said in Matthew 5 that it does us no good to love the lovable. "If you love those who love you, what reward will you get. Are not the tax collectors doing  that? And if you greet only your own,what are you doing more than others. Do not even the pagans do that?" Loving people you like and get along with is easy. That's why we have friends. But loving people who we don't get on with so well-that's a struggle for even the best of us. But that's how we validate our message.

You see, hanging out with believers you agree with is normal and easy. It's called denominations. We have created safe little groups of like-minded people all coming together on a Sunday to hear teaching they agree with and sing songs they like. Sure you aren't TOTALLY in agreement with all of the members of your church but, hey, at least you aren't going to that church across the street that is not at all in alignment with your theology! Denominations are safe and comfortable. You may have friends from other churches but you just try to stay off the topic a theology so that no feathers get ruffled, and if you do stray too far, you make sure you're right.

But that's not what we're called to do. We're not called to be comfortable or safe or right. We're called to love one another. It's what sets us apart from the world. It's our identifying mark, so to speak. We can love the sinful and lost of this world til Christ returns, but we're talking out of both sides of our mouths if we can't even get along with each other! Do you want to know why we're called hypocrites by the world? It's not persecution so stop being a martyr. It's because we say that God is love and that He loves us but we can't love each other.

We are referred to as the body of Christ in the book of 1 Corinthians. We know that each part of us important. The whole body is so connected to itself that even the smallest of movements can affect it, All of our muscles are connected to each other when you move your hand or foot, muscles and tendons in you arm or leg have to work as well. When someone loses a limb, it can be very hard on the body. Suddenly, other parts have to make up and compensate for the missing part.

Just like a symphony or a body, we are all valid and important. No matter that your stance on infant baptism or music, it is valid. Maybe we separate ourselves because we are afraid of being wrong. Maybe because the idea of someone else being just as right as you are is too hard. Yes, among the believers there is a certain level of wrong teaching but by far the worst of wrong teaching is the one we have been living for the past centuries and that is incomplete unity.

How good and pleasant it is

    when God’s people live together in unity!

 It is like precious oil poured on the head,

    running down on the beard,

running down on Aaron’s beard,

    down on the collar of his robe.

 It is as if the dew of Hermon

    were falling on Mount Zion.

For there the Lord bestows his blessing,

    even life forevermore

Psalm 133

It's time to get rid of our differences. It's time to break down the walls of our denominations. Now more that ever, it is important that we radiate a love that is so unworldly that the world will know that we are of Christ. Let your differences shape each other, not separate. Rejoice in your various opinions. Praise God we're not all the same! Let our lives and our love be reflective in every way of the love that we are loved with-God's love.  Don't be bound by a certain set of doctrine. Open your minds to what may be a new way of looking at God in the context of the Bible. Let love overflow through Christ to your brothers and sisters so that the world will know that we are followers of Jesus. and how did Jesus show His love for us? He laid down His life for us. 

Shake us up, Lord!

All White

We all like being right. It's a fact. Everyone wants to be right about everything. Most of the time we think we're right about everything. For us black and white folks, there's my perspective and wrong. Not a lot of middle ground. It's weird for us to think that someone else might be right too.

I love "Fiddler on the Roof". It's a great film. One of my favorite parts is the bit where Perchik arrives in the little village with new revolutionary ideas and he and one of the villagers get at it. The man says that they shouldn't worry about the outside world. "He's right" Tevye says. "You can't close your eyes to what's going on around you" Perchik replies. "You know, he's right" says Tevye. "He's right? And he's right?" pipes in another villager, "They can't both be right". "You're right" says Tevye.

There are some things that are black and white. There is only one way to heaven, what sin is, God is the one and only God. Right and wring, good and bad. There are things that you can't chuck up to personal opinion. If someone is not a believer, they are going to hell. If you are lying, cheating and stealing, you are sinning. Allah and Budah and God aren't all the same. But then we have personal opinions and perspectives. This is where what should be all white becomes black and white.

Your opinion is valid. It is shaped by your life experiences, your upbringing, your personality and many other factors. You live your life in a certain way because of your past. The way you live is your choice. I may not agree with it but if you're not "living in sin", it's not wrong. It's different.

My opinion is valid. It too is shaped by my background, raising and past choices. I am the way I am because of God and my past. How I see God is different than you because I am different from you. It doesn't make me wrong, it makes me myself.

You see God isn't to be put in a box. You can't have one right opinion of Him other than He is God and no one else is and He is three in one and all that. I may think I'm right because of the way I've experienced Him. You see, my experience of God might be different than yours because I have a different personality than you. You may think you're right. The fact is. We're probably both right.

How does that work? We can't both be right!

Have you ever looked at a picture that someone else has looked at? What you saw in the picture maybe something different than what I saw. The picture is still the same. What we noticed or were attracted to was different. Maybe I noticed how the lighting affected the mood or feel of the picture while you noticed how the colors brought out the life in the people in the picture. The elements of the picture are constant. What we noticed changed from person to person.

God is not one-dimensional. Who He is cannot be defined by one human alone. He cannot be understood by one human. You could spend all of your life studying Him and yet there would still be something new. Our relationship with Him looks different (as it should) with each person because we are unique individuals. To say that your way is right and then proceed to look down on everyone else for not getting it right like you is just plain arrogant.

I heard a joke once that sort of illustrates my point.

A man died and went to heaven. and Peter was showing him around heaven. There were different rooms for each denomination. They passed with Baptists, Methodists and Presbyterians and then came to a room with a sign that read "Quiet Please". "What's that room?" the man asked. "That" replied Peter, "is the Calvary Chapel room. We need to be quiet because they think they're the only ones here"

Actually it's true of just about everybody...not just the Calvary Chapel folks.

Shake us up Lord!

Transmitted

Once we start to grasp the meaning of God's love for us, it changes us. To know that no matter what you do, God will always love you is amazing. Not just head knowledge but heart knowledge as well. It's one thing to know that God loves you, but it's another thing to understand that He does. To be loved in a truly unconditional way is something we can never find on earth. To be desired for who we are and not judged for what we do is overwhelming at times. To be loved and then to love.

When we accept this love into our lives, we can then begin to transmit it to others. The greatest commandment is to love God with everything in us but the second is to love our neighbor as ourselves. What does it mean to love thy neighbor as thyself? Who is "thy neighbor"? We all know that the term neighbor does not mean those who live next to your house. It means you life neighbors. Those with whom you live and exist. You friends, coworkers, family and everyone you interact with is your neighbor.

We have this idea that we may not admit to but live out. We tend to live like our "thy neighbors" are the people you get on with. The people you tend to have the most in common with and don't mind being with. Or we see our "thy neighbor" as the people who seem to need God more than others. Those who are homeless, poor, in crisis , or in pain. While these people are our "thy neighbors" our neighbor circle is wider than that. Our neighbors are the rich and successful, our bosses, annoying coworkers, liberals, conservatives, Republicans, Hispanics, Democrats, tree huggers, gun carriers, and the pan handler on the corner who would spend your money on drugs and booze. Even if we don't agree with the way our neighbors live or are irritated by the way they are, we love them anyway.

As a Church, we have fallen short in this area. We have decided that the people we should love as ourselves are the people most likely to come to Christ. The people who are so desperate that they have no other choice or the people we are closest to. This is wrong. We aren't the ones that decide who will and won't come to Christ. Just because someone has it all or doesn't seem receptive to the good news, doesn't mean we shouldn't love them. You see ALL have sinned and fallen short and Jesus died for the WHOLE WORLD not just the downtrodden and friendless.

I want to take a moment and say that we need to clean up our love act towards the gay community. We have bought into the idea that gays and the left wing are somehow "beyond help". As if God's love is enough for the right wing and straights but when the gays come on the scene God says, "Whoops! Sorry folks. My love doesn't cover you because you are a worse sinner than this straight ax murderer".

 God's love isn't about what we do be who we are. He doesn't love conservatives more because they don't vote to have babies murdered or take "under God" out of the pledge. Seriously guys. We befriend and minister to those who have committed heterosexual sins but not those who have committed homosexual ones? It's all sin. It's all bad. It's our rejection of Jesus that puts us on the first bus for hell. They are all going to hell. But for the grace of God, you too would be going to hell. Remember that. God doesn't hate gays. God loves gays. He doesn't love them because they are gay like the world does, He loves them because He created them and He wants to be in fellowship with them. Just like you.

You see, your "thy neighbor" may not be someone you feel like you could connect with. They may be oppositely opinionated from you. They may not like you. They may even put you down because you are a follower of Jesus. Or you may just really not care for them. Whatever your reasoning though, at the end of the day they are still thy neighbor and you are to love them as you love yourself.

But how do you love someone like you would yourself? I struggled with this one growing up. I didn't like myself and I knew that as a Christian I was to be selfless. So how was I supposed to love my neighbor as myself? We must look to Christ for the answer.

Jesus was a popular guy. Not so much with the Jewish leaders but with the common people. He was there for them. He taught radical things and He healed the sick and wounded. Wherever He went, there was a crowd it seems. Even when He wanted to get away, five thousand men and their families followed Him. Instead of sending them away though, He let them stay He loved them. He denied Himself that precious alone time and preached and taught and fed them. There are many times we see that He had to deprive Himself of something that was basic such as sleep, and peace so that He could be there for the people.

That's what loving others as yourself looks like. It's being willing to feed those who are hungry, or giving up sleep so you can be there for someone. It's giving others the things you would save for yourself. It's loving people for who they are not what they do. It's not being opinionated with an opinionated person. It's not trying to win someone over to your way of thinking with arguments that sound logical. It's living your life to transmit the love of God to thy neighbor.

No judgement. No giving up hope. No deciding who is and isn't going to believe. Just transmitting.

Shake us up Lord!

Pause

I want to take a moment to pause and put things into perspective. I know that some of what I say can sound radical or even offensive. I'm not trying to be. I'm just writing about what's on my mind and what God has put on my heart. No matter what I say here though, I want you to walk away with at least this: love. I want to take a moment to reflect on the love of God and how it impacts us as Christians.

The love of God is infinite. It has no measure. In our little finite brains, it's hard to get this wrapped around our heads. We talk about the love of God all the time. We sing about the deep, deep love of Jesus and how He loves us all but we have a hard time understanding it. Because God's love is infinite, there is never a shortage of it. He doesn't have to ration out His love in order for it to reach the whole world. He loves all of us abundantly.

Our love is finite. It has measure. We are finite so our love only goes so far. We can't look at someone as if they've never sinned because we can only see what's in front of us. Our love is rationed. It can't reach to the whole world without running out.

God's love caused Him to do something mind-blowing. We read in John 3:16 "For God so loved the World that He ave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life." God sent His Son to die for us and yet we rattle off that verse and talk about the Cross like it happens every day. Let's put it in different words: Because the Creator all things, including you, loves you so much, He sent His Son Jesus who is fully God and a part of God to take the penalty of your sin. He did this so that anyone, including you, that puts their trust in Jesus and accepts His sacrifice shall not (I love the verb usage of 'shall' here. Not won't but shall not as in never ever ever-it ain't gonna happen shall not) be separated from God but have life in his presence forever and ever.  You see, God's love made the sacrifice we weren't able for. His love made a way so that we could see our way to Him. Not because we were so great but because God is so great. We love Him now, but He loved us first. He didn't have to but He did.

God's love covers all sins. The act of the cross has paid the price for our sins. Getting us back from Satan had a price and Jesus paid it so He could set us free for Satan's grip. You want to know something cool? Jesus' death covered the sins you committed ever since you were born, including the ones since you became a Christian and it covered all the sins you will ever commit. Think on that for a bit. Jesus' death justifies us so that we have a clean sin slate in God's eyes. Even the ones we haven't committed yet. God doesn't see our sins as soon as we commit them the are expunged from our eternal record because Jesus paid for them already. We stand faultless before God. He loves us. That's all that matters. He doesn't care about your sins. He doesn't get mad when you do something wrong. He doesn't take a step back and say, "Well, you've kinda messed up so I'm going to give you some space to get your act together. Then we can have our relationship back. Of course it's not going to be the same between us because you have broken my trust. You are going to really need to work on those kinks and problem areas." If you are reading this and can relate to that way of thinking, I want you to stop in your tracks. God does not, I repeat DOES NOT EVER take a step back when you sin. He doesn't make you get you ducks realigned before continuing on. He isn't disappointed or angry. He knows you through and through. He knows you better than you do and He loves you anyway. He's never made man take the first step back towards Him because we can't. We never could and we never will. Not on our own. He pursues us wherever we are. He's right there to help us pick up the pieces and fix the problem. Let me rephrase that. He picks up the pieces and fixes the problems. Don't ever think that God loves you any less for your mistakes. Just because we can't see past our mistakes doesn't mean God can't.

God's love cannot be changed. Because God's love is infinite, it can't be altered. It's impossible to change something that can't be measured. We can't make God love us any less by sinning and we can't make God love us any more because we do good. God doesn't care about that. He loves us for us, not for what we do. Believe me, if God loved us for what we did, we would be hopelessly lost. We've never done anything to make ourselves more lovable to a holy God. God doesn't play favorites. He doesn't favor one believer over another because they do all the right things. Our standing before Him is the same forever: child, dearly beloved by God no matter what.

If nothing else from this blog gets read or understood: walk away with this: God loves you for you not for what you do. God can't love you more or less. He loves you infinitely. Always and forever He loves you infinitely.

Shake us up, Lord!

Real Christianity

It's hard to be honest about ourselves. It's even harder to be honest about ourselves with other people. We feel like we need to wear some kind of mask to cover up the not so nice things about us. But when we have someone in our lives that we can be totally transparent, it can be so freeing.

I'm that kind of person. I don't want to or even feel the need to be open and out there for all to see. My sister is about the only person I can be truly transparent with. I can tell her anything and she won't judge me. I can be honest about my struggles and she won't try to fix me. She gets me. I like the fact that we can be zaney and weird and sometimes a bit edgy with each other and no one gets offended. It's great to have hat in my life. But with other people, I'm not that way. I wish I was but I'm not. I understand the freedom in it but I just can't. Other people might judge me or try to fix me. Other people are better than me or nicer or don't struggle with he same stuff I do.

But I know that's not true. Just because we are followers of Christ doesn't mean we're automatically perfect, or that we don't still struggle with all the same sins. News flash: We are ALL sinners saved by grace. For all have sinned and fallen short. For all are like sheep gone astray. Praying a little prayer and getting dunked under water doesn't make you sinless. That's what make God so great. He saw us when we were lost and sinful and made a way for us not to be instantly perfect, but to have a relationship with Him and that He might mold us into the kind of people we were meant o be.

It's hard to own up to the fact that we are fallen and flawed. We think that somehow if we put on a smile and a cheerful disposition we can fool those around us into thinking that we are pretty good and close to perfect. It is our sinful nature to do so. It's what has always come naturally ever since the time of Adam and Eve. When they screwed up they didn't go find God and tell Him, they put on some leaves and hid from Him. When God asked them where they were, Adam answered with a cover story. "I heard you, I was afraid so I hid because I was naked." That wasn't really why Adam and Eve hid. They hid because they had sinned and couldn't face God. But they didn't admit right off the bat. Even when God asked Adam if he had eaten from the tree, Adam still tried to make himself look good. He pointed at Eve- "The woman YOU gave me gave me the fruit so I ate it." He isn't just blaming Eve here, he is also blaming God. The woman God gave him caused him to eat the food he wasn't supposed to eat. Adam was a new sinner but he still instinctively tried to cover his butt. Of course, Eve wasn't much better. She pointed the finger at the serpent that God had created. Again saying that it wasn't her fault it was the serpent's fault for deceiving her and God's fault for creating the serpent. We read the story so many times in the Bible and we see the feebleness in their cover up and defense. It would be laughable if it weren't so common to us. We screw up and we try to cover it up, brush over it and make it smaller that it is. We do his because we don't want to have to see ourselves for what we are and we most certainly don't want others to see us for who we really are.

Covering over our sins is like frosting a cake. My mom always says that frosting covers a multitude of cake sins. If the cake cracks or falls apart it can usually be pieced back together with frosting. But not always. If the cake is in shambles, there is not amount of frosting that can make it work. No matter haw much frosting you use it is still a mess. It may be presentable, but cut into it and it falls apart. Our public face will always fall off. No matter how well we frost our issues over, they are still there and someone will see right through it.

We think that as Christians we have to be the perfect ones. we have to be the ones that don't have issues. Sure we go through stuff but we're basically good and problem free. If we struggle with something it's usually someone else's fault. "It's not my fault I have relationship problems. My dad was a bad father." or, "It's not my fault my kids aren't walking with the Lord. They are just rebellious." or "It's not my fault I slept with my boyfriend, We just got caught up in the moment." or the big one in Christian circles, "It's not my fault I thought that about her. She was wearing an immodest outfit." Sound familiar? "It's not my fault. It's the woman you gave me" "It's not my fault. It's that serpent you created". We try to make ourselves look as guiltless as possible.

But the world sees right through us. They are looking to us to set the example in our community as the moral standard. When we mess up they are looking to us to see how we handle it. Will we be humble and own up to our sins or will we be like everybody else and shrug it away? We usually end up trying to make clothes out of fig leaves and hide our sins away. When we are confronted about it, we try to make excuses for ourselves and point out the fact that we aren't the only ones screwing up around here! And then we wonder why non believers aren't wanting to be saved. Sure, God is greater than how well we muddle our witness job but do we really want to be the reason that people aren't believing in Jesus? It's our job to live a testimony to God. Our lives are a reflection of who He is. When people want to know about God they look to His followers-us. If we're acting like the rest of the world in our attitude towards sin, God isn't being glorified. in us.

 What would happen if we were honest and humble before he world? We think that if we were honest about our mistakes, it would turn the world off to God. But what if we admit to the choices we make? What if "it's not my fault....." would become "yeah, I made that choice"? What if we let God's grace cover us and have ha be enough?

You see the story in the garden has a beautiful ending. When Adam and Eve got done pointing fingers and when God had announced the consequences for their actions, God did something. He made them clothes out of a sheep's skin. It's not only the sacrifice of the sheep that points to Christ but also the fact that the sheep's skin covered Adam and Eve's shame of being naked. The coverings that they had made from the leaves were passable as clothing but they were't good enough. When the cold would come they wouldn't be warm enough. If the wind blew too hard, they wouldn't b strong enough. And sooner or later the leaves would wilt and shrivel up. But the garments that God provided we sturdy and long lasting and warm. They were far better than some old leaves. Yes, it came at a cost: An innocent life had to be given in order for them to be clothed. But they were covered.

Just like Jesus. Our shame of sin is covered by the sacrifice of Jesus. We are clothed by God's grace. We need to stop making coverings for our sins with our own fig leaves. We need to own up to our sin and point to God's grace. That is how god is glorified in us. It's not by how good we are but how great God is! We don't have to go around trying to look like not sinning comes naturally. All we have to do is say, "Yeah, I sinned. But God has forgiven me. He loves me anyway."

Shake us up, Lord!

Sleepers, Awake!

Christianity has been around for thousands of years. It has survived persecution, and reached into the lives of peoples of all kinds of different races, cultures and languages. Praise the Lord that His Word has not come back void!
What do you think of when you think of being a Christian? What does that look like to you? What does it mean to you to be a Christian? Every day, how do you live it out? I was raised in a Christian home. I'm very blessed in that way. I don't think that it really matters if you are raised in a home where God is worshiped or cursed so long as you follow Him. But I do feel blessed to have been raised by followers of Jesus. However, like so many kids that grew up Christian, I never got the idea of what it was all about. My faith in Jesus wasn't mine alone but my parents'. Everyone I knew was a Christian and so was I. I didn't understand what that really meant. Sure, I went to church, knew my Bible, and understood what I must do to be saved, but I had never enjoyed a relationship with God. One day when I was in high school, the Lord woke me up from the religious stupor I had fallen into. He opened my self-centered eyes to see His love and my puffed up heart to receive it. In my sleep, I had seen only what I was doing to be a good Christian, but in my waking, I knew that it was the holy Spirit that could change me.
That I was saved from an early age I have no doubt. I'm not saying I wasn't saved then. I believe I was saved all those years ago. But I fell into a sleeping state. It happens so often to us as Christians. We get comfortable in our own little Christian kingdoms and stop thinking about what we are doing. We go about our business. We go to church on Sundays, mid-week Bible study on Wednesdays and do our little ministries if we have time.It's like clockwork day in and day out. Then one day, we wake up and think, "Why am I here? What am I really doing? Who is God anyway? What does Christianity mean anyway?" At least I hope we do.
In the States, Christianity is comfortable. We aren't persecuted like those in other countries, we aren't usually cast out by our family for being Christians and while we may not be the most popular kids on the block, we're not shunned but our friends because of our beliefs. It's pretty easy being identified as a Christian. We are allowed o fellowship openly and pray in public. We are blessed and fortunate.
Or are we? Satan has two tactics up his sleeve to crush those who would follow Jesus. Either he makes our lives horrid and scary, or he turns the heat up slowly like frogs in a pot. The latter is true of the American Church, I'm not saying that God isn't sovereign in all this or that He will let His Church die a slow, apathetic death. God is God still. But we must stop acting like frogs in a pot. We aren't cold blooded reptiles! We are different than the world. We are free from all of that. God has set us apart to bring His name glory and all we're doing is our christian thing and going to church, doing our ministries and reading our Bibles and praying every day. We're losing our effectiveness. Just look at the culture's view of Christians. They ridicule us, make us look like Bible thumping wackos and call us hypocrites. Sad but true. We could write it off as "no servant being greater than his master" all we want but our culture has part of it right. We are a house divided. We are saying God is love but not practicing His love with each other. We spend so much time trying o be right hat we've lost our focus on what we're really here for: to bring God glory. What is more important: that your theology is the most correct, or that someone is saved? What did Jesus tell His followers when they were arguing over who was the greatest? If you want to be great in God's kingdom, be a servant of all. You see, it's not going to matter in the end who was the most correct in their view of God. It's going to matter what you did to serve Him. Knowledge is a good thing, but knowledge puffs up. When we think we know he most and understand our theology better than others, we start to look down on them. I know because I did it. I knew my Bible and I knew what the whole God thing was about. But in doing so, I put myself above them as if I were somehow better than them. It's not about what we know, it's about God. It always has been and always will be.
I want o clear the air right now. I don't have all the answers. What I know about God is only a very small part of what He truly is. I'm not the perfect Christian who thinks she has all the answers and I'm right and the rest of you are wrong. Not in the least. The intent of the blog is to promote unity. I want to speak out against the discord the the Church is living with. My intent is not to point out how smart I am but to point you to how great God is. For it is Him and Him alone who matters at the end of the day.
Shake us up, Lord!