Click on the scripture reference and read these verses: Matthew 5:13-16
I believe that the Church is the greatest earthly hope that we have in existence. i don't mean buildings, I don't mean the Roman Catholic, or any other, denomination. I am simply referring to the people who have a relationship with Jesus Christ, God's Son, who died on a cross for our sins and came back to life three days later. For me, these are indisputable facts. Maybe science hasn't proven their validity, but neither has it disproven them. Besides, I have first-hand experience with a relationship with Jesus, through my faith and trust in Him, that would hold past any scientific challenge. "A man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with an argument." (unknown)
Yet just as I believe that the Church is the greatest earthly hope, in that we are the tangible touch of Christ to the world around us as He is living through us, we also have developed some serious flaws through the years since our institution. In the verses we read at the beginning, which are in red and the actual words of Jesus, He calls us salt and light. I have been dwelling on these verses for a while now and want to share with you what I have learned. Though it will be in reverse order from what's listed, I'd first like to look at "light."
We, the Church, are light in this world. Darkness cannot hide from light when in the same room or space. The only way light can be kept from penetrating darkness is to be shut out in some way. Think of a dark room in a basement with no windows and only one door. If the door is sealed well, whatever light is on the outside of the door will never reach the inside of the room. However, open the door, and whatever light is shining just outside will flood the darkness and, depending on its brightness, illumine everything it touches to some degree. Darkness cannot stop it.
The light that is in us is the Light of Jesus Christ. It is the light of truth, justice, mercy, grace, love, forgiveness--all of the traits and characteristics of God; the fruit of the Spirit, if you will. Simply because Jesus, in the form of the Holy Spirit, resides in us, so does His light as even our sin nature cannot hide the glory of God. Darkness is powerless against such light. Just as God is eternal, so is the light of His glory within us. It will never be quenched. Stars that illumine our night skies are seen by the human eye thousands of years after they have been extinguished because of the time it takes for the light to reach the earth from its source. Yet this light, the light of His glory, will never be snuffed out. It is indeed eternal. It reaches past our bracketed existence on this planet.
Light is what we carry to the world. The very source of the light lives in us if we have chosen to believe in the work Jesus did on the cross and in His being who He said He was, the very Son of God. The closer we draw in relationship with Jesus, He also draws nearer to us and that light shines even the brighter. Our dark world needs light. Much of it maybe even craves light. Light is what we bring as the Church. We reflect it much in the same way the moon reflects the sun. When light is reflected, the brightness of the reflected light is dependent on the substance of the reflective material. For example, a white sheet will reflect light, but when foil is used, the reflected light is much brighter than what was elected off the sheet. The brightness of the light we reflect depends on our substance, and our substance depends on the depth of our relationship with Christ.
But just as light is what we bring, salt is how we bring it.
Let's look at just a couple of characteristics of salt. Salt makes things taste better. It seasons. When we sit down at the table, or cook food for others, we often season the food with salt to bring more flavor. Salt also preserves. You can salt meat and preserve it a little longer. However, unlike light, salt is temporary. Eventually, salt can and will lose its flavor.
As the Church, in my personal observation, we more often get the "light" part right than we do the "salt." After all, the light really isn't us, it's Jesus. We don't have to do much for light to come through. But salt? That requires much more effort. When we see evidence around us that "the world is going to hell in a hand basket," as we often put it, we normally get pretty self-righteous and feel the need to defend Jesus and/or our faith. We act surprised at what is going on.
Yet, have you ever noticed that God has never entered a day where He called Gabriel over and told him to go warm up the trumpet because God was surprised by something that a non-believer did the day before? Lost people act lost! God's not surprised by that, so why are we? When there is a Supreme Court decision, an act of terrorism, a school shooting, a video from Planned Parenthood, or some other social ill, we adopt a sudden sense of urgency to do something to stop it. Yet if we really felt that "urgent," we would've been doing something all along, right? But in our sudden urgency, we sit down the salt shaker and pick up the persimmon juice. What we offer to the world, while true, now tastes very bitter and unwelcoming. No wonder it gets rejected so often.
Salt is mined. It is in huge rocks or stones. Larger rocks of salt have their uses, but it looks much different than what we see in shakers on tables. Meat can be laid onto rocks of salt for seasoning or preservation. Unlike what is found in shakers, food must be brought to the salt, not the other way around. For salt to reach the food, it must first be crushed or ground. Could it be that this is true for us, as Christians, as well? Before we can be the most useful, there must be a season of crushing or breaking. It's not that we can't be used without being broken, but we depend on others to come to us. Our sense of urgency may be less. We still season. We still carry light. We just haven't been through a life event that has brought us to the point where we can be poured out before others as a drink offering to them.
Once salt is crushed, unless salt is poured out onto the food, it can't reach it's highest potential of seasoning the food. You can sit a salt shaker on the table. In that way, it can be among the food; it can be a part of the offering at every meal. Yet, until it is poured out, touches the food, covers the food, it cannot season the food. This is why I'm extremely apprehensive about religious freedom laws. It gives us Christians yet another excuse to not be poured out and serve in humility. It allows us to stay in the shaker and even attach a spiritual label to it so that our greed sounds legitimate. Not that everyone would do that, or be that way, but my experience has taught me that many look for just such excuses. It gives a voice that we can use to not be the tangible touch of Christ to someone who may be looking for hope, for light. Why would we ever want to do that?
We trade the seasoning power of salt to offer a "taste and see the Lord is good" opportunity to the world, and try to serve the light we carry in glasses of persimmon juice. For those who have never had persimmon juice, it is extremely bitter and makes the lips pucker. It is a very unpleasant experience. As believers, we hear or see truth and are drawn to it because the Truth lives in our hearts. The world around us is unfamiliar with Truth and that is why we are called to be salt (seasoning those around us in ways that we are pleasing to be around and deliver Truth in palatable ways) and light (also delivering truth that isn't watered down nor wavering). Why is it that we can't do both?
Be light today. Be salt today. Give truth, but only in a way that is pleasing and seasons those who need the truth. That is how we change the world starting with the one beside us.
Don't forget to use the social media just below here to share to your Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ accounts directly. I welcome your comments! PLEASE leave one!!! Here's how:
1. Click on the words "No Comment" or " (#) Comment" (whichever is listed just to the right of the posting time directly below this paragraph)
2. Write your comment in the box provided.
3. You must also choose a selection from the COMMENT AS drop down list. If you have a Google+ ID, AIM, or other you wish to use, choose that. Most of you should choose the NAME/URL option and leave your name in the space provided. You do NOT need to leave a URL unless you wish.
4. Click the PUBLISH button. THAT'S IT!!!
THANK YOU for stopping by! Till next time...
Showing posts with label church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label church. Show all posts
Monday, August 10, 2015
Thursday, May 28, 2015
What does a "relationship" with Jesus look like?
I'm glad scripture says in Romans 10:9-10 that we only need to declare/confess with our mouth and believe in our heart that God raised Jesus from the dead to be saved. If it had involved a relationship like I have with Him now, I'd have been up a creek without a paddle. Many who have been "saved" (in other words, they have decided to believe by faith that Jesus Christ is indeed the very Son of God, and that His death on the cross and resurrection that followed paid the sin debt of death for them) would say that making that decision is the same as having a relationship with Jesus. While it does, in fact, introduce you to Jesus, and open the door for relationship, you don't automatically just "know" your Savior in all His glory. That would be like jumping from being introduced to the person who will be your spouse, to being married with a family a few seconds later. No relationship works like that. Jesus is no different.
Maybe this disagrees with your theology some, but hang with me. I really believe that we will end up in the same place if you will continue with me here. If you're one of those that has tried to have a relationship with Jesus, or you're just wondering what one looks like, read on too.
The absolute first step in having any relationship, as described above, is being introduced to the person with whom you desire relationship. This happens at the point in your life where you make the decision to follow Jesus by confessing that decision with your mouth, and believing in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead. At that decision crossroads, you change your eternal destination to heaven in the presence of God, forever and ever and ever (per Romans 10:9-10 listed above). But what about the relationship that follows? Let's look.
The Bible speaks primarily in the Old Testament of God audibly speaking to mankind. He used judges and prophets to do this most of the time. It normally wasn't to everyone who said they believed in God. Let me bring you some comfort right now and know that in my relationship with Jesus, I have never audibly heard His voice. You do not need to worry that someone will put you on an episode of Dr. Phil because you are hearing voices inside or outside your head. This is not some spiritually induced schizophrenia.
Growing up in the church, as I did, I used to believe that a relationship with Jesus was dedicated on what I did to instigate it, or to keep it going once it started. The things I thought I had to do was, of course, go to church, serve others, worship, read my Bible, etc. My list of things was probably no different than yours in most ways. I heard the scripture quoted many times, which is true, "come near to God and He will come near to you." (James 4:8) The only things that I could think of to draw near to God were the things in my list. I determined to get busy doing what I thought God would be doing or would want me to do, and surely He would then come near to me. I was wrong.
It wasn't until my life fell apart in 2011 and God started putting me back together again in 2012, that I realized what a relationship with Jesus/God really meant. What does it look like? Not much different than any of m other relationships. Let me explain.
I remember being in the altar in early 2012 and I was extremely broken. I was pouring out my heart to God and asking Him what was going to happen to me. I'd made some terrible choices, gotten involved in sin, and was reaping the benefits of my stupidity. Then in an altar in Texas, not audibly, yet clear as day, I heard the voice of God. It was more of a thought than anything. I knew the thought wasn't mine, though, because it wasn't saying anything to myself that I believed to be either true or possible. God only said, "Let me love you." Here I was crying and blubbering and trying to give Him a list of all the reasons why that couldn't happen. After all, because of what I had done, I viewed myself as unloveable. But love me He did and does.
I have an app on my iPhone called the Bible App. It posts a "Verse of the Day" each night at midnight. I have no way to properly explain it, but I chose to read those verses almost every day, and almost every day each one seemed as though God was speaking directly into my heart. Sometimes, it even got almost to the eerie point because the verse would be so on target. Those verses still say something to me most of the time. I have come to believe that it is simply because I make myself available to hear what God has to say. I tune out the noise of my day, and allow God to speak. There's no magical time of day to do it. Actually, I enjoy keeping the conversation going throughout the whole day.
See, here's the thing. All my lists of things that I thought I needed to do to draw near to God were actually things I was supposed to do because I had already drawn near to God. The list was supposed to be a result of my relationship, not the relationship itself. The lists, the details, the commandments, the rituals, were never intended to be my relationship with God. Yet, I had made them such. But what I've found is that God, the Creator of the universe, desires to sit down and talk with me all the time--daily. The biggest change in my prayer life if that I'm still and quiet long enough for God to talk back. Before, my prayers were my lists to God in response to the lists of things I brought to Him through my actions. It was a very warped way to have a conversation. Now, it's not like that at all.
Through reading those verses, I've learned more of the character of God. I've learned to discern His voice among all the other thoughts in my head. On top of that, I've seen the things He's told me revealed in my life. If not for revelation, I might consider contacting my straight jacket tailor and setting up a fitting. Where at first, most of His communication to me was through the Bible, now it's as much in my thoughts as it is reading scripture. Sometimes He even speaks to me through others who are also Christians and I recognize His voice in their words.
There is indeed a relationship to be had. It is God's wish for all mankind. But now do you see the difference I was speaking about in the first couple of paragraphs? Our confession and belief changes the eternal destination, but it's the relationship that changes the journey getting there. Try it. Make yourself available. It may seem awkward at first, but that's ok. The benefits of your perseverance will be absolutely amazing!
Don't forget to use the social media just below here to share to your Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ accounts directly. I welcome your comments! PLEASE leave one!!! Here's how:
1. Click on the words "No Comment" or " (#) Comment" (whichever is listed just to the right of the posting time directly below this paragraph)
2. Write your comment in the box provided.
3. You must also choose a selection from the COMMENT AS drop down list. If you have a Google+ ID, AIM, or other you wish to use, choose that. Most of you should choose the NAME/URL option and leave your name in the space provided. You do NOT need to leave a URL unless you wish.
4. Click the PUBLISH button. THAT'S IT!!!
THANK YOU for stopping by! Till next time...
Maybe this disagrees with your theology some, but hang with me. I really believe that we will end up in the same place if you will continue with me here. If you're one of those that has tried to have a relationship with Jesus, or you're just wondering what one looks like, read on too.
The absolute first step in having any relationship, as described above, is being introduced to the person with whom you desire relationship. This happens at the point in your life where you make the decision to follow Jesus by confessing that decision with your mouth, and believing in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead. At that decision crossroads, you change your eternal destination to heaven in the presence of God, forever and ever and ever (per Romans 10:9-10 listed above). But what about the relationship that follows? Let's look.
The Bible speaks primarily in the Old Testament of God audibly speaking to mankind. He used judges and prophets to do this most of the time. It normally wasn't to everyone who said they believed in God. Let me bring you some comfort right now and know that in my relationship with Jesus, I have never audibly heard His voice. You do not need to worry that someone will put you on an episode of Dr. Phil because you are hearing voices inside or outside your head. This is not some spiritually induced schizophrenia.
Growing up in the church, as I did, I used to believe that a relationship with Jesus was dedicated on what I did to instigate it, or to keep it going once it started. The things I thought I had to do was, of course, go to church, serve others, worship, read my Bible, etc. My list of things was probably no different than yours in most ways. I heard the scripture quoted many times, which is true, "come near to God and He will come near to you." (James 4:8) The only things that I could think of to draw near to God were the things in my list. I determined to get busy doing what I thought God would be doing or would want me to do, and surely He would then come near to me. I was wrong.
It wasn't until my life fell apart in 2011 and God started putting me back together again in 2012, that I realized what a relationship with Jesus/God really meant. What does it look like? Not much different than any of m other relationships. Let me explain.
I remember being in the altar in early 2012 and I was extremely broken. I was pouring out my heart to God and asking Him what was going to happen to me. I'd made some terrible choices, gotten involved in sin, and was reaping the benefits of my stupidity. Then in an altar in Texas, not audibly, yet clear as day, I heard the voice of God. It was more of a thought than anything. I knew the thought wasn't mine, though, because it wasn't saying anything to myself that I believed to be either true or possible. God only said, "Let me love you." Here I was crying and blubbering and trying to give Him a list of all the reasons why that couldn't happen. After all, because of what I had done, I viewed myself as unloveable. But love me He did and does.
I have an app on my iPhone called the Bible App. It posts a "Verse of the Day" each night at midnight. I have no way to properly explain it, but I chose to read those verses almost every day, and almost every day each one seemed as though God was speaking directly into my heart. Sometimes, it even got almost to the eerie point because the verse would be so on target. Those verses still say something to me most of the time. I have come to believe that it is simply because I make myself available to hear what God has to say. I tune out the noise of my day, and allow God to speak. There's no magical time of day to do it. Actually, I enjoy keeping the conversation going throughout the whole day.
See, here's the thing. All my lists of things that I thought I needed to do to draw near to God were actually things I was supposed to do because I had already drawn near to God. The list was supposed to be a result of my relationship, not the relationship itself. The lists, the details, the commandments, the rituals, were never intended to be my relationship with God. Yet, I had made them such. But what I've found is that God, the Creator of the universe, desires to sit down and talk with me all the time--daily. The biggest change in my prayer life if that I'm still and quiet long enough for God to talk back. Before, my prayers were my lists to God in response to the lists of things I brought to Him through my actions. It was a very warped way to have a conversation. Now, it's not like that at all.
Through reading those verses, I've learned more of the character of God. I've learned to discern His voice among all the other thoughts in my head. On top of that, I've seen the things He's told me revealed in my life. If not for revelation, I might consider contacting my straight jacket tailor and setting up a fitting. Where at first, most of His communication to me was through the Bible, now it's as much in my thoughts as it is reading scripture. Sometimes He even speaks to me through others who are also Christians and I recognize His voice in their words.
There is indeed a relationship to be had. It is God's wish for all mankind. But now do you see the difference I was speaking about in the first couple of paragraphs? Our confession and belief changes the eternal destination, but it's the relationship that changes the journey getting there. Try it. Make yourself available. It may seem awkward at first, but that's ok. The benefits of your perseverance will be absolutely amazing!
Don't forget to use the social media just below here to share to your Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ accounts directly. I welcome your comments! PLEASE leave one!!! Here's how:
1. Click on the words "No Comment" or " (#) Comment" (whichever is listed just to the right of the posting time directly below this paragraph)
2. Write your comment in the box provided.
3. You must also choose a selection from the COMMENT AS drop down list. If you have a Google+ ID, AIM, or other you wish to use, choose that. Most of you should choose the NAME/URL option and leave your name in the space provided. You do NOT need to leave a URL unless you wish.
4. Click the PUBLISH button. THAT'S IT!!!
THANK YOU for stopping by! Till next time...
Saturday, November 2, 2013
"They will act religious..."
As we were closing tonight, I was talking with a coworker about today's church. We were speaking about the authenticity of the average modern day Christian. Understand, we weren't passing judgement and stating that anyone wouldn't deserve heaven or anything of the sort! It was simply a discussion on whether most of today's church-going Christians "get it."
I can already hear someone from the back row stating piously in his best religious tone, "Son, we're not going to 'get it' till we get to heaven one day and see God for all that He is in all His glory." You know, you're right. We won't. But see, Jesus didn't come to tell us what we had to wait for so much as He came to redeem us to Himself and bring His kingdom to us so and establish His kingdom NOW! I don't mean the environment of the place called heaven that we will occupy for eternity, but I speak of the relationship with/to the God of heaven, Jehovah. In relationship TO God, means to be children OF God and therefore be WITH God in His kingdom.
Take a moment to read John 14:9-14 (NLT) (click on the scripture reference to the left and you will be directed to the passage). Jesus says that if we have seen and know Him, we have seen and know the Father. He also says that we will do "greater works" that what HE did!!! He even ends that paragraph by telling us that we can ask for things in His name, and it will be granted to us! Now please note that I don't believe that means asking for a Mercedes, unless somehow that car would glorify God and not YOU! The "yes" to these asks come with a expectation that the affirmative answers bring glory to the Father. How do we know what brings glory to Him? We know Him. How do we know Him? According to John14, we get to know His Son, Jesus. We get to know Jesus by surrendering our lives to Him, believing in His work on the cross to take our place for our sin. When we do that, we are adopted into the family (kingdom) now, and immediately become heirs to the throne of, and friends with God, and brothers and sisters to Jesus Christ. Jesus said that all that His Father has given Him, He gives to us. God's kingdom - here and now.
Let's read one more passage (you can click on this reference too to be taken directly to it) and then we will get straight to the point. Read 2 Timothy 3:1-5. Pay close attention to verse 5. All through this passage, Paul is talking about church-going people! He's not talking about the crowds that we're needing to tell about Jesus, he's talking about the ones who should know better! Me and you!!! Look around you. Close your eyes and imagine you are where you normally sit on Sunday (yes, I know you have "your seat" in church). See those people around you in your mind. You think they "get it?" Do YOU?!? Are we living lives of authenticity?
Let's look at some of the works that Jesus did: healed the sick, made the lame to walk, made the blind to see, brought back Lazarus from the dead, fed 5,000 men and their families from a few fish and a couple loaves of bread, calmed stormy seas, walked on water, and the list goes on. Now Jesus said that we would do even greater works than HE! What have you done? Made the toast without burning it? Got the kids to soccer only ten minutes late this time rather than the normal fifteen? Fixed the broken windshield wiper on your own? NOW go back and read 2 Timothy 3:5. What if we were so busy with verses 2-4, that we ended up like verse 5? The great toast, the lack of tardiness, the working wiper while all good, mean nothing to eternity! God takes more care of us than just providing a close parking space at Walmart!!! There is POWER given to us!!!
I don't believe that it will be long till Jesus returns. And when He does, I think there are going to be many of us Christians who look at Him and say, "Whoa! Preacher wasn't kiddin'!" We will be caught off guard at the fact that being godly is more than a good idea or a mantra by which to live. The Bible, Jesus, our Heavenly Father - are all more than a good idea!!! They are REAL! Yet we treat it like we've joined a fraternity or a sorority, learned the secret handshake, the code words, the key gestures, and now we're part of the club! All that religious hokey pokey stuff will work it's way out, we just want to go to heaven and be a part of something and this is an easy one to join! We use the stuff we've learned when appropriate, but never tap into the full power that lives inside of us. We are living 2 Timothy 3:5!!!
Then on top of all that, we spend so much effort every four years trying to push for the "right man" in the White House. BTW, if you're just joining us, "right man" means Christian man. It's Christianese. But can I actually get someone out there to agree that the Christian one isn't always the best LEADER?!? We need BOTH. We need a Christian who is also a good leader. Not one or the other! Yet seemingly we need that person (President) to blame when things don't go as they should. "Well, if the 'right man' had been elected, it wouldn't have been like this!" Can I just throw the BS flag right there?!? I firmly believe that Jesus isn't as concerned with having a Godly leader in the White House as he is having a Godly leader in YOUR house!!! Let's stop blaming others for our lack of faith and courage!!! If it's not the President, it's someBODY or someTHING else! The real reason that things are the way they are looks back at you with a haunting stare every time you face a mirror. The church hasn't been the Church for years now!
I believe God is looking for His children to RISE UP! We wear HIS name! We are HIS people! We carry HIS power, HIS love, HIS salvation, HIS hope to a hopeless world. Let's quit GOING to church and let's BE the church. Let's no longer deny the power of the God whom we declare we believe in and worship. Our enemy is playing for keeps! It's real!!! Let's get real ourselves.
I'm going to pray here. Feel free to make this prayer your own.
Jesus, I'm sorry for making Christianity more of a good idea than a reality. I'm sorry for not acting like the child you chose to make a part of Your eternity by sending your Son to die in my place. Prompt me with the Holy Spirit to act when I should act, listen when I should listen, and fill me with wisdom for every decision I make every day I live, starting right now. Empower me and help me to act in that power with FULL FAITH!!! Knowing that Your promises are true and that whatever I ask in Your name, if I am in line with Your will, it will be given to me so that You alone may receive glory! Thank you for Your forgiveness and Your promises. In Jesus' name, amen.
Please leave comments below! Ask questions! Tell your friends by clicking on the social media links and posting on your Facebook or Twitter or Google + accounts. It helps to know that these are being read and even helping YOU! I never know that unless you're doing these things and ESPECIALLY leaving comments!!! Thanks for sharing a few moments with me!
I can already hear someone from the back row stating piously in his best religious tone, "Son, we're not going to 'get it' till we get to heaven one day and see God for all that He is in all His glory." You know, you're right. We won't. But see, Jesus didn't come to tell us what we had to wait for so much as He came to redeem us to Himself and bring His kingdom to us so and establish His kingdom NOW! I don't mean the environment of the place called heaven that we will occupy for eternity, but I speak of the relationship with/to the God of heaven, Jehovah. In relationship TO God, means to be children OF God and therefore be WITH God in His kingdom.
Take a moment to read John 14:9-14 (NLT) (click on the scripture reference to the left and you will be directed to the passage). Jesus says that if we have seen and know Him, we have seen and know the Father. He also says that we will do "greater works" that what HE did!!! He even ends that paragraph by telling us that we can ask for things in His name, and it will be granted to us! Now please note that I don't believe that means asking for a Mercedes, unless somehow that car would glorify God and not YOU! The "yes" to these asks come with a expectation that the affirmative answers bring glory to the Father. How do we know what brings glory to Him? We know Him. How do we know Him? According to John14, we get to know His Son, Jesus. We get to know Jesus by surrendering our lives to Him, believing in His work on the cross to take our place for our sin. When we do that, we are adopted into the family (kingdom) now, and immediately become heirs to the throne of, and friends with God, and brothers and sisters to Jesus Christ. Jesus said that all that His Father has given Him, He gives to us. God's kingdom - here and now.
Let's read one more passage (you can click on this reference too to be taken directly to it) and then we will get straight to the point. Read 2 Timothy 3:1-5. Pay close attention to verse 5. All through this passage, Paul is talking about church-going people! He's not talking about the crowds that we're needing to tell about Jesus, he's talking about the ones who should know better! Me and you!!! Look around you. Close your eyes and imagine you are where you normally sit on Sunday (yes, I know you have "your seat" in church). See those people around you in your mind. You think they "get it?" Do YOU?!? Are we living lives of authenticity?
Let's look at some of the works that Jesus did: healed the sick, made the lame to walk, made the blind to see, brought back Lazarus from the dead, fed 5,000 men and their families from a few fish and a couple loaves of bread, calmed stormy seas, walked on water, and the list goes on. Now Jesus said that we would do even greater works than HE! What have you done? Made the toast without burning it? Got the kids to soccer only ten minutes late this time rather than the normal fifteen? Fixed the broken windshield wiper on your own? NOW go back and read 2 Timothy 3:5. What if we were so busy with verses 2-4, that we ended up like verse 5? The great toast, the lack of tardiness, the working wiper while all good, mean nothing to eternity! God takes more care of us than just providing a close parking space at Walmart!!! There is POWER given to us!!!
I don't believe that it will be long till Jesus returns. And when He does, I think there are going to be many of us Christians who look at Him and say, "Whoa! Preacher wasn't kiddin'!" We will be caught off guard at the fact that being godly is more than a good idea or a mantra by which to live. The Bible, Jesus, our Heavenly Father - are all more than a good idea!!! They are REAL! Yet we treat it like we've joined a fraternity or a sorority, learned the secret handshake, the code words, the key gestures, and now we're part of the club! All that religious hokey pokey stuff will work it's way out, we just want to go to heaven and be a part of something and this is an easy one to join! We use the stuff we've learned when appropriate, but never tap into the full power that lives inside of us. We are living 2 Timothy 3:5!!!
Then on top of all that, we spend so much effort every four years trying to push for the "right man" in the White House. BTW, if you're just joining us, "right man" means Christian man. It's Christianese. But can I actually get someone out there to agree that the Christian one isn't always the best LEADER?!? We need BOTH. We need a Christian who is also a good leader. Not one or the other! Yet seemingly we need that person (President) to blame when things don't go as they should. "Well, if the 'right man' had been elected, it wouldn't have been like this!" Can I just throw the BS flag right there?!? I firmly believe that Jesus isn't as concerned with having a Godly leader in the White House as he is having a Godly leader in YOUR house!!! Let's stop blaming others for our lack of faith and courage!!! If it's not the President, it's someBODY or someTHING else! The real reason that things are the way they are looks back at you with a haunting stare every time you face a mirror. The church hasn't been the Church for years now!
I believe God is looking for His children to RISE UP! We wear HIS name! We are HIS people! We carry HIS power, HIS love, HIS salvation, HIS hope to a hopeless world. Let's quit GOING to church and let's BE the church. Let's no longer deny the power of the God whom we declare we believe in and worship. Our enemy is playing for keeps! It's real!!! Let's get real ourselves.
I'm going to pray here. Feel free to make this prayer your own.
Jesus, I'm sorry for making Christianity more of a good idea than a reality. I'm sorry for not acting like the child you chose to make a part of Your eternity by sending your Son to die in my place. Prompt me with the Holy Spirit to act when I should act, listen when I should listen, and fill me with wisdom for every decision I make every day I live, starting right now. Empower me and help me to act in that power with FULL FAITH!!! Knowing that Your promises are true and that whatever I ask in Your name, if I am in line with Your will, it will be given to me so that You alone may receive glory! Thank you for Your forgiveness and Your promises. In Jesus' name, amen.
Please leave comments below! Ask questions! Tell your friends by clicking on the social media links and posting on your Facebook or Twitter or Google + accounts. It helps to know that these are being read and even helping YOU! I never know that unless you're doing these things and ESPECIALLY leaving comments!!! Thanks for sharing a few moments with me!
Monday, September 16, 2013
BIBLE: Love Is A Choice
First, read Luke 10:25-37.
As a Worship Pastor, I have sat down with many of the artists I've had the privilege of pastoring, and I've heard them say something like this, "You can't help who you love." Or, "It just happened! I didn't WANT to love that person!" If you're like me, you've probably even said something like that YOURSELF! It's on television, in the movies, printed in books and magazines, and all across social media. We're told that we need to find our own truth. That our purpose depends on what is best for us.
I will agree that each of us are made as individuals. We are made uniquely with diversity in mind. That was always the intent. We are "fearfully and wonderfully made" according to Luke 139:13-14. We have a purpose and a calling that we are each supposed to fulfill. BUT! There is a commonality that binds us all. There is a foundation on which our diversity and uniqueness is to be built. Isaiah 64:6 tells us that any purpose, and calling, any "righteousness" is like a filthy rag without Christ. So in order for anything we do, our works, to make any difference at all to God, there must first be the common foundation of a relationship with Christ.
In the scripture I asked you to read, the expert in religious law asked Jesus what he must do to have eternal life. Look again here at verse 27 as the expert recounts what we now call the Old Testament law. And he was right, according to Jesus! In order for everything to make sense, for all our works to be counted, we must FIRST love God, then love others!!!
But now let's stop right there! How is that possible? If we are to find our own truth, according to the media and what's popular, and if we can't help who we love, then how can we CHOOSE to love God and love others?!? AND, that last part actually says to love neighbors as MYSELF, so I have to love ME too!!!
Michelle and I were watching a Podcast of Bishop TD Jakes tonight on TV. He said something that just HIT me!!! He said, "Love is controllable. God could not be considered to be a just God were He to command us to do something we can not do." Oh WOW!!! Bishop Jakes woke up a whole new thing within me as God used him to speak into my own heart. Do you understand what God is implying here by His command to us to love?!? He is saying that we CHOOSE who we love!!! If we choose to love Him, we choose to love others. We choose who our mates will be. We choose our friends. Love is a CHOICE!!!
And did you see how cool Jesus answers the question in our main scripture passage? When the expert recounted to love God and love our neighbor, the lawyer wanted to know who was classified as our "neighbor?" That's when Jesus delivers the story of the Good Samaritan. Samaritans and Jews didn't talk to each other! Ancestors of the Hatfields and McCoy's, these two nations!!! Yet Jesus showed a CHOICE by the Samaritan to have compassion on this hurt Jew and care for him. This was the kind of choice on whose shoulders could ride the reconciliation of two peoples. Remember at the end of ROCKY IV when Rocky was being interviewed by the Russian announcer after just knocking out Ivan Drago? He said, "If I can change, and you can change, then maybe we ALL can change!" It's a choice.
And the part that I only touched on earlier isn't by any means the lesser of the lessons here. We are to choose to love ourselves. According to this scripture, we can't love others until we love ourselves first! Otherwise, who are we going to love our neighbors AS? Just to get you thinking.
I'm reminded of ol' Joshua in the Old Testament telling his people to choose that day who they would serve, but, he said, "as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." So who you gonna love today? Choose now. :-)
As a Worship Pastor, I have sat down with many of the artists I've had the privilege of pastoring, and I've heard them say something like this, "You can't help who you love." Or, "It just happened! I didn't WANT to love that person!" If you're like me, you've probably even said something like that YOURSELF! It's on television, in the movies, printed in books and magazines, and all across social media. We're told that we need to find our own truth. That our purpose depends on what is best for us.
I will agree that each of us are made as individuals. We are made uniquely with diversity in mind. That was always the intent. We are "fearfully and wonderfully made" according to Luke 139:13-14. We have a purpose and a calling that we are each supposed to fulfill. BUT! There is a commonality that binds us all. There is a foundation on which our diversity and uniqueness is to be built. Isaiah 64:6 tells us that any purpose, and calling, any "righteousness" is like a filthy rag without Christ. So in order for anything we do, our works, to make any difference at all to God, there must first be the common foundation of a relationship with Christ.
In the scripture I asked you to read, the expert in religious law asked Jesus what he must do to have eternal life. Look again here at verse 27 as the expert recounts what we now call the Old Testament law. And he was right, according to Jesus! In order for everything to make sense, for all our works to be counted, we must FIRST love God, then love others!!!
But now let's stop right there! How is that possible? If we are to find our own truth, according to the media and what's popular, and if we can't help who we love, then how can we CHOOSE to love God and love others?!? AND, that last part actually says to love neighbors as MYSELF, so I have to love ME too!!!
Michelle and I were watching a Podcast of Bishop TD Jakes tonight on TV. He said something that just HIT me!!! He said, "Love is controllable. God could not be considered to be a just God were He to command us to do something we can not do." Oh WOW!!! Bishop Jakes woke up a whole new thing within me as God used him to speak into my own heart. Do you understand what God is implying here by His command to us to love?!? He is saying that we CHOOSE who we love!!! If we choose to love Him, we choose to love others. We choose who our mates will be. We choose our friends. Love is a CHOICE!!!
And did you see how cool Jesus answers the question in our main scripture passage? When the expert recounted to love God and love our neighbor, the lawyer wanted to know who was classified as our "neighbor?" That's when Jesus delivers the story of the Good Samaritan. Samaritans and Jews didn't talk to each other! Ancestors of the Hatfields and McCoy's, these two nations!!! Yet Jesus showed a CHOICE by the Samaritan to have compassion on this hurt Jew and care for him. This was the kind of choice on whose shoulders could ride the reconciliation of two peoples. Remember at the end of ROCKY IV when Rocky was being interviewed by the Russian announcer after just knocking out Ivan Drago? He said, "If I can change, and you can change, then maybe we ALL can change!" It's a choice.
And the part that I only touched on earlier isn't by any means the lesser of the lessons here. We are to choose to love ourselves. According to this scripture, we can't love others until we love ourselves first! Otherwise, who are we going to love our neighbors AS? Just to get you thinking.
I'm reminded of ol' Joshua in the Old Testament telling his people to choose that day who they would serve, but, he said, "as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." So who you gonna love today? Choose now. :-)
Friday, September 6, 2013
BIBLE: How To Win Back A "Fallen" Christian
BEFORE READING THIS BLOG, IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT YOU READ MY BLOG FROM A FEW DAYS AGO, LEAVE 99 AND GO FOR 1. IT SETS UP THE ATTITUDE AND SOME OF THE LANGUAGE I WILL BE USING HERE IN THIS BLOG.
I'm not speaking to this question having gone through some kind of seminary class on the theology of rescuing wayward Christians. Neither have I been to some psychology classes that gives me some kind of degree to hang out a shingle and start a counseling firm. I have a Spiritual Gift of counseling, but no degree.
So what are my credentials? I have only one. I'm one of the wayward Christians who have been rescued...on more than one occasion. A "success story" type description would be a bit of a stretch. I made it through once, only to do again what I swore would NEVER happen again! But I'm also one of the fortunate ones. I'm in love with Jesus today and I'm learning more and more about Him every day. There's hope for those like me. Maybe you know someone like me and you want more than anything to see them in a better place. Read on. There's no formula, but here, you'll get a little advice, a few guidelines, and, I pray, a lot of hope!!!
First and foremost, YOU need to realize that you're no different. Name the sin. Whatever it is that someone else has done, it's no worse than anything you've done! The moment you think yourself better, in any way, than the person you want to help, you give the enemy a foothold in the outcome. The devil will consistently spin the conversations with that attitude unless you first surrender that spirit of superiority to Christ, repent of it, and be a conduit of grace because you fully understand that it took the same Spotless Lamb's blood to save YOUR sin as it will theirs. If you can't reach this place, let someone else handle it. But this is important for ALL Christians to realize, not just a few. It's the recognition of the power of the grace and forgiveness in our own lives that supercharges the effectiveness of our testimonies and counsel to others. It's "Being A Christian 101!"
Second, you need to realize that tough love and scare tactics rarely work. It's not something you see in scripture either. Giving your life for someone else's is one thing, if you want to call that a form of tough love. But there's no greater love than that. THAT kind of love is not only in scripture, it is what Jesus did for us all!!! Discipline is in scripture. It even says that God chastises those whom He loves. So I'm not saying there should not be discipline. But Jesus never exercised, endorsed, or encouraged any form of tough love! It causes resentment in the one you're trying to help. Resentment causes a desire for separation. The moment you further separate the person any more than what they already are, that is the moment you turn them over to that "roaring lion seeking whom he may devour." The devil WANTS them alone! Without protection, they're easy prey. It's the 1 who has left the 99. Yet this seems to be the FIRST thing that many Christians do! We feel like we can't handle it or don't want to, so we take a hands off approach. We look at them and say, "I'm not sure you're even a sheep. And if you ARE one, you're not like us and we don't want you or to be associated with you." But in doing this, we remove the protection of the influence of other Christians in their lives. We paint a target on the back of the sheep and say, "Here you go, devil. You can have this one. He's not worthy to be in our group!"
I can hear your thoughts, "So then are you saying to CONDONE the sin and act like nothing is wrong?" ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! Scripture doesn't do that either!!! Sin is sin and it cost Jesus His life!!! We need to, again, FULLY understand of what Jesus has forgiven us, before we EVER start trying to point out the ins of others! We're quick to go to Matthew 18 and say that we should consider them o be like tax collectors and other sinners. But did we do what Matthew 18 pointed out before it ever got to that point?!? It lists a step by step process! But read what happens we choose not to forgive someone who asks for it in Matthew 18:21-35. It doesn't do well to withhold forgiveness.
So then, WHAT IS THE ANSWER?!? It's simple. Love. That's it. A simple four letter word. Love in SPITE of the sin, not because of it. Love the SINNER, not the sin. Remember the shepherd going out to find the 1 and leaving the 99? Remember what his staff is for? NEVER use the pointy end on the sheep!!! That is for the enemy, the devourer, not the one you wish to protect. Guard your words carefully. Be transparent about your own failures. Take responsibility for any part you played, even if you don't think you did!!! This can't be about you. It's about them. It is reducing yourself below your rights and what or who you believe you are to reach out to someone who doesn't DESERVE your rescue attempt, but you love them or Jesus or both enough to try.
Now let me say a word about counseling. I've been through counseling. I went through about 3 years of it a number of years ago. It worked some wonders in my life at the time. I identified a lot of things that helped me to watch out for pitfalls in the future. But it did not keep me from making the same mistake again! There are all kinds of great programs out there for all kinds of different problems. But an alcoholic will always be tempted by alcohol. A drug addict by drugs. A porn addict by porn. These things are readily accessible by anyone who wants to try hard enough. But NOTHING out there works as well as the move of God in a person's life! I don't care how many programs you send someone to, Jesus is still better than any doctor or counselor. I believe in the work of doctors and counselors! I DO!!! But Jesus is making the lasting difference!!!
Read Romans 6:23. Notice the use of the words "is death." Friends, when Christians sin, there is still DEATH!!! Hear me? Let me repeat that. When Christians sin, there is STILL DEATH!!! When I sinned, I had all kinds of friends - CHRISTIAN friends - dessert me! They all told me, "That's the consequences of your sin." WHAT?!? No. See, we don't get to sentence our brothers and sisters to any kind of consequence. They're dying inside!!! If they truly know Jesus, there is conviction, there is grief, there is mourning, and yes, there is a part of them that has died. It is the part called "a right relationship with God." And that part is the very heartbeat and breath - the LIFE - of a believer in Jesus. There is NOTHING you or anyone else on this earth can say or do that will cause more death in a person's life that being outside that right relationship! They may not realize it. They may deny it. They may reject a belief in it. But that's not THEIR choice either!!! That's Bible. Death is the payment - the wages - of sin. God said that would happen. And our belief as far as what treatment sinners need doesn't mean a hill of beans to God! He's got this. He doesn't need our help. GOD is the Judge. God is the Jury. And HE will pronounce sentence. He has given us two commands, basically. They are NOT, "watch and see how many tears they cry at the altar, I need to know if they are REALLY sorry! I can't tell from up here." He's never deferred and said, "Pastor, how many years of counseling do you think he needs before I let him serve Me again? Now I know I can't let him back in the capacity he was because you people won't accept him that way." Sounds ridiculous, almost blasphemous, doesn't it? But that is the attitude we take. That's the way we expect God to act. When He has told us our two responsibilities: love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind, and love our neighbor as ourselves. Period. We love them. We ache with them when we see the sentence (if He chooses to pronounce one) on their lives. Because we know that but for the grace of God, there go I!
People have looked at Jimmy Swaggart, Jim Bakker, Ted Haggard, Michael English, and the like, and have shamed them and shunned them and refused to listen to them because they have sin in their past. Well SO DO YOU!!! The ONLY difference between them and you is that everybody knows what THEY did!!! What would happen if someone were to read your most private sins that you hope nobody ever finds out about in a public arena? THEN how would you feel about grace?!? You'd want a little, wouldn't you? But we need PROOF that they've repented!!! NO YOU DON'T!!! God's a big boy. He said He would handle that part. LET HIM!!! Personally, I think that is a total blatant display of a lack of faith in God! When Christians do that, it is a window into their own relationship with God that says, "I really don't believe it when I say that God can handle anything, even that which He has promised to handle." In that situation, YOU are the problem, not the one who is wayward and crying out on the inside for someone to help and listen.
Understand, I'm not trying to get any kind of sympathy or "preach" to friends who turned their backs on me. I left that to Jesus. All but 1 has allowed me to restore my relationships with them through Christ. Thank You, Lord, for that!!! And I have left the 1 in the hands of Jesus and have accepted his decision not to have any further contact with me. He has that right. As far as I know, he will never see this blog.
Understand, I'm not trying to get any kind of sympathy or "preach" to friends who turned their backs on me. I left that to Jesus. All but 1 has allowed me to restore my relationships with them through Christ. Thank You, Lord, for that!!! And I have left the 1 in the hands of Jesus and have accepted his decision not to have any further contact with me. He has that right. As far as I know, he will never see this blog.
Truth be told, people who have experienced public sin, people such as those listed above, probably have a closer walk with Jesus than any of you! WHY?!? Because HE is the "Great Shepherd" who left the 99 and went after them and now holds them close to His chest! HE is the "Great Physician." HE is the "Wonderful Counselor." Not YOU! Not Dr. Phil!!! No Dr. Drew!!! JESUS!!!!
Let me tell you, friends, I have learned more about the power of God in my life (thus the lives of others since He loves us all) after my "fall" than I ever did before!!! I'm closer to God now. I have a renewed sense of purpose. I have a renewed calling, even though His first call on my life has never been revoked according to Romans 11:29.
I also believe that the closer a person is to a wayward Christian, the more responsibility they have. Parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparents, best friends, spouses, children, whatever - we have the responsibility of getting our hands dirty. Scripture makes it VERY clear what our responsibilities are in Galatians 6:1-3. Pay strong and close attention to the words "GENTLY" and "HUMBLY." Plus God says in James 5:19-20 that those who bring them back - those who embark on a rescue mission - end up saving a life and a multitude of sins! The question to you is, "Do you mean what you say?" Do you really LOVE that person?
There are many out there who have children, parents, friends, etc who have "gone off the deep end." I'm no pro. I have no shingle and no degree. There are no formulas. But if you need to ask a question, I would love to help if I can. Feel free to write me. You can use the link on the right of this blog under the ABOUT ME section. I will write you back. And PLEASE take time to comment below!!! Share this blog on YOUR Facebook page so that your friends can read what's here. I believe this information to be so very important. Just click on the Facebook and Twitter links that are somewhat grayed out below this blog near the "Comments" section and you can share to either one you wish.
Thanks for taking time with me. I hope and pray this helps you and many others. Till next time...
Sunday, August 25, 2013
LIFE: Can Racism be Eradicated?
My church, Oasis Church of Nashville, has been led through an exciting sermon series called AT THE MOVIES. Today's message was based on the movie "42." It's the story of the baseball player, Jackie Robinson (who wore the number 42 for the Brooklyn Dodgers), and broke the color barrier in professional baseball. The theme given was unity/disunity and was based around prejudices and racism. So I've decided to write some on the subject. If you're a Facebook Friend of mine, I wrote a post not long ago about equality in America, and some of these thoughts may be the same...but...anyway. :-)
I've been around racism all my life. Not because I came from racist parents, I didn't. It was because of an environment and peer pressure. I grew up predominantly in the south, in Georgia and Mississippi, where even in the 80's, tensions still would rare up from time to time. I remember the KKK having rallies in Commerce, GA, the town where I went to high school, and the city having to cancel the Christmas parade because the Klan wanted to take part in it. I remember saying things back then that I'm now ashamed of, as well as having things said about me. But time, maturity, and Jesus changed me - not necessarily in that order.
In a post I made on Facebook recently, I said that I didn't really believe that true equality could exist in America today. And it can't in our current mindset. I could have gone on for some time about he whole issue, but I made a reference to my church, Oasis, and how it is a diverse church and how inside those walls, racism seems to fade away. My point to the post on Facebook surrounded the "unknowns." How, if presented with two unknowns from which to choose, most people will choose that which they are most like. This could be true with race, culture, religion, sports teams, careers, whatever. Familiarity brings a sense of safety to us. It makes us feel welcome, at ease, and comfortable. So by nature, diversity brings a certain amount of division. It is within the definition of the word.
Yet, as Pastor Danny Chambers pointed out in scripture this morning, division isn't a good thing. We've heard the famous words delivered by Abraham Lincoln in his speech to Congress,
In the movie, 42, Mr. Ricky (Harrison Ford) said something that has stuck with me. Jackie Robinson was known to have a bad temper. Mr. Ricky knew that he couldn't be throwing his temper around if he fight was going to be won. Jackie asks him,
Can we do that, America? Can we, no matter what race because ALL are guilty, can we not pursue our RIGHTS long enough to establish RELATIONSHIP? Paul knew that he was speaking to a diverse crowd when he wrote Galatians, so he quickly pointed out that which was common among them, the relationship with Jesus Christ. That relationship gave them a foundation on which to build. If we're going to be equal, if racism is to die, if prejudice is to be replaced by peace, there must first be relationship. YOU can be the first!!! Find someone different than you and shake his/her hand. Start the revolution!
I leave you with this final thought from scripture. Just in case there is still a deep seeded root in your thoughts about others who may be different in some way than you. Here is what the Bible says about that: Matthew 7:1-2 (GWT). Later, everybody.
I've been around racism all my life. Not because I came from racist parents, I didn't. It was because of an environment and peer pressure. I grew up predominantly in the south, in Georgia and Mississippi, where even in the 80's, tensions still would rare up from time to time. I remember the KKK having rallies in Commerce, GA, the town where I went to high school, and the city having to cancel the Christmas parade because the Klan wanted to take part in it. I remember saying things back then that I'm now ashamed of, as well as having things said about me. But time, maturity, and Jesus changed me - not necessarily in that order.
In a post I made on Facebook recently, I said that I didn't really believe that true equality could exist in America today. And it can't in our current mindset. I could have gone on for some time about he whole issue, but I made a reference to my church, Oasis, and how it is a diverse church and how inside those walls, racism seems to fade away. My point to the post on Facebook surrounded the "unknowns." How, if presented with two unknowns from which to choose, most people will choose that which they are most like. This could be true with race, culture, religion, sports teams, careers, whatever. Familiarity brings a sense of safety to us. It makes us feel welcome, at ease, and comfortable. So by nature, diversity brings a certain amount of division. It is within the definition of the word.
Yet, as Pastor Danny Chambers pointed out in scripture this morning, division isn't a good thing. We've heard the famous words delivered by Abraham Lincoln in his speech to Congress,
"A house divided against itself cannot stand."Now take a moment and read that scripture which Pastor Danny brought to our attention this morning, Galatians 3:28-29 (MSG). Scripture says that we are "all equal." So if we're equal, how can we also be DIVERSE? Good question. One that Paul, the author of Galatians, answers immediately following the declaration of our global equality. He says,
"That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ."Now some of you who may be reading this may not be of any faith whatsoever. So the references to scripture may not be relevant to your current way of thinking. While I believe that a belief in Jesus would TOTALLY revolutionize your life for the better, I will just say for now that belief in the truth of scripture or not, the answer to equality and racism and prejudice worldwide can be summed up in one word: RELATIONSHIP.
In the movie, 42, Mr. Ricky (Harrison Ford) said something that has stuck with me. Jackie Robinson was known to have a bad temper. Mr. Ricky knew that he couldn't be throwing his temper around if he fight was going to be won. Jackie asks him,
"So do you want somebody who doesn't have the guts to fight back?"To which Mr. Ricky replied,
"NO! I want someone who'll have the guts to NOT fight back! The way that we'll win this fight is if we show them that you're a good gentleman and a great baseball player!"I didn't write it down at the time, that quote is a bit of a paraphrase, but most is really close to being correct. Did Jackie have a right to be mad? ABSOLUTELY!!!! Anyone would've been that had to face that kind of crap! But Mr. Ricky knew that if Jackie was going to win over a nation who was already against him, he had to present to them that which he had in common with them. There would need to be a relationship built from the field, even though he would never shake the majority's hand. He was going to have to leave what he knew to be his RIGHTS aside, only for a time, until trust could be built.
Can we do that, America? Can we, no matter what race because ALL are guilty, can we not pursue our RIGHTS long enough to establish RELATIONSHIP? Paul knew that he was speaking to a diverse crowd when he wrote Galatians, so he quickly pointed out that which was common among them, the relationship with Jesus Christ. That relationship gave them a foundation on which to build. If we're going to be equal, if racism is to die, if prejudice is to be replaced by peace, there must first be relationship. YOU can be the first!!! Find someone different than you and shake his/her hand. Start the revolution!
I leave you with this final thought from scripture. Just in case there is still a deep seeded root in your thoughts about others who may be different in some way than you. Here is what the Bible says about that: Matthew 7:1-2 (GWT). Later, everybody.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
BIBLE: Leave 99 and Go for 1
Matthew 18:12-14 (MSG)
I'm one of those sinners. I'm one of the ones who claims to have a relationship with Jesus, yet I've got a past that would lead some to question. I'm not proud of my past at all! I'm reminded of it every day because the devil makes it his business to do so. But in the middle of one of my "past" seasons, I read the above referenced verse and it changed my life! But first, just a little bit of background.
I'm not going to go into what all I've done. It's really not important at all. Suffice it to say that it was something that I shouldn't have been doing as a believer in Jesus, much less as a Worship Pastor in a church! But I validated my poor choices because life, at the time, was hard for me. I, and other staff members at the church where I served, were being abused by the Pastor. There were many more before us (and some since), but I chose to ignore some red flags when interviewing for the job and went anyway. So as a result, my experience was no different than that of my predecessors. This hardship led me to believe I deserved something to make me "feel better." How many of you have learned that life isn't based on how you FEEL?
What I thought was a hardship at the time was made to look like a cakewalk to the season that followed! My wife and I lost EVERY friend we had (for two separate reasons) and for the first time in 20 years of marriage, we found ourselves alone with only each other. For over a YEAR, we had ONE common friend that would get together with us when she could (which due to busy schedules only equaled to about 4-5 times throughout the whole time). I was isolated. My wife was there, but because of my mistakes, I was experiencing guilt, anger, bitterness, and brokenness. I wasn't the model husband at that moment!
It took almost half of that year for God to get my attention and begin the healing process, a process which continues today. I've come a long way, too!!! But along the way, God took me to these verses listed at the top. I had always thought that the 1 that the shepherd left the 99 for was in the category that the church world calls "lost." (meaning someone who does not trust in Jesus as their Savior) But that's not what Jesus is saying here at all!!!
The "1" was once a part of the 100! He was a full fledged part already. Initiation completed. Name on the dotted line. Wool imparted. Black socks doled out. This was a SHEEP! And it was part of the flock! It just wandered off.
Now, the majority of church folk will tell you that hey don't believe in a God that carries a lightning bolt waiting to strike down that heathen sinner who slides his toe across the Spiritual out-of-bounds line. BUT, let one of their own mess up...DIFFERENT STORY!!!! Suddenly it's almost like the whole bunch is pointing not only to the mess, but the mess-er! We can't believe that one of our own would act like that! "Why, scripture tells us we're to have no part of someone who does stuff like that!" Oh no it doesn't!!! That Matthew chapter 18 (from which the above passage is taken) we often refer to as being on "church discipline" isn't focused on that at all! It's a chapter on how to be REDEMPTIVE with someone! Here. Read the whole thing for yourself and make your own opinion.
When shepherds watched over sheep, they carried a staff. It was pointy on one end and had a crooked hook on the other. The staff had three purposes. First, it was a way for the sheep to see the shepherd. It stuck high in the air and was taller than the shepherd, so it was easier for them to see. Second, it was a weapon. Wolves would be out trying to kill he sheep for a tasty meal. And the shepherd, who genuinely loved his sheep much like we would a pet in today's society, would use the pointy end of the staff as a weapon against impending predators. And third, it was a tool of rescue. Sometimes the sheep would be about to get into danger, or would be in water and couldn't swim. The hook on the other end would be used to reach out and hook the endangered sheep and pull him to safety. Jesus was talking to shepherds here. They knew EXACTLY what he was saying and telling them about the character of God!
When we stray, God doesn't leave the 99 to come and execute His wrath on us for wandering off! NO! The wages of our sin are still death! The eternal part is handled if you're a believer, but not the earthly temporal! He knows the wolf, the devil, is out there and that we're in danger! That's right. His leaving is a RESCUE MISSION!!! He comes running, calling our names, and seeking us out. And when He finds us, He doesn't rush over to us. He knows that would startle us into thinking He is going to be angry. Instead, He lovingly calls us back to Him. And if and when we go, He scoops us into His arms and hightails it back to the 99 so that the family is under his safe watch again.
Now here's the hard part, yet it's beautiful at the same time. The shepherd then breaks the leg of the sheep. WHAT?!? I can hear your gasps from here!!! That's right. Why? He does it because though sheep are extremely dumb animals, they have remarkable hearing. So He takes away their ability to run away by breaking their leg, but then He holds them and nurses them lovingly back to health. AND as He does this, He always carries the sheep in His arms with the sheep's ears over the left side of His chest...because that's where His heart is. See, a sheep, when used to hearing the shepherd's heartbeat, won't stray outside earshot of that heartbeat when it's once again released on it's own. There may come a time when it starts to make a wandering move (it's a dumb breed of animal, remember?), but it will be a long while.
That's the way you truly redeem and treat a Christian who's messed up. You bring them back in as fast as you can by gently calling them. Don't bash them or panic and scare them away for good by displaying anger! But doing everything in love, rescue them from certain danger. Bring them in. Hold them accountable by talking away some freedom, maybe. But constantly surround them and cheer them on letting them know that you are there for them and want nothing more than to see them restored. Then understand that it is the Shepherd who makes the decision when healing is done and releases them back among us. That decision is not ours! No matter how many "Christian counselors" we've been to, know, and have in our Rolodex.
This isn't what was done for me. But it's what I'll do for someone! My wife, my parents, and some people I didn't even know prayed for me while Jesus came after me. I'm walking on my leg again. It still smarts a little! But I'm getting there. :-)
I'm one of those sinners. I'm one of the ones who claims to have a relationship with Jesus, yet I've got a past that would lead some to question. I'm not proud of my past at all! I'm reminded of it every day because the devil makes it his business to do so. But in the middle of one of my "past" seasons, I read the above referenced verse and it changed my life! But first, just a little bit of background.
I'm not going to go into what all I've done. It's really not important at all. Suffice it to say that it was something that I shouldn't have been doing as a believer in Jesus, much less as a Worship Pastor in a church! But I validated my poor choices because life, at the time, was hard for me. I, and other staff members at the church where I served, were being abused by the Pastor. There were many more before us (and some since), but I chose to ignore some red flags when interviewing for the job and went anyway. So as a result, my experience was no different than that of my predecessors. This hardship led me to believe I deserved something to make me "feel better." How many of you have learned that life isn't based on how you FEEL?
What I thought was a hardship at the time was made to look like a cakewalk to the season that followed! My wife and I lost EVERY friend we had (for two separate reasons) and for the first time in 20 years of marriage, we found ourselves alone with only each other. For over a YEAR, we had ONE common friend that would get together with us when she could (which due to busy schedules only equaled to about 4-5 times throughout the whole time). I was isolated. My wife was there, but because of my mistakes, I was experiencing guilt, anger, bitterness, and brokenness. I wasn't the model husband at that moment!
It took almost half of that year for God to get my attention and begin the healing process, a process which continues today. I've come a long way, too!!! But along the way, God took me to these verses listed at the top. I had always thought that the 1 that the shepherd left the 99 for was in the category that the church world calls "lost." (meaning someone who does not trust in Jesus as their Savior) But that's not what Jesus is saying here at all!!!
The "1" was once a part of the 100! He was a full fledged part already. Initiation completed. Name on the dotted line. Wool imparted. Black socks doled out. This was a SHEEP! And it was part of the flock! It just wandered off.
Now, the majority of church folk will tell you that hey don't believe in a God that carries a lightning bolt waiting to strike down that heathen sinner who slides his toe across the Spiritual out-of-bounds line. BUT, let one of their own mess up...DIFFERENT STORY!!!! Suddenly it's almost like the whole bunch is pointing not only to the mess, but the mess-er! We can't believe that one of our own would act like that! "Why, scripture tells us we're to have no part of someone who does stuff like that!" Oh no it doesn't!!! That Matthew chapter 18 (from which the above passage is taken) we often refer to as being on "church discipline" isn't focused on that at all! It's a chapter on how to be REDEMPTIVE with someone! Here. Read the whole thing for yourself and make your own opinion.
When shepherds watched over sheep, they carried a staff. It was pointy on one end and had a crooked hook on the other. The staff had three purposes. First, it was a way for the sheep to see the shepherd. It stuck high in the air and was taller than the shepherd, so it was easier for them to see. Second, it was a weapon. Wolves would be out trying to kill he sheep for a tasty meal. And the shepherd, who genuinely loved his sheep much like we would a pet in today's society, would use the pointy end of the staff as a weapon against impending predators. And third, it was a tool of rescue. Sometimes the sheep would be about to get into danger, or would be in water and couldn't swim. The hook on the other end would be used to reach out and hook the endangered sheep and pull him to safety. Jesus was talking to shepherds here. They knew EXACTLY what he was saying and telling them about the character of God!
When we stray, God doesn't leave the 99 to come and execute His wrath on us for wandering off! NO! The wages of our sin are still death! The eternal part is handled if you're a believer, but not the earthly temporal! He knows the wolf, the devil, is out there and that we're in danger! That's right. His leaving is a RESCUE MISSION!!! He comes running, calling our names, and seeking us out. And when He finds us, He doesn't rush over to us. He knows that would startle us into thinking He is going to be angry. Instead, He lovingly calls us back to Him. And if and when we go, He scoops us into His arms and hightails it back to the 99 so that the family is under his safe watch again.
Now here's the hard part, yet it's beautiful at the same time. The shepherd then breaks the leg of the sheep. WHAT?!? I can hear your gasps from here!!! That's right. Why? He does it because though sheep are extremely dumb animals, they have remarkable hearing. So He takes away their ability to run away by breaking their leg, but then He holds them and nurses them lovingly back to health. AND as He does this, He always carries the sheep in His arms with the sheep's ears over the left side of His chest...because that's where His heart is. See, a sheep, when used to hearing the shepherd's heartbeat, won't stray outside earshot of that heartbeat when it's once again released on it's own. There may come a time when it starts to make a wandering move (it's a dumb breed of animal, remember?), but it will be a long while.
That's the way you truly redeem and treat a Christian who's messed up. You bring them back in as fast as you can by gently calling them. Don't bash them or panic and scare them away for good by displaying anger! But doing everything in love, rescue them from certain danger. Bring them in. Hold them accountable by talking away some freedom, maybe. But constantly surround them and cheer them on letting them know that you are there for them and want nothing more than to see them restored. Then understand that it is the Shepherd who makes the decision when healing is done and releases them back among us. That decision is not ours! No matter how many "Christian counselors" we've been to, know, and have in our Rolodex.
This isn't what was done for me. But it's what I'll do for someone! My wife, my parents, and some people I didn't even know prayed for me while Jesus came after me. I'm walking on my leg again. It still smarts a little! But I'm getting there. :-)
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