A Passed Past: Grace

It's been a little over a month since my last blog.  For my regular readers, I'm sorry for the delay (I normally try to write one about every two weeks or so), but to say life has been interesting in this past month would be an understatement!

Some of you know that as I type this, I'm home recovering from foot reconstructive surgery on my left foot.  Surgery was on June 5.  I made the decision to go ahead and have the surgery about the time of my last blog near the end of April.  Stress and worry have plagued me as the enemy has tried to attack both Michelle and I with not only our emotions, but our pursuits of our personal business successes as well.

Add to that the fact that a pastor that I served under in the recent past lost his job because of moral reasons.  Now understand, this was a man that had abused me and every other member of his staff, had abused church members seeking to only have relationships with "friends" if he gained something from it, and had left hundreds of people in his wake!  It was two years and two months of hell on earth and the worst season of 24 years of worship ministry!  I had been praying ever since I left that God would intervene there, and He did.

For years I had carried anger and maybe even some forms of hatred toward this man.  The very sight of anything that reminded me of him would stir those emotions deep within me!  But then, I get this news.  And after jumping up and down in my living room for about 20 minutes, which I had to repent of immediately after, God gave me a very sobering thought.  See, I've been where he is now.  I know the sting of coming face to face with my sin and the hurt that it caused to loved ones and the body of Christ.  At that moment, a page turned and I was able to not only forgive him, but almost become a crusader for his restoration.  His sin (as far as I know and based on my experience) was now in the past where my Father is concerned, thus it should be with me.  Repentance sought.  Forgiveness given.  Grace in motion.

We all have a past.  Technically speaking, you started reading this blog in the past.  Every split second takes us further into the future and leaves a string of moments in its wake.  For many of us, we have a past we're not proud of.  The past consists of scenes that flash through our minds on a daily basis playing a film in high definition reminding us of our weakest moments, our times of which we are most ashamed, or seasons of searing hurt.  For some of us, years separate the present from those  moments.  For others, only minutes.  Some of you may find yourselves reading this in a desperate cry for hope because you're in one of those times right now!

Pasts are like fires.  You can run or try to pull away from the sting when you feel it, but it's already on you, burning you.  By the time you recognize the pain, the mistake is made.  You can't take it back.  You're on fire now.  And the fire uses your mind and body for fuel.  As long as there's a part of you left, it seems it will never stop.  And if you do get the flames put out, you stand back up only to realize you don't look like you did "before."  Your past has marked you.  Grossly.

I remember looking in the mirror and not liking what I'd become.  I remember the days begging God to take me out; to just kill me!  I didn't want the suffering and pain and worst of all, I didn't want to see it in the faces of those for which I cared.  And these things brought me face to face with that emotion that you always hear said, but until you've experienced it for yourself, you may think it to be hogwash: The hardest person to forgive is yourself.  You think of yourself as a monster!  Hope has faded as a single drop of water into a raging inferno.

But in that season of tremendous loss, God reminded me of something in His word about which I had written a song years earlier.  Click on the following reference link to read Isaiah 43:1-3.  It's not an "if," but "when" we walk through fire and deep water.  And the deformity that we saw when we looked in the mirror is nothing more than seeing our sin in the light.  However, we ARE NOT defined by our sin!  Let me say that again, we ARE NOT defined by our sin!  Make it personal and read this out loud: I AM NOT defined by my sin!  If you are in Christ, a child of God is who you are.  Again from Isaiah, "I have ransomed you.  I have called you by name; you are mine."

Click here and read the story of the Prodigal Son.  Jesus uses this illustration to give us a glimpse of the Father's heart.  When the lost son was out doing his own thing, did the father get angry?  Did he cut him out of the will?  Did he renounce him from the family?  No.  He sat.  Waiting.  Knowing.  One day, his son would be coming down the road back home.  And the father wanted to be there to see him coming when the event came into play.  Not to say, "I told you so," but to run and wrap his lost son in his arms and welcome him home!  That's grace.  That's what happened to me.  The son's past was IMMEDIATELY just...passed.  It was no longer relevant to the father.

Scripture says that upon repentance, God separates our sin as far away from Him as the east from the west.  It says that our sin becomes white as snow when washed under the blood of Christ.  That means that there is HOPE for us all!  Thanks be to God, there's HOPE!!!  There may be darkness for a time.  But it doesn't last!  Read here what the Bible says: 1 Peter 5:10.

Now let me take a moment to talk to the "saints" reading this.  You may know someone who has fallen.  Their sin may scare you.  Really, it may damage your good standing in the community if you are seen associating with the likes of such sinners.  They have damaged the name of Christ and the work of the church.  The need to see if they are truly repentant wells up inside you because of those verses you've read about "wolves in sheep's clothing!"  There's danger in the camp and you need to be the one to rid those you care about of that danger!  Read this passage: Galatians 6:1-3.

Still think that way?  Remember the pastor I mentioned earlier in this blog?  I remember sitting in church and listening to one of his messages when he said, "Show me a man who's always talking about grace, and I'll show you a man who's looking to minimize or seek an excuse for his sin."  I wonder if that's what he still believes?  He now has a "past."  One of those that have burned him like fire.

And remember how I said that I have almost become a crusader for his restoration?  I haven't done that to earn a merit badge from Jesus!  As a matter of fact, that could only happen because I had been - have been - the recipient of grace.  It is impossible to give what you have never received.  If you've never come to fact with the weight of your own sin and the fact that just yours would have still cost Jesus His life, then how can you expect to give it to anyone else?  You can't.  Impossible.

My pastor's poor statement was made with the thought that grace is an excuse to sin.  That grace follows repentance.  That grace is earned based on some sort of demonstration by the sinner.  Maybe they haven't cried enough to suit you.  Maybe you haven't seen them in the altar.  So what?!?  Did scripture say to make sure and look for those things, it just said to do it!  The heart condition is up to God, not you!  The repentance is because of Him, not you.  But we are to have His heart.  We are to act like the person we are - a child of God.

Grace comes before repentance!  Grace begs repentance!  It is not an excuse to sin, but the very reason to never sin again!  When we become givers of grace because we have first been recipients; when we see others not as a danger to the cause of Christ, but as the HEART of the cause of Christ; when we stop looking for the faults of others because we can't face our own faults and make a bigger deal out of their sin in order to better hide our own, then we become bearers of HOPE!!!  And hope is the one thing that every person on this planet needs every single day.  Without Jesus, there is none.  With Him, there's nothing else.

God told me something in a prayer time when I was being attacked by those who knew details about my past.  He said to me, "Son, first know that I love you and am proud of you.  Second, know that any time you are reminded of your past, it is never from my voice.  It is always the voice of the enemy!  How can I remind you of something that has been washed from your record by the blood of my Son and that I have since forgotten?"  Grace is here.  Your past is passed.  Live in freedom of your future.

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THANK YOU for stopping by!  Till next time...

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.

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...