My family and I have just begun watching the BBC made "Life" program on DVD. We had previously watched and adored the series they made called "Planet Earth" so when we saw that this series was available, we jumped at adding it to our DVD collection. The cinematography is amazing and the shots that the camera people were able to capture are just stunning. I am constantly amazed by the creation and find myself wondering over and over how any thinking individual can believe that this is all some cosmic accident? Anyways...evolution vs. creation is not my main point in this particular blog...the main point that I am heading towards is the one that Paul points out to us in Romans 1:20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God."
As I sit on my couch taking in the literally amazing spectacles within nature, spiritual truths are resonating in me and I find nature preaching to me! Case in point, the Komodo dragon. I learned that this is the world's largest reptile and it is a carrion eater. (So it likes dead flesh...there's a whole sermon in that but...I digress). The Komodo dragon is not strong enough to take down a buffalo by it's size and strength. It just doesn't have the ability to overpower it by sheer force, so instead, it bites it's prey, releasing some type of toxic poison into the animal it seeks to devour. Then it waits. It will follow it's wounded prey for WEEKS waiting for the poison to slowly but surely, disperse to all areas of the wounded animal. This one poisonous bite will eventually kill the huge and powerful water buffalo. The Komodo will follow the animal, and as it waits patiently, other Komodo dragons enter into the scenario. They begin to follow the wounded beast until it finally succumbs to the poison of that first lethal bite. Then, all of the dragons who have jumped on this bandwagon of death, attack the dead buffalo and within 4 hours, the dragons will have stripped the animal of it's flesh...to the bone. Some of you reading this will immediately understand the spiritual application of this...but for those of you who don't, let me break it down for you as it was broken down for me.
In life, we are in a battle. Christian or not, we face circumstances and situations that are hard. It is in these moments when satan, (that great dragon) sees that we are vulnerable. It is then that he strikes with his venomous bite. Perhaps that bite entails a lie we believe, perhaps we encounter hardship like the loss of a job, perhaps we fail in some area, perhaps some harm has been done to us emotionally or physically, perhaps it's a sin we have caved to. Whatever that "bite" is, we can become infected with it's poison. At first, we may simply feel the sting of that bite but it seems like only a simple bite, a little inconvenience, and so we keep on moving with our lives. Soon, that poison begins working it's way into our lives more and more. The results of that infected bite are beginning to slow us down and weaken us. When that happens, sure enough, as if on cue, more and more dragons show up in the way of bad thoughts, negative reports and let down after let down. It seems that poison has gotten it's way with us and the carrion eaters have claimed us. Despair sets in. We give up. Finally, we lay down and die figuratively. When we give up the fight, when the poison has overtaken us and weakened us, the dragons jump on us and we are devoured.
Have you felt this way? Have you had something so horrible happen to you that you just gave up? The poison of that first bite morphed into more and more dragons surrounding you and taunting you until you just lost the ability to even try? The Komodo mirrors how satan works in the spiritual. He wants to destroy and devour you, and he is willing to wait it out. He knows that if he can just get that one bite in, he can harass you and surround you with his demons until you finally have no fight left. Then, he pounces and all that is left is bones. Has one thought ever become so powerful that it invades your life? Has one action turned to addiction and made you feel you will never be free? Has one time of being hurt morphed into a lasting unforgiveness that surrounds your heart? Has some sickness invaded your body and made you fear death every day? This is the system of the great dragon. Bite once, wait, harass, surround, harass, pounce. The sad part of this story is how many of us end up like the buffalo, devoured. In nature, the buffalo has no defense to this type of attack. Once bitten, there is no recourse for him. The same is true for the unbeliever, when satan attacks, they have no hope of rescue. That poison goes unchecked and the dragons keep on coming.
I am here to tell you though, that believers are different. We have Jesus. We have a Savior. We have a hope beyond the bite. Although we do get bitten from time to time, we have a loving God who will step in and save us if we only trust Him. We fight that poison with the Word of God and the promises of Jesus who says He will NEVER leave us or forsake us. When we cast all that upon Him, we can have peace in the midst of an attack. Though the dragons encircle, they will not be able to feast on us! We can have HOPE! Perhaps you have sinned. The devil got in a bite. Don't ignore the bite, go to the Healer! Think about Jesus taking your sin on his own body at the cross. Get forgiveness and get back up! Have you been hurt? Satan got in that first bite...don't let it fester into unforgiveness, bitterness and anger...go to Jesus and think about His forgiveness towards you! Soon, you will find your pride melting away and true forgiveness replacing the hurt. Is your body sick? Are you in fear of death? Remember that Jesus body was broken for your healing, that he became a curse for you so that you would no longer be under a curse. Don't allow thoughts of death to overwhelm you. See yourself healed and see yourself healed ultimately in heaven. Even if your body should die (which we all will someday) you yourself will never die! This is how we OVERCOME! This is how believers can live victorious lives even when the great dragon bites!
If you are an unbeliever reading this and you are feeling like that buffalo, poisoned, helpless, surrounded...your hope today is in accepting Jesus as your Savior. He is willing to help you in your time of need. Think about Him dying to save you. If He was willing to die for you when you didn't care about Him, won't he be willing to save you now? If God was willing to give up His own Son for your salvation, won't He be willing to accept you? Reach out and grab the lifeline that is being offered.
Am I saying bites never happen again? No. I am I saying that the dragons give up altogether? No. But they WON'T overcome. They won't devour and their poison will not end in death!
Thank God!
Thank God for his Word, thank God for his creation and for the lessons we can learn about Him when His Holy Spirit leads us into all truth.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
The real glory of Job
As I was pondering the story of Job I was given a moment of revelation. I am certain that it will make more sense in my mind than it will on this blog but I still wanted to type it out and give it a voice.
So often, people think the story of Job is so very unfair. As if God is somehow unjust for allowing a righteous man to suffer in order to prove a point to satan. I used to think this too, until I saw just what was happening and how awesome of a story it truly is.
We tend to think that Job didn't deserve any of his suffering because we are told he was a good man who honored God. Good people aren't supposed to have bad things happen to them. Yet, all around us in real life, bad things happen to good people, to people we love, all the time. Why should Job's story make us so upset? Why does it seem so unfair? So wrong? I believe it's because it makes us afraid. It makes us say to ourselves, "If God would allow that to happen to Job, then I'm toast!" Am I right? I propose though, that God actually did Job a major favor in allowing him to take part in the story. How? I'll tell you. Job actually got to stick it to satan, and he didn't even know it!
Satan was God's most glorious created being. He was in God's presence and yet, turned in pride, desiring to be God instead of honoring his creator. He was able to deceive Adam and Eve into doing likewise to their Creator. Ever since, that has been his game, to separate God from his creation. Yet, God was about to show satan that humans were different than angels. That humans were special. That even though many would rebel, there were some, despite satan's best efforts, that would always worship God. Satan thought that humans, Job in particular, would only worship God if God protected and blessed them. Remove that protection, satan mused, and humans will curse God to his face. So, God allowed satan to attack Job. To test his theory about humans and their relationship with God. We all know how it ends. Job prevails through all the trials and worships God, even more aware of God's awesome power than before. We don't hear anything about satan or his reaction. I think it's because Job's response is all the triumph we need to see. He showed a fallen angel that a being made from the dust of the earth, could continue to worship God, a God he had never even seen, despite massive suffering and loss. Every tactic employed against him by satan failed. FAILED. Satan FAILED to destroy a being made of mud. Of simple flesh and bone. Satan, Lucifer, the most beautifully created being ever made...who had lived the direct presence and holiness of God...failed to destroy a human being. Ah...the embarassment. We don't get to hear what satan did when he realized that his plans had failed. I like to think that he slunk off to a dark corner somewhere to fume over getting OWNED by a human. Not only that, but he had to watch as God restored fully to Job every last thing that satan thought he had taken away. He learned that he had NO power. Even what he stole and destroyed, God was able to restore. Ouch.
Job didn't know all this. Had he known, he could have become arrogant or prideful. Instead, it was his lack of knowledge of what was happening in the spiritual that made him such an inspiration. He accepted good and evil from the hand of the Lord and worshipped Him just the same. His faith was pure. His faith was based on the knowledge that God is God and he was not. Unlike satan who wanted to be God, Job was content, even in suffering to submit to God. Bam. I said, BAM! This also foreshadows Jesus Christ. The Son of Man, who submits to suffering, only to be glorified and lifted up before all principalities and powers. Despite temptations, despite persecution, despite physical pain...Jesus prevails. Even to the point of death, Jesus overcomes. Job is never allowed to be killed. Job doesn't lose his own life. But his suffering is a picture, a promise to satan that if a regular man can overcome, just wait until the Son of Man comes...he will even triumph over death!
As Christians, God promises us that we can and will overcome as well. If we continue to trust despite the persecution, trials and temptations. We will be like Christ and we will win! Job didn't know of Jesus, he didn't know what we know..and yet he overcame. How much more should we be encouraged KNOWING that Christ is for us and in us! How awesome!
So often, people think the story of Job is so very unfair. As if God is somehow unjust for allowing a righteous man to suffer in order to prove a point to satan. I used to think this too, until I saw just what was happening and how awesome of a story it truly is.
We tend to think that Job didn't deserve any of his suffering because we are told he was a good man who honored God. Good people aren't supposed to have bad things happen to them. Yet, all around us in real life, bad things happen to good people, to people we love, all the time. Why should Job's story make us so upset? Why does it seem so unfair? So wrong? I believe it's because it makes us afraid. It makes us say to ourselves, "If God would allow that to happen to Job, then I'm toast!" Am I right? I propose though, that God actually did Job a major favor in allowing him to take part in the story. How? I'll tell you. Job actually got to stick it to satan, and he didn't even know it!
Satan was God's most glorious created being. He was in God's presence and yet, turned in pride, desiring to be God instead of honoring his creator. He was able to deceive Adam and Eve into doing likewise to their Creator. Ever since, that has been his game, to separate God from his creation. Yet, God was about to show satan that humans were different than angels. That humans were special. That even though many would rebel, there were some, despite satan's best efforts, that would always worship God. Satan thought that humans, Job in particular, would only worship God if God protected and blessed them. Remove that protection, satan mused, and humans will curse God to his face. So, God allowed satan to attack Job. To test his theory about humans and their relationship with God. We all know how it ends. Job prevails through all the trials and worships God, even more aware of God's awesome power than before. We don't hear anything about satan or his reaction. I think it's because Job's response is all the triumph we need to see. He showed a fallen angel that a being made from the dust of the earth, could continue to worship God, a God he had never even seen, despite massive suffering and loss. Every tactic employed against him by satan failed. FAILED. Satan FAILED to destroy a being made of mud. Of simple flesh and bone. Satan, Lucifer, the most beautifully created being ever made...who had lived the direct presence and holiness of God...failed to destroy a human being. Ah...the embarassment. We don't get to hear what satan did when he realized that his plans had failed. I like to think that he slunk off to a dark corner somewhere to fume over getting OWNED by a human. Not only that, but he had to watch as God restored fully to Job every last thing that satan thought he had taken away. He learned that he had NO power. Even what he stole and destroyed, God was able to restore. Ouch.
Job didn't know all this. Had he known, he could have become arrogant or prideful. Instead, it was his lack of knowledge of what was happening in the spiritual that made him such an inspiration. He accepted good and evil from the hand of the Lord and worshipped Him just the same. His faith was pure. His faith was based on the knowledge that God is God and he was not. Unlike satan who wanted to be God, Job was content, even in suffering to submit to God. Bam. I said, BAM! This also foreshadows Jesus Christ. The Son of Man, who submits to suffering, only to be glorified and lifted up before all principalities and powers. Despite temptations, despite persecution, despite physical pain...Jesus prevails. Even to the point of death, Jesus overcomes. Job is never allowed to be killed. Job doesn't lose his own life. But his suffering is a picture, a promise to satan that if a regular man can overcome, just wait until the Son of Man comes...he will even triumph over death!
As Christians, God promises us that we can and will overcome as well. If we continue to trust despite the persecution, trials and temptations. We will be like Christ and we will win! Job didn't know of Jesus, he didn't know what we know..and yet he overcame. How much more should we be encouraged KNOWING that Christ is for us and in us! How awesome!
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Bigot or Prophet?
Bigot or Prophet?
As today is America's National Day of Prayer, it has gotten me thinking about all the ills that plague our society. Our nation clearly needs prayer. It clearly needs a whole-hearted return to God and His principles of living. As I read the news, I became increasingly upset, almost to the point of tears (which is one reason that I don't read the news every day..it truly can overwhelm...) I decided to hop into the bathtub which is where I tend to relax and have some quiet time to pray and ponder. As I prayed basically a version of "Dear God, we are messing things up royally down here...PLEASE HELP US!...OH..and DON'T ALLOW ME TO BE A PROBLEM TOO!", I felt God leading me to read Matthew chapter 3. I honestly didn't remember what was in that chapter but I took God's leading and went there expecting to hear something that would bring clarity to the desperate prayer of my heart. He did.
Matthew 3 tells us about John the Baptist. He begins preaching in the wilderness and many people in the surrounding area come out to hear him. Here is what he was shouting,
"Repent (think differently; change your mind, regretting your sins and changing your conduct), for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
As today is America's National Day of Prayer, it has gotten me thinking about all the ills that plague our society. Our nation clearly needs prayer. It clearly needs a whole-hearted return to God and His principles of living. As I read the news, I became increasingly upset, almost to the point of tears (which is one reason that I don't read the news every day..it truly can overwhelm...) I decided to hop into the bathtub which is where I tend to relax and have some quiet time to pray and ponder. As I prayed basically a version of "Dear God, we are messing things up royally down here...PLEASE HELP US!...OH..and DON'T ALLOW ME TO BE A PROBLEM TOO!", I felt God leading me to read Matthew chapter 3. I honestly didn't remember what was in that chapter but I took God's leading and went there expecting to hear something that would bring clarity to the desperate prayer of my heart. He did.
Matthew 3 tells us about John the Baptist. He begins preaching in the wilderness and many people in the surrounding area come out to hear him. Here is what he was shouting,
"Repent (think differently; change your mind, regretting your sins and changing your conduct), for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
"You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee and escape from the wrath and indignation [of God against disobedience] that is coming? Bring forth fruit that is consistent with repentance [let your lives prove your change of heart]"
"And already the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."
"I indeed baptize you [c]in (with) water [d]because of repentance [that is, because of your[e]changing your minds for the better, heartily amending your ways, with abhorrence of your past sins]. But He Who is coming after me is mightier than I, Whose sandals I am not worthy or fit to take off or carry; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fan (shovel, fork) is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear out and clean His threshing floor and gather and store His wheat in His barn, but the chaff He will burn up with fire that cannot be put out."
Does this sound like a bigot to you? I don't think this type of preaching would go over very well in a lot of circles these days. I am not sure if this preaching would go well in Christian circles. Certainly not on facebook! Sometimes I feel like my words echo John the Baptist, preaching a message that is unpopular and seemingly harsh. I feel like I am out in the wilderness and people are looking at me in my goat hair suit as I eat honey and bugs. I wonder at times if I am the bigot and hater that the media and so called "liberals" would say that I am. I rack my brain, praying and wondering, "God, am I actually representing you well and accurately?" Am I being a loving person? Can I indeed speak words like these and still be loving? It tears me up inside because the last thing I want to do is turn people away from Christ because I am doing things all wrong. Is this how Jesus would talk? Is this how Jesus would act? Isn't he so non-judgy? Isn't he all love and acceptance and condemnation free?
Well, I got my answer. In the very next verse, Jesus shows up on the scene and does something that would surprise my critics. He REQUESTS to be baptized by John...you know..the one who was yelling at people to repent and change their minds, attitudes and actions! I think it stands to reason that Jesus was advocating the message that John was sharing with his listeners. Not only that, but shortly after Jesus gets baptized, He goes into the desert to be tempted by Satan and comes out preaching! What are his first words that are recorded in Scripture...."Repent ([l]change your mind for the better, heartily amend your ways, with abhorrence of your past sins), for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
Hmmm. Sounds a lot like the message that John was preaching. Who, by the way, was jailed for calling out the sexual sin of Herod, the leader of the day who had married his brother's wife. Does this remind anyone of the growing pressure coming on many Christians today who are openly opposed to the flagrant sexual sins of today? Wouldn't the "liberals" for lack of a better word, be incensed by John's pointing out of sexual sin? He ended up dying for doing so with a swift beheading.
I am so thankful that God sent me to this passage. It did several things. It renewed in me the assurance that I am not a hateful bigot, but in fact, am preaching the same message that Jesus preached. Some people are not going to like it...sometimes to the degree that they may very well kill me. Okay. Noted. I sure hope not....It also encouraged me to take heart and remember that Jesus is very much in control and that the axe is at the root of the tree...He is going to deal with the sin in this world...I can trust in that when I get overwhelmed by the news swirling about me. It also reminded me to check my own heart and put it before God. Am I repentant? Am I continuing to allow my heart and mind to be changed? Am I truly disgusted with my old ways of sin and seeking to put to death the sin that I see in me today? Only God knows for sure...I pray that He will bring fruit that is good out of my life. And I pray that the words I speak will echo His, even if by prophesying, I am called a bigot.
Monday, December 3, 2012
Freedom from Failure
I have heard it said, "What would you accomplish if you knew you would not fail?" In other words, what have you been avoiding out of fear of failure?
I suppose what frustrates me most within the body of Christ (the church) is how often I see people who claim belief in Christ but live with no real victory. I think the root of this is a lack of belief or trust in the deep, true, and wonderful love of Christ. They are saved, but don't know just how powerful Jesus saving power is. They grow weary in trying to do good. They sin. They feel the guilty conscience pricking their hearts. They begin to believe, "I have failed. I can't DO this anymore." Ultimately, they run from God. ( I know what this feels like, I lived it!) What they fail to understand ( and what I failed to grasp for many years) is that they have a mediator between them and God, someone who knows exactly what it's like to face temptation, how frail and weak the human being is. This mediator is Jesus. He is our intercessor, our advocate before the Father, standing up for us and cleansing us daily. Jesus isn't angry with them, he's standing right there, ready to lift them up and offer mercy. He promised he would not cast out anyone who came to him. This is what scripture is trying to teach us when it tells us we can now go BOLDLY into the throne of grace and receive mercy in our time of need. We don't need mercy when we are doing it all right...mercy is for the failure, the fault filled, the weak ones. Like me, for example. :)
In the case of unbelievers, they may feel that they have sinned too much for God to accept them. In truth, they have, we all have. But this is the exact moment when the gift of Christ shines forth! This IS the reason for the good news! God can't accept us as we are, on our own...but He can accept us when we have the payment of Christ covering over our sinful deeds. When the unbeliever begins to see that despite what they have done Christ can cover it, they begin to have hope. Failure is lost and gaining is at hand!
Within the Christian world, we tend to get saved and then forget that we have mercy. When we forget that we have mercy, we put on facades and start "acting" as if everything is all right. It's like we were willing to be humble and admit our sin once before..but NOW..now we have to look good. We earn reputations in church as being godly or wise and so the stakes for failure seem so much higher. No one expected holiness of us the day we sauntered into church the first time. They expected us to be full of sin and broken. As much as it saddens me to see it and sometimes angers me, it is not surprising to me when I see a huge scandal involving some head pastor of some mega-church or ministry. The more they are looked up to, the more people lean on their every word, the higher the pressure becomes internally to look like you have it all together. I can't let them know! What will they think? What will happen to my ministry? Honesty gets replaced with fear. Fear of man is a snare. Let me tell you a little story about how a big failure actually HELPED another believer...
A few months back, I went to Disney with my family and a fellow Christian family. All went well until the sun got too hot, the head counting of children went on too long and this girl got plain old exhausted. I had just been informed by my husband that my youngest child had pooped her diaper and that we had left the diaper bag in our stroller on the other end of the park. Yay. In that moment of "Oh Crap" (literally and figuratively) I began to make my way across the entrance of the park. I am not sure if I did, in my haste, cut off a woman walking with her kids or not...I felt I didn't but she felt STRONGLY that I did. In her anger, she started yelling at me and swearing at me. Super bad timing for this lady to yell at me. I completely lost my cool and yelled back at her emphatically that I "DID NOT TOUCH YOUR KIDS!" While this may seem mild as a response to some of you...I immediately felt horrible. I was on the church prayer team for goodness sake! How can I call myself a Christian who is supposed to turn the other cheek when instead, I yell back!? This upset put me in a guilt heavy mood that led to a later loud altercation with my husband whom I yelled at quite well in front of my kids and our friends..as well as a few hundred Disney guests. I was appalled at myself. I should KNOW BETTER! What a hypocrite I am! What a FAILURE! These thoughts raced repeatedly through my mind for several days. I thanked God for His forgiveness in the matter and trusted all was well, although I was still upset with myself and felt like I had failed personally. Soon after, a young man we had prayed for and spent some time with ended up in the hospital. He had made some pretty regrettable choices and found himself under surveillance in the hospital. We care deeply for him and asked if we could visit with him. He agreed. When we arrived, he started to tell us the reason he was there and how badly he felt. I read some scripture but I didn't see relief on his face. So, I told him my Disney story. He laughed and said it was the first time he had really had joy all week. My failure made him feel encouraged. He looked at me and my husband as leaders, as people who "had it together". My willingness to share my "secret shame" with him, helped him to continue and not give up..to keep close to God. I was SO thankful that night. God had used my failure to encourage someone else who was on the verge of giving up. While I am sure that God wasn't loving my volatile reaction at Disney, He, because He loves me, was going to use it for good and redeem it. In doing so, He redeemed me! I no longer felt like a failure. I felt human. And it felt good to know that He had my back.
When we fail, when we sin, we must remember that God has our back. That in Him there is no shadow of turning. We must remember that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. It is this unconditional love and promise to never leave us or forsake us or condemn us that gives us the encouragement to keep going...to keep the faith. We may condemn ourselves, as I had, but He doesn't. I learned personally the truth of this as well as that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. He not only forgave me, but He used my mistakes to build up another one of his children. A two for one!
I hope that this story will make you laugh. I hope that these truths will encourage you as you continue to place your faith in the saving grace of Jesus. I hope that if you don't have that kind of relationship with Christ, that this story and these truths will prompt you to desire one. Most of all, I hope that you realize that in Christ, you can not fail. So, get up, dust off, and get moving. Victory awaits! I am going to DISNEYLAND! :)
I suppose what frustrates me most within the body of Christ (the church) is how often I see people who claim belief in Christ but live with no real victory. I think the root of this is a lack of belief or trust in the deep, true, and wonderful love of Christ. They are saved, but don't know just how powerful Jesus saving power is. They grow weary in trying to do good. They sin. They feel the guilty conscience pricking their hearts. They begin to believe, "I have failed. I can't DO this anymore." Ultimately, they run from God. ( I know what this feels like, I lived it!) What they fail to understand ( and what I failed to grasp for many years) is that they have a mediator between them and God, someone who knows exactly what it's like to face temptation, how frail and weak the human being is. This mediator is Jesus. He is our intercessor, our advocate before the Father, standing up for us and cleansing us daily. Jesus isn't angry with them, he's standing right there, ready to lift them up and offer mercy. He promised he would not cast out anyone who came to him. This is what scripture is trying to teach us when it tells us we can now go BOLDLY into the throne of grace and receive mercy in our time of need. We don't need mercy when we are doing it all right...mercy is for the failure, the fault filled, the weak ones. Like me, for example. :)
In the case of unbelievers, they may feel that they have sinned too much for God to accept them. In truth, they have, we all have. But this is the exact moment when the gift of Christ shines forth! This IS the reason for the good news! God can't accept us as we are, on our own...but He can accept us when we have the payment of Christ covering over our sinful deeds. When the unbeliever begins to see that despite what they have done Christ can cover it, they begin to have hope. Failure is lost and gaining is at hand!
Within the Christian world, we tend to get saved and then forget that we have mercy. When we forget that we have mercy, we put on facades and start "acting" as if everything is all right. It's like we were willing to be humble and admit our sin once before..but NOW..now we have to look good. We earn reputations in church as being godly or wise and so the stakes for failure seem so much higher. No one expected holiness of us the day we sauntered into church the first time. They expected us to be full of sin and broken. As much as it saddens me to see it and sometimes angers me, it is not surprising to me when I see a huge scandal involving some head pastor of some mega-church or ministry. The more they are looked up to, the more people lean on their every word, the higher the pressure becomes internally to look like you have it all together. I can't let them know! What will they think? What will happen to my ministry? Honesty gets replaced with fear. Fear of man is a snare. Let me tell you a little story about how a big failure actually HELPED another believer...
A few months back, I went to Disney with my family and a fellow Christian family. All went well until the sun got too hot, the head counting of children went on too long and this girl got plain old exhausted. I had just been informed by my husband that my youngest child had pooped her diaper and that we had left the diaper bag in our stroller on the other end of the park. Yay. In that moment of "Oh Crap" (literally and figuratively) I began to make my way across the entrance of the park. I am not sure if I did, in my haste, cut off a woman walking with her kids or not...I felt I didn't but she felt STRONGLY that I did. In her anger, she started yelling at me and swearing at me. Super bad timing for this lady to yell at me. I completely lost my cool and yelled back at her emphatically that I "DID NOT TOUCH YOUR KIDS!" While this may seem mild as a response to some of you...I immediately felt horrible. I was on the church prayer team for goodness sake! How can I call myself a Christian who is supposed to turn the other cheek when instead, I yell back!? This upset put me in a guilt heavy mood that led to a later loud altercation with my husband whom I yelled at quite well in front of my kids and our friends..as well as a few hundred Disney guests. I was appalled at myself. I should KNOW BETTER! What a hypocrite I am! What a FAILURE! These thoughts raced repeatedly through my mind for several days. I thanked God for His forgiveness in the matter and trusted all was well, although I was still upset with myself and felt like I had failed personally. Soon after, a young man we had prayed for and spent some time with ended up in the hospital. He had made some pretty regrettable choices and found himself under surveillance in the hospital. We care deeply for him and asked if we could visit with him. He agreed. When we arrived, he started to tell us the reason he was there and how badly he felt. I read some scripture but I didn't see relief on his face. So, I told him my Disney story. He laughed and said it was the first time he had really had joy all week. My failure made him feel encouraged. He looked at me and my husband as leaders, as people who "had it together". My willingness to share my "secret shame" with him, helped him to continue and not give up..to keep close to God. I was SO thankful that night. God had used my failure to encourage someone else who was on the verge of giving up. While I am sure that God wasn't loving my volatile reaction at Disney, He, because He loves me, was going to use it for good and redeem it. In doing so, He redeemed me! I no longer felt like a failure. I felt human. And it felt good to know that He had my back.
When we fail, when we sin, we must remember that God has our back. That in Him there is no shadow of turning. We must remember that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ. It is this unconditional love and promise to never leave us or forsake us or condemn us that gives us the encouragement to keep going...to keep the faith. We may condemn ourselves, as I had, but He doesn't. I learned personally the truth of this as well as that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. He not only forgave me, but He used my mistakes to build up another one of his children. A two for one!
I hope that this story will make you laugh. I hope that these truths will encourage you as you continue to place your faith in the saving grace of Jesus. I hope that if you don't have that kind of relationship with Christ, that this story and these truths will prompt you to desire one. Most of all, I hope that you realize that in Christ, you can not fail. So, get up, dust off, and get moving. Victory awaits! I am going to DISNEYLAND! :)
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Broken me...
As I was sitting in a prayer service at my local church recently, I was pondering the scripture in which Jesus says he has not come to condemn the world, for it is already condemned, but to save it. As Christians we can get so angry with the "sinful" choices of the world and with our spiritual eyes having been opened, it can seem absurd when laws are passed that are in direct opposition to "common sense" in our view. I however, am beginning, by God's kindness, to see the WHY behind the mess. Condemnation. Jesus told us the world was already condemned...it is like a huge red demolition sign has been posted on this earth and on every inhabitant since the garden of Eden and the fall of man. In Genesis we learn that due to sin, the whole Earth is cursed. The entire world groans for it's release from the bondage of sin. This is the WHY. Humans inherently "know" that they are condemned and under this curse. God makes it no secret. We can see it in nature, we can see it in the brokenness of man. We all see the pain of the world and think, "This is not right...this should not be". No one is happy with the curse and so they seek ways to get around the big red sign that marks them as soon to be destroyed. They do this in several ways...but the reason is always the same. Deny, deny, deny. Avoid, avoid, avoid. Cover, cover, cover. Hide, hide, hide. Nothing has changed since the garden. Adam sinned and hid. Eve covered herself and her husband with leaves....both trying to deny and avoid that big red sign. The ultimate problem with our worldly efforts to avoid being condemned is that NONE of them work and sooner or later, we need to add more leaves and hide in deeper and darker places. This is why we are seeing the legalization of the murder of our unborn...legalization and normalization of homosexual marriage....normalization and acceptance of divorce...normalization and acceptance of extramarital or premarital sexual relationships...legalization of drugs and the push for the legalization of marijuana...the normalization of pornography, the glorification of lying,cheating, backbiting, gossip (has anyone seen the "Real Housewives" series?)the list goes on and on....The world is trying to escape the curse the only way their darkened spiritual eyes can figure. Make what causes us to feel condemned NORMAL or LEGAL or FASHIONABLE. Our methods do not work as we are seeing evidenced across humankind. As we hide further and further from the truth about our fate, we simply heap sin upon sin, leaf upon leaf, and retreat further into the forest to hide from God. That is like ignoring a sunburn, putting on more tanning oil and sitting back out in the sun. God gives us warning signs for a reason! To warn us and to turn us back to the truth!
Notice how in the Garden, after Eve and Adam had hidden themselves and fashioned their new wardrobe, God came looking for them? He still comes looking for cursed man today, offering us a new covering that HE makes for us. He covers us with a sacrifice that HE determines worthy of redeeming us. His Son. Those who accept this offering can finally be free from condemnation. It is as if God takes that big red sign off of us and marks us with a new sign, TO BE SAVED! No one demolishes a building without first going through it and removing all the valuables and treasures it holds. They must be marked and removed before destruction begins. Every corner of the building gets looked over for anything that is precious or anyone hiding out inside. God gives us the opportunity to be marked for him, but we can choose to stay in our ramshackle surroundings and try to duct tape over the cracks, hide in the closets, and hold up the falling ceiling with our feeble hands.
I choose to run to him yelling "SAVE ME" and I look forward to what he will build in place of this cracked and broken world...in place of this cracked and broken me!
Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved!
Monday, October 17, 2011
Machine Gun Preacher??
So...I dove in and went to see this film while on vacation in AZ as it happened to be playing there in limited release. I went in hoping to be inspired and I left confused and unsure about it all. Here is the premise. Sam Childers ( a real person played in the film by Gerard Butler) is a former drug addict and biker gang member. He becomes a Christian and while on a mission trip to Africa, is moved by the horrible things taking place in Southern Sudan. Children are being kidnapped, forced to kill their own family members, sold into sex slavery, having their lips and arms hacked off, etc. etc. by the members of the demonic and evil Lord's Resistance Army. He decides to fight back and build a church/orphanage and work with the Sudanese Liberation Army. In the film we see him killing LRA soldiers and saving many children. We also see how hate begins to fill his heart as he constantly is torn between what he sees and his faith in Christ. This is where the film gets tricky...is it right to war against our enemies to the point of hunting them down and killing them? How does Christ see this? I am not making a judgment call at all here...I myself am torn. God tells us to stand up for justice and to protect the poor and the weak...which I believe Sam is and has done...but up to what point? Do we go out and kill?
In one scene of the film, a humanitarian aid worker tells Sam that his methods are just adding to the problem. She says, "We have enough guns"...Sam replies, "You fight your way, I'll fight mine"...(my paraphrase)....She then reminds him that the LRA's leader also began in a similar way, believing that by killing, he was fighting for justice...but look at him now...he is evil personified...
This is the warning that really got to me. When we begin to kill for what we believe are the "right reasons"...there are indoubtedly those on the opposite side who disagree and think that we are the "right ones to kill"...Obviously, there is NEVER a justification for killing and harming innocent children and families just trying to live out their lives...so I am in no way saying that the LRA is a good organization...the question remains...how then DO we fight as Christians? Jesus tells us to love our enemy...to offer the other cheek if we are struck on the first by an enemy...to go the extra mile when having been forced to go the first one...when sued to give more than we are being sued for...how does this line up when children's lives are being taken? Do we gather guns and fight fire with fire? What about not being overcome by evil but overcoming evil with good? How do we do that when we are faced with the most horrific evil you can imagine? What about the scripture that tells us God is pleased when his people "Love not their lives unto death.." meaning that they are willing to die before renouncing what Christ has done for them. Do we let ourselves be murdered if we can not escape? Do we fight back weapon for weapon?
This is not an easy question for me...it "seems" right to fight militarily when innocents are being killed...but is it? Do we instead put ourselves in the line of fire on their behalf and suffer death with them?
I think back to Nazi Germany. What if those who were ordered to kill, instead refused and were willing to die with their Jewish neighbors? If there had been no one willing to fight for Hitler, but all were willing to die instead, who would have started the war? One man? I just watched a documentary about young people today who were willing to say that they would kill and bury alive Jewish people if they would be killed for not obeying. They would kill others to save themselves for a few more years. This is today people...in AMERICA...
I would hope that, if I was ever in that type of position, I would have the peace of my salvation and say as Paul did, "To live is Christ, to die is gain" and allow myself to be killed instead. After all, isn't the most loving thing someone can do is to lay their lives down for a friend? Isn't that what scripture teaches us?
So...is Sam Childers wrong? I don't know. I believe he is doing the best he can in a horrible situation. Faced with the same choices, I don't know how I would choose to handle myself. I am sure some of his life was embellished to make a Hollywood movie more exciting or intense...but hopefully, he is seeking peace before war. Prayer before bullets.
In one scene of the film, a humanitarian aid worker tells Sam that his methods are just adding to the problem. She says, "We have enough guns"...Sam replies, "You fight your way, I'll fight mine"...(my paraphrase)....She then reminds him that the LRA's leader also began in a similar way, believing that by killing, he was fighting for justice...but look at him now...he is evil personified...
This is the warning that really got to me. When we begin to kill for what we believe are the "right reasons"...there are indoubtedly those on the opposite side who disagree and think that we are the "right ones to kill"...Obviously, there is NEVER a justification for killing and harming innocent children and families just trying to live out their lives...so I am in no way saying that the LRA is a good organization...the question remains...how then DO we fight as Christians? Jesus tells us to love our enemy...to offer the other cheek if we are struck on the first by an enemy...to go the extra mile when having been forced to go the first one...when sued to give more than we are being sued for...how does this line up when children's lives are being taken? Do we gather guns and fight fire with fire? What about not being overcome by evil but overcoming evil with good? How do we do that when we are faced with the most horrific evil you can imagine? What about the scripture that tells us God is pleased when his people "Love not their lives unto death.." meaning that they are willing to die before renouncing what Christ has done for them. Do we let ourselves be murdered if we can not escape? Do we fight back weapon for weapon?
This is not an easy question for me...it "seems" right to fight militarily when innocents are being killed...but is it? Do we instead put ourselves in the line of fire on their behalf and suffer death with them?
I think back to Nazi Germany. What if those who were ordered to kill, instead refused and were willing to die with their Jewish neighbors? If there had been no one willing to fight for Hitler, but all were willing to die instead, who would have started the war? One man? I just watched a documentary about young people today who were willing to say that they would kill and bury alive Jewish people if they would be killed for not obeying. They would kill others to save themselves for a few more years. This is today people...in AMERICA...
I would hope that, if I was ever in that type of position, I would have the peace of my salvation and say as Paul did, "To live is Christ, to die is gain" and allow myself to be killed instead. After all, isn't the most loving thing someone can do is to lay their lives down for a friend? Isn't that what scripture teaches us?
So...is Sam Childers wrong? I don't know. I believe he is doing the best he can in a horrible situation. Faced with the same choices, I don't know how I would choose to handle myself. I am sure some of his life was embellished to make a Hollywood movie more exciting or intense...but hopefully, he is seeking peace before war. Prayer before bullets.
Monday, March 14, 2011
A bride begrudging...
I have a confession..I don't always serve with a compliant and happy heart. *gasp* I know, I know...shocking. I struggle with being thankful and giving cheerfully. I dislike sacrifice and hard work when something fun is out there waiting. Actually, it doesn't have to even be fun, it just has to be EASIER...isn't that sad?
In church this week, we were reminded that a Christian is part of a culture of sacrifice. Not for the notoriety of being a martyr or some kind of badge of honor recipient...but for the joy. Yes..for the JOY of sacrifice. Is that even possible you might ask? Let me tell you a little story...of how God might see what he receives from us, and why we might just be better off keeping our little tokens if we can't give them in the right attitude.
A few weeks back, was my birthday (and in the same week always falls Valentines Day..which also happens to be the anniversary of my engagement to my hubby)...this particular year, my husband was on a missions trip to Ghana, West Africa and missed both. In addition, finances have been mucho tight and so...I did not receive anything but a phone call and well wishes from him via Skype. I tend to be a gift LOVING person..it's one of my love languages...and so I was hoping that despite the trip and despite the finances, my husband would pony up and surprise me with a gift that I had expressed interest in multiple times (hint ,hint!) Alas, this was not to be. Casting reason and logic aside, I continued to hound him about said item and "lovingly" hinted about it, threw it around in random conversation, mentioned it in his vicinity to others, etc. All in all, being very annoying...(Did I just admit that in writing???) I wanted this sacrifice from him SO badly...wanted to know that he loved me to the point of doing something unwise financially just to make me feel like he cared. (I am so sad sometimes...I digress...)
This led to a climactic scene in Best Buy when I Oh, so gently showed him what I wanted in person and touted all it's magnificence. I even used my sweet and tender voice. Can you believe he still said NO and we had to walk out of that store together lacking in the precious device???!!
This is where my finest moment occurred....I threw a fit. I whined, I begged, I tried to use guilt to get my way...and then, you know what...I annoyed him so greatly, that he turned around and started to walk back into the store. He was so mad, he was going to buy it for me! Ah! Success! Right? Nope. At that moment, I didn't want it anymore. I mean, I did want IT, just not that way. How could I enjoy a gift given to me just to get me off his back? Was that REALLY what I wanted? No...what I wanted was the heart behind the gift...and if I got the gift, but not his heart...I wouldn't even be able to enjoy it. It would be a constant reminder that I got my way, but lost my husband. Not worth it. Not at all.
This makes me think of our Lord and Father. He asks us for things all the time (albeit not in my fallen annoying way)...our obedience, our time, our finances, but what he is really after is our hearts. If we do all he asks, but only to "get Him off our backs"...is that really what he wants from us? Remember Cain and Abel?...two brothers, two sacrifices. What made one acceptable over the other? The heart behind the sacrifice. To one brother, Abel, it was a gift to God, showing His love. The other, an offer made out of compulsion...out of necessity...out of wrong motives. Both brothers were revealing their hearts to God, only one was giving his TO God.
Now let's look at the ultimate gift, Jesus Christ. He went to the cross. Why? Out of sheer necessity? Did he hem and haw about it and make a big scene? No. He gave freely. He gave with joy. He gave in love. This is how WE know what love is...Jesus Christ, laid down His life, for us! And honestly, we didn't even know we wanted or needed him to! It was heaven's great surprise of love. We didn't even have to ask!
Is there something that God has been asking of you? Have you been giving to Him out of the wrong motivations? Perhaps fear or obligation have motivated you. Maybe this the the time to sit down and think about why you are doing what you are doing...and get your heart right with God about it. Change your attitude from one that is like a bride begrudging (or in my case a groom) to one who looks forward to the giving of whatever has been asked for. Because unlike sad little me...God never whines or throws a fit to get his way. He simply waits, heart open, arms open, for his bride to give Him their most valuable possession...themselves.
In church this week, we were reminded that a Christian is part of a culture of sacrifice. Not for the notoriety of being a martyr or some kind of badge of honor recipient...but for the joy. Yes..for the JOY of sacrifice. Is that even possible you might ask? Let me tell you a little story...of how God might see what he receives from us, and why we might just be better off keeping our little tokens if we can't give them in the right attitude.
A few weeks back, was my birthday (and in the same week always falls Valentines Day..which also happens to be the anniversary of my engagement to my hubby)...this particular year, my husband was on a missions trip to Ghana, West Africa and missed both. In addition, finances have been mucho tight and so...I did not receive anything but a phone call and well wishes from him via Skype. I tend to be a gift LOVING person..it's one of my love languages...and so I was hoping that despite the trip and despite the finances, my husband would pony up and surprise me with a gift that I had expressed interest in multiple times (hint ,hint!) Alas, this was not to be. Casting reason and logic aside, I continued to hound him about said item and "lovingly" hinted about it, threw it around in random conversation, mentioned it in his vicinity to others, etc. All in all, being very annoying...(Did I just admit that in writing???) I wanted this sacrifice from him SO badly...wanted to know that he loved me to the point of doing something unwise financially just to make me feel like he cared. (I am so sad sometimes...I digress...)
This led to a climactic scene in Best Buy when I Oh, so gently showed him what I wanted in person and touted all it's magnificence. I even used my sweet and tender voice. Can you believe he still said NO and we had to walk out of that store together lacking in the precious device???!!
This is where my finest moment occurred....I threw a fit. I whined, I begged, I tried to use guilt to get my way...and then, you know what...I annoyed him so greatly, that he turned around and started to walk back into the store. He was so mad, he was going to buy it for me! Ah! Success! Right? Nope. At that moment, I didn't want it anymore. I mean, I did want IT, just not that way. How could I enjoy a gift given to me just to get me off his back? Was that REALLY what I wanted? No...what I wanted was the heart behind the gift...and if I got the gift, but not his heart...I wouldn't even be able to enjoy it. It would be a constant reminder that I got my way, but lost my husband. Not worth it. Not at all.
This makes me think of our Lord and Father. He asks us for things all the time (albeit not in my fallen annoying way)...our obedience, our time, our finances, but what he is really after is our hearts. If we do all he asks, but only to "get Him off our backs"...is that really what he wants from us? Remember Cain and Abel?...two brothers, two sacrifices. What made one acceptable over the other? The heart behind the sacrifice. To one brother, Abel, it was a gift to God, showing His love. The other, an offer made out of compulsion...out of necessity...out of wrong motives. Both brothers were revealing their hearts to God, only one was giving his TO God.
Now let's look at the ultimate gift, Jesus Christ. He went to the cross. Why? Out of sheer necessity? Did he hem and haw about it and make a big scene? No. He gave freely. He gave with joy. He gave in love. This is how WE know what love is...Jesus Christ, laid down His life, for us! And honestly, we didn't even know we wanted or needed him to! It was heaven's great surprise of love. We didn't even have to ask!
Is there something that God has been asking of you? Have you been giving to Him out of the wrong motivations? Perhaps fear or obligation have motivated you. Maybe this the the time to sit down and think about why you are doing what you are doing...and get your heart right with God about it. Change your attitude from one that is like a bride begrudging (or in my case a groom) to one who looks forward to the giving of whatever has been asked for. Because unlike sad little me...God never whines or throws a fit to get his way. He simply waits, heart open, arms open, for his bride to give Him their most valuable possession...themselves.
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