Rules or Grace?

Why is it that churches filled with people who say they have been saved by grace can become such ungracious people?

Why is it if you ask someone outside the church what they associate with the word “Christian” (especially “evangelical”), they might mention a conservative political agenda or judgmentalism or self-righteousness but not grace-filled love? I think it has at least partly to do with pride.

This is a major theme in Scripture. The writers of Scripture tell us that “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” This is because only the humble want to receive it.

Ortberg, John (2010-05-11). Love Beyond Reason (p. 140). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

The church has become filled with "do this" "don't do that" that we have forgotten about grace and God's love for us. If church has become more of a list of requirements, then we have really separated from what God truly intended when Jesus sacrificed Himself on the cross. Church is not about rules and regulations, it is not about a list of requirements for getting in the door. Church should be a place where people from every culture, background and race can come and receive God's love and His grace. We, as the church, have not done a good job at extending grace and love, but we have done a very good job at listing rules and regulations and requirements for getting in the door. We, the church, need to get back to extending grace and God's love to EVERYONE, not just those we think "fit in" in the church.

The Gift of "Me Too"

I was reading in my devotional this afternoon about getting past your past. I've heard messages like this one many times as I had to get past a lot of my past. Here is what she said...

I was given the gift of “Me too.” The gift of knowing that I am not alone.
You are not alone. I encourage you to break the silence. To be a voice for the child you once were. Be bold enough to share what you have been hiding with a safe person. When you do, I believe that you will invite a new level of healing to invade your life!

When you are going through something, you think you are the only one, at least that's how I thought...that no one has ever experienced what I am going through, that no one could possibly relate to what I am going through. The enemy wants us to think that. Why? Because, according to scripture, if we do talk about it to others, we will get our healing...and thats the last thing the enemy wants. But it is what GOD wants...He wants to heal you. And the first step toward your healing is confessing it. 

James 5:16 (NET)

So confess your sins to one another and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great effectiveness.

Yes, it can be scary. Yes, people may talk. But if you want to be healed, if you want to be rid of the pain and suffering, you must confess, because...and believe it or not...there ARE others who are going or who have gone through what you are experiencing. And through this God heals! 

I encourage you that if you have kept hidden something that is causing you pain and suffering, and you have been afraid to speak to someone about it...take the first step toward healing and confess it to someone...someone you trust, someone close to you. You may hear the words "me too!"

Rag Dolls

Over the years "the church" has painted a picture of God and of the church that is really not what God and the church is suppose to be like. The church is not a prim and proper place only welcoming perfect, upright, upstanding people. Unfortunately that is what the church has become. If we look back to the first century when Jesus was walking on the earth and when Paul was preaching, they always preached to the imperfect, the lepers, the prostitutes, the whatevers, the castaways of society, etc. The following is from the book Love Beyond Reason by John Ortberg...

This is the church the way it’s supposed to be. A group of rag dolls who have received love even though they know they didn’t deserve it, who then extend it to others because they refuse to allow raggedness to keep them from loving. Because love is God’s signature. And grace makes love strong.

The reality is everyone of us is a rag doll, a person with imperfections, a person who needs God's love. And what is awesome is that God is giving us His love...freely. We don't have to perform for it, we don't have to do everything right, we don't have to behave right, we don't have to speak right. In fact if you never ever changed, His love is still His gift to you and always will be! He already loved you SO much that before you were even a thought, God had already sent his Son to die for you! That's how much God loves you...

John 3:16 (NET Bible)
For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

Ernest Angely and High School

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven."

Luke 6:37 (NET)

When I was in high school and had just rededicated my life to Christ, I read this verse and really didn't give it much thought. Meanwhile, there was this evangelist on television named Ernest Angely. He spoke with a "different" accent (yes he was an American), he acted different than what most people would call normal. He was quite wide known at the time and a bunch of us in school would were always making fun of him, mimicking the way he talked and so on. Interesting that after I read that verse, I noticed that whenever I would make fun of Ernest Angely, something bad would happen to me. And it wasn't just once or twice, it was every time I made fun of him. The Holy Spirit spoke to me and told me that although he may sound and act different gives you no right to judge and criticize him. Every one has a past that has dictated the way people think, act, talk, whatever, including you and me. To judge and criticize people because they think and behave differently than you or I do is really saying we are better than they are. In reality we are no better than the other person, we just have different histories and pasts. We, as Christians, as the body of Christ, need to be flowing in more mercy and in more forgiveness and in more understanding towards other people. God didn't say its alright to criticize if they are doing something really bad, He never says that! What He does say is to love them, pray for them, and forgive them.

Take Away: instead of criticizing and judging people, ask God to help you show mercy and understanding toward others, no matter how different they talk or act.

Worship Song of the Week...

The Cyclist and the Car

So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who belong to the family of faith.
Galatians 6:10

I was watching a video of a motorcyclist starting to pass a vehicle, and then suddenly the vehicle that the motorcyclist was getting ready to pass swerved, hit the cyclist and drove off (but later stopped). The motorcyclist was alright, banged up but alright. Unfortunately at the time of the posting of the video his wife that was on the cycle with him was still in ICU. When they found the driver of the car, he said he purposely swerved to hit him and didn't care that he hit the cyclist. What has happened to our society? What has happened that human life means nothing to people anymore? Now I could definitely start venting, but that won't help. What will help is what Paul is saying to us in Galatians 6:10...do good to all people. It is easy to do good to those we know and like, but it gets a little more difficult to do good to those that we don't know, or don't like, or that cut us off in traffic, or are mean to us on the phone at the office. But look at that verse again, it says do good to ALL people, that means everyone, the nice people and the people that, well, aren't nice. Hey, we are not always nice either, but we expect people to extend grace to us, right? If we expect people to extend grace to us, then we better be able to do the same for others. More importantly though, God wants us to be nice to all people, and in this way we are truly witnesses to for Him.

Take Away: let's be the salt of the earth, let's be the ones who make the change to at least those around us...when you have the opportunity to be nice and do good to those that are not particularly good to you, choose to do good...we are the ones that can make the change!