The Wrong Question

With all the things going on around us, the terrorist attacks, the racial tensions, the political agendas, not to mention our own trials, troubles, tribulations we ourselves are going through, we may be asking "why is God letting this happen?" And we seem to never get an answer or we get an answer that just leaves more questions. Well, perhaps we are asking the wrong question. Perhaps instead of asking "why is God letting this happen" we really need to be asking "God, will you help me through this, will you help those families who have lost those in the attacks, will you help me weather my own storm, will you help me in the middle of this fight I am in?" Those are the questions really we need to be asking. By asking "Why is God letting this happen" we will never get an answer that brings peace and resolution. If you ask "God, will you help me?" you WILL get answer that brings peace and resolution. Reach out to Him in your storms, in your fights and in your battles, reach out to Him in those times where you don't understand the "why" and ask Him to help you. He will bring you peace.

I came across this song a few months ago, and it really touched my heart this morning, probably because of what happened in Nice, France. This song really should become our anthem...

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.

Servant or Master

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi (Phil. 1: 1).

James, a servant of God, and of the Lord Jesus Christ (Jas. 1: 1)

Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 1: 1)

Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ (Jude 1)

Notice what all these writers said in their opening statements? They all stated where they saw themselves positionally as Christians. They saw themselves as servants. Some translations say slaves or bondservants, but the meaning is the same, they saw Jesus as their Masters and themselves as servants of the Master. We can say we are Christians till the proverbially cows come home, but do we see ourselves positionally as servants of Jesus. In the Western culture we do for ourselves, we do what we want, when we want, how we want, doesn't matter if someone gets in our way, we will plow right over them because "hey, they are in the way of what I want." Sometimes we say "need" but really it's what we want. This explains A LOT of our selfish behavior, motives, talk, etc...so much that we look at the New Testament and look at our lives and wonder "Hmmm, why do their lives look different that mine?" The reason...they saw themselves as servants of Jesus, not the other way around. Yep, you heard me! We get to the point where we see Jesus as doing our bidding so we can get what we want. If we started looking at ourselves as the servants and Jesus as the Master, our lives would be much different! They would be filled with peace, joy, unselfishness...the fruits of the Spirit!

Take Away...

Start looking at yourself as servants and not masters. When you see yourself positionally as servants of Jesus, the way it is suppose to be, your outlook and behavior will start to change!

A Curse and Coloring Books

Like a fluttering bird or like a flying swallow,
so a curse without cause does not come to rest.
Proverbs 26:2 (NET)

I still get amazed at how messed up we humans can take what God made so simple and make it so complicated. God has not made living this Christian life difficult, but somehow we humans think we need to add to what God has made and we totally mess it up, in fact, we make things rather spooky. For example, I just recently heard about coloring books and how some of the pictures are cursed. For the non-Christian yes this would be a problem, but as Christians we have the protection of God! In Proverbs 26:2 it says a curse without a cause does not come to rest. As children of God, there is not any curse that will affect us because we are God's children, therefore there is no cause to curse us and therefore if there is a curse, it will not land on us.  "SO WHAT" if that coloring book or whatever you are watching or doing has a curse on it...it isn't going to affect you! We've got to take the spookiness out of Christianity, live the life God called us to live and that is walk in peace, love, joy and not be going around like we are some kind of religious police finding all the things that can "get us." Truth of the matter is there is so much out there the could "get us" that we would drive ourselves crazy trying to protect ourselves from it all. The good thing is we don't have to, God is already protecting us! You don't even have to ask for it because He is already doing it!

Take Away...

Stop trying to find the things that are out to get you and live your life the way God intended, in peace, joy and love...He is already protecting you!

Stand and Shut Up!

For this reason, take up the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand your ground on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand
Ephesians 6:13(NET)

When we face a problem, a lot of times God has us do something. Then when we don't get the results that we want, we try to do more than what God was asking us to do. When Paul told the Ephesians that "having done everything" they were to stand. This means that once you have done what God has asked you to do, you are to stand...not sit...but stand, and not only stand, but to stand firm...unwavering, solid, being kept intact. This means that in that "standing time" we don't waver in our trust that God is taking care of the situation. We don't complain about how long this is taking, we don't worry that God won't take care of it, we don't pout when it isn't going our way, we don't talk about it and talk about it and talk about it over and over and over to our friends, neighbors, the people we work with...we are told to STAND! And really, for some of us, that should be STAND and SHUT UP! If we would put as much effort into standing firm and being patient as we do into worrying, complaining, and talking about our problems...we would get through those standing times with ease. It all really comes down to a trust issue, and that is trusting God to take care of the situation, whatever it may be.

Take Away...

When faced with an issue, do what God is telling to do, and when you have done all He has told you to do...stand firm and shut up!