Celibacy is an interesting subject in the Christian world. It is, or can be, a wonderful gift. The apostle Paul talked about it in those terms and Jesus spoke of those that become eunuchs for the Kingdom of God. I do not believe Jesus was speaking in the literal, surgical sense when He said that, but the more spiritual sense of living like a eunuch.
I am celibate. I have been so for 36 years. I probably would have made a good eunuch.
Early on, my thoughts about celibacy were, "what kind of gift is this? It's like getting socks and a toothbrush for Christmas."
But you know what? You need socks and toothbrushes in life. Further to the point, God gives everyone gifts. Some are teachers, some are pastors, some are ministers. Others have musical or writing talents or mechanical abilities or administrative abilities. The list could go on and on.
God gives us gifts. He expects us to use them. He expects us to glorify Him with them. We should want to do our very best to polish our gifts, to get better and better at them and then give them back to the Lord in kind; not to earn salvation or try to buy His favor, but because we love Him.
So if this is the case, how does this work with celibacy if it is indeed a gift? Good question. When you are truly celibate, you are preparing a rare and precious gift for your Father in heaven. It's called a life of purity.
Now if you know me, you know that I am probably not the highest example of purity. Purity has as much to do with daily living as it does with sexual abstinence. Sometimes I am not as pure as I could be in that way. I am unfinished though. As an excuse I offer that God is not finished with me yet.
So here it is. We are to be living sacrifices to God as believers. My sacrifice is sex among other things. I'm not trying to be smug here, but that's a pretty big deal.
I have learned how to enjoy my gift. It gets better everyday. I think God likes it too. Socks and a toothbrush become much more relevant when you see them in the correct light.
Celibacy is not for everyone. You will know if you can do it. An acquaintance once said that it's OK to be lonely as long as you are free. He was right. He was not married. And he was one of the most talented Christian song writers of the 20th century.
Loneliness can be a part of it. You just have to learn how to make the most of it. Get in contact with your Creator. Draw near to Him. Let Him inspire you and be your friend. He is the best friend a boy could ever have. He will show you things that you never thought possible.
Thursday, November 12, 2015
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
Love
Last night I experienced love. No, not that kind of love...silly rabbit. I have been off that wagon for quite awhile. I enjoyed the love and grace and joy and peace that comes from acceptance. I met with the elders of my church. I took my mask off and I told them who I was and they loved me anyway....just the way that Jesus loves me.
I shared with them my hopes and dreams for our church. I told them I wanted to be apart of it. They were not only supportive, but in many senses, they were way ahead of me. Apparently I am just catching up with them. Here is a bit of what I shared. For some this will be a rude awakening; for others it will be a "ya, I guess I knew that" type thing.
It's been said by some that I am a man with walls; that I am hard to get to know and it's true that I am not a socializer. I am not what you would call a "people person". I do fairly well in small groups and with people that have been in my life for many years, but I do not embrace or trust others easily.
I have been trying to get past this for awhile; to open myself up and bring the walls down, but it's hard for me. There is a point in relationship development with other people where I hit brick wall because honesty about who I am and even, to a certain extent, where I have been in my life is not something I have been able to share since I do not know how others will react. This is especially true in the Lord's Church.
It's been my thought for a very long time that the Church should be a place where we can all take our "masks" off and be ourselves so that we can know each other as Jesus knows us; that we should have no secrets and that we should share and help each other as we pursue our walk with Jesus together.
It's with that thought in mind, that I would like to take the mask off. I am a same sex attracted person. Some would say "gay". Since I am not sexually active and have not been so since I was 22 years old, I do not use that term. Others might. I do not. I am not involved in the gay community. I know people who are, but I am not. I have been celibate for 36 years. It has been tough, but it is only a small part of who I am. It's not really my identity. Nevertheless, I wake up everyday knowing that I am not like most other people.
Having said all that, it is very difficult to develop relationships with new people because inevitably someone will want to know why I am not married. I can always make up a story or joke and tell them that I was wiser than they were, but really, it's just deceit. Further to the point, if one is not open about these things suspicions develop and relationship becomes difficult, if not impossible. I have even found myself walking away from people because I did not want to go through the evasive tactics.
This should not happen. I am not going to let it happen anymore. I understand that I am bent in the flesh in a very peculiar way and that I have a very grave responsibility to keep that bend in check with the continuing help of the Lord, but seriously, does that mean I cannot enter into deeper relationship with the other members of the body because someone might find that my particular bend makes them uncomfortable or even fearful?
I would like to see this change. I would like to be able to share this, to share my struggle with people and to tell them how much the Lord and yes, even this very church has done for me. I am at a point, for the first time in my life, where I genuinely feel secure in my salvation. I know that some day I am going to see Jesus and there is nothing else in this world that brings me more joy and peace of mind.
The conversation went on from there as we explored the possibilities of what lie ahead in terms of ministry.
I probably should not do this in this way, but I want to put it out there for everyone to see.
It is possible to love Jesus and be same sex attracted. You can be a part of His church and help others that are struggling with whatever it is in life. Life is messy. God wants to teach us how to be clean. The time has come for the Church to step out of its middle class fortresses and embrace those that need the grace and love and truth of Jesus Christ.
Last night and together, my church made huge strides in that direction. I am humbled and honored to help in whatever way the Lord may lead us. I do not know where this will go. I do not know what to do next so I am doing this.
As Isaiah said about 2700 years ago, "Here am I Lord. Send me."
I think maybe I just need to start doing this and let the Lord sort out the details.
Lord, thanks so much for last night. The peace and joy I feel right now is more than enough payment for all the years of solitude. I know that was not your doing and yet you give to me anyway. You are my Lord and my God. Thanks you for choosing me to be in your family. I love you Lord. I just need one more thing. Ya, I know I always say that. I need to know where to go from here. I can see the possibilities, but I am indecisive. Show me the way. Show us the way as we move forward in the church. Lord, what I see is a church that needs to know each other, the way you know each of us. Do you want this to happen? I kind of think you do. If not, you need to find a way to tell me and it's going to have to be loud and brash because I do not always notice the trees in the forest if you get my drift.Please clear my head and help me to think this out in a way that is beyond human logic or emotion so that I...we....can see your purpose. I love you...no matter how this goes.
In Your Name I Pray,
Amen
I shared with them my hopes and dreams for our church. I told them I wanted to be apart of it. They were not only supportive, but in many senses, they were way ahead of me. Apparently I am just catching up with them. Here is a bit of what I shared. For some this will be a rude awakening; for others it will be a "ya, I guess I knew that" type thing.
It's been said by some that I am a man with walls; that I am hard to get to know and it's true that I am not a socializer. I am not what you would call a "people person". I do fairly well in small groups and with people that have been in my life for many years, but I do not embrace or trust others easily.
I have been trying to get past this for awhile; to open myself up and bring the walls down, but it's hard for me. There is a point in relationship development with other people where I hit brick wall because honesty about who I am and even, to a certain extent, where I have been in my life is not something I have been able to share since I do not know how others will react. This is especially true in the Lord's Church.
It's been my thought for a very long time that the Church should be a place where we can all take our "masks" off and be ourselves so that we can know each other as Jesus knows us; that we should have no secrets and that we should share and help each other as we pursue our walk with Jesus together.
It's with that thought in mind, that I would like to take the mask off. I am a same sex attracted person. Some would say "gay". Since I am not sexually active and have not been so since I was 22 years old, I do not use that term. Others might. I do not. I am not involved in the gay community. I know people who are, but I am not. I have been celibate for 36 years. It has been tough, but it is only a small part of who I am. It's not really my identity. Nevertheless, I wake up everyday knowing that I am not like most other people.
Having said all that, it is very difficult to develop relationships with new people because inevitably someone will want to know why I am not married. I can always make up a story or joke and tell them that I was wiser than they were, but really, it's just deceit. Further to the point, if one is not open about these things suspicions develop and relationship becomes difficult, if not impossible. I have even found myself walking away from people because I did not want to go through the evasive tactics.
This should not happen. I am not going to let it happen anymore. I understand that I am bent in the flesh in a very peculiar way and that I have a very grave responsibility to keep that bend in check with the continuing help of the Lord, but seriously, does that mean I cannot enter into deeper relationship with the other members of the body because someone might find that my particular bend makes them uncomfortable or even fearful?
I would like to see this change. I would like to be able to share this, to share my struggle with people and to tell them how much the Lord and yes, even this very church has done for me. I am at a point, for the first time in my life, where I genuinely feel secure in my salvation. I know that some day I am going to see Jesus and there is nothing else in this world that brings me more joy and peace of mind.
The conversation went on from there as we explored the possibilities of what lie ahead in terms of ministry.
I probably should not do this in this way, but I want to put it out there for everyone to see.
It is possible to love Jesus and be same sex attracted. You can be a part of His church and help others that are struggling with whatever it is in life. Life is messy. God wants to teach us how to be clean. The time has come for the Church to step out of its middle class fortresses and embrace those that need the grace and love and truth of Jesus Christ.
Last night and together, my church made huge strides in that direction. I am humbled and honored to help in whatever way the Lord may lead us. I do not know where this will go. I do not know what to do next so I am doing this.
As Isaiah said about 2700 years ago, "Here am I Lord. Send me."
I think maybe I just need to start doing this and let the Lord sort out the details.
Lord, thanks so much for last night. The peace and joy I feel right now is more than enough payment for all the years of solitude. I know that was not your doing and yet you give to me anyway. You are my Lord and my God. Thanks you for choosing me to be in your family. I love you Lord. I just need one more thing. Ya, I know I always say that. I need to know where to go from here. I can see the possibilities, but I am indecisive. Show me the way. Show us the way as we move forward in the church. Lord, what I see is a church that needs to know each other, the way you know each of us. Do you want this to happen? I kind of think you do. If not, you need to find a way to tell me and it's going to have to be loud and brash because I do not always notice the trees in the forest if you get my drift.Please clear my head and help me to think this out in a way that is beyond human logic or emotion so that I...we....can see your purpose. I love you...no matter how this goes.
In Your Name I Pray,
Amen
Monday, November 9, 2015
Psalm 27....Again
The Bible says we should fear two things.
God.
And nothing.
Easy to say right? What I find, though, is that when I come along side of Him, He comes along side of me, and when that happens, fear takes a hike.
The opening and closing verses of Psalm 27 are powerful in this regard. The entire Psalm is one of reassurance in the time of trouble, but I will give the opening and closing and let you read the rest. David was a man that seemed to understand fear because of his life situation and he learned early on that a close relationship with the Lord can break that fear.
The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
and
I remain confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord.
Lord, I think my waiting is over. I know that You are with me and that I have nothing to fear.
Lord, I thank you for the gift of courage, for being with me in this present time, for helping me to break free from the bonds that that our common enemy puts upon me. He is a cagey adversary and he has wreaked havoc in my life, but there comes a time to say "no more" and to enlist the help of the brothers in this battle. Please Lord, help me in Your way to make them see what we must do. I think they know. Only a nudge may be necessary.
The things that You have done for me in my life will stand as witness to Your power. Please make it so Lord. I thank You and praise You for these things.
In Your Name I Pray!
Amen
God.
And nothing.
Easy to say right? What I find, though, is that when I come along side of Him, He comes along side of me, and when that happens, fear takes a hike.
The opening and closing verses of Psalm 27 are powerful in this regard. The entire Psalm is one of reassurance in the time of trouble, but I will give the opening and closing and let you read the rest. David was a man that seemed to understand fear because of his life situation and he learned early on that a close relationship with the Lord can break that fear.
The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
and
I remain confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord.
Lord, I think my waiting is over. I know that You are with me and that I have nothing to fear.
Lord, I thank you for the gift of courage, for being with me in this present time, for helping me to break free from the bonds that that our common enemy puts upon me. He is a cagey adversary and he has wreaked havoc in my life, but there comes a time to say "no more" and to enlist the help of the brothers in this battle. Please Lord, help me in Your way to make them see what we must do. I think they know. Only a nudge may be necessary.
The things that You have done for me in my life will stand as witness to Your power. Please make it so Lord. I thank You and praise You for these things.
In Your Name I Pray!
Amen
Saturday, November 7, 2015
This Bulletin Just In....
Oliver, the Soft Coated Wheaton Terrier, has just proclaimed victory. He has defeated a ground hog in 3 rounds of battle. The groundhog is dead as Oliver struts the yard victoriously with the carcass of the enemy firmly ensconced between his jaws. As blood dripped from the lifeless body of the ground hog onto Oliver's paws, the young K9 shook his prey one more time to be assured of its death. Oliver can rest assured, knowing that his family and friends are safe from this menace.
Meanwhile, the old man (not the old, old man) went out with a shovel to retrieve the body from Oliver before he had an opportunity to dine. Since the rodent was heavy and encumbered the terrier's pace, the old man was able ware Oliver down so he dropped the deceased beast long enough to scoop up the carcass.
When asked later how he intended to celebrate, Oliver said, "woof, woof. woof, woof and woof.", which apparently has something to do with Disneyworld. We are not sure how that will work, since his shock collar prevents him from going to the end of the driveway, but we will see.
I for one, am hoping this is not an omen for a number of reasons that I will not go into right now.
Meanwhile, the old man (not the old, old man) went out with a shovel to retrieve the body from Oliver before he had an opportunity to dine. Since the rodent was heavy and encumbered the terrier's pace, the old man was able ware Oliver down so he dropped the deceased beast long enough to scoop up the carcass.
When asked later how he intended to celebrate, Oliver said, "woof, woof. woof, woof and woof.", which apparently has something to do with Disneyworld. We are not sure how that will work, since his shock collar prevents him from going to the end of the driveway, but we will see.
I for one, am hoping this is not an omen for a number of reasons that I will not go into right now.
Friday, November 6, 2015
Do You Love 'Em Even When They're Dirty?
I am assuming most of you had children at one time or another; maybe even now they are in your house. Those that don't probably have nieces and nephews or young cousins.
Did they ever come up to the house after a long day of playing covered in dirt, clothes maybe torn and grass stained, with maybe some blood or a small wound that needed attention? Did you let them in the house anyway? Did you love them, even though they were dirty and wounded because they were yours? Did you bring them in the house and help clean them up; make them a presentable member of the family again? You know why you did that right?
Christian - this is what God does for us and a billion others every single day of every single year since the day the blood of His Son flowed on that cross for us. He brings us back into His House and cleans us up and helps us heal so we will be ready for another day of play. He loved us when we were still dirty and wounded and He loves us now. He also knows we will get wounded and dirty again and He needs the more mature members of His family to help teach the others not to get so dirty and to be more careful.
This is to be at least part of our life in God's Kingdom - the Church.
He also has other dirty and wounded children out there that have no family to bring them inside to clean them up. They need to be adopted and brought into His house. He wants us to bring them in and love them; teach them how to be clean and why they should even care about such things. We have family we do not even know about...yet.
So the next time your brat comes to the house covered in filth, think about that and help him get cleaned up.
Thursday, November 5, 2015
Messy Grace Equals a Messy Church
In Chapter 10 of his book, Messy Grace, Caleb Kaltenbach says that messy grace will give you a messy church. He goes on to say that he wants us all to have messy chruches. He wants them to be places where there can be healing from sin and life circumstances. Chapter 10 opens with this.
"Think about your church and ask yourself if it's a place where it's OK for people to say things like these:
"I am and addict and I want to know my next step"
"I can't handle my finances"
"I'm struggling with porn"
"I'm not doing well in my marriage"
"I gossip and feel better when I run down people"
"I'm having issues with my kids"
"I'm struggling with my sexuality"
"I'm gay""
This list could go much farther. Humanity as a whole is bent. We, as Christians within the Church, are trying to recover from this kind of brokeness, at least in theory. I guess my question is, how are we doing?
Can these things be discussed in your church on more than a general, abstract basis? Would people be comfortable with someone confessing their sin or spiritual issues with others in your church or even in front of the entire church? Is your church coming alongside these people to help, minister and support?
As Christ's body, if we are to know each other fully and function as a healthy body, is it not incumbent on us to help each other recover from what we once were, moving forward.? Do we let part of the body die because we do not want to discuss whatever it is?
Believers in search of healing tend to look in other, and possibly wrong places if they do not find it in their church. This is not good. I think we need to be confessing churches that support each other in the full spectrum of struggles that our members endure. There are some things that get a pass at church simply because many people have to deal with it on a daily basis. It is seen as common, what ever it is, and so it gets a pass and most of the time does not get fixed. There is a list of these things that I could name, but I will not. Instead, I will name mine. I tend to be self righteous and prideful. What I find is there are many in church that have this issue. Sometimes we support and uplift each other in our self righteousness and pride rather than seeing it for what it is. We need to get beyond that kind of behavior or we will have a different kind of messy church on our hands - one that is judgmental toward people with life issues and sin issues, that has no sense of compassion for those that are suffering at the hands of our common enemy.
Is your church 'messy'? I hope it's a good kind of messy.
"Think about your church and ask yourself if it's a place where it's OK for people to say things like these:
"I am and addict and I want to know my next step"
"I can't handle my finances"
"I'm struggling with porn"
"I'm not doing well in my marriage"
"I gossip and feel better when I run down people"
"I'm having issues with my kids"
"I'm struggling with my sexuality"
"I'm gay""
This list could go much farther. Humanity as a whole is bent. We, as Christians within the Church, are trying to recover from this kind of brokeness, at least in theory. I guess my question is, how are we doing?
Can these things be discussed in your church on more than a general, abstract basis? Would people be comfortable with someone confessing their sin or spiritual issues with others in your church or even in front of the entire church? Is your church coming alongside these people to help, minister and support?
As Christ's body, if we are to know each other fully and function as a healthy body, is it not incumbent on us to help each other recover from what we once were, moving forward.? Do we let part of the body die because we do not want to discuss whatever it is?
Believers in search of healing tend to look in other, and possibly wrong places if they do not find it in their church. This is not good. I think we need to be confessing churches that support each other in the full spectrum of struggles that our members endure. There are some things that get a pass at church simply because many people have to deal with it on a daily basis. It is seen as common, what ever it is, and so it gets a pass and most of the time does not get fixed. There is a list of these things that I could name, but I will not. Instead, I will name mine. I tend to be self righteous and prideful. What I find is there are many in church that have this issue. Sometimes we support and uplift each other in our self righteousness and pride rather than seeing it for what it is. We need to get beyond that kind of behavior or we will have a different kind of messy church on our hands - one that is judgmental toward people with life issues and sin issues, that has no sense of compassion for those that are suffering at the hands of our common enemy.
Is your church 'messy'? I hope it's a good kind of messy.
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Weeds
Do you remember Jesus' story about the weeds? Do you have weeds in your life? Trust me, they will be there for the duration. There is too much danger in uprooting them. Please read the parable below.
Matthew 13:24-30
24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
27 “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
28 “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
29 “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”
As Jesus tells us later in the chapter, the farmer is the Son of Man, Jesus Himself. The weeds are the Devil's own - evil people with evil intentions in the world. The harvest is the end of the age and the harvesters are angels that will separate the weeds from the wheat - the saved from the unsaved - and then cast the unbelievers into hell where they ultimately belong with their father the Devil. The saved, on the other hand, will live in the Kingdom of God where they will "shine like the sun". Jesus calls them righteous.
So then, as long as we live here in the time and space of our planet, believers will live with unbelievers. We have to put up with it. We still have to try and grow despite their influence and we have to do so without the help of the farmer. He will not allow His servants to separate us just yet. For one thing, it would be a danger to us. Some of us might become uprooted in the process and perish. The thing the farmer is really counting on though I think is transformation of the weeds. In the real world, weeds do not suddenly become grain or vegetables or flowers or beautiful shrubs or anything else useful. In the spiritual world however, this is not the case. Weeds can be influenced by the grain to change. Unbelievers can choose faith based on what they see and hear promoted by believers. Imagine a field where the actual crops crowd out the stubborn weeds and convert other weeds to fruit bearing status? Imagine that John Lennon.
I have probably taken Jesus' parable too far here, but my considered opinion is that there are weeds out there that would love to be wheat, but they hesitate because they think the wheat hates them or does not accept them. There is something to this.
If you grew up in the Church, you probably never experienced this. Or maybe the power of the weeds influence early on pulled you away or worse still, you were angry at the Farmer for making you a weed in the first place, and was that really His doing?
Brethren, we all start out as weeds regardless of our backgrounds. It's easier for some weeds to change than it is for others. Some weeds will not make it. But the ones that will need our support to become the very best wheat possible given their circumstances. You know what I am saying I hope. You do not want to be guilty of uprooting some of the Farmer's crop.
Matthew 13:24-30
24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
27 “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
28 “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
29 “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”
As Jesus tells us later in the chapter, the farmer is the Son of Man, Jesus Himself. The weeds are the Devil's own - evil people with evil intentions in the world. The harvest is the end of the age and the harvesters are angels that will separate the weeds from the wheat - the saved from the unsaved - and then cast the unbelievers into hell where they ultimately belong with their father the Devil. The saved, on the other hand, will live in the Kingdom of God where they will "shine like the sun". Jesus calls them righteous.
So then, as long as we live here in the time and space of our planet, believers will live with unbelievers. We have to put up with it. We still have to try and grow despite their influence and we have to do so without the help of the farmer. He will not allow His servants to separate us just yet. For one thing, it would be a danger to us. Some of us might become uprooted in the process and perish. The thing the farmer is really counting on though I think is transformation of the weeds. In the real world, weeds do not suddenly become grain or vegetables or flowers or beautiful shrubs or anything else useful. In the spiritual world however, this is not the case. Weeds can be influenced by the grain to change. Unbelievers can choose faith based on what they see and hear promoted by believers. Imagine a field where the actual crops crowd out the stubborn weeds and convert other weeds to fruit bearing status? Imagine that John Lennon.
I have probably taken Jesus' parable too far here, but my considered opinion is that there are weeds out there that would love to be wheat, but they hesitate because they think the wheat hates them or does not accept them. There is something to this.
If you grew up in the Church, you probably never experienced this. Or maybe the power of the weeds influence early on pulled you away or worse still, you were angry at the Farmer for making you a weed in the first place, and was that really His doing?
Brethren, we all start out as weeds regardless of our backgrounds. It's easier for some weeds to change than it is for others. Some weeds will not make it. But the ones that will need our support to become the very best wheat possible given their circumstances. You know what I am saying I hope. You do not want to be guilty of uprooting some of the Farmer's crop.
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Bad Brain Chemistry III
This morning's post, Not Good...I'm Feeling Trapped is a prime example of my bad brain chemistry. I apologize for inflicting it on you. I should have kept it to myself along with a few other things.
I will try to be a bit smoother next time, if there is a next time. There are more important things going on than my wild hairs. I am sorry.
I will try to be a bit smoother next time, if there is a next time. There are more important things going on than my wild hairs. I am sorry.
Not Good...I'm Feeling Trapped
I am having the urge to flee the scene. I want to bug out. To escape. I have no clue where I would go or what I would do. I just want to leave.
I get like this when I have spent too much time in one place. I have been here since 2004. The longest that I have stayed anywhere in my adult life was 13 years. That was 3 years too long. I am feeling this morning like I have worn out my welcome here. I could change up a few things and stay here, but I do not think that would work. There are things that cannot be escaped.
I think I am pretty much stuck here for the foreseeable future. My mind will probably settle down here in a few hours and be all right, but right now, I just want to run away.
Frankly, I am feeling kind of awful. Maybe I just need an Egg McMuffin.
That may be the answer to all my life's issues. Egg McMuffin. A heart attack in a nice wrapper.
I am not sure why I get this way. I never feel secure anywhere. I could own a bomb shelter in the Rockies and still feel insecure.
I hate conflict and yet I seem to cause it everywhere I go. All I have to do is express an opinion or worse...be myself. Maybe that's the problem. I need to be someone other than who I am. How do I do that? This is what God has left me with. I try to do what I can with it, but sometimes I over reach. Maybe that is what's happening now.
I feel trapped.
The table is set. Do I sit down to eat or move on?
I get like this when I have spent too much time in one place. I have been here since 2004. The longest that I have stayed anywhere in my adult life was 13 years. That was 3 years too long. I am feeling this morning like I have worn out my welcome here. I could change up a few things and stay here, but I do not think that would work. There are things that cannot be escaped.
I think I am pretty much stuck here for the foreseeable future. My mind will probably settle down here in a few hours and be all right, but right now, I just want to run away.
Frankly, I am feeling kind of awful. Maybe I just need an Egg McMuffin.
That may be the answer to all my life's issues. Egg McMuffin. A heart attack in a nice wrapper.
I am not sure why I get this way. I never feel secure anywhere. I could own a bomb shelter in the Rockies and still feel insecure.
I hate conflict and yet I seem to cause it everywhere I go. All I have to do is express an opinion or worse...be myself. Maybe that's the problem. I need to be someone other than who I am. How do I do that? This is what God has left me with. I try to do what I can with it, but sometimes I over reach. Maybe that is what's happening now.
I feel trapped.
The table is set. Do I sit down to eat or move on?
Monday, November 2, 2015
A Heart Condition
In the parable of the sower in Matthew 13, Jesus tells a story about a farmer planting a field. The condition of the soil has much to do with it's fertility. The hard packed path will not allow penetration of the seed. The rocky areas of the field have shallow soil where the seed will try to root, but it has no moisture or depth to nourish the seedling. Then there is that part of the field where the thorn and weed seed competes with the wheat seed. The weeds inevitably chokes out the wheat as it tries to grow. And finally there is the good soil that that is ready for planting, receptive to farming and will produce a bumper crop.
In the context of the parable, the field is the world, the seed is the good news and the condition of the different types of soil represent the hearts of the people of the world and their receptivity to the spread of the gospel - the coming of the Kingdom of God.
I was thinking about this parable in the context of the Church. Even though Jesus intended the field to represent the world, what if we applied this story to the Church, God's Kingdom on earth?
The heart conditions of the people in God's Church is very diverse. When we come into to it, we all start in one of these "soil" categories or maybe we even experience all of them. In time though, our "fields" get worked, get conditioned by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. The soil of our hearts becomes more verdant, more useful to His Kingdom. And because He is an excellent farmer, He is able to take even the poorest field and make it grow something useful.
When I think about this in the context of my personal life, I find I have been hardhearted and judgmental. I have been angry with God and with His people. My heart has also been choked with the weeds of personal life issues and career. Both of these worked to keep me from becoming the fertile field that I could have been. Now, here at the end I am figuring this all out. I'm thinking God may yet leave a fertile field behind that was once the desert of my life. His grace and His love has been poured out on me with a good stiff, draught of the Truth mixed in. My field is now the work of His hand. He has reclaimed me from my desolation. It makes me so happy, I just want to cry. This from a man that would not bust any emotion but anger 30 years ago! He has made me feel again. I have to say that while this kind of ticks me off, I do understand other people much better than I used to. At the same time it has left me vulnerable and a bit weaker. The discipline slips, but the grace and the love begin to flow.
What He has done for me is nothing short of a miracle from my point of view.
The sanctification process is much like the process of cleaning up a field for farming. The fact is that dirt is dirt. It's only what's mixed in with it that determines its fertility. Clean it up and it's ready to go. The concept of cleaning up dirt might seem foreign to city dwellers, but it can be done. I am proof of that.
So the next time you are at church and you meet somebody that seems kind of weird, well...maybe they are in the process of having their field cleaned. You might consider coming alongside them to help the Lord with that process. I have found that it goes much faster with help and thanks to all who do that for me.
I am still finding the occasional weed or hard clot, but at least I recognize them when I see them now.
How's your field?
In the context of the parable, the field is the world, the seed is the good news and the condition of the different types of soil represent the hearts of the people of the world and their receptivity to the spread of the gospel - the coming of the Kingdom of God.
I was thinking about this parable in the context of the Church. Even though Jesus intended the field to represent the world, what if we applied this story to the Church, God's Kingdom on earth?
The heart conditions of the people in God's Church is very diverse. When we come into to it, we all start in one of these "soil" categories or maybe we even experience all of them. In time though, our "fields" get worked, get conditioned by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. The soil of our hearts becomes more verdant, more useful to His Kingdom. And because He is an excellent farmer, He is able to take even the poorest field and make it grow something useful.
When I think about this in the context of my personal life, I find I have been hardhearted and judgmental. I have been angry with God and with His people. My heart has also been choked with the weeds of personal life issues and career. Both of these worked to keep me from becoming the fertile field that I could have been. Now, here at the end I am figuring this all out. I'm thinking God may yet leave a fertile field behind that was once the desert of my life. His grace and His love has been poured out on me with a good stiff, draught of the Truth mixed in. My field is now the work of His hand. He has reclaimed me from my desolation. It makes me so happy, I just want to cry. This from a man that would not bust any emotion but anger 30 years ago! He has made me feel again. I have to say that while this kind of ticks me off, I do understand other people much better than I used to. At the same time it has left me vulnerable and a bit weaker. The discipline slips, but the grace and the love begin to flow.
What He has done for me is nothing short of a miracle from my point of view.
The sanctification process is much like the process of cleaning up a field for farming. The fact is that dirt is dirt. It's only what's mixed in with it that determines its fertility. Clean it up and it's ready to go. The concept of cleaning up dirt might seem foreign to city dwellers, but it can be done. I am proof of that.
So the next time you are at church and you meet somebody that seems kind of weird, well...maybe they are in the process of having their field cleaned. You might consider coming alongside them to help the Lord with that process. I have found that it goes much faster with help and thanks to all who do that for me.
I am still finding the occasional weed or hard clot, but at least I recognize them when I see them now.
How's your field?
Friday, October 30, 2015
Are We Understanding Him?
In Matthew 13, where we find the parable of the sower, Jesus quotes the prophet, Isaiah. The quote comes from Isaiah 6, but Jesus changes it up just a bit to fit what He is telling His disciples. As an aside, this is permissible when you are the Son of God. It should not be attempted by us mere mortals though. The results are seldom good.
Anyhow, paraphrasing Isaiah, Jesus says this.
“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
15 For this people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.
To understand the quote in it's proper context, some background might be necessary here. To this point in His ministry, Jesus had managed to create some powerful enemies among the elite religious leadership of the Jewish nation. They were not liking what He was putting down. If Jesus really was the Messiah, He was not the one they wanted. They had already begun plotting to entrap and kill Him.
This is why Jesus changes His sermon strategy. He begins to share His message to the people in parables - or stories which will reveal the truth about the things He wishes to say to His people. The stories are not complex from our 21st century point of view. We have the benefit of the years of study put in by scholars over the last 2000 years as well as the Holy Spirit to help us understand what Jesus meant in these stories.
The people of Jesus' time though, were having issues with His method. Even His disciples said He was speaking in riddles to some extent. Nevertheless, it had to be done this way to slow the plans of those that wished to execute Jesus. It was not yet time for the final events of Jesus' life to unfold and if He was only a story telling Messiah, then He was not as much of a threat to the religious establishment. And so, He speaks to the people and His disciples in parables.
Scroll up and look at the quote again. Jesus is talking about the willful ignorance of the people of His day and how, even though they see and hear the things He has done and said, they do not understand. They do not want to know the truth that Jesus is trying to share with them because it would require change and that change would upset everything. This is especially true for the religious leadership of the time. Jesus was upsetting the establishment apple cart in a way that would make it impossible to upright it. Power, money and authority were at stake. Business as usual in the Jewish state would have to change if they accepted His message.
Beyond all that, Jesus was making many people uncomfortable. He was telling people that they had to love God, but also love their enemies and their neighbor. That would mean associating with people that were...formerly unacceptable...to put it politely. It's one thing to overthrow the established order; quite another to make people uncomfortable. From the Jewish perspective of the time, that was just rude.
Jesus, through Isaiah, indicates that the reason for all this is the hardheartedness of the people. If they would just open up their hearts and minds to what He is saying and doing, they would experience His spiritual healing, but that was not to be the case.
As I thought about this, I found myself wondering if maybe we in evangelical churches in America have gotten a bit blind and deaf to the things Jesus wants us to be doing. We hear and see, but do we understand and perceive what our real mission is to be? Are we afraid to overthrow the established order, experience the discomfort and extend love to the people that presently hate us? We like to think we have the Truth. I think we do. What are we doing with it? Do we understand it?
We are supposed to be bringing the grace and truth of Jesus to the world. Can we do that when we have unacknowledged filters on who we associate with, who we let into our churches and what we are willing to do in terms of ministry in church? Are their groups that we will not minister to in the world because it is just too hard or scary or gross in our minds?
Christian, we need some review here. Go read one of the gospels and then tell me we are doing what Jesus expected if you can. Read, understand, perceive and listen to that still small voice of the Holy Spirit and see if you are not convicted. If you are convicted, then healing is not far off.
Am I off base here? What do you think? Mull it over friends.
Anyhow, paraphrasing Isaiah, Jesus says this.
“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
15 For this people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.
To understand the quote in it's proper context, some background might be necessary here. To this point in His ministry, Jesus had managed to create some powerful enemies among the elite religious leadership of the Jewish nation. They were not liking what He was putting down. If Jesus really was the Messiah, He was not the one they wanted. They had already begun plotting to entrap and kill Him.
This is why Jesus changes His sermon strategy. He begins to share His message to the people in parables - or stories which will reveal the truth about the things He wishes to say to His people. The stories are not complex from our 21st century point of view. We have the benefit of the years of study put in by scholars over the last 2000 years as well as the Holy Spirit to help us understand what Jesus meant in these stories.
The people of Jesus' time though, were having issues with His method. Even His disciples said He was speaking in riddles to some extent. Nevertheless, it had to be done this way to slow the plans of those that wished to execute Jesus. It was not yet time for the final events of Jesus' life to unfold and if He was only a story telling Messiah, then He was not as much of a threat to the religious establishment. And so, He speaks to the people and His disciples in parables.
Scroll up and look at the quote again. Jesus is talking about the willful ignorance of the people of His day and how, even though they see and hear the things He has done and said, they do not understand. They do not want to know the truth that Jesus is trying to share with them because it would require change and that change would upset everything. This is especially true for the religious leadership of the time. Jesus was upsetting the establishment apple cart in a way that would make it impossible to upright it. Power, money and authority were at stake. Business as usual in the Jewish state would have to change if they accepted His message.
Beyond all that, Jesus was making many people uncomfortable. He was telling people that they had to love God, but also love their enemies and their neighbor. That would mean associating with people that were...formerly unacceptable...to put it politely. It's one thing to overthrow the established order; quite another to make people uncomfortable. From the Jewish perspective of the time, that was just rude.
Jesus, through Isaiah, indicates that the reason for all this is the hardheartedness of the people. If they would just open up their hearts and minds to what He is saying and doing, they would experience His spiritual healing, but that was not to be the case.
As I thought about this, I found myself wondering if maybe we in evangelical churches in America have gotten a bit blind and deaf to the things Jesus wants us to be doing. We hear and see, but do we understand and perceive what our real mission is to be? Are we afraid to overthrow the established order, experience the discomfort and extend love to the people that presently hate us? We like to think we have the Truth. I think we do. What are we doing with it? Do we understand it?
We are supposed to be bringing the grace and truth of Jesus to the world. Can we do that when we have unacknowledged filters on who we associate with, who we let into our churches and what we are willing to do in terms of ministry in church? Are their groups that we will not minister to in the world because it is just too hard or scary or gross in our minds?
Christian, we need some review here. Go read one of the gospels and then tell me we are doing what Jesus expected if you can. Read, understand, perceive and listen to that still small voice of the Holy Spirit and see if you are not convicted. If you are convicted, then healing is not far off.
Am I off base here? What do you think? Mull it over friends.
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Thanks Lord
Yesterday at work was good. Lord, you gave me and everyone else at work a peaceful day. I hope Lord, that this will continue. Please make it so. Thanks so much for that and all the other things you do in a day for me and others. Dad seemed happy when I left today too. There's currently peace and contentment all 'round. Thanks and amen to all that Lord.
I know it will not always be this way at work or at home, but I will take whatever you give Lord with joy in my heart! Thanks again.
Now Lord, I would pray that you would prepare my mind and spirit for what is coming in the near future. You know what I am talking about. Some final sign of your approval would be good Lord. I am not demanding a sign in an evil way as the Pharisees did, but it is important to me to know that this is what you want. Also, as the time approaches, please prepare the others. They will need Your peace with this as well. Guide us all with Your Spirit to come to understanding, agreement and maybe some ideas of a plan to move forward. If these things are not your will Lord, then please help me to let the whole thing go and continue to function in my regular capacity for you. I am fond of saying there is a time and a place for everything. Maybe there is not such a thing for this matter in your Church. I will accept whatever outcome. Thanks so much Lord.
Lord, we have customers coming into to work today for a 'meet and greet'. I know it seems like a petty thing, but it's important that this goes well for the future of our local organization and the employees. I will not be there much longer, but the others will be. Please watch over us today. Thanks.
As always, please take care of my church. Guide the leadership and staff. Help them to see where you want us to go on our journey for you.
Please lift the countenance of my friend who is in Minnesota today. Help him to find what he is looking for and please do not let him fall out of the tree. And please do not let him forget to bring back the bacon.
Please bless my friend to the south. Give him wisdom regarding his future with You Lord. He is your good servant and he has helped many. I pray that in whatever way You direct him, he will continue as your servant in this powerful way.
Finally, I pray that you would open the minds and the hearts of your church around the world. There are many that still need to hear and come alongside you in relationship. Help us to answer that need Lord. If we can each do our part in our own back yards, in our own nations, the impact would be tremendous. Please invigorate us with Your Spirit to offer your love and grace wherever we go.
In Your Name I pray these things.
Amen
I know it will not always be this way at work or at home, but I will take whatever you give Lord with joy in my heart! Thanks again.
Now Lord, I would pray that you would prepare my mind and spirit for what is coming in the near future. You know what I am talking about. Some final sign of your approval would be good Lord. I am not demanding a sign in an evil way as the Pharisees did, but it is important to me to know that this is what you want. Also, as the time approaches, please prepare the others. They will need Your peace with this as well. Guide us all with Your Spirit to come to understanding, agreement and maybe some ideas of a plan to move forward. If these things are not your will Lord, then please help me to let the whole thing go and continue to function in my regular capacity for you. I am fond of saying there is a time and a place for everything. Maybe there is not such a thing for this matter in your Church. I will accept whatever outcome. Thanks so much Lord.
Lord, we have customers coming into to work today for a 'meet and greet'. I know it seems like a petty thing, but it's important that this goes well for the future of our local organization and the employees. I will not be there much longer, but the others will be. Please watch over us today. Thanks.
As always, please take care of my church. Guide the leadership and staff. Help them to see where you want us to go on our journey for you.
Please lift the countenance of my friend who is in Minnesota today. Help him to find what he is looking for and please do not let him fall out of the tree. And please do not let him forget to bring back the bacon.
Please bless my friend to the south. Give him wisdom regarding his future with You Lord. He is your good servant and he has helped many. I pray that in whatever way You direct him, he will continue as your servant in this powerful way.
Finally, I pray that you would open the minds and the hearts of your church around the world. There are many that still need to hear and come alongside you in relationship. Help us to answer that need Lord. If we can each do our part in our own back yards, in our own nations, the impact would be tremendous. Please invigorate us with Your Spirit to offer your love and grace wherever we go.
In Your Name I pray these things.
Amen
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
A Prayer
Lord, I feel kind of like David this morning; you know, when he wrote the 23rd Psalm. I'm going to work, but I feel like I am going to a table prepared for me in the presence of my enemies, I am so tired of the struggle at work. There is one in my office that tests me at every point. Lord, please bring her some peace; or maybe, find her another job. Lord, I have a concern that there may even be a demon involved. Only you would know this for sure, but I pray that if this is so, you would remove it so that she can find her peace and thence leave us all in peace. Help her to adjust whatever needs adjustment and to whatever extent is necessary, I will try to meet her work needs in a way that will help to make that possible. I see in her a kind of pain that I once experienced. I pray that you find a way to take that from her Lord. Thank You for this. It has been foremost on my mind. Help me also to love in ways appropriate to her needs.
Lord, I would pray for my church, for the staff and the leadership. Please guide us in paths of righteousness. Teach us how to minister to and love even the most unlovable. Enable us to show them who you are by the way we live.
Please take care of Dad today. Watch over him as you always do, keeping him from injury and clearing his mind as much as possible. Thanks for that.
Lord, thanks for close friends both here and away. They have shown me Your Face in terms of Your mercy and Your grace. I would be in a very bad place without them Lord. I will continue to thank you daily for putting them in my life at just the right time. I praise Your Name for them!
Thanks Lord for bringing me out of the land of my sojourn and back home. Thanks for letting me back into Your Church and helping me to find real faith and salvation; to know you truly as My Lord and My God. Thank You for making strength out of my weaknesses and for changing my strengths to vulnerabilities. I continue to 'enjoy' that process.
Finally, thanks Lord for your love, grace, forgiveness and compassion. Please continue to lead me in the paths of Your Truth while teaching me to pass on Your grace to others.
In Jesus' Name
Amen
Lord, I would pray for my church, for the staff and the leadership. Please guide us in paths of righteousness. Teach us how to minister to and love even the most unlovable. Enable us to show them who you are by the way we live.
Please take care of Dad today. Watch over him as you always do, keeping him from injury and clearing his mind as much as possible. Thanks for that.
Lord, thanks for close friends both here and away. They have shown me Your Face in terms of Your mercy and Your grace. I would be in a very bad place without them Lord. I will continue to thank you daily for putting them in my life at just the right time. I praise Your Name for them!
Thanks Lord for bringing me out of the land of my sojourn and back home. Thanks for letting me back into Your Church and helping me to find real faith and salvation; to know you truly as My Lord and My God. Thank You for making strength out of my weaknesses and for changing my strengths to vulnerabilities. I continue to 'enjoy' that process.
Finally, thanks Lord for your love, grace, forgiveness and compassion. Please continue to lead me in the paths of Your Truth while teaching me to pass on Your grace to others.
In Jesus' Name
Amen
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
My Greatest Sins
It's confession time. I have eluded to these issues in the past and it's time for me to come clean, to repent and to put it behind me. It will be hard since I have practiced these sins all my life. They seem like a natural part of me, but they must die.
I am a proud, arrogant, judgmental and self righteous man. If you have ever had to suffer this from me, then I apologize right here and now. I have always been able to see and even point out these sins in others, but if I take a long, hard look in my spiritual mirror, there is a prideful man looking back at me.
If I have ever walked away from you when you tried to speak to me or engage me in conversation, I am deeply sorry. It has much to do with my own insecurities and nothing to do with you. If I have made you angry or hurt you because of my unwillingness to be a real friend, I would like to repent of that too.
I should not judge people and especially those I do not know or have not bothered to get to know. I should take the time to know them. And I should offer them and myself some grace. The ability to come alongside of people in empathy and love and maybe with some helpful advice has eluded me for too long. I have to learn how to do this. Many have extended me just such a privilege. It might be time for me to start returning the favor. I need to learn how to minister to the needs of others. I am good at sharing my knowledge base with them. I am not so good with sharing compassion and kindness and understanding with them.
I am able to love, but I do not do it or express it. I do have feelings and emotions, but I fear the relationships and where all that will take me and so I put on this facade that people seem to accept.
"Ya, he knows his stuff, but he seems to have walls." "He is a good teacher, but he never takes what he knows outside the classroom to practice."
This has to stop. I do not want to be like the Pharisees or the teachers of the law in Christ's time. I want to be like Jesus. I know we Christians say that all the time and never quite seem to live up to it, but I could at least do better than I am doing.
Self righteousness is seldom a good thing unless you are truly righteous, in which case you most certainly got that from God and not self. Whatever is good in me, what ever is pure and holy, came from my Lord. There is not much of it, but it is there. It's my prayer that He builds on that base and finishes my spiritual construction before I die. I hope we have some time to work things out. Only He would know that.
Lord, I love you. Please forgive me for being as I have been. Please use Your Spirit and the power of your Word in my life to change me. Help me to learn the empathy, love and grace that You and others show me on a daily basis. Please do not let me leave this world unfinished and please forgive me this grievous sin...In your Name I pray these things. Amen
________________________
Some day we will talk about my greatest temptation, my thorn in the flesh and how it has convicted me of what I was just writing about. That day is not today. I love you. Thanks for reading.
I am a proud, arrogant, judgmental and self righteous man. If you have ever had to suffer this from me, then I apologize right here and now. I have always been able to see and even point out these sins in others, but if I take a long, hard look in my spiritual mirror, there is a prideful man looking back at me.
If I have ever walked away from you when you tried to speak to me or engage me in conversation, I am deeply sorry. It has much to do with my own insecurities and nothing to do with you. If I have made you angry or hurt you because of my unwillingness to be a real friend, I would like to repent of that too.
I should not judge people and especially those I do not know or have not bothered to get to know. I should take the time to know them. And I should offer them and myself some grace. The ability to come alongside of people in empathy and love and maybe with some helpful advice has eluded me for too long. I have to learn how to do this. Many have extended me just such a privilege. It might be time for me to start returning the favor. I need to learn how to minister to the needs of others. I am good at sharing my knowledge base with them. I am not so good with sharing compassion and kindness and understanding with them.
I am able to love, but I do not do it or express it. I do have feelings and emotions, but I fear the relationships and where all that will take me and so I put on this facade that people seem to accept.
"Ya, he knows his stuff, but he seems to have walls." "He is a good teacher, but he never takes what he knows outside the classroom to practice."
This has to stop. I do not want to be like the Pharisees or the teachers of the law in Christ's time. I want to be like Jesus. I know we Christians say that all the time and never quite seem to live up to it, but I could at least do better than I am doing.
Self righteousness is seldom a good thing unless you are truly righteous, in which case you most certainly got that from God and not self. Whatever is good in me, what ever is pure and holy, came from my Lord. There is not much of it, but it is there. It's my prayer that He builds on that base and finishes my spiritual construction before I die. I hope we have some time to work things out. Only He would know that.
Lord, I love you. Please forgive me for being as I have been. Please use Your Spirit and the power of your Word in my life to change me. Help me to learn the empathy, love and grace that You and others show me on a daily basis. Please do not let me leave this world unfinished and please forgive me this grievous sin...In your Name I pray these things. Amen
________________________
Some day we will talk about my greatest temptation, my thorn in the flesh and how it has convicted me of what I was just writing about. That day is not today. I love you. Thanks for reading.
Monday, October 26, 2015
Are You Hyphenated?
In our politically correct age, the old designations we have for each other with regard to who we are just does not work. No one wants to be just an American. We are Irish-Americans, Italian-Americans, Native-Americans, African-Americans. Hispanic-Americans and the list goes on and on. The whole process can be kind of divisive, but past discrimination and mistreatments based on race and national origin have have yielded this crop of prideful hyphenations. We also now have gay-Americans, lesbian-Americans, differently enabled-Americans and what ever other denominator that you would like to apply. It would be nice if we could all just be Americans would it not....said the white boy from Iowa who is an Irish-American among other things!
Whatever happens in the country that we live, we do not want this sort of hyphenation to take place in the Church. And yet it does. It was a problem in Corinth in Paul's day and it is a problem in some precincts today within our churches. We have liberal Christians, conservative Christians, born again Christians, traditional Christians, gay Christians, recovering Christians and so on. And to add to the trouble we have Calvinists, Armineans, Catholics and Baptists, and something called Unitarians for which there is no absolute definition.
It is mass confusion. Our identity in Christ should be just that. We are to be Christians. We are to be disciples (small d). We are to be followers of Christ or even Christ seekers. Let us not denominate ourselves any further than that.
Do you love Jesus? Then die to all the labels and live for Him! Let Him be your label. Put on Christ and leave it at that. Do not pigeon hole yourself OK?
I love you. Go out there and love someone else today. Remember...grace and truth people. Live in the tension between the two. And no labels. Just stop it.
1 John 3:2
Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears[a] we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is
Whatever happens in the country that we live, we do not want this sort of hyphenation to take place in the Church. And yet it does. It was a problem in Corinth in Paul's day and it is a problem in some precincts today within our churches. We have liberal Christians, conservative Christians, born again Christians, traditional Christians, gay Christians, recovering Christians and so on. And to add to the trouble we have Calvinists, Armineans, Catholics and Baptists, and something called Unitarians for which there is no absolute definition.
It is mass confusion. Our identity in Christ should be just that. We are to be Christians. We are to be disciples (small d). We are to be followers of Christ or even Christ seekers. Let us not denominate ourselves any further than that.
Do you love Jesus? Then die to all the labels and live for Him! Let Him be your label. Put on Christ and leave it at that. Do not pigeon hole yourself OK?
I love you. Go out there and love someone else today. Remember...grace and truth people. Live in the tension between the two. And no labels. Just stop it.
1 John 3:2
Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears[a] we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is
Saturday, October 24, 2015
Messy Grace: A Final Review
I have finished Caleb Kaltenbach's book, "Messy Grace". I need to read it a couple more times. He is unflinching in his devotion to God's truth, but he is also unflinching in his grace, kindness and love for people that are suffering from sin's temptations and entanglements. His emphasis in the book is on the LGBT community both inside and outside the Church and how to deal with it on Christ's terms - grace and truth.
I know that some of you are thinking, "there are 'mo's inside the Church?" Yes brethren there are homosexuals in the church, in our Bible colleges, campus ministries and on and on and on. Deal with it. God loves everybody, even the self righteous. I'm sure you will get into heaven too. (;^)
Caleb's perspective is unique among pastors. Both of his parents are gay/lesbian. He grew up in the gay community. His mother took him to gay pride parades when he was a child. He witnessed first hand how Christians would mistreat LGBT people. He saw the outright hate and judgement. This caused him to empathize with and love gay people from an early age and despise Christians for their hateful attitudes.
Later, in his teen years, he set out to disprove the Bible since it seemed to be the source of all the "Christian" hate. He started going to an evangelical church. He joined a youth group, but all of his efforts were turned against him. He had fallen in with a loving bunch and God used them to bring Caleb to a knowledge of the truth and Caleb came to accept that and much more. He became a Christian and later a pastor.
My favorite part of the book was when he had to "come out" to his gay parents as Christian. The irony of it is just incredible. It made me think of all those TV shows, movies and books from the 70's where a character comes out as gay to friends and family. The reactions were completely the same for Caleb, but the issue was completely different. It was funny and sad all at once. But everything eventually worked itself out. If you read the book, and I do recommend that you do so, you will see what I am talking about.
The overriding message of the book is that we have to live in the tension that exists between grace and truth as Jesus did - with everyone. He defines that tension as love. We must maintain the biblical standard as regards sin, but we must also love and embrace sinners when they come seeking Jesus. We all started there. We should be able to understand it. We do it for adulterers, pornophiles, drug abusers, fornicators, liars, gossips, haters and even murderers and the self righteous. Why can we not do it for LGBT folks?
Good question.
Caleb says we can do this. I agree with him. I think this can be done with some education or maybe re-education and some real life examples of people that love Jesus, enjoy a successful Christian life, but also deal with same sex attraction. If you are thinking they are not there, "not in my church", well Christian, buckle your seat belt and put your tray in the upright and locked position and prepare to learn otherwise! Our plane is full of all kinds of people just waiting for God to fully integrate them into His Church. LGBT folks are just a few of those passengers. Let's move them out of coach to first class and love them like everybody else....OK?
Read the book. You will see what he's talking about. The practice of messy grace will give you what might seem like a messy church, but it will be an open an honest one. No more facades of perfection that look like well groomed cemeteries. Broken people alive and growing in Christ onward to full maturity. There's a concept.
Easy to talk about; maybe hard to do. What do you think? Can we love that much? Maybe not now, but we can learn to love like that. So I am told. Ya, it's an issue for me too and it really comes from a strange place which someday I may explain to you. That day is not today dear reader, suffice it to say that sometimes loving yourself is hard too.
Get the book. Share its biblical message with others in your church. The field is ripe for the harvest but the workers are few (and it seems like no one wants to go to this field).
I know that some of you are thinking, "there are 'mo's inside the Church?" Yes brethren there are homosexuals in the church, in our Bible colleges, campus ministries and on and on and on. Deal with it. God loves everybody, even the self righteous. I'm sure you will get into heaven too. (;^)
Caleb's perspective is unique among pastors. Both of his parents are gay/lesbian. He grew up in the gay community. His mother took him to gay pride parades when he was a child. He witnessed first hand how Christians would mistreat LGBT people. He saw the outright hate and judgement. This caused him to empathize with and love gay people from an early age and despise Christians for their hateful attitudes.
Later, in his teen years, he set out to disprove the Bible since it seemed to be the source of all the "Christian" hate. He started going to an evangelical church. He joined a youth group, but all of his efforts were turned against him. He had fallen in with a loving bunch and God used them to bring Caleb to a knowledge of the truth and Caleb came to accept that and much more. He became a Christian and later a pastor.
My favorite part of the book was when he had to "come out" to his gay parents as Christian. The irony of it is just incredible. It made me think of all those TV shows, movies and books from the 70's where a character comes out as gay to friends and family. The reactions were completely the same for Caleb, but the issue was completely different. It was funny and sad all at once. But everything eventually worked itself out. If you read the book, and I do recommend that you do so, you will see what I am talking about.
The overriding message of the book is that we have to live in the tension that exists between grace and truth as Jesus did - with everyone. He defines that tension as love. We must maintain the biblical standard as regards sin, but we must also love and embrace sinners when they come seeking Jesus. We all started there. We should be able to understand it. We do it for adulterers, pornophiles, drug abusers, fornicators, liars, gossips, haters and even murderers and the self righteous. Why can we not do it for LGBT folks?
Good question.
Caleb says we can do this. I agree with him. I think this can be done with some education or maybe re-education and some real life examples of people that love Jesus, enjoy a successful Christian life, but also deal with same sex attraction. If you are thinking they are not there, "not in my church", well Christian, buckle your seat belt and put your tray in the upright and locked position and prepare to learn otherwise! Our plane is full of all kinds of people just waiting for God to fully integrate them into His Church. LGBT folks are just a few of those passengers. Let's move them out of coach to first class and love them like everybody else....OK?
Read the book. You will see what he's talking about. The practice of messy grace will give you what might seem like a messy church, but it will be an open an honest one. No more facades of perfection that look like well groomed cemeteries. Broken people alive and growing in Christ onward to full maturity. There's a concept.
Easy to talk about; maybe hard to do. What do you think? Can we love that much? Maybe not now, but we can learn to love like that. So I am told. Ya, it's an issue for me too and it really comes from a strange place which someday I may explain to you. That day is not today dear reader, suffice it to say that sometimes loving yourself is hard too.
Get the book. Share its biblical message with others in your church. The field is ripe for the harvest but the workers are few (and it seems like no one wants to go to this field).
Thursday, October 22, 2015
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