The Gaze Outside of Time

So, the entire chapter of Hebrews 12 is worth reading, as is the entire book of Hebrews, and the New Testament and, well, while I'm at it, the entirety of the Holy Bible.  That being said, my post today is about 2 half sentences that show up in Hebrews 12:1-2.  They read:

"...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame..."

Do you see it?  I didn't until Sunday night during a prayer service. 

The gaze outside of time itself.

As Jesus entered this most diffcult week, this Holy Week, this Passion Week, there was one thing that encouraged Him to endure and that was you. 

"For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its shame..."

He was looking at you.  You, in your most wretched state, lost and broken, were enough to get Him through. 

This gaze, however, was never intended to be one way.  Just as Jesus is outside of time looking at you now, you have been invited to return that gaze and be encouraged during your difficult days.

When you set your eyes on Jesus, know that He is looking right back at you.

Is it as crazy for your to think that Jesus found endurance in setting His gaze upon you?  It's still crazy for me.

 

Don't Judge Me | It Just Sounds So Biblical

I don't know the exact level of irony that will be displayed in what I am about to share, but I do know that this post may be perceived as having been woven with a substantial amount of irony.  Given that it seems as though I may be judging others who are judging others for judging them.  Yeah, that just happeed.

So, here goes.

There seems to be a surge of memes posted online demanding that others not judge them.  To drive the point home?  They quote Jesus. 

Luke 6:37

"Do not judge, and you will not be judged."

Matthew 7:1

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged."

Seems straight forward, right?  Jesus said don't judge, so people shouldn't judge me, right?  I don't think that was His point.

I think this teaching falls under the same category as so many teachings I've sat under, as soon as I hear the word spoken, I think of someone else who should hear it.  Funny how that works.  We are always so quick to apply the commands of God to other people, instead of ourselves.

We always want to be forgiven, but struggle with forgiveness.
We declare "Don't judge me!", yet often judge others.
We say others should be generous to us, but find that we withhold.
We remind others of unconditional love, yet have many filters on our own.

Jesus tells the story of an unmerciful servant in Matthew 18.  To summarize what occurred, a servant was forgiven a pretty significant debt by his king.  Shortly thereafter, he ran into an old friend that owed him a pretty minor debt and had him thrown into prison when the friend was unable to repay him.  When the king heard this, he had some pretty harsh words for the servant and then reinstated the debt, throwing his butt into prison. 

I understand that forgiveness is a very specific topic, one that should not be glossed over, but I believe that this command against judging others should be grouped in with forgiveness relative to its application. 

Jesus never commanded that we not judge others so that we might avoid being judged by people, but rather so that we might avoid being judged by God.  I'm not suggesting that we won't be held accountable for our (in)actions, because we will.  I'm merely stating that the purpose of His command was that we might address the issues in our own hearts and make adjustments. 

The world as each of us knows it would change dramatically for the better if we simply stopped concerning ourselves with what judgements other people made of us and spent some time judging our own hearts and motives.  We need to take down our "Don't judge me!" banners and begin the work of becoming renewed.  

Trust me, if you are overly concerned with what others think of you and spend time defending yourself, you will spend very little time with the Holy Spirit searching out the real issues in your heart and making the necessary adjustments.  Once in defense mode, it's hard to let God show us what is broken.

I can only tell you what I, myself, have gone through.  Or rather, what I am still going through.  So, don't worry!  You are good company.

Can we all agree to stop posting those stupid memes now?

Funny Thing About Parenting

The funny thing about parenting is that it's not all about teaching what you unswervingly know, but rather, more often about learning as you teach... well, learning as I teach, since this is from my experience and perspective.  In other words, as I guide them, I find myself becoming my own guide. 

By example, our family has recently begun a huge shift; we have stopped attending the church where we've attended for 6 years and are starting fresh.  Perhaps you are reading this and don't see the magnitude of that statement.  It's like moving to a new country, or joining a new family.  You have to understand that the people with whom we attended at our old church were our family.  They were the people that we saw 2-3, sometimes even 4 times per week.  We were witness to couples announcing their courtship, then their wedding date, then the birth of their first child.  Those people were people that I thanked God for each and every day.  They were OUR people. 

But, God, as unchanging as He may be, is not tied to our comfort.  He asked Abraham to take his immediate family and leave his community for a place unknown, and in many ways, that is exactly what God asked of us.  Once we determined that we needed to start making preparations to make the move, we made them.  It was sudden and scary and weird, but we did it.

Rob and I are resilient, we can pretty much roll with anything, because after 16 years together we've experienced quite a bit of change, surprise, disappointment, fear of the unknown, joy, etc.  However, we have 4 little ones at home that don't roll as smoothly and I didn't realize what I was asking of them until the tears began to flow. 

When that happened:

I began consoling them, that didn't work. 

I began commanding them, that didn't work.

Finally, I began encouraging them with the Word of God.  It just flowed out of me.  Then the most amazing thing happened, I was encouraged.

You see, 75% of me (perhaps a tad more) didn't want to make the change.  Staying would be so much easier.  I'm an an introvert, sprinkled with just a touch of social awkwardness.  Meeting people is not easy for me; it makes my stomach hurt, literally for the most part.  It took me 6 years to build the relationships I had, 6 years to feel increasingly at home when I stepped onto campus, and most importantly 6 years to find just the perfect seat.

Ok, that last one, probably wasn't THAT important, but it was nice.  In fact, not that I went to church at a bar, but for me my church was much like the T.V. show Cheers.  When I stepped onto campus for any given event, gathering, service or meeting I would hear "BRINAAAAA!!!" somewhere, even at a distance.  It was my Cheers.  If you could somehow merge Diane and Carla, you'd get me.  Odd, but true.

In case you think I loved my old church simply for the community we were a part of, I most especially loved it because of God's presence, the truth of His Word being shared and the growth that occurred for my family there.

 

I think you get the point, I loved my church.  But, in speaking with my boys about the impending change, I began to tell them of the Israelites and how along their journey through the wilderness they had the opportunity to move when God said to move and remain under His grace and blessing and enter their promised land, or they could hesitate in disobedience and miss their opportunity.  We did a little pop-quiz on the name of the 2 smart spies (Jacob won $1) and just explored that situation.

At the end of our discussion, they better understood why we had to do what God asked of us and, frankly, I did to.  He has something more for us in this new place.  Something that He's intended all along. 

So what did I learn while I was tryin' to learn my kids some Bible stuff?  I learned that God's ultimate goal for our life is not sedentary comfort, but rather that we would be in His presence under His grace and blessing all the days of our lives, where ever that might lead. 

You gotta move when God says move.  So we did.   

Why Apology 6/25/13 Will Never Work.

Since posting my idea for Christians across the internet to use their public platforms to post an apology to the LBGT community on 6/25/13, I've had quite a few people read my submission, but very few respond.  By few, I mean my husband, a handful of close friends and a blogger who played a central part in the inspiration of this idea.  I'm not entirely sure what I expected.  I guess, I kind of thought people would read it and yell aloud "I can't believe no one has ever thought of this before!  I'm going to repost this a million times!" 

 

But that didn't happen. 

 

I did have a gay Christian woman support it immensely, which I love, but that doesn't prove anything other than this is desperately needed.  We have an entire community of people who deserve an apology which may never materialize.  And even if it did, would it be enough?

 

Perhaps some Christians read my proposal and assume what I am proposing is Christians everywhere should stand up and say, "Hey, we're sorry!  We've been wrong in our beliefs this whole time."  That's simply not the case.  What I am suggesting is that we stand together and apologize for our behavior.  Regardless of what translation of the Bible you read or what social lense and historical context you view the Bible through, Christians, as a lumped sum group, have not expressed the heart of Jesus.  We just haven't. 

As a Christian, I find that sad.  Sad for everyone.  We haven't even given most of the people in this world and virtually none of the LGBT community a chance to really experience Jesus. 

It occurred to me that we've become bouncers of Club Jesus and I'm not even sure that Jesus is inside anymore.  He's out there, trying to heal the wounds of those we've injured.  The injured, though, cringe at the thought of His touch because of who WE said He was. 

 

In reality, my plan probably won't work as I had hoped.  There are too many bridge burners and too many idle hands to be productive. 

 

Even if we could get some momentum, how much impact will it truly have?  Some people may feel the apology is disingenuous.  Too organize.  Too little, too late.  Or perhaps not the apology they want to hear.

 

A simple apology can't mend all of the hurts involved and it may not fix the complex dynamics of the issue at large, but, guess what? 

 

I don't care because it's the right thing to do. 

 

Even if only a handful of people join me on June 25, 2013 to apologize, it won't change my heart.

 

I know that 1 Corinthians 13 is so, so popular and quotable, especially for weddings.  But I challenge you to read it again.  The following is in The Message translation.

13 If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.

² If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing.

^3-7 If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.

^8-10 Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.

¹¹ When I was an infant at my mother’s breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.

¹² We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

¹³ But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.

 

So, tell me.  How can we look at all that has transpired between the "Christian" camp and the "Gay" camp and even remotely say that we, Christians, have walked in this love.  We can't, but we can stop and simply apologize.  I cannot apologize for what Christians believe relative to homosexuality and sin, but I can and will apologize for how poorly our actions represent Christ's love.

 

Let's love extravagantly. 

 

Would you join me on June 25, 2013? 

Apologetics All Around!

(DISCLAIMER:  None of the following individuals, Sammy Adebiyi, Ed Stetzer or Carlos Whittaker have endorsed this post or anything in it.  I am merely sharing some of the posts that I've recently enjoyed reading.)

No wait!  I meant, APOLOGIES all around!  Dang!  I never understood why those two words can mean something so different and yet sound so similar.
 

I do think though, that if we sprinkled our apologetics with a few apologies, people might be interested in our Gospel.

SAMMY WROTE.

Recently, Sammy Adebiyi wrote an article for Prodigal Magazine which chronicles his experience of repentance toward the LGBT community.  Please, please, please read it HERE.

After reading his article, I posted a comment that included this statement:

"I'm really glad that you took the public stance you did Sammy. I think more people with public platforms should do what you did."

 

 

Then it occurred to me.  Why can't we?  Why can't Christians who have a public platform that feel the same way Sammy feels, the same way I feel, say "Sorry"?  And not just at random, but on the same day.  I mean if Christians can organize an impromptu eat in at Chick-Fil-A, then why can't those of us who felt a little nauseous on that day take a day to express how we feel?

A VOICE.

We need a voice.  Not just one voice, but many voices.  Brave voices.  Loving voices.  Gentle voices.  Loud voices.  Voices who sound a whole lot like Jesus and who will make a pact to post on their Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, Blogs, Google+, Bumper Sticker, Lapel Button, or whatever, on Tuesday, June 25th 2013:

 I'M SORRY

ED WROTE.

I read an article on Ed Stetzer's blog yesterday and it really brought clarity to the issue for me (please read it HERE).  There is no way to fully reconcile two such polar opposite points of view, BUT something must be done and it must be done soon.

As Christians, we serve a God that always sacrifices first, loves first, forgives first, gives first; so, in light of this example, we must waive the white flag of humility first.

LOS WROTE.

I was scanning my twitter feed late last night and @loswhit tweeted he would be posting an interview with a homosexual Christian today.  My heart leaped.  I was so excited and scared to hear what he or she would have to say.  I believe if you read it, which I'm kind of insisting you do, (read that HERE) it will really cement the truth of my cause.  At one point in the interview, after being asked to give advice to Christians, she said:

"Listen to them and love them gently. Even acknowledge and apologize for how the Christian community has wounded them."

There it is.  Simple as the sky is blue and as difficult too.  We can't ignore this any longer.  We must all become Jesus and jump into the middle of the mob and demand of ourselves and each other “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Then, we must drop our stones.

DROPPING OUR WEAPONS ≠ TWISTING THE WORD OF GOD

But you know what does, not loving people.  We twist the truth of the Gospel when we tell a single person that Jesus doesn't love them just as they are, but we also twist the truth of the Gospel if we would suggest that Jesus ever leaves us just as we are, but that is a discussion for a different day.

Today?  Today, we, Christians, just need to apologize and not just to the LGBT community, but to anyone that ever felt the searing stares of rejection as they walked into a church service.  Anyone who was ever told to go and get their life together BEFORE they could come into the presence of Jesus.  Anyone who felt like they had to LIE about who they were just to fit in with some "ideal" Christian community we tried so hard to sell everyone.  Anyone who we ever convinced that Jesus was a big ol' judgmental unforgiving guy like the rest of us.

He's not.  And before the big day of Apologies rolls out, I must say I'm sorry. 

For any moment that I EVER made anyone feel less than worthy of love.  We are all in the same boat.  We need Jesus.  And the GLORIOUS thing about HIM is that He is available to all of us, just as we are.

Join me, won't you? 

Please, please, please, I BEG you to:

1) Read the articles I posted.  They are wonderful resources.  If you have time, read other articles these great men have posted.

2) Comment below if you're in. (PLEASE BE IN!)

3) Share the plan!  If you're reading this, you likely have a Twitter, a Facebook, a Pinterest, an email account, or a piece of cardboard you can make a sign with.  Let's get the word out. 

If you are a Christian and you don't like this plan, then please do us all a favor and keep it to yourself.  We are trying to build bridges and cross them, not burn them as quickly as we build them.

Jesus never met us halfway.  So, let's build bridges... then cross them, to the Glory of Him Who loved us first.

Give Until It Doesn't Hurt Anymore

This past weekend I experienced a moment in the Dollar Tree store.  Yep, the Dollar Tree.

 

I was in the process of purchasing picture frames for photos which have been floating around our house for months, just waiting to be crumpled, when the cashier asked if I wanted to donate money toward some such organization.  Without even considering her question, I responded "No."  If you are wondering if it was, perhaps, an organization unworthy of my assistance, I would say it's not likely the case.  As I type this, I can't even recall which organization, but I'm sure they were doing good in the earth and could have used my few bucks.

 

If you are wondering if there was another reason, there's not one.  I'm just a jerk and what I am about to reveal to you next will show you just how big of a jerk I really am.

 

Despite my quick decline to the cashier, I did have a fleeting thought.  "If she knew how much I already give, she wouldn't ask me for more."

 

Can we all say wow!?

 

It was definitely a thought that gave me pause.  I would like to say it was a thought deposited into my mind from an alien land, but it wasn't; this thought was all mine.  It reflected what is was in my heart.  My lack of generosity.

 

You see, giving can be painful.  The thought of it can make me recoil immediately and violently.  On this day, a simple request for a menial amount of help was met with:

ANGER    bitterness   ingratitude   PRIDE   fear

and not

Love    Generosity    Joy    Gratitude

 

Fortunately, God didn't let me just feel bad for a second and move on with my day.  My heart pondered this for the remainder of the day; I even found myself contemplating the old saying "Give until it hurts."  Then suddenly the words "Give until it doesn't hurt anymore" drifted through my spirit.  You see, much like every other habit I've established in my life, I can choose selfishness or generosity, but I must practice. 

 

I must push through the pain of giving small to get to giving big. 

 

I must build up my tolerance for giving to people I love to delve into giving to people I, perhaps, don't care for or simply don't know. 

 

I must perceive this pain of giving as a trigger or demand to give without a another thought. 

 

I must be generous on every occasion, whether it be at church, at home or at the Dollar Tree.  Wait, that sounds familiar.

  

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

 

This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.   2 Corinthians 9:10-13

Originally, I was going to only post the verse specific to being generous on every occasion, but when I began to read the verses before and after the one I wanted, I realized it was painting a bigger picture. 

Do you see it?

 

God is generous with us in order that we may be generous with others and our confession of the gospel is made complete in our obedience to God through our generosity to people.  There's so much more at stake than my $2. 

So, there it is, in black and white, just in case, you thought I was just making it up. 

Give until it doesn't hurt anymore.

Misapplication of Military Metaphors

First, I would like to confess I love alliteration and, as you will soon discover, repetition.  Oh... and just a touch of rhyming, when possible.

 

That, however, is not the topic of my post. 

 

I wanted to share a verse which rings through my head more often than I'd like, yet less often than I need.

 

Teacher, which kind of commandment is great and important (the principal kind) in the Law? [Some commandments are light—which are heavy?]  And He replied to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (intellect).  This is the great (most important, principal) and first commandment.   And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself.  These two commandments sum up and upon them depend all the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 22:36-40 AMP)

 

However, when I hear it, this is what it sounds like:

 

Love God.  Love people.

Love God.  Love people.

Love God.  Love people.

 

Maybe you're the good son and God doesn't have to repeat Himself with you, but I am not.  I am the stubborn kid who has to be told time and again. 

 

Love God. Love people.

 

What God never tells me is:

 

Love God.  Conquer People.

Love God.  Dominate People.

Love God.  Battle People.

Love God.  Triumph over People.

 

Nope He says:

 

Love God.  Love People. 

 

There are some things, as Christians, where a militaristic tone is appropriate, but those things cannot be found bound in flesh and sustained by blood.  Epheshians 6:12 says "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."  Ephesians even goes on to instruct us to prepare for battle against such things.  According to verse 12, those preparations are not made to battle people.

 

Love God.  Love People.

 

If Ephesians 6 is a great picture of the method by which we should battle the unseen forces in this earth working against us, then I submit to you John 13 as a picture of how a life spent loving people should look.

 

Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power, and that He had come from God and was returning to God; so He got up from the meal, took off His outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around His waist. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around Him. (John 13:3-5 AMP)

 

He was stripped down, totally vulnerable, hands in the mud, uncomfortable, humble (possibly perceived as humiliated) and about as UN-self-serving as one can be.  There was nothing that Jesus could have possibly gained from this (or the cross), except filthy hands and hearts that, hopefully, better understood His. 

 

What you don't see (anywhere in the Gospels) is Jesus gearing up in armor and going to battle with people, because that would be ridiculous.  Battling people is ridiculous. 

 

Yet, we do it all the time.

 

Love God.  Love People.

 

 

I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. (John 13:15 AMP)

 

We cannot argue people to Jesus. 

 

We cannot force people to Jesus.

 

We cannot intimidate people to Jesus.

 

We cannot guilt people to Jesus.

 

We cannot strong-arm people to Jesus.

 

We can only love people to Jesus.  Because that's what He did, and it wasn't through empty words or a silent heart, but rather a life of service.

 

Love God.  Love People.

 

Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. (1 John 4:7-8 NLT)