The Bringer of Peace

Recently, I have been reading some historical fiction based on the times during WW1 and events proceeding it.  I must admit that I had an idealized vision of my mind of what America was like during that time.  I didn't know that this was when the Klu Klux Klan was rampant.  I had forgotten about the Great Depression and how it destroyed many families.  I didn't know much about the gangster control of large cities.  I didn't even think about the persecution and judgment endured by different people groups.  It wasn't a time of peace as I thought.  People weren't any better than they are now.

I don't think I'm the only one who gets a little idealistic when I look at the past.  It's hard not to look at a different time and say it had to be better than now.  When we watch the news and we see rioting, police men killed at point blank, and children being massacred in Pakistan, how can we not look back and think "If only we lived in another time"?

The problem is that no matter what time we go to in history, evil still exists.  History shows us wars, abuse, tyranny, massacres, selfishness, greed, and hatred.  

The world Jesus was born in to was much the same.  This was a world ruled by the Roman empire.   Their reign brought stability, but they ruled with an iron fist by the power of their well trained army and sustained themselves off the taxes of the territories conquered.  This tax load was heavy on the poor farmers (who made up the majority), but there wasn't any mercy if they couldn't make their payments.  "The Romans would sometimes destroy an entire village for late payment either enslaving or killing all its inhabitants. When an individual could not pay his debts, he was often tortured. We have accounts of tax collectors first torturing the head of the household for non-payment. If he still did not pay, they would torture the man’s family while he watched" ("Who Were the Romans").  Click here for the entire article.  For the average person living during this time, there wasn't any hope of change.  There wasn't someone they could call out to to help save them from the injustices they were experiencing.  The Roman empire was a vast, unstoppable force.  And the alternative to Roman rule wasn't that much of an upgrade.  Man isn't a creature of peace.    

But into that dark night shone a light.  For the first time in centuries, there is hope that man can change.  That he can become something better than he is.  That he can become free in the truest sense.  That maybe there was a chance that all that was wrong in the world could be made right.

"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder.  And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever.  The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this."  Isaiah 9:6-6

I italicized the words government because they encompass several important ideas.  The first is that God desires to reign.  But it's necessary to note that his reign is unlike any other reign in history--it is one of peace and justice and it is a reign that doesn't end.  But the biggest difference is that His reign isn't set in a country, or a system, or a building.  His reign begins in our hearts.  His kingdom is the kingdom of believers, of those who call upon His name.   

And His reign can only bring peace as we submit to it and as we reach out to make a difference in the world in which we live.  We cannot be surprised by evil, but we know how to overcome it.  

"And they overcame him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony..." (Revelation 12:11).

My Response to the Attempts to get 19 Kids and Counting off the Air

Recently I was reading through the news and saw that the LGBT community is trying to get 19 Kids and Counting taken off of the air because of their stance on traditional marriage.  It wasn't too long ago that this same attempt was made to remove or boycott Duck Dynasty because of anti-gay sentiments spoken in an interview by one of the cast members. 

Again and again we see this divisive issue coming up in our culture to the point where I believe that, if the LGBT community has their way, those who oppose this lifestyle will be considered akin to Hitler's Nazis or past slave owners.  It will be the issue that challenges the church. And this isn't just about gay marriage, but the entire concept of sexuality and gender identity.

This is already upon us--the question is how do we respond.  Truly there are two responses we must consider.  As American citizens, we have a right to have laws that represent the viewpoints of the majority of Americans.  We have the right to free speech and freedom of religion.  We should continue to uphold these rights because these rights pertain to all Americans and are foundational to our country.

However, there is a second response which I feel must be discussed--the Christian response.  Right now, we are attempting to fight this battle the same way we are fighting for our American rights, and we are failing.  That is because this battle is a spiritual battle and is won by truth and love.

As a church, are we making a big effort to reach out to, understand, and love the LGBT community?  Are we sharing the gospel in meaningful ways with them knowing that no one is ever argued into the kingdom?  

I truly believe that if we want to make a difference in our country for Christ, we need to stop taking the attacks personally.  Let's recognize it for the spiritual battle that it is.  "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age..." Ephesians 6:12.  Our first line of defense is to pray.  Pray for those who don't know Christ, to have a real encounter with Him.  Pray that God opens up opportunities where we can show love to those who oppose us.  

And then expect God to answer those prayers.  Be ready to be a witness not of condemnation, but of the glorious grace of Christ.  

As Americans, keep on fighting the good fight for our rights.  But, as Christians, remember the more important battle is for the souls of those whom God loves.  

Why Suffering?

This is certainly an ambitious topic to write about--one I'm sure I won't even be able to truly uncover.  However, it is a topic that has been coming up again and again with my students, in my Sunday school class, in my personal Bible study, and even in conversations with friends.  How can God be good and allow suffering?


Truly, there are hundreds of books out there that have dealt with this question in more depth and with more clarity than I can even attempt; nevertheless, I will put my feeble answer out there because it might just help someone face whatever difficulties he or she might be enduring.

The first place in Scripture that you would most likely be pointed to in order to answer these questions is the book of Job.  Job is living a righteous life and is prosperous.  So good, in fact, that God even offers him up as an example of all that is good and noble in man.  But then after this bold statement of affirmation God does something completely surprising, He gives Job over to Satan and allows him to test Job through the crucible of suffering.  Satan wagers that the moment Job begins to suffer, his faith in God will disappear.  But Job doesn't give up.  Granted, he isn't happy.  He even says he wishes he wasn't born.  And, more than anything, he desperately wants to know why God is allowing this.  If you've read the book of Job, you know his friends don't really help him either.  They are confident that his suffering is a result of his sin no matter how vehemently Job denies any known wrong-doing.  And then God shows up.  

God doesn't come on the scene sheepish and embarrassed for what he's put Job through.  He comes to remind Job and the others of a very important fact.  They don't have all the information.  

"Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question  you, and you shall answer Me.  Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?  Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements?  Surely you know!  Or who stretched the line upon it?  To what were its foundations fastened?  Or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" Job 38: 4-7

The resounding answer is that only God can tell us these things.  Only He was there in the beginning.  Only He has the knowledge needed to understand how the world began.  And that's not the limit to His understanding.

When we look at our world, we imagine suffering to be the worst thing that could possibly happen to us. We live in fear of it, in fact.  We do everything we can to avoid suffering at any level: from managing the temperatures in our homes to planning and saving so that we are never in want.  But what if suffering as we know it really isn't the worst thing we can experience?  What if there's something worse than suffering?   And what if it's God's highest goal to save us all from this fate that is worse than anything we can imagine?

If we understand that the true threat to us all is living in spiritual blindness and never really seeing, we might not be so afraid of pain.  If we believed that pain could actually open our ears, so that we might hear God's voice, we could fulfill James' injunction to "...count it all joy when you fall into various trials." (James 1:2) not because we are demented and actually enjoy pain, but because we can see that difficulties can be used to make us more real, more able to do something that really matters.  

For those in the midst of real-life horrors, these words are probably no real comfort.  But we have a host of witnesses who have gone before us and left us an example of how to walk when the way is dark and the heart is suffocated.  In these times of darkness, there's no reasoning with yourself that can be done.  There's only the cry of the heart to God for help to make it through each breath and a reaffirming moment by moment that we can, we will trust God no matter what we feel.  

When it's over, and the wound isn't so raw, we can begin to learn and to grow.  We now know how to comfort those who walk through the valley of the shadow of death.  We now have a tenderness that we lacked before.  We now have a trust in God's ability to walk with us that will be a comfort for the future.  And experience by experience, we learn to not be afraid.  We learn to put our faith in a God who redeems all difficulties and who never, ever leaves us.  

And like Job, we can say, "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You." (Job 42:5).  Job never got his questions answered--but he did get a better understanding of God. And it was enough.  

"We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”  

C.S. Lewis The Problem of Pain

Evidence of a Presence

Many of you know that recently I served as a juror on an important murder trial.  I had never before been called to serve on a jury, so I was surprised when I not only received the summons, but I got called back for questioning.  There were two long days of questioning where the lawyers gauged our understanding of the law.  Many times they emphasized the important responsibility of being a juror.  The fact that, although our system is not perfect, it is the best out there because we allow citizens to stand between man and the government as an arbiter.  Our decision decides the fate of the defendant.  I felt both honored and terrified of the responsibility.  In the end, me, and fourteen others, were chosen from the pool of 90 potential jurors and were told to come back on Monday.  We were warned to not do any research on the case, so that we made our decision only based on the information presented during the trial.

On Monday we heard the opening statements from both attorneys explaining the main gist of their future arguments.  For those who aren't familiar, the case is about the murder of a man who came home in the midst of a robbery in his home.  There were two men who were committing the burglary.  The prosecutors were arguing that the defendant was not only one of those men, but that he was also the murderer and mastermind of the crime.  The defense was arguing that he was not even there, and that the co-defendant was framing him in order to protect someone else.  Over the next few days, the prosecuting attorneys laid out a meticulous set of evidence that walked us through the events concerning the crime and revealed step by step the proof that the defendant was in fact there.  This evidence was so overwhelming that, even though there was no DNA evidence linking the defendant to the crime scene (ie no fingerprints etc), the jurors would have had to throw all common sense out the window to believe that he wasn't the culprit.  You see, even though he didn't leave a solid piece of scientific evidence of his presence that night in the house, he left a distinct trail of his presence including witnesses, distinct shoe prints, cell phone GPS coordinates, and the possession of stolen items among many others.  

Today it hit me that this concept is very similar to our belief in God.  No, we do not have direct scientific evidence of God's presence.  I cannot give you a piece of God.  I cannot record His voice and play it for you.  I cannot even show you a photograph of His face.  I can, however, show you a set of evidence of His presence that, using common sense, removes any shadow of doubt concerning the existence of a Creator.  

Starting with the evidence around us, the obvious conclusion we would draw from the complexity of the universe we live in is that our world was designed.  I've read the analogy where we are asked what we would believe if we found a watch on the beach.  Would our first thought be that the watch came to be as a natural outgrowth of the ocean?  Of course not.  The assembly of a watch requires intentional action--complexity never comes out of chance.  In the same way, it takes a stretch to believe that the amazing detail of our universe came about as a result of millions of years of random interactions.  God's "fingerprint" is all over His creation--His thought, His creativity, His plans shown through the smallest details of the human cell to the hugeness of the universe (see Louie Giglio's video here for an awesome description).

The foreman of our jury, and also a lawyer, explained how he came to the conviction of guilt for the defendant.  He said that there is a logical train of thought that helps identify the most realistic option.  He tried to follow the thought presented by the defense that the defendant was in fact not there.  That someone else had his phone when the GPS coordinates were taken near the crime scene.  That someone else was wearing the identical shoes that matched the shoe prints at the scene of the crime and that he himself was later wearing when he was arrested near the scene of the crime.  The amount of speculating and juggling it would require to accept this idea was preposterous.  It sounds similar to Occam's razor--a problem solving principle that states that the simplest hypothesis is often the one most correct (click here for a more detailed definition).  This too fits when considering the existence of God as Creator.  It takes much more mental gymnastics to believe the earth created itself.  

Looking at the revelation given to us in God's Word, we find hundreds upon hundreds of witnesses.  Those who have seen Him face to face.  Those who have spoken for Him and seen those things come to pass.  Those who have been willing to die for the revelation that they have experienced.  

Through the course of the trial and preceding it, we were instructed quite specifically how to evaluate the plausibility of a witness. We were to note how they acted on the stand (fidgeting, not making eye contact, etc), their past character as known to us, and what they might have to gain from testifying.  These points helped us to weigh the testimonies of conflicting statements.

In the same way, we can evaluate the witnesses set forth from the Bible.  Let's evaluate the disciples following Jesus's death and resurrection.  Following Jesus's death, the disciples were in hiding.  John 20:19 says, "Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, 'Peace be with you.'"  In this moment in time, the disciples were afraid for their lives.  They knew from what happened to followers of other rebel factions that after the leader was killed so were any of their close followers.  Into the midst of this fear, Jesus shows up.  He speaks to their fears knowing this was crippling them.  Scripture tells us that Jesus hung around for 40 days revealing himself to hundreds of people before ascending to heaven and leaving them with the commission to go and be witnesses. The book of Acts records what happens next--these fearful disciples become bold proclaimers of Christ.   Every single one of them dies as a martyr, except John who is exiled.  

As we observe these men, we see they are not ashamed or acting shifty.  Instead, they act with certainty.  We observe the change in their characters from the competitive, showy disciples of old to men who demonstrate that they had been with Jesus (Acts 4:13).  We see that they have nothing to gain from their testimony except ridicule, excommunication, and death.  Can you get a stronger witness than theirs?  (For an awesome article on the plausibility of their witness, click here).

And we aren't done yet.  I am a witness too.  I can relate a hundred, a thousand times, I've seen God work in my life in a way that cannot be explained away.  I have the witness of a changed life and changed heart, and even more so, the witness of a changing life and a changing heart.  He is real and He is at work in me.  

In that jury room, the twelve of us who were left to deliberate found it easy to look at the evidence and state that he had been at the scene of the crime.  Based on the evidence of witnesses and evidence of his presence, we found him guilty of first degree murder.

In many ways, the truth of God himself is on trial though not for a crime.  Will we listen to the defense and follow the absurd manipulations of truth that we must believe in order to show that God is not here or will we use our common sense and choose the only verdict that makes sense?

God is guilty of being here and being real.  The evidence for His presence is overwhelming. 

Am I Good?

One of the ideas that is most offensive to non-believers (and, let's be honest, believers too) is the idea that we are sinners. When we look around at the world, yes, we see inexplicable evil, but we mostly see people living in harmony following the laws and caring for their families and others.  It seems hard to call these people bad.

When we look at tragedies like 9/11, we even see firefighters and policeman and average, regular citizens risking their lives to help others with no reward to themselves (and often to their detriment).  Are these people evil?

What we have to do first is define what it means to be good.  What is our standard?  If our standard is everyone else then we are all set.   We find it easy to point out that those who commit evil acts are anomalies.  Goodness essentially means to us the absence of obvious evil.  If I don't hurt anyone--I'm good.  If I help someone--that's bonus.  

The truth is that the standard for good is much higher--the standard is God's perfect holiness.  Goodness (at least according to God's definition), therefore, isn't just the lack of doing bad things--it's perfect purity.  

It's not just never murdering someone--it's never thinking a hateful thought.
It's not just never stealing something that doesn't belong to to us--it's never even having the tiniest desire to do this.
It's not just never committing adultery--it's never looking at anyone except your spouse with any sort of interest. (Matthew 5:21-30)

When we look at that standard, it's easy to see that we all fall short.  And when we realize that this is the standard to which we are all being held that is when we fall to our knees in humility and recognize we need help.  

I want to be that good.  I want my instinctual desires to be something of beauty and not of selfishness.  I want to be changed.

Bottom line, I want a Savior. 

Keep Your Heart

"Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life." 

Proverbs 4:23 (NKJV)

"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." 

Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)

Last night I returned from a Women of Faith conference in Orlando with a group of lovely women whom I am blessed to call friends. We heard from various speakers such as Patsy Clairmont, Sheila Walsh, and, a new one for me, Christine Caine.  I thoroughly enjoyed the weekend and the good teaching and the excellent reminders of God's redemptive power--His ability to turn even the horrible things in our lives into something beautiful.  This morning I got up and studied in Hebrews in preparation for my Sunday school lesson.  The author of Hebrews is frustrated with the lack of their spiritual maturity and chastens them for their "milk-drinking" saying "solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good evil."  Hebrews 5:14

All the Bible lessons and Bible reading I've done this weekend is wonderful, but it is absolutely useless if I don't put it into practice.  And putting it into practice isn't usually a large task, it's a small, consistent choice to continually keep watch over my heart and my thoughts.  In Proverbs 4:23, we are admonished to keep or guard our hearts.  I am a NKJV girl, but I think NIV really nails it with this translation.  Guard it because everything you do flows from it.  What's happening internally will decide what is happening externally.

Adam had a similar admonition in that he was instructed in Genesis 2:15 to tend and keep the garden (with the same connotation of guarding).  In fact the Hebrew word shamar can be translated as to keep, guard, keep watch and ward, protect, save life, watch (www.blueletterbible.org).  Adam had a responsibility to protect.  To be on guard against danger.  We all know that he didn't do his job well and it ends with disastrous consequences. 

We don't want to continue that same story over and over again in our lives.  So let's heed the warning to guard our hearts.  And how do we do this?

It starts by monitoring the monologue of our thoughts.  Many times over the years, when discussing sin, I would ask my students how they would like their thoughts to be broadcast for all to hear.  The terrified looks on their faces said it all.  It would be horrible!  We have a constant stream of thoughts going through our mind--many times unchecked.  Now I will preface this to say that for the most part, we have absolutely no control over those random, horrible thoughts that seem to come from nowhere.  We do, however, have control over what we do next.

2 Corinthians 10:5 speaks of taking our thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ.  This is our goal.  Let me give you a practical example of how this looks:

1) Jane has a stupid thought (it could be one of fear, anger, lust, judgment, arrogance, or whatever) but for this situation we will say she has one of self-loathing.  She says to herself, "I am horrible and no one will ever love me."

2) Jane stops and recognizes that thought for what it is (not from God).  This thought is a big, fat lie.

3) Jane submits this thought to the truth of God.  "God's Word has told me that I am fearfully and wonderfully made."

4) Jane moves on.

We humans have a funny way of interacting with our feelings and thoughts.  We seem to believe that if we feel it or think it (especially in a strong way) that this automatically makes this sentiment true.  We don't take time to really think about it.  The awesome thing is we don't have to figure this out on our own--we have the word of God to help us identify truth and lies (too bad Adam didn't do this himself).  

When we feel something very strongly, whether it is shame, fear, anger, or lust, we are tempted to think this is the most real thing in the world.  It isn't.  Feelings pass.  One of the biggest lies ever is the lie that a certain feeling will never change.  We think if we feel it now that we will always feel this way.  And that simply is not true.  Because we can make a choice about what we want to believe.  We do not have to be lead by the emotions; we can choose to lead them instead.

We lead by bringing these emotions and thoughts to God's Word and seeing how they line up.  If they don't, we can just let them go.  It's not our fault that we felt it, but it is our fault if we hold on to it and nurture it.  And it is by doing this that we truly grow into maturity as mentioned in the passage from Hebrews 5:14.  

A Dangerous Trend

Over the last weeks, the internet has been filled with horrific news of violence done by Islamic terrorists.  Even before ISIS started systematically killing and destroying, random acts of terror have been occurring around the world.  Muslim believers who have killed innocent people in the name of Allah.  I recall a particularly gruesome scene where a man in England attacked a British officer with his car, then stabbed him repeatedly in the middle of the street in broad daylight.  A bystander, watching, then proceeded to video his message to the world which was in essence, "Watch out, world!  We will not stop until all the infidels are dead."  While he speaks covered in the blood of his victim, people walk back and forth past him not even noticing what has happened.  I could have nightmares just about that one incident.  And it's not the last, not by a long shot.

Less gruesome, but equally disturbing, is a video I recently watched about a Jewish speaker at a college campus speaking about what is happening around the world in regards to terrorism.  A Muslim woman stands up representing the Muslim Student Association to ask him to prove the connection of MSA to terrorist groups such as Al Queda.  He then states that one of Al Queda's goals (and other groups like this) is the annihilation of all of the Jews in the world.  He asks her point blank, "Are you for or against the annihilation of all of the Jews?"  She hedges a bit and states how he is putting her in a position to incriminate herself, but he presses her to answer.  She answers, "I'm for it."  And she says it with a smile.  I remember feeling such a heaviness in my heart after watching that.  A sadness for this world and for what is happening every day.  And I also felt a fear.

The fear I feel is probably not the fear you'd expect though.  I'm afraid that religion (meaning faith in God) is beginning to not only look ridiculous, but dangerous.  I'm afraid that all "extreme" forms of religion will become a horror to the world not because of the result but because of our unwillingness to waver.  

What do I mean by extreme?  I mean faiths that ask us to respond to a higher calling.  Faiths that demand us to walk a straight and narrow path with clearly defined good and evil.  It won't matter what the fruits of this faith are, but whether or not you will conform to society's views when necessary.  What I foresee is a day when Muslim jihadists will be considered on the same level as the Christian pastor who won't marry the gay couple.  

The tide is turning (has already turned, I believe) where we will be pressured to not stand firm because we won't want to be identified with extremists.  It makes me sad because many will not stop to check the fruit of faith to determine its validity but instead will judge all faiths according to the standards of society (that are ever changing).  My prayer is  Matthew 5:16:    "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."  Your good works matter.  They matter for the glory of the one true God.  Your acts of mercy, of grace, and self-sacrificing love show the world who our God really is and, most importantly, who He is not.  We must let the true fruit of our faith be the testimony that shows our faith is valid.  

Ravi Zacharias wrote a great book called Jesus Among Other Gods: The Absolute Claims of the Christian Message that is an excellent read on how Jesus compares to other faiths. 

How Familiar Are We?

Tonight I sat with my children on the couch reading to them from the book of Mark.  We've been reading through the Gospel again going through short passages and then talking about them.  I love that my children are at an age now that we can have these great discussions.  So tonight we read the first six verses of Mark 6:

"Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.

“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing?  Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.

Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of faith."

I've read this passage many times and heard messages on this text.  I've even heard my husband teach on this text.  Tonight while I read it, it felt like the proverbial light bulb went off in my head.  The townspeople were too familiar.  

What does that mean?  It means they thought they had Jesus all figured out already.  They knew him.  He was a carpenter, a son, a brother.  He was the kid who grew up in their village.  He was the child conceived out of wedlock.  He wasn't anything special.  And, yet, now He returns.  And before He returned, news of Him came back.  Miracles.  Healing.  Hundreds of followers.  You can imagine their surprise.  Jesus?  Mary's boy?

So when He shows up and starts speaking with the authority of God, they have a hard time accepting this new image.  They instead choose to be offended with Him for putting on airs.  What happens next is surprising--Jesus is limited in His ability to do miraculous things there.  The text tells us it is their lack of faith that caused this problem.  It really hit me--we can limit God's power?  Is this really true?

I started putting these ideas together as I talked with my kids tonight.  The people of His hometown were too familiar.  They couldn't accept the real Jesus.  They had an understanding of Him and were unwilling to let it change.  Because of this, they missed out big time on what He could do in their lives.  They stopped the miraculous.   What about us?

Have we gotten too familiar?  Do we think we have Jesus figured out?  And, as a result, are we limiting God's work in our lives?  I told my kids that we need to remember that when we read our Bibles, we should come realizing that we don't have Jesus (or His Word) figured out completely.  There's always more to learn.  When we have faith in the seemingly impossible situations, our faith opens doors to a reality that we can't even imagine (Ephesians 3:20).  

I love that my God is a big God.  I love that my mind cannot wrap itself around His awesomeness.  With that truth in my heart, I want to always approach His Word with reverence knowing that the Word is powerful and living.  I want to approach every situation in my life with faith knowing that God might be doing a new thing and I don't want my seeming familiarity make me miss out on what could be an eternal, life-changing event.

Lord, help us never come to you with anything but reverent wonder.  Let our faith change our lives and then change the lives of others!

Doing a New Thing

A few months ago, we had a few seniors at Master's Academy give their testimonies focusing on what God has done in their lives during their schooling time.  One of the students whom I won't name since I didn't get permission ahead of time, spoke of her struggles with moving to Vero Beach.  They were comfortable at the home they lived in previously, and she couldn't understand why God would uproot them from a good place to take them somewhere else.  There were other things she mentioned, but at the end she said that she came to understand that she had to allow God to do a new thing in her life.  I remember being struck with the wisdom of that statement.  How many of us have struggled when God has started a new thing in our lives? New is uncomfortable. It is strange and unpredictable.  New experiences require things like trust and faith.  We cannot rely on our experiences and knowledge when we go into new territory, and I believe it is this very thing that makes new things both highly avoided but also highly needed.

This struggle with the avoidance of change is a plague to the church too.  That might sound a bit harsh, but it really is true.  The church doesn't want a new thing.  It wants to do what it's always done, and this mindset is keeping us from getting involved in the new thing God is doing right now.  And we will miss it if we're not careful.  

Back when the church was getting its start, they had a similar decision to make.  It seems like a non-issue to us who aren't 1st century Jews, but the decision to allow Gentiles to become believers was a huge decision for them.  Part of their spiritual identity was the fact that the Jewish people were the chosen people--set apart.  They were to be so different from their pagan neighbors that they would stand out.  This separation had two results: it helped them see that God was different from the pagan gods, and, unfortunately, it caused them to miss God's vision for the pagan people.  Repeated throughout the OT is God's beautiful vision of the the Jews being a light to the pagan people so that they too may believe.  Those great statements were faded out in the light of the special position of being chosen.  They took great pride in this distinction, and in their ability to follow God's law (in contrast to the pagans).  

When Jesus came on the scene, He threw everything they thought they knew into a confusing mess.  He healed on the Sabbath; He dined with sinners; He helped Roman officials, He told stories where the bad guys were the heroes; He touched the unclean; and He basically told them everything they thought they knew about following God was wrong.  He was there to change things, and they did not like it one bit.  In Mark 2:18-22, some people questioned Jesus as to why His disciples did not fast like the other groups did (meaning John's disciples and the pharisees).  He explained that this wasn't the time for fasting, but then goes on to explain what was at the root of their question.  Why wasn't He (and his disciples) behaving the way everyone thought they should?  The answer was simple.  God was doing a new thing.

"No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; or else the new piece pulls away from the old, and the tear is made worse.  And no one puts a new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins."  Mark 2:21-22

Bottom line is this, when God does something new, we just won't be able to fit it into our old way of thinking. We're going to have to change.  We're going to have to give up the way we think things should be done, and, using the Word of God as our guide, we are going to have to go into uncharted territories and live a life of adventure.  


The early church had to understand this, and we have to understand it now too both as a church and as believers.  (For more thoughts on how the church is changing, read Ed Stetzer's "The State of the Church in America: Hint: It's Not Dying")

Why I Don't Wear a Bikini (but don't care if you do!)

I must admit I feel a little weird writing this about this topic because of the delicate nature of the topic, but I've noticed the last few months that I've spoken about this topic several times with friends and even my students, and I wanted to go ahead and put my thoughts into writing.  Now, before I begin, let me say very clearly that I totally do not judge women who choose to wear a bikini.  It's definitely a gray area and not a hill I'd choose to die on, but there really are a few background issues that I do feel strongly about.

Throughout history, women have often been required to follow a forced modesty.  The standards for modesty were extremely strict and any infractions were enforced severely.  There was shame attached to the female body that never should have happened.  However, in the last forty years or so, there has been a dramatic shift in society's standard.  In reaction against the previously forced modesty, a new, unforeseen development has arisen.  Forced sexuality. 

What do I mean by this term?  I mean that now many women equate beauty with sexuality. I  mean that teens and pre-teens and, God help us, 7-9 year olds believe that the clothing that makes them attractive are short shorts, bikinis, and strapless dresses.  

In short, where women were judged harshly for showing too much (or any) skin in the past, now a woman may feel less than when she doesn't show skin.  And I think this idea (though definitely not encompassing all women) is affecting women and little girls.  It's the age old idea that the best thing we have to offer is our bodies, instead of our minds, our hearts, our spirits.  And that makes me mad.  Because that is still bondage.  Bondage with more choices than before, but bondage nevertheless.

I must admit that I never really thought so deeply about this until I had daughters--two wonderful, beautiful daughters who, like most females, care about how they look and how they are perceived (even at four and eight!).  And when I look at the clothes being sold for them and the clothes being worn by girls on TV, I get nervous.  What if they believe that's all there is to being a woman?  What if they become insecure like me?

I spent all of my teen years obsessing with my appearance.    When I became a Christian, I felt instantly free from that pressure.  I threw out all of my makeup and just wore baggy t-shirts and jeans.  Over time, I realized that beauty isn't something wrong.  God created it!  I realized that I was allowed to want to be attractive.  However, when I started thinking that way it brought up a huge amount of drama that I wasn't expecting.  And why the drama?  Because it was so hard to believe that I could be beautiful without exuding sexuality.  

So what does this all have to do with bikinis?  I don't wear bikinis for the same reasons I don't wear many other types of clothes.  One, I'm way too conscious of my body in a bikini.  Yes, I'm skinny, but I'm not perfect.  Every time I bend over, I'm thinking of how my belly looks when the muscles collapse (hey--I've had three kids).  I'm. Not. Comfortable.  

Two, I want my daughters to see that their mother thinks it's wise to cover her body.  When my daughters are teenagers, I don't want them to say "Well, you wear one!" when I say that the Brazilian-cut string bikini is not a good idea.  I'm pretty proud of myself for thinking ahead on this one.  

Three, I desperately want to learn that as I grow older and my muscles get flabbier and my skin gets wrinklier that I still have something valuable to offer the world.  That I can still look beautiful (because let's be honest ladies, being beautiful is still important) without looking like I'm twenty.  

So this brings me to my last point.  We have a choice.  If a woman wants to wear a bikini, that's totally fine with me.  But, at least for one moment, I hope we will stop and ask ourselves, "Why do I really want to wear this?" 


FYI:  Jessica Rey's "The Evolution of the Swim Suit" is one of my favorites for an interesting perspective on bathing suits!  Check it out!

David's Song of Praise

"I will love You, O Lord, my strength.  The Lord is my rock and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.  I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies."  Psalm 18:1-3

David penned this psalm "on the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul."  This entire psalm is found in 2 Samuel 22:1-51, and the preceding chapters (and the context for the psalm) speaks of the death of Saul who had been trying to kill him for some time and (many years later) David's victory over the Philistine giants (the family of Goliath).  As you can imagine, these were pretty important events. 

As a quick recap, David was the youngest of seven sons.  He was a shepherd and musician who spent most of his days out in the wilderness protecting sheep.  That is until the Philistine Goliath showed up--a nine foot, well-trained soldier who laughed and taunted the Israelites and their God demanding that they send forth their own champion to challenge him.  The Israelites were paralyzed with fear.  David came on the scene and was shocked that the Israelite people would allow this uncircumcised man to mock their God.  David's mind was full of the remembrance of the deeds of God both in the past and in his own life.  He knew that God would show up once again for His name's sake.  The Israelites, however, looked at this situation and forgot all that happened before and were terrified.  We all know the rest of the story of how David forsook the conventional form of protection (namely armor and a sword) and instead approached Goliath with faith and some rocks.  In a matter of moments, the giant that had plagued them was conquered and beheaded.  This mighty feat brought David into the limelight and soon King Saul had David as a part of his royal retinue.  The hand of God upon David was obvious, and he was successful in all that he did; it wasn't long before Saul's admiration turned to envy.  For eight long years, Saul pursued David and tried to kill him while David hid out in the mountains with those who would follow him.  Many times, David had the opportunity to end the struggle and the hiding and the running.  But David refused.  Was he weak?  Was he foolish?  No.  He respected God and His anointing so much that he would not, could not, touch a man who had been anointed by God to be king.  Not even to save his own life.  In the end, it would be the Philistines who killed Saul, and David would mourn his loss.  2 Samuel 21 brings us forward many years.  Years in which David has made decisions that hurt many people--decisions that brought death to the innocent, that brought chaos to his family, that brought shame to his home.  He comes full circle in this chapter to face giants again--the family of Goliath--but this time he needs help; in four separate battles both David and his men fight and kill the remaining the men of Goliath's family.    

I find it interesting that David's psalm of praise includes the deliverance from the hand of Saul even though that had happened many years previous to the victory that he just experienced.  I think its telling that David was so good at keeping close the memory of all God's deliverances in his life and not just the ones that happened recently.  Perhaps it was this ability that enabled David to wait the eight long years of his exile with hope and not impatience.  He knew that he knew that he knew that God would move on his behalf because he'd seen it before.  He could wait because he knew he wasn't forgotten. Let's look again at the opening lines to his psalm:

"I will love You, O Lord, my strength.  The Lord is my rock and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.  I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies."  Psalm 18:1-3

When he thought of the Lord, the following words came to his mind: love, strength, rock, deliverer, trust, shield, salvation, stronghold, saved.  David responded to the victory he experienced by recognizing who was behind the victory.  He put his thoughts into words--words that would later even be used by future worshippers to use in their own times of thanksgiving.   

What words come to your mind when you think of God?  Are they words like David's or instead do you get words like duty, expectation, disappointment, restriction, even fear?  

I think a lot of our difficulties with God comes from a lack of understanding of His heart.  You see, David blew it big time, and on many occasions, and yet he never let this keep him from coming to God again and again.  And on those occasions when he was called out for his sin, his immediate response was humility and repentance.  I think it's because he really got God's heart for him.  He even saw God's heart for Saul which was why he refused to intervene.  When we understand God's loving mercy towards us, it is then, and only then, that we can offer that same mercy towards others.  

"Great deliverance He gives to His king, and shows mercy to His anointed, to David and his descendants forevermore."  Psalm 18:50

Let's summarize the main points here:
1) Our confidence in God is best reinforced when we continually remember God's work in the past in our lives, in the lives of other believers, and in the Bible.
2) We need to reaffirm our confidence in God with words.  Don't just think it--say it!
3) We are able to show mercy to others (in other words give people the time to be dealt with by God) when we realize how much mercy we are receiving.

Keep On Keeping On

This last week in my Sunday school class we began the book of Daniel.  I love the book of Daniel because, bottom line, Daniel is awesome.  He is cool, calm, and collected; he's wiser than any other wise man; and, like Joseph, this man can interpret dreams and visions.  But how did he become so amazing?  Did he wake up one day and God said, "Today's the day for you to become somebody!" and, bang, Daniel suddenly became the great man we read about.  Sounds silly when we say it like that, but I think it's easy for us to think that people are either great or they aren't.  It's harder to see that greatness is more of a process.  Let's take a closer look at Daniel to see how it really works.

In Daniel 1, we open with the the Babylonians conquering Judah and taking away the best and the brightest.  As part of the process of assimilation, the Babylonians would take the smart, the noble, the good-looking and train them to serve in their governments.  Daniel was one of these individuals.  So Daniel, and three of his friends, were taken from their homes and families and taken to their enemy's homeland to be trained to be servants.  Daniel was probably about 16 years old.  I can't imagine how horrifying it must have been to see your home destroyed and then taken captive to serve your enemies.  In my Sunday school class, I asked my class to imagine how we would feel if Muslim terrorists overthrew America then took some of us back with them to train us to serve them.  It would be bad enough to be conquered but taken away from friends and family and home to be a slave?  It can't get much worse than that.  

So when we encounter Daniel in chapter 1 verse 8, we'd expect to find a bitter Daniel.  A Daniel who would think that his God had failed him and that He either couldn't help or, even worse, wouldn't help.  That's not a God he'd be worried about pleasing, would he?  However, this isn't Daniel's attitude at all; in verse 8, we read, "But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself."  Daniel, in the midst of the worst situation possible, decides to keep obeying the last thing he was told to do and continue to follow the dietary laws of the Jewish faith.  And, living in a pagan country where meat and wine were often offered as sacrifices to idols and then consumed, this means that Daniel is very limited in his options.  Daniel and his friends had been chosen to be trained for three years for service to the king.  Everything about their lives was being decided by other people.  They didn't choose when they woke up, what they wore, and, certainly, not what they ate.  How could he possibly honor God in this?  

However, God was not as absent as it might have seemed He was.  "Now God brought Daniel into the favor and goodwill of the chief of eunuchs [the man in charge of Daniel and his friends]." (1:9)  Because God had already softened the heart of the chief eunuch, Daniel's request for a different diet for himself and his friends was not immediately rejected.  In fact, Daniel is able to convince the chief eunuch to give them a trial run and to see if, after ten days, Daniel and his friends looked healthy after eating a diet of just water and vegetables in comparison with the rich diet that the other men would be eating.  And here we have what I believe is another intervening hand of God.  Ten days of water and vegetables would have left Daniel and his friends healthy but probably not hardy.  However, verse 15 says, "And at the end of ten days their features appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king's delicacies."

So what's the point here?  Do we really think God was overly concerned with their diet? Why was He choosing to intervene in a seemingly irrelevant decision?  The point is God was pleased with their faithfulness.  They had little control over their lives at that moment, but they were determined to be faithful.  They decided to obey even though their worlds had fallen apart and nothing made sense anymore.  In the midst of chaos, they didn't lose their bearings.  They kept on keeping on.  

"His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.  Enter into the joy of your lord.'" (Matthew 25:21).  

This seemingly insignificant event shows that Daniel and his friends were ready to be faithful in whatever God asked of them, and He would ask a lot.  These men men faced fiery furnaces and dens of lions and never wavered.  Where did they get that faith?  By walking faithfully with God through the small things and trusting Him to show up in the little details of their lives.  We might not be able to relate to huge steps of faith they took when standing against a pagan world bent on destroying them and their faith, but we can follow in their baby steps of faithfulness in the way we live our day-to-day lives.  

"Oh! it irradiates all our days with lofty beauty, and it makes them all hallowed and divine, when we feel that not the apparent greatness, not the prominence nor noise with which it is done, nor the external consequences which flow from it, but the motive from which it flowed, determines the worth of our deed in God's eyes. Faithfulness is faithfulness, on whatsoever scale it be set forth."  --Alexander MacLaren

The Parable of the Stupid Lizard

The other day Tracy and I noticed a white lizard in our bathroom.  Tracy tried for several minutes to catch it so that we could take it outside, but it was very hard to catch and ended up getting underneath the bathroom cabinet at which point Tracy gave up.  For several days we didn't see the lizard, so I kind of forgot about it until yesterday when he made his appearance again this time behind my laundry basket of clean clothes that I hadn't put away yet.  Aha! I thought.  This time I will get him and put him outside before he dies.  So I tried to catch him using a fly swatter because it's usually easy to get it underneath the lizard and then carry him outside.  No matter what I did to try and coax him onto the fly swatter, he would have none of it.  So I went and got a cup and thought I could use the fly swatter to push him into the cup.  I chased that stinking lizard all over my bedroom for a good half an hour before he got behind the TV stand.  It really made me mad.  All I could think was I'm trying to help you, you stupid lizard!  I'm not the bad guy.  If you keep running from me, you'll die! 

So last night I told Tracy about seeing the lizard again and we both lamented that I will probably find a dead lizard sooner or later.  Then it kind of hit me.  We are so like the dumb lizard.  You see that lizard really wanted his freedom, but he just couldn't see that I was trying to give him real freedom by releasing him outside.  His freedom will only lead to death.  
"There is a way that seems right to man, but its end is the way of death." Proverbs 14:12

We imitate the same struggle because we run from God so afraid that He will take away our freedom, our individuality even.  The truth is that in God we actually find true freedom.  It's a paradox that in finally being captured, being a slave even, we find liberty.  However crazy that sounds this kind of reasoning is consistent with God.  He likes to do the unexpected.  

"And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free."  John 8:32

Many people think that being a Christian is about following a bunch of rules concerning what we are and aren't allowed to do.  Yes, God sets perimeters for our safety, but this isn't what defines our faith.  For the first time ever, as believers, we are released from the standard of culture that defines us and we are even released from our own flesh that is never, ever satisfied.  When those incessant voices finally stop in the presence of God, we can hear like we've never heard before, see like we've never seen before, and think like we've never thought before.  We suddenly see the world from another perspective and we begin to understand our role in this big, big world in which we are not the center.  That truth brings freedom on a scale that we can't imagine.  

And I believe that like most things God gives us this freedom one step at a time.  As we walk with Him He continually works in us to give us freedom from our flesh and world.  Sometimes it really hurts.  Sometimes it makes us uncomfortable.  Sometimes we cannot see how in the world this can end up for good and we have to just trust.  But when we do trust, we eventually see how God is transforming us from glory to glory.  

"But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit." 2 Corinthians 3:18

Looking back over my life, I can see how I've gained freedom in areas of my life mainly from struggling.  I have a good friend with whom I regularly discuss this.  When we are confronted with a trying experience that really targets one of our weaknesses (like fear), we comfort one another by repeating the truth, "This is for freedom's sake."   I have to ask myself:  Am I willing to let God do what is necessary to bring me there?  What about you?

To Judge or Not To Judge

There are two sides to a very complicated dilemma that have been plaguing our faith from its inception, so much so that even Jesus spoke on it.  "Judge not, that you not be judged,"Jesus said in Matthew 7:1.  There is probably no other verse that has caused so much confusion than this verse right here.  For the sake of understanding the whole picture, let's include the following few verses:
"Judge not, that you not be judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.  And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye' and look, a plank is in your own eye?  Hypocrite!  First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." Matthew 7:1-5

I've had people quote the first verse to me as an accusation against Christians.  The Bible says you cannot judge--you are a hypocrite! You cannot tell people what you think is right or wrong.  The truth is that we cannot function in this world unless we have some standard of right and wrong and that we evaluate the world by this.  Everyone does this, so there's no point calling a person a hypocrite about it.  The fact that anyone calls someone a hypocrite is proof itself, since they are calling upon a standard of right and wrong.  So whether or not we should "judge" is hardly the issue.  The issue of how we judge, or in what capacity, is another story altogether.    And this is what Jesus is talking about.

Because of the drama related to this topic, many Christians end up swinging between extremes--being harsh and judgmental and evaluating others according to the standards they stand firm on or being so full of grace that they have no standards whatsoever.  As my husband likes to term it, he says we are either pharisees or pagans.  Pharisees have taken it upon themselves to determine what is right in every circumstance and then hold everyone to that standard.  Pagans avoid confrontation even if it unintentionally allows others to fall into lifestyles that are dangerous and sinful.  As you can imagine, neither of these models is biblical.  What stands in the middle of these two extremes is the model given to us by Christ:  grace-filled correction.  And it starts with this passage of Scripture we just read.

The word judge mentioned before can also be translated condemn.  That has a much stronger, and I believe more accurate, connotation.  Condemn not, that you not be condemned.  Looking up the word in a Bible dictionary, in this case, it is a person who has assumed the office of a judge.  This is key.  A person who has assumed the office of a judge is in essence saying "I have the authority to judge this person.  I know all of the facts in this situation, and I am unbiased enough to decide the fate of this person."  In truth, there is only one person in all creation who has the authority, the knowledge, and the objectiveness to truly judge a person's heart and that is God.  There is no other.  He alone can decide the fate of a person.  However, that doesn't mean we are to take the stance of the pagan!

This passage actually presents a stance where we are still called to evaluate our brother's actions, but with two things in mind:
1) We are motivated by actual concern for the individual. Note that Jesus refers to the person being corrected as his brother.  There is a relationship there.  There is a connection, and, therefore, a responsibility to look out for the well-being of this person. 
2) We have first checked our own hearts, intents, and actions.  Before you can lovingly correct someone, you better make sure you aren't guilty yourself.   

In order to truly be salt in this world, there are times when we will need to call someone out on some things, and there will be times when we ourselves will need to be called out on  some things also.  This is called relationship and accountability.  No one can stand aloof and say that they can do this on their own.  We have blind spots to our own sin that will ruin us if we don't have help.  And, on the flip side, we have a responsibility to help our brothers and sisters if we see them making decisions that are dangerous for them.  And, sometimes, we have a responsibility to remove ourselves from people who continue to make decisions that are not in line with Scripture.  Not because we are better than them.  Not because we no longer care.  But because in the long run, it is better for them to just reap the consequences of their decisions and come to the conclusion that Christ's way is better on their own.  But this is always with the understanding in mind that it is the goodness of God that leads to repentance (Romans 2:4).

With this in mind, the Bible has a message to both the pharisee and the pagan:

Pharisee--you are not always right.  Your strong stances can lead to an unforgiving spirit which will not be tolerated.  You will be judged the way you are now judging (Matthew 18:21-35).  Remember the compassion and grace of God.  Let His own mercy towards you compel you to love others in the same way (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).  Be motivated to help people where they are right now allowing them to travel along the path God has intended for them in His own timing bathing them in prayer (Ecclesiastes 3:11 and Ephesians 6:18).

Pagan--you are not always right.  What you think is love is really fear of confrontation.  You think by not taking a stand, that you are imitating grace.  Your grace is a cheap grace and has no value at all.  God's grace cost Him His only Son.  This grace is the grace that saves, that never gives up, that pursues with complete dedication with the hope that not one will be lost (1 Corinthian 13).   If you really believe in love, then sacrifice yourself for others by telling them the truth they must hear in order to be saved (Romans 10:17).  

We will be both of these people at different times in our lives, and, hopefully, we will also be like the Christ-figure:  where mercy and truth meet and bring true peace!

"Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed."  

Psalm 85:10

"Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, 

Write them on the tablet of your heart"  

Proverbs 3:3
"In mercy and truth Atonement is provided for iniquity; And by the fear of the Lord one departs from evil."
Proverbs 16:6