Hey Jack, it's more about the HOW than the WHAT!

Every day I am reminded more and more, in this day of instant social media, how important words are. Not only that, but even more importantly is HOW you use those words.  This morning I was sitting here, reading so many different views on the Duck Dynasty debacle and one thing kept coming to my mind: Jesus spoke truth, and he did it in a way that made people stop and think, not bristle in anger. Honestly, some of the stuff he said was highly offensive at the time, but interestingly enough, the people it was most offensive to was the religious leaders of the time! They were deeply offended that Jesus spoke about mercy to sinners, shared food and space with “vile” offenders, and walked and talked freely with evil-doers.  He was a rebel because he drew the outcasts to him. I cannot help but think that it was more HOW he said what he did, the hope he offered, that drew the sinners to him. Though the meat of his message told them they were doing wrong, it also offered a simple way to escape and be free. The religious leaders didn’t like that because what they had preached to the people for years was the law that there were “hoops” to jump through to make yourself worthy, certain works and ways to accomplish holiness, and Jesus was throwing all that to the curb. The religious leaders felt like their self-righteousness was being challenged and they didn’t like that. It reminds me of the picture of a little kid throwing themselves on the ground it a fit and screaming “That’s not fair!”

All that to say this: I agree with some of what Phil said, but not all of how he said it. The WAY we speak God's truths to others can be a stumblingblock to ourselves and our message of hope and to others that desperately need that truth. Phil spoke the truth only when he quoted scripture. His vulgarity in his "anus" and "vagina" comments made the scripture part not stand out to anyone. It overrode it, it tainted it. I'm sure that he, himself, is very sorry about that. His opinion and the way he spoke it was what was vastly offensive to the public. If he had only quoted the Word of God I believe there still would have been an outcry and upset, but it would not have had much of a leg to stand on. His OPINION and the way he delivered it is what has people upset the most. Even though I truly believe he spoke in love and what he says later about not judging anyone and how if we all just love God and love people the rest will follow is truly what he believes…well, the crassness of the other just overshadows all of his heart's meaning in the other statements. Have you read the whole article? You should. I'm surprised Phil allowed this crude magazine to interview him, writing an article with foul language from the reporter throughout the article about he and his family. Ultimately, I feel like allowing the interview from a reporter who is known to write crass articles was the beginning of the family's bad judgment call and then it escalated from there. But, even in that, I reminded that we all make mistakes and err everyday!
When I read what Phil said about why “a would a guy want an anus”, I immediately knew that he had probably never actually sat and talked to a homosexual person or else he would never make such an ignorant statement. Because that’s just what it is: ignorance. I don’t mean that harshly, I’m just saying that he truly doesn’t know. If had invested any time into getting to know a homosexual person he would know that the “sex” part actually has very little to do with the actuall attraction. Satan knows that too. He created the perfect recipe for disaster using various evil tools at his disposal. And he knows that Christians shy away from homosexuality as if it’s the plague and they may catch it, and that the way the deliver the message that it’s a sin is ultimately only more damaging to the cause of Christ. God has allowed Satan to use those tools and I am wondering today if it's because He is hoping for Christians to let go of "laws" and prejudices and seek to truly reach the people under the sin? I wish that Phil would have only stuck to quoting scripture and saying God’s word says it’s a sin. Period. End of discussion. And I’m pretty sure he probably wishes right now that he would have done the same thing.
This whole situation is a reminder to me that most Christians just don’t see that angry hurtful statements are NOT “loving the sinner, but hating the sin”, and neither are they "standing on God's word". They, instead, too often deliver a message of self-righteousness condemnation. What message is the gay community hearing loudest from us? If all they hear is anger, condemnation, crass remarks, and judgment from a self-righteous “my sin is not as bad as yours” group of religious leaders but no message of hope, love, healing, freedom or repentance, what end do we really expect? I was so glad to see how Phil ended the conversation about homosexuality by quoting scripture and saying it was not his place to judge and that we are all a mess. I honestly feel like that’s what he really believes. I think his first comment was just him stating that he does not understand the draw of homosexuality or how people fall into that particular sin, he just didn’t state that in the best way! To him, I feel like it’s honestly the same as any other sin. Which brings me to my next thought…

I said it awhile back amidst the Miley Cyrus uproar from Christians, and I say it in regard to this as well:

I AM a homosexual…Without God’s grace, mercy, and daily forgiveness of my sins I am guilty of ALL and fall right in line with all the others in the Bible verses that Phil mentioned in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11:

"(9) Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, (10) nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. (11) And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."

Back to my beginning statement, of how Jesus drew the sinners, but repelled the religious…Well, too often we quote these verses (or more often than not, throw them!) at unbelievers when in reality these statements are made to the church, to believers. Paul is telling them that Jesus washed them from these things and yet some of them are still living that way. He isn’t talking to unbelievers in this instance and calling them vile offenders. He’s saying, hey, you church-goers, you know better!  And yet, we, as Christians, often quote these behavioral sins to unbelievers and expect that to change their minds? That message is not the one that will convince them of their sinful ways! That truth is spoken by Paul in the previous chapter of 1 Corinthians 5 starting in verse 9 he says: “I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”

I love how he basically says, Why would it be my job to judge outsiders? He basically means they aren’t part of our family and so that’s not my job; just like it’s not my job to discipline or judge anybody else’s kids but my own. That would just be weird. We are, however, to judge those within the church family who are guilty of such things. To those outside the church, we are merely to offer the solution, the hope of Jesus.  Paul even says that: “God judges those outside”.

The message I would most like homosexual people, greedy people, drunkards, swindlers, adulterers, thieves, revilers (which ironically is mentioned in the first verse and means to use abusive or scornful language against someone or something…oh my…how often do we do that?!) to hear is the one that changed my life: the message of Jesus as Savior.  If someone had told me, before I knew Jesus, to stop lying because it's wrong, well, that would not have made me care whether I stopped or not. But Jesus DID make me care. He changed me. Jesus.

What if we just started preaching that louder than any other thing?

I love, love, love what Phil said at the very end of the article: If we would all just really love God, and really love people, the rest would take care of itself.

Because, if we followed those “greatest commandments”, as Jesus called them, well, then we would love the homosexual and want to draw them in, offer them the same medicine that saved us from our sinful vile ways, and we would not want to offend them or push them away.

Judgment vs. Mercy

Judgment and mercy don’t seem to go together. This thought has been plaguing me for the last 3 weeks. Judgment has such harsh connotations and seems to contradict the very idea of mercy. Yet, according to God, you can have, and practice, both at the same time.

Micah 6:8 says “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and love mercy, and walk humbly with your God?”

It’s my belief that the end of that verse tell you how to successfully accomplish the first part: if you are walking humbly with God, then you will understand how to “do justice and love mercy”.  I cannot help but think about the fact that those things were accomplished first by God.  Justice required death for the payment of our sins. Mercy was offered by Him sending His very own Son as payment for those sins. Romans 6:23 – “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 

It didn’t take us humans long after God made us before we thought we were above the law. (See Genesis 3) We broke the law of our own free will, ironically because we felt like we were” justified” in our determination to know more than what we felt like God was telling us! We were warned ahead of time that the payment for breaking that law was death and separation from God, and yet, we did it anyway. God rightly could have only meted out justice. It’s all that we deserved. But he showed mercy. God showed mercy by doing whatever it took to reconcile us to him. He humbled himself, became man in Jesus, sacrificed himself to save us, to reconcile us while we were still in our undeserving state.
That’s mercy.
Philippians 2:8 “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
And because he showed us mercy, our hearts were moved to repentance and love.  Justice didn’t move us to repentance. Mercy, in the face of justice, moved us to repentance, because of a humbled act of sacrifice.

See. They all three work together well. But separately, the result would not have been the same. One without the other, well, you can’t see God in that.  Only through all three do you see God’s grace.  And we are called to offer that same thing to others.

Psalm 51:17 "My sacrifice is a humble spirit, O God; you will not reject a humble and repentant heart."

Is it easy? NO.

I don’t think you heard me.

NO!

It’s so hard. But it’s so rewarding.

The peace and joy and contentment that follow are amazing. And, honestly, I feel like it’s in those moments of humbleness and mercy that we truly get a glimpse of what perfect reconciliation with God is like. We feel compete again. And two seconds later, when we make another mistake, that’s ok. Because God is there, offering us His unending mercy, drawing us back to himself.  Calling us to shake off those chains of justice, and put on his freedom. 

And we are to offer that same mercy to EVERYONE around us the same. No matter what they do. Just like WE are a work in progress through God’s mercy, that concept is a work in progress.  God does clearly tell us time and again in His Word how to work on it though!

Colossians 3:12-15

“Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.”

When someone hurts you, or wrongs you, and you don’t feel like they deserve your kindness or forgiveness or mercy, well, that’s when they need it most. I like how the verses above say that charity (or love) is the “bond of perfectness”.  When I think of bonding I think of gluing something together, fixing something that’s broken…reconciling.

No matter what’s broken in our lives, through Christ and his example, it can be “bonded” if we are willing to humble ourselves.

Second Chances

Coulson; the giver of second chances!



I’m a Coulson fan. If you don’t know who Agent Phil Coulson is, where have you been?! He’s only the coolest guy on the planet! He’s the human leader of a group who get to manage all the crazy super heroes who come to, or live on, Earth, like Ironman and Thor! Yeah. He hangs out with those peeps. He runs S.H.I.E.L.D. with a soft iron fist and is the helper of all.  Ultimately, he wants the best for Earth, and he sees the good inside each person. Seriously, he’s awesome. You should watch the show.

In this week’s episode, Coulson finds out the person responsible for several attacks is a former agent that he trained, who left the agency under strained circumstances years earlier. Even though they have video surveillance of Aquilla doing the crime the day before, Coulson stakes his career on the fact that something is off and he wants to talk to her first before calling headquarters. All the other agents around Coulson can’t understand why he is extending so much grace to her when all evidence points to her being guilty, especially when he was already betrayed by her in the past. But he won’t give up.

In the process, he discovers that Aquilla was captured years before, and a device was implanted in her EYE that keeps her prisoner by allowing them to see all she sees and if she stops doing what they ask at any moment they will explode the device and kill her instantly. She WAS guilty of heinous crimes, she could have chosen to NOT do those things, but she gave in to fear and allowed herself to be used and controlled by the enemy. At the end of show, Coulson rescues her and saves the day. However, she is left with only one eye and is serving a light prison sentence for her crimes. Her choice cost her greatly. But now, in prison, she is at peace, because she is finally more free than she has been for years, all because Coulson didn’t give up on her. When Coulson is asked by a peer what it was that made him want to give her a second chance in the face of so much incriminating evidence, he replies: “Well, I was given a second chance, and it changed who I am. It only seems right that I offer that same chance to others.”

Well said, Coulson, well said.

Jesus gave me a second chance, and it changed who I am. It’s only right that I offer that same chance to others. Even in the face of impossible odds. Even when they don’t deserve it.  Especially when they haven’t asked for it.

Colossians 3:12-15

“Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;  Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. 

And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.”