A Better Way

  Yesterday, I was able to pour my heart and tears out on the phone with my mama, lamenting the racist shootings that occurred in our country last week. After getting off the phone, I turned and was shocked to see my own child looking up at me with teary wide-eyes. He had been playing in the other room where he couldn't hear, but at some point during the conversation came silently near.

 "Mommy, I heard you say people are killing people and shooting people," his voiced quivered. "Is that true? Is that really happening here?"

 My heart sunk. The sweet child knows mommy often reads the news and gets "sad", but up to this point I've sheltered him from the reasons. I knew that day wouldn't always last, but as I looked at his aching, wet eyes I wanted to do anything but truthfully answer him.

 "Yes, sweetie, it's true. It happened in Kentucky and Pennsylvania."  I pulled him close so we could talk about it.

  "But here, in North America??" he continued in disbelief as his tears came.

 "Yes, baby," it stung to answer him. But unlike the lions, volcanoes, and monsters in closets, I couldn't tell him this was across the oceans or unreal.

 No, instead, last week, our nation saw a white man try to get into a predominately black church; but unable, went into the nearby Kroger instead- where he killed two black people but told a white person "whites don't shoot whites."

 Another white man went into a synagogue in Pittsburgh and slaughtered 11 people. "I just want to kill Jews," he told a SWAT officer.

 While shock hits with the news stories, it's sadly not difficult to see the symptoms before we got here. 

 A little over a year ago, white nationalist hate groups put on a rally in Charlottesville, with the clear message of wanting to eradicate people of color and Jewish people. While many of us gave an outcry against this, we were often met with resistance in the forms of "freedom of speech", "it takes both sides", and "they just wanted a peaceful rally" excuses.

 Our country elected a president who also dismissed the "rally", and often encourages fear, violence, and hatred.

 We are becoming more and more a nation of violence, even relishing horror as a form of entertainment.

 And too often we hide our heads in the sand so deep that we don't even know the bigoted, violent nonsense coming out of the White House, spread across social media, and happening on our own streets. 

 And so as the gun smoke settles yet again, I'm left wondering- at what point do we lose the credibility in our outrage?  Do we really get to do this- elect a leader who leads us in hate, take pleasure in pretend atrocities, excuse hate groups who make clear their destructive intentions... and then what, act shocked and outraged when the trigger is actually pulled? Is this how we think it works?

 There's another way. A way that recognizes the sinful rhetoric from our President for what it is; that calls it out and stands against it. That recognizes that one of the greatest threats to our country isn't immigration, it isn't across the oceans, it isn't what we're told to fear; no, one of the greatest threats to our nation is the terrorism of nationalism and racism.

 We can post all the proud pictures of voting stickers we want, but until we even recognize what is happening in our country, that our own filthy hate is destroying us, that we are divided by red and blue; until we stop the tribalism and looking away when it's "our guy" in the wrong, and until we decide prejudice must not be tolerated- then the stickers will lose their value. As will our country. 

 But there's a better way. A way that requires a different posture. Heads up, ears listening, mouths speaking truth and love. Prayers sent, gospel proclaimed, citizenship in heaven. There is a better way.

 I don't hold out hope of not having these conversations with my son. Hope that I someday won't be saddened by the news. That hate crimes will somehow earth-side cease.

 But I do hold out hope that I could tell my son about the Jesus followers who stood brave, refusing to be swayed right or left, refusing to be complicit, refusing to simply just feel. I want to tell him about the brothers and sisters in Christ who put on the full armor of God, who loved fiercely, who shone brightly, who gazed at God with such fervency that the tide of hate and lies and destruction stained them not.  I will have to tell him of battles, yes, but I want to tell him of faith-filled heroes whose eternal visions captivated their view and kept them from distraction.

 Brothers and sisters, don't let this hate-saturated culture suck you in. Don't let your itching ears be scratched by those who have lost site of the Jesus way. Or who never even saw it. I don't care what platform or party they claim, measure all things by the Word of God, and let His truth be the voice that speaks to you. May we be lights in the darkness. Until the perfect King reigns and these former things are no more.

 There is a better way.

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:13-16

On Statues and Souls

  
   What good will it be for someone if they gain statues and forfeit their souls?

   Maybe that seems like a dramatic introduction.  But is it?...

                               

  For many, the question in Matthew 16:26 seems alarmingly relevant:  "What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?"  

  When it comes to the Alt-right, we shouldn't have to ponder the question too long.  This klan definitely needs to do some soul-searching.  

  But what about the rest of the statue-staying-callers?  They may not be holding torches and doing the Nazi salute, but could they be bowing down to these statues in other ways?

Unity Gone Bad

  On Friday night, August 11th (wait- did they have a permit for Friday, or just Saturday?), white supremacists took tiki torches, anti-Jew chants, and their fists to Charlottesville in anticipation for the Unite the Right Rally the next day.  They had spent months planning the event.  It was organized by white supremacists as a platform for white supremacists.  The statue was not so much their issue as it was their stage.
  
  Not that they weren't protesting the statue-removal also.  But it was sadly much more than that.  In their own words, "The Alt-Right is growing stronger and stronger. Our ideas dominate the internet... Now it's time to dominate the streets. From there, we will begin to dominate politics as well because all power ultimately flows from the streets. A fight lies before us... a fight for action... for vigor... for vitality... for manhood.  You might think it's just a rally, but really, it's so much more" (Altright.com/"The 'Unite The Right' Rally Is Going To Be A Turning Point For White Identity In America"). And if you're not aware of these "ideas" of pure-white-blood-and-soil dominance of the alt-right, you can find more blunt speak in that article, as well as from their other proselytizing posts, tweets, interviews, speeches, etc.

  Ironically, people, including our nation's leader (I use the term loosely), have often chosen to not even recognize this as a "rally"; instead it has been coined "a peaceful protest over a statue".  I'm not sure how we got confused on that.  Last May, Richard Spencer (one of the main speakers for the rally) led a parade of torch-bearing white nationalists around the park. On July 8th, the local KKK that was scheduled to be a part of the rally held a gathering there.  They called for weaponry and violence to be brought to the rally; sent death threats to counter-protesters in the weeks before; had a militia force armed with assault rifles march through the town ahead of the rally; and advertised the rally like this:


                                                

And this...

                                                      

                                                                      

   And in a plethora of other nauseating ads.  My point is this:  The Alt-Right did not hide their intentions and flavor of the Unite the Right Rally.  So why now do we?  Did the Alt-Right actually show up peacefully protesting?  Or did something else happen on August 12th to change our minds?

Hate the Left

  
  No, the Alt-right showed up as brazenly as they had planned.  They encircled and beat up the counter-protesters on Friday night, beat a black man in a parking garage, beat more people than I can list here.  Their chants were horrendous, their signs despicable, and then to top it all off- one drove over a group of counter-protesters, killing one lady and injuring 19 more in a domestic terrorist attack.

  And yet that was even softened to be a "crash".  The events of those two days shocked and pained me, but the dialogue of the following days further sickened me.  We blamed the "many sides" and even often went so far as simply blaming the counter-protesters for "instigating" and engaging the violence.  We allowed there to be room for "peaceful protesters" and "good people" to be a part of the Alt-Right rally; and yet the counter-protesters (which included clergy groups and many peace groups that specifically called for non-violence) was labeled as the enemy of the "Alt-Left" (the foolishness of that term is layered, not the least of which is that you just handed the entire anti-white-supremacist campaign to the left.  Guess what that leaves you on the right? All those white-supremacists that are already claiming your name).

  What happened to cause so much of society, including our administration, to go soft on this?  Surely, if the driver of that car had been Muslim our outrage would have been much more measured and the word "terrorism" would have been flying.  If BLM had put on that "rally" the judgments and damning would be relentless.  If the Unite the Right had been Unite the Left the fury would never mention "all sides", "peaceful protesting", and the real zinger- that "permit".  If President Trump were a democrat (still) the right would have lost their outraged minds over his lies, insults, poor behavior, and lack of leadership in his handling of Charlottesville. The bias abounds. 

  What happened?  The left happened.  Anti-fa.  BLM.  Never mind all the clergy, peace groups, and the many others who just plain think NAZIS ARE WRONG. The mantra became about the violence of the left, the progressiveness of the left, and the debate on statues and liberals stealing our history.  One could not speak out against the atrocities of the Alt-Right without immediately being countered with the left-blame.  People would post passionate, painful, personal pleas on Facebook regarding Charlottesville and it was like a race to see which Republican could refute it with a "but the left" comment first. Deflections, downplays, and denial ran rampant, because... the left.  As long as the right is able to say the words "Hillary", "Obama", "liberal", and "media" they have all the ammunition they think they need to rebuke any criticism of the right- even if you're criticizing Nazis.

  I feel like I should qualify this with more proof, but here's another idea: if you understand what I'm saying here, you already get it.  If you don't, you've quite possibly already mentally come back against a lot of what I've said with a "but the left" argument.

Love the Right

  Ironically, I think one of the reasons the right hates the left so passionately is because they're the "competition" to beat.  And if there's anything a right wing-er loves it's the right winning.  But the irony is this: The right isn't winning.  The right is committing political suicide by obsessively pointing fingers at the left. Too many are so busy constantly gawking at the errors of the left, that they can't even see that their party is being poisoned by the Alt-Right.  They cannot admit the Alt-Right is evil (without qualifying it with a but-the-left-comment) because that would be admitting part of the right is inexcusably evil.  And the right is quite loved.  But true love corrects.  If you cannot self-criticize you are on a slippery slope.  Many Republicans are sold out, no matter what (one example: they hate the "fake news" yet then with itching ears [2 Timothy 4:3] they "seek lies" [Psalm 4:2] that fit their agenda from extreme-right-tabloid-sensationalism). And you can come at this with whatever "but the left" line you want, but these are the facts: One side has a long, deeply dark history.  One side organized and planned a hate rally.  One side took a life.  One side represents the goal of erasing people groups.  And one side did it using our President's name.  And he should have swiftly and strongly and solely condemned them.  For what they did, and especially for doing it with his gear on and with lip service to his name. But he then handled the condemning-of-Nazis-lines so well that Heather Heyer's mother won't even speak to him. 

  
  So, right, it may be time to examine thyself. You are patriotic, party-loving fellas.  And if you love this country and your platform, then please put your side under the microscope for a change. It's past time to turn the pointing fingers your way.  To point to the left over Charlottesville is an example of pointing out the speck in one's eye while your stuck with the log in yours (Matthew 7:3).  Your party is log-filled and imploding, and that will indeed be a victory for the left.

Love Your Self

  Maybe another reason for the denial over the Alt-Right is because one loves oneself too much.

  Pride keeps us from admitting wrongs.  Maybe we are too proud of our political identity, or too proud of our vote to admit error?  

  Or maybe... maybe we are, dare I say, racist.  Maybe we gave that car attack a softer hand because the driver was white.  Maybe we have spent our time criticizing the other side because they're often different than we.  Maybe the Alt-Right doesn't threaten us as much because... they're white.

Love Your Statues

  And sure, maybe we really do just suddenly love statues this much.  Maybe we love them so much that in the d.a.y.s. following a white supremacist terrorist attack, by someone losing their mind over losing the statue, our hearts were all "Aw, I don't want to lose the statues either.  These guys have a point." Maybe our love of statues is what caused us to be so calloused to all of this.  That's possible.  But quite frankly, just like it wasn't just about the statues to the Alt-Right, I don't think it's just about the statues for most others.

 

  Because really, to speak up for statues in the days following that attack is pretty cold.  I mean, even if you really are that big of a history buff, that's pretty bad timing.  Not just for all those hurting so deeply right now, but also for the ever-emboldened white nationalists movement. Maybe we just can't see the humans for the statues.

Lose Your Soul

  Are we bowing down to graven images?  No, I'm not talking about statue-loving.  I'm talking about nation-loving.  I've blogged before about the area of idolatry with patriotism.  Is Charlottesville an example of this?  It seems to me the only lens that's being used by many Christians in all of this is the political lens.  But when it comes to racism, murder, oppression of the weak, white supremacy, our sinful history, and God's chosen people being attacked, these require more than our political passions.  When it comes to compassion, love, equality, and taking care of the vulnerable these are not left or right issues. These are Christ-commanded issues.

  Statues don't have souls.  Last I checked, they would fall under the "earthly things" of Colossians 3:2.  Why are our hearts and minds so set on them then?  To the point that we can't weep with those who weep over them? To the point that we're siding with the KKK?   I'm not saying don't have an opinion on the statues, but when you're more worried about them then you are people groups, there's a problem there.  When you allow yourself to gloss over the attacks in Charlottesville but then cry out about stone, there's a problem there.  Anything that we love more than Christ and others needs to go.  So maybe these statues need to go if for no other reason than they seem to be our "high places".

     Have we lost our eternal perspective when it comes to the right and the left?  Have we forgotten God's definition of "great" (Mark 10:43)?  Would we really stand with Daniel and his friends and refuse to bow down to the statue with all the others?  Placing ourselves in the parable of the good Samaritan, do we think we're revealing that we would indeed be the one to prove to be a neighbor?  Or are we walking right by the broken and wounded to continue our own agenda? Are we confusing compassion for compromise?  Imposing godless qualifications for empathy?

  When we pray "Your Kingdom come" to our Father, know this- that is praying for these statues to go.  That is praying for the confederate flags to go.  Not just because they represent things that are oppositional to His ways, but because when His Kingdom comes all of America goes.  We are citizens of heaven; even now, we are exiles here in this strange land (1 Peter 2:11).  And it's fine to be a patriotic American, but we must, we must, we must be Christians first and foremost. 

  Have these statues become an idol to you?  Has your love of the right become an idol to you?  Has your hatred for the left become an idol to you?  Do pride and politics need to take a back seat in your worldview?  Do we love the right so much that we're willing to forfeit our souls on the altar of hating the left?

  Maybe we've buried our heads in sinking sand, and that's why we're landing where we are.  Or maybe we've misplaced our hope, and that's why we're fighting the way we are.  Whatever the cause for our misconceptions and indiscretions, it's time to tear down the high places. 

  When His Kingdom does come, it will be with a question:  How did you treat the least of these?  Because that is how you treated Him (Matthew 25:31-46).  And when He asks you that question it will do no good to say "But the left..." or to wax eloquently about statues. 

  This country needs true revival.  But it doesn't need more politics for revival to come.  It needs something different.  Something pointing up, instead of left or right.
  
  

Sorry, Matt... not this time.

   So, it's been a loooong time since I blogged here, and ironically my last blog was similar as today's.  A response-type blog to another blog that was hailing conservatively-styled worship as superior to contemporary-styled worship.  So, all that to say, sorry for the redundancy ;-)  But, quite frankly, this is an area I'm pretty passionate about.  And sometimes with that passion comes a need to write.  Also, please know this blog is not a comprehensive explanation of my point of view on worship, or even my comprehensive view of the blog I'm responding to.  These are just some of my thoughts and views that are on my mind and heart, as best written as my sleep-deprived mommy-brain is capable of right now- during the kids' nap time- yeah, this definitely will not be comprehensive.  ;-)

I more often than not agree with Matt Walsh's blog posts, but there are those times I definitely don't.  His latest blog would be one of those "don'ts" for me.

To me, this blog came across as just another "curse-those-evil-contemporary-churches-that-are-to-blame-for-everything-bad" post.  Maybe it's just his style of writing that got the better of him this time?  Or maybe that really is how he would sum it up?

I mean, he does say, "I recently attended a service that might help solve the riddle of the fantastic decline of American Christianity..." as well as, "And this is the problem with Christianity in this country. Not just inside our church buildings, but everywhere."  And more bluntly, "The light of the Faith grows dimmer in this culture because of that church service I attended. Not specifically that one, but that kind of service. And not just that kind of service, but that kind of Christianity, generally." "If we want to understand why Christianity is not out winning souls and conquering the culture, look there."

Well, I guess I didn't misunderstand him then.

This "kind of service" Matt talks about was so horrible because:
1-  it was "relaxed"
2- it was "convenient"
3- it was "comfortable"
4- "the choir members dressed in shorts and flip flops"
5- "there were a bunch of acoustic guitars and drums and tambourines and a keyboard."
6- "Before the service/concert began, some guy came out to rev up the crowd."
7- it was noisy and had sounds and lights.
8- there was a "jam band for Jesus, or whatever it was" who played a song that wasn't traditional.
9- the pastor used a lot of trendy quips/metaphors/etc.
10- the specific words “truth,” “sacred,” “reverence,” “sin,” “hell,” “virtue,” “obedience,” and “duty” were not used in the sermon; but the words "friend" "help" and "tolerance" were used. "Gospel" was only used maybe only once (apparently Matt's counting abilities were hard to keep up with with all the list-making of words).
11- There wasn't "any semblance of an insight, a challenge, a truth, a call to action, or a point", according to Matt.
12- There were empty seats and disinterested yawns from the attendees.

That folks, that is the list as Matt himself says, of this church service, that apparently with one visit and this list, has made Matt discover the secret to why Christianity in America is dying.

Whoa, whoa, whoa... let's back this truck up, shall we?

The only things on this list I see as potential red flags are 10 and 11.  And quite frankly, I'd have to hear more than one sermon from this one pastor to know if he really was as shallow as I thought.  I'd also be a little hesitant to know if Matt was so totally closed-minded from the open-toed shoes that maybe this sermon wasn't as awful as he thought?

In the blog, Matt talks about how often Christians are accepting homosexuality and abortion- I TOTALLY agree that this is a problem and this is wrong. But that wasn't what happened in this God-forsaken church service.  Matt doesn't say, "Wow I went to this church service that promoted abortion and accepted homosexuality.  This is what's wrong with Christianity today."  He talks later about the dangers of the prosperity gospel and not believing in hell.  But he doesn't even say, "This church service taught there is no hell.  This church preaches the prosperity gospel."  No, he doesn't say that.

It's guitars.
It's flip-flops.
It's lights.

It's STYLE.

Look through that list again and see how much of it is style.  How much is preference.  How much is taste.

Obviously Matt has a bias against contemporary-styled services, and I get it.

I do.

Because I struggle with the same feeling of bias against conservatively-styled services.

I've seen the ugly side of suits.  I've experienced the hypocrisy of hymn-sings.  I know the terror of tradition.

Don't think I don't understand bias.  When I visit a church that's traditional, that has hymn books and dress codes and and organs, I have to check my own prejudice.  Because I know those things don't equal hypocrisy, even if in my past they often have.  I know those things don't equal holier-than-though, even if I've seen that tendency. I know that suits don't always mean secrets and dresses don't always mean proud and rules don't always mean legalism.

Even if that's the baggage I tend to carry.

I put the baggage down, and open up my mind, and work to put aside my bias, and I say to myself "This style maybe isn't for me, and yes there are hypocrites out there, but maybe this is sincere and this is worship too and I'm so glad we all worship differently and give our God glory through our eclecticism."

Matt couldn't put his baggage down.  He saw guitars and his mind went to abortion.  He saw flip-flops and thought prosperity gospel.  The sermon was lacking in his mind, so he assumed shallow.  No benefit of a doubt.  No give it another chance.  No grace.

He did worse than this though.

He wrote about it.  He publicly took his baggage and bias and handed out free samples to countless readers he has.

Matt even decides to sit in the judgment seat itself, saying "And what happens when you don’t factor these Convenientists — members of the Church of Convenience, proponents of Convenientism — into the equation at all? Are we still at 70 percent? Not hardly. What’s the real number? Forty percent? Thirty? Ten?" (These Convenientism followers are apparently anyone from someone who wears shorts to church to baby murderers, mind you).  I think this part of Matt's blog angered me and hurt me the most.  So we are to ponder who may not really make it into the Kingdom?  And Matt thinks he can figure that out?  Let me tell you, I look at the guy who wears a suit every week and goes through every motion perfectly and can be tempted to wonder the same thing.  But I stop my mind from going there, from pretending to judge someone's soul and assume to know what's really going on because of my prejudice.  Yeah, 70% Christian isn't really an accurate number; but we don't know that because someone's wearing different clothes than we like or worshiping with different music than we'd prefer.  We know that because Scripture tells us that many call him Lord but don't truly know our Father (Matt. 7:21-23).  Only God knows who really knows His name and who's simply calling him Lord.  Let's let Him alone decide who that is.

He makes another assumptive and judgmental comment when he says about the worship leader, "I got the impression that he was fishing for applause, not worshiping the Lord of the Universe."  Matt, I sure hope you went and talked to this guy if you have such a concern, as is the biblical principle (Matt. 18:15); because for you to have that kind of thought obviously showed your concern over his heart condition.  That concern better have led you to a one on one conversation with the man.  Writing that for the whole world to see is the type of gossip and criticism that we definitely do NOT need in the church today.  I know a lot of worship singers/leaders Matt would probably say the same type of comment about, and let me tell you, I know first-hand how untrue it would be.  Maybe he really was worshiping the Lord of the Universe.  How dare we judge that.

Our traditional, American church is great.  It's a wonderful option.  But guess what it isn't:  the standard.  It's not the standard of church; it's not the standard of Christianity.  It's not what was in the New Testament and it's not what's in most of the world today.  Let's get out of our bubble and realize this.  Let's stop pointing our fingers at other churches and realize the incredible danger that kind of disunity is for Kingdom work.  Yes, let's hold to our Truths- I totally agree with Matt on that.  Let's hold to our doctrine, hold to our depth, not compromising the core issues.  Let's resist the Joel Osteens and the Joyce Meyers and anyone else who spreads heresy.  But different styles does not equal heresy.

And comfortable does not equal pro-abortion and contemporary does not equal pro-gay-marriage.  How offensive of an equation.

A couple weeks ago, my church (which I adore; it's SO Christ-centered, gospel-focused, and deep in doctrine and discipleship) had an outdoor service with 14 baptisms.  Pretty much everyone was in shorts and flip-flops.  There were guitars, drums, a keyboard, etc.  It was relaxed.  It was comfortable.  It was convenient. It was noisy.  It was jammed-up.  Matt would have decided we were all pro-abortion and support gay-marriage.

That makes me sick, because that is so far from the truth.

Of the baptisms, several were women from a local recovery ministry our church works with. These women announced how long they'd been clean, explained their salvation story, and we all celebrated the power of the cross and the chains that Jesus breaks.  When the women gave their testimonies, the rest of the women with them in the crowd cheered LOUDLY and danced and cried. It was beautiful.  Far from traditional.

Matt wants us to be quieter?  The leaders shouldn't rev-up the crowd?  But he also talks about how exciting our beliefs are?  Exactly!  It is exciting!  Hence the cheering!! Hence the applause!  Hence the loud music!  Sure, maybe some churches are doing those things for show, doing them to get attention, doing them for the wrong reasons.  WE CAN'T JUDGE THAT.  Because maybe they're NOT.  Maybe they're just passionate about Jesus and serious about their faith and it looks DIFFERENT in different people!

We are so petrified of compromise that we are petrified of being different.

It is a SHAME that so many "Christians" have claimed the prosperity gospel; that they would dare support abortion; that they are pro-gay-marriage.  I get it!  That's scary!  But let's not make that more than it is!

Matt says church shouldn't be comfortable.  Well, wasn't he uncomfortable at that church service he went to? Don't shorts, flips-flops, guitars, make him uncomfortable?  C'mon.  What are we really saying here?

It's okay Matt doesn't like that style of church- that kind of dress from leaders- those kinds of instruments.  BUT LEAVE IT AT THAT, MATT.  Ok, it's not for you!  Fine!  It IS for someone else!  And that's okay!  That doesn't equal compromise!  Plently of conservative churches are full of fluff too!  We can't judge these things so simply!

Um, and empty seats and disinterested yawns?  That's one of the bad things at this church?  We shouldn't be too cool and fun and interesting, but we can't be boring either?  What is is then? I mean, empty seats and yawns describes a lot (all??) of auditoriums of all kinds.  We don't base our worship and preaching on how people will react though, right?  Right??

So I guess the contemporary church just can't win.  At least it can't win with people like Matt.  We're too cool, but too boring, too this, too that.  And so Satan has distracted us from what really matters and it's no longer Kingdom work and there's no unity and what gospel?  And we're pretty much fighting over carpet color again.

I guess according to Matt church should be uptight; inconvenient; uncomfortable; have a dress-code for the choir; have no instruments; have leaders that don't make the crowd feel excited to be there; shouldn't be noisy or have lots of lights; the pastor shouldn't make jokes or current references...

Hmm... sounds to me like that could cause a decline of Christianity in America.


"Oh, cmon... you know what he really means", you're thinking.  Yes, I do.  Do you?

Tomorrow a lot of us, as we are the Church, are going to our church buildings.  "There are still plenty of Christians who desire the true faith," Matt says.  Yes, there are.  And as we desire that, we will find ourselves tomorrow seeking and following in that faith, and we will land in different places.  Some will land in churches as casual and contemporary as the one Matt visited.  Some will land in ones as traditional and conservative as the one he hails.  I will land at one that's in the middle of the two ends of the spectrum.  And in our different places, we can all do just what Matt desires: praise the Rock; be trained for war; change our behavior.

Sure, sadly there will be some in casual clothes sitting in casual churches trying to have a casual faith; there will be some dressed up in "church clothes" and holding hymnals who are full of hypocrisy.

But there will be those in casual clothes in casual churches who are dead serious about their faith.  There will be those who dress up because that's how they want to show God respect.

And so let's not worry about "them".  Let's worry about the true false teachers.  Let's worry about the real Enemy.  But most of all, let's worry about our own selves.  

10 Biblical Responses to Evil

  After Tuesday's election there's been a lot of different responses to the state of our nation.  A president's re-elected and certain laws are passed.  There's a lot of emotion out there.  Of what I've read and heard, there's plenty of panic, despair, confusion, anger, and hatred.  Thankfully, we do not need to be discouraged or bogged down by such feelings.  Here are some alternative reactions we can grasp onto as Christians, in no particular order... (all verses are taken from the ESV)...

1. Don't be surprised.  It should not at all surprise us that the world is bad and does bad things.  That people who are lost don't produce godly actions and despise God and Christianity.  That things are getting worse.  The Bible is full of verses describing the world as evil, sinful, dark, wicked; a place contrary to God, godly things, and Christians.  And it even tells us specifically not to be surprised when we go through trials and are hated:

1 Peter 4:12- "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you."

1 John 3:13- "Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you."


2. Don't fear, worry, or be anxious.  God's most common command in Scripture is to not be afraid.  Fear, worry, and anxiety weaken us, distract us, enslave us, and rob us of our joy.  There are many, many verses on this.  Here are just a few:

Philippians 4:6- "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."

Matthew 6:34- "Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow for tomorrow will be anxious for itself."

Isaiah 41:10- "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."


3. Trust God.  We are to trust in God, not our country, not our president, not our economy, not a list of values.  Those things are tainted; they change; they crumble; they can be taken away.  But by trusting in God we have a stable, pure, unchanging Rock.  Don't ever lose hope.  We need to trust that He will "work all things together for good" (Romans 8:28).  Trust Jesus.  Trust Him with your self.  Trust Him with your future.  Trust Him with your children and their futures.

Psalm 18:2- "The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."

Psalm 118:8- "It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man."

Proverbs 3:5- "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding."


4. Get involved in a good cause.  One of the things that I decided to do during this election process is to volunteer at our local pro-life crisis pregnancy center.  It's a pro-active, applicable, and direct way I can support the pro-life movement and help unborn babies.  What's some evil especially burdening you?  What's a good cause you can plug into to help combat it?

Matthew 5:16- "Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

Titus 3:1- "Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work."

1 Timothy 6:18- "They are to do good, to be rich in good works."


5. Pray and give thanks:  If we are burdened, we must pray.  We need to continue to give thanks and be joyful.  Instead of focusing on what we don't have, or on what might happen in the future, we can choose to focus on what we do have; and be glad that while it could get worse, right now it isn't.

1 Peter 5:7- "Casting all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you."

James 1:2- "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds."

Philippians 4:6- "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."


6. Remember that Jesus died for everyone.  He died for our president, for each and every homosexual, for each and every woman who has had an abortion, etc.  Because He loves them.  Because He wants a relationship with them.

John 3:16- "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

1 Corinthians 15:3- "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures."


7. Remember that we are sinners too.  We have been just as lost as "they" are.  We are "the least of these".  We crucified Christ.  We are no better than anyone else.  We are forgiven and changed only by the blood of Christ and His Spirit.  We have received abundant grace and mercy, that we are so unworthy of.  We need to be humble and filled with compassion by such truths.

Titus 3:3- "For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another."

Isaiah 53:6- "ALL we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned- every one- to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us ALL." (emphasis mine)

Romans 3:23- "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."


8. Remember who the enemy is.  In Catching Fire of the trilogy The Hunger Games, Haymitch tells Katniss "Remember who the enemy is."  We need to heed the same advice.  Satan likes to distract us, causing us to point fingers every which way, forgetting that he is THE enemy.

Ephesians 6:12- "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."

1 Peter 5:8- "Be sober-minded; be watchful.  Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."


9. Share the gospel.  We can't expect godly behavior from the unsaved.  We can't expect sanctification of those who don't have the Spirit.  Being a light to the darkness requires there be darkness.  In order for lives to change, hearts must change.  Instead of being dismayed by the evil around, think of what great opportunities we have to share Jesus!

Mark 16:15- "And he said to them, 'Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.'"


10. Focus on your own sin first.  The evil that will most impact our lives, and our children's futures, is our own.

Knowing that President Obama was re-elected does not make me nervous for Silas' future.  You know what does?  Knowing that I'm his mother.  Me, a weak sinner, who's prone to wander.

Knowing that homosexuality and marijuana is becoming legalized does not make me quake for Silas' future.  Knowing that Silas has already seen sinfulness from his mamma does.  The times I've not been patient with his crying. The times I've worried about money for formula I didn't know I'd need.  The times I grumble about dirty dishes. The times I don't respect his daddy like I should.  The times I skip my devotions because I'm just too tired.

These are the actions that bring me to my knees in shame, in fear, in sole dependence on God.  That make me cry "God, have mercy!"

If we turn our pointing fingers back around to ourselves, we might be slower to cast stones.  At the same time, we can be empowered.  Because no one but ourselves can keep us from glorifying God.  It doesn't matter the laws or lack of laws, you can still glorify God!

Matthew 7:1-5- "Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.  Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?  Or, how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is a log in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye."

John 8:7- "...He stood up and said to them, 'Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.'"

And, on that note, I leave you with a song:

Whitney Houston, Lent, and the Difference Between Boys and Girls.

Whitney Houston


  I was so saddened and shocked to hear of Whitney Houston's tragic and young death.  I was further saddened and shocked by some of the responses I heard from Christians.  It broke my heart that it seemed to be a time to further bash Houston, her life choices, and weaknesses.  Casting stones at someone who's dead sure does make me uncomfortable.
  What I don't understand, is why?  Why would we respond this way?  Why would we decide that this tragic ending further demanded our criticism and judgment of Houston?  If her heartbreaking life wasn't enough to call for our pity and prayers, couldn't we let her death at least do so?
   I wish that we all could have instead been impacted by power if sin and Satan and humbled to remember that "But for the grace of God go I."


Lent


  I've blogged about Lent a few times before, so for more on that, please check those blogs out!:)  Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday which means the beginning of another Lent season.  It was hard to figure out what to do this year, as pregnancy really limits the choices- a lot of things I'm already giving up, and some other things I really can't give up.  So this Lent me and the hubby are giving up TV except on the weekends.  For us, this really is a big deal!  As I "put off" TV I'm planning on "putting on" a lot more reading of a stack of Christian living and theological books I've been needing to get to.  I'm very excited for how God will use this Lent in my life to bring me closer to Him and prepare me for Easter!


The Difference Between Boys and Girls


  John Piper recently came out with some interesting and controversial statements on Masculine Christianity.  He refers to Christianity as having a God-given "masculine feel" and the church as having an ordained "masculine ministry".  He lists reasons such as Jesus being a man; the disciples being men; God presenting Himself as King, not Queen; and the leaders of the home and pastor's of churches being designed to be men.

  To be fair, I don't totally understand Piper's point.  And, as a side note, please know I'm a huge Piper fan.  But being a Piper fan doesn't mean I have to nod and smile at everything he says.

  I think Piper's comments seem like a reaction to another argument, and I'm not sure what that is.  I feel like he is unclear about what exactly he means and how exactly this "masculine ministry" plays out.  But I do know this: I am 110% uncomfortable with assigning Christianity a gender either way.  I am also uncomfortable with the lower level that he seems to give women.  I don't mean this in a Feminist rights way, but in a common sense, normal way.  If ministry is to be always masculine and women are to merely "come alongside men with joyful support... helpfulness... and partnership", as Piper says, then I would like to see men taking over church's hospitality committees and nursery ministries.  You see, I think sometimes men want leadership and control when it fits their "manly" feel.  If men, as Piper seems to be saying, are to always lead ministries, then they need to step up more in the "womanly" areas of church service.  And quite frankly, I'd like to see how this plays out.  You see, church's need women and they need women to be leaders too.  Men couldn't do it all nor could they lead it all.  They were not meant to.

  I think Piper also ignores the points that the Church is referred to as the Bride of Christ and is given female pronoun referrals.  That Lydia had her own business selling purple linen.  That women were chosen to find and declare Christ's empty grave.  That there were female prophetesses.


  I think some have gotten stuck in the culture of the 1950's, and have since then claimed that era's lifestyle to somehow be equated with a biblical lifestyle.  We need to step back and keep God-given boundaries and roles where He placed them, and not spread them into areas He never intended.

Love.

  If I could speak 
all the languages 
of earth and of angels, 


                               but didn’t love others, 


I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.  




If I had the gift of prophecy, 
          and if I understood all of God’s secret plans 
                      and possessed ALL knowledge, 


      and if I had such faith that 

I could move mountains, 

but didn’t love others, 


I would be  
                                NOTHING.  






If I gave everything I have to the poor 
and even sacrificed my body, 
I could boast about it;
but if I didn’t love others, 


I would have gained 


                               nothing.

  Love is patient and kind. 

Love is not jealous 

or boastful 

or proud 

or rude. 

It does NOT demand its own way. 

It is NOT irritable, 

and it keeps NO record of being wronged.  

                                        

                              It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the THE TRUTH WINS OUT.  

                                                                            Love never gives up,                                                       

                                                                            never loses faith, 

                                                                            

                                                                            is always hopeful, 

                                

                                                              and endures 

through every circumstance.

  

Three things will last forever—


         faith, 

hope, 

and love—


    
and the greatest of these is 

love.

1 Corinthians 13:1-7, 13