Christianity Outside of Christianity

October 25, 2011 By 3 Comments

Why does being a Christian have to be accompanied by such long lists of qualifications? Who says you can’t be a Christian unless you believe the whole bible is inerrant? Why do so many churches hide their deeper doctrines until you have proved yourself enough to be let in on their little secrets? Maybe you’ve believed in Jesus, but you just can’t stomach the hypocrisy of many of today’s churches, you’re not alone.

I’m about to tell you something that most clergy will despise and I’ll most likely be accused of heresy for telling you this…but you don’t “need” a church, a pastor, or even the bible to believe in Jesus.

Pausing…looking up…no lightning. I haven’t been struck down with leprosy like Miriam, I haven’t been “killed by the Holy Ghost” like Ananias and his wife, Saphira.

Why is it that people say to walk by faith, but we’re afraid that God will strike us down if we do?

There’s a Christ that frees us so we can walk by faith and a false christ that imprisons you in the bondage of fear.

There is a simpler way to live this life in Christ…a way to walk in faith, to be bold in grace, to approach the throne with gladness.

This fellowship of believers that walks in freedom is the Royal Priesthood of believers where the only middle man is Jesus. No pope, pastor, bishop or deacon to rule over you.

There’s no agenda, no hidden doctrines, all the cards are laid out on the table. You’re a Living Epistle.

It’s where we’re all equal and all are loved and accepted.

Are there boundaries? Of course there is. No abundant life is worth really living unless each person has their own personal boundaries. You have a right to have your own boundaries. It’s wise to have boundaries, your own personal space. If anyone violates your space, you have a right to speak up about it.

This kind of fellowship is an open door, just respect it for what it is. Respect each person’s soul liberty.

You can study your bible, any version you want.

This journey to understanding this life in Christ is never ending. You’ll never “arrive” but you’ll never be less than. It’s an adventure and any one of us could ‘be onto something’ or ‘be missing a few marbles’, but we’re to treat each other with dignity.

Here’s where we get to the nitty gritty…no bullying!

Any ‘teaching’ that breeds fear, arrogance, elitism, control, shaming, shunning, violating of another person, is strictly forbidden. Any ‘teaching’ that puts a person under threat, frightens them for their future, eternity, or a loved one’s future or eternity, is off limits!

Women are equal and will not be silenced, abused, or oppressed.

Children are treasured and are not to be violated, forced into slavery, or abused in any way.

Is there such a place?

Well, yes and no. There are others on this journey, but no official building, entity, 501c3 or otherwise.

This is because we are free. We gather in homes, at the park, online, at the beach or wherever we choose to.

How do you find people like this to gather with? Simply speak up.

I realize this many not be a popular article or concept among Christianity. In fact, many of us have already been accused of heresy, rebellion, or told we’re on a ‘slippery slope’. I’m pretty sure if Jesus were born in the 70′s he’d be accused of the same things today. But now we live in America where we won’t be crucified, put to death, or whipped with a cat of nine tails for speaking up about our freedom.

We have soul liberty, we ARE the church, the people are the Temple, and the Living Word is written on our hearts.

There’s a spiritual life to enjoy and it’s about time we start enjoying it.

Filed Under: Faith, Organic Faith Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Permission to Speak Freely

October 7, 2011 By 8 Comments

I know my friends that walk on the more conservative Orthodox line of Christianity have wondered how long I’ll stay in the wilderness. Honestly, I have felt more “at home” in this wilderness than I ever did in organized Christianity. I have been doing some soul searching lately. Some days I wonder where my soul is. Some days I don’t recognize myself at all.

old bench by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

Can a minister of the Gospel actually feel this way? Can an evangelist’s wife openly wrestle with these feelings of doubt, faith, and the many interpretations in the world? If I can’t be transparent with friends (whether in town or online) then I wouldn’t be true to myself or to them. I don’t want to put on a facade just to fit in. I don’t want to play a role to avoid losing friends or business. I certainly don’t like to lose relationships.

But what about me? Some days I feel like I’m losing myself. But maybe what I’m journeying through is a loss of who I’m not. For over a decade I put on a ‘person’ who I wasn’t. I wanted to have friends. I wanted to be loved and accepted. I wanted to be affirmed in my gifts. No matter how many hoops I jumped through, there were always more waiting for me. I was chasing a carrot to gain that acceptance, love, and affirmation and I had to realize I wasn’t going to get it. I wasn’t good enough and coming to that place of realization was incredibly difficult for me.

I was surrounding myself with people who would never accept the raw part of who I am. Why do we seek to be loved by people who we know aren’t going to reciprocate? We view people as ‘worthy’ or ‘attractive’ in some way and we long to be accepted by these people. Why do some people have such a big ‘following’ and others don’t? These are some of the things I wrestle with and then I get upset with myself for even being concerned about it. These thoughts always leave me a bit emptier and sad, but I can’t help but to be curious about these things.

Some folks might view me as liberal, although I don’t view myself as liberal. I don’t think drinking and drugs are good for a person’s health or soul. I don’t enjoy movies with a lot of profanity and illicit scenes. I don’t even like it if my kids use the words crap, dang, or shoot. But I do believe in extending grace to those who do. So does that make me liberal?

I believe in Jesus…with all my heart. No matter how many twisted teachings I question, I still believe in Jesus. Can a person have faith in Jesus and not put much faith in the book that speaks more about him than any other? Do I have to adopt and adhere to every single thing in the bible in order to have faith in Jesus? Do I have the “right” Jesus? There are over 30,000 denominations of Christianity and which one is right? What a mess! The Jesus I know isn’t concerned about which denomination you support.

Jesus gets accused of doing awful things. I think he is misunderstood by many. This makes me sad, because the Jesus I know isn’t like how some people portray him to be. If you take enough verses of the bible out of context and weave them all together to form a paragraph, of course you’ll get an ugly view of him. Some argue that we have to take the bible literally while others say it’s metaphorical. So which things are metaphorical and which things aren’t? How are we to know? Why does he only give his knowledge to those with ears to hear? Why isn’t it more simple than this?

Why would I want to believe in this Jesus who seems to be so confusing?

Somewhere deep within my heart and mind, I have longed for a brother. The idea of having a brother, or best friend, a guy that would never want anything physical from me, was a dream of mine. Someone I could lean on, cry to, ask for help from was what I needed. Then he presented himself to me in a very real way that I could not ignore. Now what would my journey have been like had I not got caught up in the denomination circus? Why did I go to church after that? I wanted to know more about this Jesus….as if one church could accurately describe him for me..and he couldn’t do that on his own? Sometimes I wonder if the bible was worth getting caught up in to begin with.

Some days I want to throw the bible in the garbage. Other days I am enthralled with the beauty I see in the stories. Why do I have this love/hate affair with the bible?

I had to gain a better perspective on this mysterious and magical book. It seems to reveal what we want it to. Maybe the bible is more of a book of magic?

Something I think I am seeing in a lot of Christians is their fear of being open about questions and experiences like mine. For the most part, people are afraid to be rejected when they say they wrestle with these things. Maybe the fear of being rejected by loved ones is more of a burden that just admitting to ourselves that we struggle with our beliefs.

God doesn’t want robots? But many Christians would prefer that we were. They may not say that, but by their unspoken words, they do…when they begin to avoid you when they discover you have different beliefs and opinions than they do about Jesus, the bible, and religion.

So why in the world would I even WANT to be called a Christian with all this garbage going on in the Christian Community? I can accept Jesus, but this thing called ‘Christianity’ is a dysfunctional sort. But I guess every ‘family’ has it’s dysfunctions and we love them nonetheless.

Filed Under: Faith Tagged With: , , , , ,

There Are No Denominations in the Kingdom

July 11, 2011 By 2 Comments

I have read many articles written by various people in assorted denominations about how they define legalism and I have often commented to let them know it goes much deeper than what they have described. Many have said that legalism is ‘commandments of men‘ that are commonly called “extra-biblical”. They intend to say that the only form of legalism among the churches is about whether or not to wear nylons to church or men not being allowed to wear pink ties. Legalism goes beyond that as they tie in the twisted scriptures of the Christian Religion and attempt to enforce that legalism, as if the Lord would have you adhere to it. In my intro article to Leaving Legalism, I explained that it’s the difference between the Christian Religion and the Christian Faith. It’s important to understand the difference between the kingdom of religion and the Kingdom that is within you.

In the kingdom of religion there are multitudes of denominations, while there are no denominations in God’s Kingdom. The kingdoms of the Christian Religion are always at war with one another, competing for the attention of the people, and accusing each other of being heretics. In previous years they have been known to threaten people who don’t convert, imprison them, or even burn them at the stake. It’s of no surprise to me that over the course of the latter years of the first apostles, we begin to see factions among the people and denominations beginning to form. God is so multi-faceted that people in various regions were growing, learning, and increasing in numbers. People learn and grow at different times and while one gathering in a city may be growing in leaps and bounds in their faith, those younger in the faith may not understand that growth. In the process the people began questioning the validity of the teachings the people were following.

Even the apostles warned the people about those who sneak in to steal their liberty, those who would cause divisions, and people who teach false doctrines. We’re obviously going to see varying doctrines and teachings among the churches and of course the denominations formed alliances and some become somewhat of the ‘heresy hunters’ in their attempt to prove who was ‘right’ and who was ‘wrong’. The problem with this, is that it puts mankind in the position to be the authority and only Jesus is our authority. I’ll write more on the topic of authority, but for now I want to challenge this idea of denominations.

The Christian Religion has over 30,000 denominations world wide. So the people are left with trying to decide for themselves which one is right and in turn they’ll believe all the others are wrong. Some have become wiser and come to understand that no one has the corner market on truth and each denomination could possibly have some things not quite accurate. At least these folks are humble enough to admit that, but eventually the people will become dogmatic in their beliefs and the unity of all the brethren diminishes over time. The Christian Religion is always seeking to be more right than the next and the competition between the churches has become ludicrous. Pastors hack away at pastors, deacons bash book authors, ministry leaders excommunicate each other through Twitter and Facebook. It’s an absolute mess!

In the Kingdom of the Christian Faith, the people strive to remain humble, allowing each other to question and sort through the so called heresies and come together with mutual love and respect. These people are growing! I believe we’re in an age of revealing, revival, and renewing as folks are coming together through online forums to discuss these matters. So while the 30,000+ denominations are at war with one another, the people of the Christian Faith are studying together and coming to a healthy balance of understanding the scriptures. The most exciting thing is that they don’t profess to have “the” ultimate denominational answer, although they do recognize WHO the answer is. As far as all these ‘heretical doctrines’ out there, they are cutting to the quick and re-examining old traditions taught through centuries of man made interpretations.

The difference between this ‘doctrinal war’ we have been seeing for thousands of years is that the Christian Religion continues to be at war with one another and those who have become tired of the bickering are finding one another outside of the Christian Religion, they are walking by faith, and getting along in love. It’s certainly a wonderful thing to become free from the religion, but ancient teachings have bore such a deep groove into many generations that it can be quite a wrestling match to have your mind renewed. Having a renewing of the mind is an ongoing process and it’s part of our journey to having Christ disciple us through His Spirit. It means he is not only challenging us to think differently, but he is changing us in the process. He said to repent, which means to change your mind.

Luke 10:27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

The Lord wants us to understand how important it is to use our minds. Sort through the traditions and commandments of men. Find out what is truth and what is not. But in all our getting we are to get understanding. It’s not about who has the ‘smarter’ doctrines, it’s about coming to an understanding of the Divine who resides within and how to walk wisely in this Kingdom.

Proverbs 4:7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all your getting get understanding

You see, people can chomp away at doctrines and they think they find their salvation in their theologies, but God shows us that the theologies are not what saves us.

John 5: 39You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

That word ‘eternal’ is not a definition that is to be taken lightly. In the Greek the word is ‘aiónios‘ and has a much broader concept that just a single English word can accurately define. Through the lens of the whole counsel of the scriptures, we find a much deeper definition that is spiritually applicable and has been at the root of the entirety of the teachings of God as, ‘partaking of the character of that which lasts for an age, as contrasted with that which is brief and fleeting.’ It’s about having  a particular character and quality of life. Even verse 40 reveals this truth as he says they refuse to come to the One the scripture points to, so that they may have life. This ‘quality and character of life’  is much better described as an ‘enduring, rich, and abundant life‘.

But what is the problem with these religious people Christ was speaking to? They were standing before their very Messiah, yet they refused to believe that the Truth was standing right there in their presence. Jesus explains exactly what the problem was.

John 5: 41I do not receive glory from people. 42But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. 43I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him.

There are many religious teachers in the world who come and go in their own names. They have built their own religious kingdoms and they receive one another in their own names. Religious leaders who have built up large church kingdoms become popular among one another and they seek after them to come and teach in their churches. They seek after notoriety! History is repeating itself. He goes on to let them off the hook. He is not condemning them.

John 5: 44How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? 45Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me.47But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”

Jesus hit the nail on the head and He’s been hitting it on the head ever since then. The people chose to remain under Moses as their leader instead of learning of the One in whom Moses put this trust. They became so ‘well versed’ about the Law, that they forgot to see that the Law points to Christ. Instead of receiving the One who paved the Way for us, they chose to worship their own paved ways.

There has never been anything wrong with studying the scriptures in an effort to understand God’s amazing love, grace, mercy, and justice. When interpretations point people to religion then we have again missed the mark. When an interpretation of the scriptures point to Christ then it encourages our faith. This is the Way of the Christian Faith.

The Christian Religion points to the religious system, while the Christian Faith points to Christ and He points us to God and how to walk in the Kingdom.

We certainly have the freedom to study with whoever we feel God is leading us to and we also have the freedom to walk away and go study with another gathering when we realize their ways are leading the people into legalism. I have no qualms with denominations as long as they allow the people to come and go in love and keep the door open to freedom. The heresies are when the Christian Religion binds the people into isolated controlling environments and limits their freedom of conscience. This is precisely what many of the early Protestants stood up about. Here it is again, history repeating itself. Many denominations have allowed themselves to become that which their ancestors fled from. There are no denominations in the Christian Faith. Just people who are seeking to walk by faith, study together in love, and continue to walk in the liberty that set us free.

Filed Under: Faith, Inquisition, Kingdom Living, Legalism Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Transparency is a Vulnerability

June 2, 2011 By 10 Comments

Who in the world wants to be vulnerable and let everyone see all your flaws, fears, and heart aches? Anyone? Anyone?

When you live your life inside a bubble for over a decade and wake up one day realizing that something just doesn’t add up. What am I doing here? Why have I stayed for so long? Why do I feel SO out of my skin in this place?

Deep down inside of me are all these questions and interests. Things I find great joy in and feel IN my skin with. Why did I ever leave those things behind?

I was stripped of them.

If I wanted to be accepted and loved I had to strip myself.. of myself. Then I was told to put on these other interests, I was told my old interests should be ‘burned’ and forgotten about. I was re-taught a new language in a way that this new language became a part of who I was supposed to be. I was being conditioned.

I dared to go against it, I took out a pin and popped the bubble. Just as quickly as I stepped out of the bubble, others were frantically sewing it up behind me.

Now I was entering into a vast universe with lots of questions and excited to get to know everything around me. My language was not only misunderstood, but I was rejected because of it. People were angry with me out here. I tried to re-think my words and learn new vocabulary so I can express what I was meaning so they wouldn’t take my words and understand them in the way they thought I was intending.

I have tried fitting in with other groups, only to discover they didn’t understand me and they rejected me too. People, in general, don’t like when we ask about their faith in ways outside their conditioned scripting. They don’t like when you ask why “this word” isn’t in the Bible, because they would have to answer you with, “It’s just not there.” Then when you ask why they believe in it if it’s not in the bible, they say the bible ‘implies’ that it’s there.

A special knowledge? I thought that was taboo.

But that’s not what I’m wanting to express in this post. So I learned that language, those metaphors, these cliches that I try my best to describe my journey with. Many Christians dislike it, those who don’t believe or follow Christ don’t understand me either. People from all over simply assume what I mean, instead of just asking me to explain it differently. I’ll explain my journey the best I can.

I got a response today on another post. She thought I meant ‘such and such’ which I didn’t mean that way at all. I did the best I could to respond back. I actually agreed with her more than she may have realized, and I told her so. It’s just very difficult for me to express my journey in other lingo. After I responded to her as plainly as I could, with grace and love, I went to a room alone and cried. I cried hard. I wasn’t upset about me, I was grieving that someone else was hurt through the misunderstanding my words had created.

So here I am and I want to be transparent, because I want to be me. I want to be in my own skin, to enjoy my spiritual walkabout with my Creator. My adventure with grace and love. This beautiful universal language that I see people of all kinds of faith talk about. I’m intrigued. Curious. I want to hear about how they came to this revelation of love on the outside of the box I came out of.

But here’s the honest truth about me, I fear I won’t be accepted anywhere with the kinds of questions I have. I don’t mean to sound intrusive, I’m just very curious. I want my full freedom to comment on “this blog” and “that blog” without my friends at “this blog” being upset that they see me commenting also on “that blog”. (Why are they reading over there anyway? Could it be they have the same questions as me? Or are they only reading to use the info as ammunition for their next attack?)

Aren’t we all just a bunch of insecure humans trying to understand ourselves and one another?

Why did I have to be given such a huge portion of curiosity into this thing called spirituality?

Because I woke up.

I don’t mean that to sound arrogant, it’s just how I feel. It’s like I took the Red Pill and I can’t go back to sleep.

So I try my best to express my faith, my spirituality, my walkabout with my Creator. Why? I can’t help it. It’s who I am.

You might find that I use some Christian lingo and some Pagan lingo. Maybe you think I use New Age lingo, or Fairy Tale lingo. I’m just doing the best I can to understand this spiritual life in some of the only ways I understand.

I’m tired of these questions,
“Are you…

Catholic?
Protestant?
Seventh Day Adventist?
Baptist?
Pentecostal?
Pagan?
Heretic?
Jewish?

Rebellious?

Out of your mind?”

Here’s my best answer,

I’m Sisterlisa and I’m on a journey. My own individual walkabout with Love.

So all those things I was stripped of before… I think I shall open that old treasure chest back up and pull some of those things back out and put them back on again. They’re a part of who I am and if I continue to live otherwise, I’ll just be walking around with a costume on. If you don’t like how I describe my journey, you don’t have to read it. If you have genuine curiosity and want to understand me better? Just ask me to clarify. I might mess up by using a lingo you don’t understand, or may have been taught had different meanings that the ones I intend to describe.

Filed Under: Faith, Grace Tagged With: , , , , ,

Knowing Jesus

May 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment

In the garden God created and placed Adam and Eve there to become man and wife. They were joined together to be one in their relationship, but they hadn’t known each other yet. Don’t get me wrong, Adam certainly knew who Eve was. Some people humorously say that Adam saw Eve and said “Whoa Man!”, because she was so beautiful, thus calling her woman.

But Adam had not yet ‘known’ Eve in the intimate sense.

A husband and wife marry at the altar, but it’s not until they arrive at their honeymoon suite that they really know each other. Between the time a couple meets and their relationship progresses do they really begin to know each other intimately.

We meet new people all the time and establish friendships as we continue to fellowship with them again and again. Eventually the friendship becomes intimate in a spiritual sense. This kind of intimacy is what I believe God wants for his family. To be close. To learn to trust one another. To grow together, To become one in love. To ‘know’ each other.

chaiselounge by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

{photo credit by Sisterlisa}

Jesus often rebuked the Pharisees and the scenarios between them is not often discussed in some churches, but as a former legalist I have come to pay closer attention to the words he spoke to them and their cultural history as leaders in their religious communities.

Ezekiel 34 gives us a vivid picture of how upset God was with the pastors for the way they were treating the people and even neglecting them. These shepherds were known by God, He appointed them to their place of leadership among the people to take care of them. Several generations later Jesus describes the kingdom of heaven which he was bringing to earth.

Luke 17:20And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. (KJV)

Knowing that the kingdom of God is already within us, we can then begin to see many of his teachings clearer. He continues on in his 3 1/2 year journey to tell people who can “go there” and who “can’t enter therein”.

It’s within us.

Matthew 10 gives us the picture of the rich man who wants to enter the kingdom of God, but Jesus challenges him with giving up his riches first. We know that we do not enter eternity based on our works, for the bible reveals to us it is not by works, so no one can boast. Jesus is speaking to the rich man about the kingdom that is already within him. Because materialism gets in the way of us being able to ‘see’ this kingdom and live out the reality of it in our human lives.

His response after the rich man departed from him astonished even the disciples.

Matthew 10: 23And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God!” (ESV)

There’s an intimacy that is present among people who enter one another’s homes, when we dine together, when we celebrate together. We know each other, but it is through spiritual intimacy that we really begin to know one another. When one of us goes through a storm in life, it is then that we see what each other is ‘made of’.

God is all knowing. He knows every hair on our head and knew us in our mother’s womb. In fact we were created in Christ before the foundation of the world. God definitely knows us all.

great room morning by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

{photo credit by Sisterlisa}

But does He have intimacy with us yet? Have we entered into the kingdom life yet?

I can meet you at the cafe each week for fellowship, but until you come to my home and dine with me, you may not begin to really know me yet. Jesus entered many homes on his missionary journey to earth. He dined with people, lounged with them in their homes, rejoiced with them, and even grieved with them. Jesus even knew the thoughts of the people, even the thoughts of the Pharisees. He knew and does know all of us. But he speaks of another kind of ‘knowing’ in our relationship with him.

Matthew 7: 21“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

I don’t believe Jesus was speaking about the after life in this passage. The entire chapter of Matthew 7 is about how to live in this life, read it thoroughly, I believe this chapter is about how to live in the kingdom life, now.

He said ‘I never knew you’, but he certainly does know us. Perhaps he is speaking about the intimacy and depth of knowing people.

Have you ever said to someone whose heart changed in a negative way and you said, “I don’t know you anymore. Who are you?” But you DO know them. It’s a figure of speech. The bible is filled with types, shadows, poetic language, and figures of speech.

In Matthew 7 he speaks of a beam of wood sticking out of your eye, the opening of a door, a gate, wolves who have fruit from their limbs, not knowing people, and a house built upon a rock.

These are not literal teachings, they are spiritual teachings with poetic figurative language.

The kingdom is within you.

God always knows who we are. How can the Creator not literally know His own creation?

He knows us, but He wants to really ‘know’ us.

We are the Bride and Jesus is our Groom, but has the journey brought us into the tent of being known by our Groom?

There’s an intimacy in ‘knowing’ Jesus and Him ‘knowing’ us. This happens in the kingdom and we’re all there seated with him in those ‘heavenly places’, we just might have a beam in our eye that inhibits our vision of the reality. It is possible we keep bumping into the post because the beam disrupts us being able to see the narrow opening of the gate. In addition to that there are wolves all around making it even more difficult to see the kingdom. It’s the house upon the rock, it shall not be moved. The house will not move from where it is, no need to go looking here or there to find it.

It’s within you.

Do not fear Jesus telling you that you can’t be with him and Father. The after life is something full of mystery, a surprise being prepared for us to some day see. But there is a Now Jesus that we can know. We can live the kingdom life while we are here on earth. It’s such a fabulous gift that I pray we don’t waste. He loves you and because of what he has done, his finished work on the cross, the gate is left open for all who would like to enter, We can enter freely.

Italy by nonpoppop, on Pix-O-Sphere

{photo credit by Mike Davis}

Revelation 22: 17The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

Filed Under: Faith Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Now Jesus

April 29, 2011 By 1 Comment

Just when you think life could never hurl the same kind of disaster into your life again, it does. Only this time it is thrown at a loved one and I am watching from a different perspective.

Trying not to panic.

I don’t want to appear faith-less when these loved ones need to be encouraged with faith.

Hugging a woman who is sobbing in despair as she wonders how she will pay her bills now that her love is out of the picture for a time.

I try not to cry, but flash backs of my own earlier traumas come flooding back.

I breathe one breath at a time and encourage her to do the same thing.

She then says, “I’m so thankful for this.”

This woman who has been running from God is thankful that He intervened, even though the consequences are not easy to walk through.

She’s thankful.

I shared with her what Ann teaches about eucharisteo.

We talk about God’s sovereignty and foreknowledge of all of this.

She’s not angry, bitter, or running anymore.

She has stopped in her tracks, looked up, and said, “Thank you.”

Such maturity for this young woman who is now finding herself as somewhat of a single mom for the time being.

A long talk over a coffee in a cafe about God’s love and discipline leads us into a conversation about choices.

We discussed consequences and trusting the outcome no matter what that may be.

When King David spoke of being in Sheol and knowing God was with him there became a key part of our conversation.

How much lower can one go but to the grave?

Sometimes despair drives us into a deep pit.

The place where we cover ourselves with dirt and cry about how much we deserve to stay there.

We condemn ourselves.

Psalm 30:3 O LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit. (ESV)

I was reminded of the verse that inspired me in my own despair many years ago.

Psalm 40:2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet on a rock, and established my goings. (AKJV)

It’s God who brings us up from the grave and sets our feet on the rock, our foundation. It’s HE who establishes our goings.

Certainly there are things we can do that are proactive in setting our feet in motion to move forward again, but the greatest part about this kind of personal resurrection is that it’s God who does the raising.

Dying and being put in Sheol is part of this process, but praise God we don’t stay there. He raises us up in the newness of life.

Difficult circumstances in life are not always of our choosing. Sometimes the decisions are made by someone else and we somehow end up getting pushed into the pit along the way, like Joseph. Other times we are dragged in, feeling totally helpless to avoid it.

No matter what we face we can know the power of His resurrection many times over as these difficult times come our way.

Breathing deep one breath at a time.

Resting under the shadow of the Almighty.

No need to gulp for air.

He’s giving us mouth to mouth resuscitation.

He’s breathing life into us, embracing us, holding our hearts in His hand.

He’ll never leave us nor forsake us.

Our thoughts turn upward and the distant idea of heaven isn’t enough to keep us going, but knowing the Kingdom of God is within us now is worth the labor pains that births us into this new kingdom life.

We need the Now Jesus and He is here.

The Later Jesus seems too far off in the distance after this life is over and many times a person’s suffering seems so unbearable that they seek for the end of life to bring them to Christ and the end of their distress.

If all we teach is the Later Jesus, people struggle to understand how to get through this life and the idea of enduring suffering for so long doesn’t seem worth it to them when they can end their life and be in the presence of God.

They need to know the Now Jesus. The now Kingdom. The now Presence of God.

Sometimes all the talk about heaven in the after life leaves people feeling a bit cheated that they have to wait 70+ years to get there. If the Christian life is just about making a decision to WANT to go to heaven someday and all they do is strive to keep running in a never ending race in order to get there then they never learn to rest in the Now Jesus and experience the Now God.

But heaven can be attained now.

We can live in the kingdom each day as we rest in Christ and trust in him daily.

The daily walk in faith.

Knowing we are covered in grace.

Yes, times will get tough and we’ll face uncertain days, but Jesus is with us now.

Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. (ESV)

He isn’t just waiting for us later, way up there, in a far away land.

He is our refuge now.

There’s enough ‘hell’ in this life as it is. We need to know and experience the heaven in this life.

Luke 17: 20 ”And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” (KJV)

Nature029edit by traciveek, on Pix-O-Sphere

{photo credit Traci}

Photo Sharing at Pix-O-Sphere

Filed Under: Faith Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Sin Repellent is Worthless

April 6, 2011 By 5 Comments

I did everything I could to be good Christian lady. I was new to church and it was my very first time sitting in the Ladies Bible Study. The pastor teaches the women at this Ladies Bible Study. I sure wish women actually did that, but it was new to me and I wondered what he would have to say to encourage us. I wasn’t raised in a strict church, I occasionally attended a Lutheran Church growing up, but clothing was never spoken about there. When the pastor of this little church I visited said that women wearing short skirts and pants were a hindrance to men my heart sank.

I was wearing shorts that day.

I felt embarrassed.

I didn’t realize wearing shorts was a bad thing. Every woman I had ever known in my life wore shorts. I sulked in my chair, looking around and noticed I was the only one wearing shorts. I couldn’t wait to go home. I didn’t want to get up and walk out at that moment,

I was afraid of what they would say.

I was afraid to be judged.

My life was out of control and I wanted to have some better guidelines to live by. I think somehow I equated dressing more professionally would give me a better path to walk down so I stayed and kept listening. What I didn’t realize was that this teaching was trying to create a sin repellent. Somehow, if  all women dressed as the pastor said we should dress, it would help reduce the amount of sinful lusts the pastor and other men had. Another thing this teaching did, was create a burden on all women to help stop men from falling into their lusts. This is a terrible burden to put on women, who are the weaker vessels. How can a woman, who is the weaker vessel, help stop men from falling into their own lust problems?

I am a woman and I have a word for all you men who think we need to cover up in order to protect you from falling into sin.

We aren’t Jesus Christ!

When a woman decides she wants to dress modestly it needs to be because she and the Lord have had a discussion about it between themselves. It should never be a burden to them that somehow THEY can help YOU to stop having lustful thoughts. Furthermore, I think it is an awful shame that any other women are repeating this message to their own sisters in Christ.

We aren’t Jesus Christ!

A woman does not have the ability to stop a man from his lust problem. He must go to Jesus for that. Only Christ can free them from the thoughts that plague their minds and hearts.

I think we tend to forget that God created Adam and Eve naked and they were not ashamed. Lust began when the deception was planted. The deception… “you’re naked”. The fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is feasted upon today by many, especially those in religion.

The tree of religion.

Prior to entering that bible study, I had never thought about shorts as being a sinful thing. Before that day, I had never been told “you’re naked”. Somehow, wearing shorts meant I was “naked”..according to this preacher. At that moment I felt ashamed. I felt as if I needed to cover up. Do you see how the serpent’s lies continue through religion?

My shorts were not super short, they were almost to my knees. They weren’t tight, and I was wearing a long spring jacket that was almost as long as my shorts were. Over time my wardrobe began to change. I began covering up more and more. All because I was told “you’re naked”, “it’s your responsibility to help men to stop lusting”. This teaching put me in bondage. The more I heard this kind of teaching the more suspicious I became of men. I couldn’t trust any of them.

Not even the pastor.

As time went on, I learned from him that we could no longer hug a friend of the opposite gender. A hug might cause him to stumble and want more than  hug. I was taught that we could not look into a man’s eyes for more than  a simple hello, because the eyes can lead to temptation in their thoughts. All these rules heightened our suspicions of the men in the church. It eventually plagued the friendships of the women. The women no longer wanted other women to come to their homes unless they were properly covered up. It also lead to women not being able to have conversations with the men, so the women would often end up fellowshipping in another room separate from the men.

All to avoid sin.

Something I was noticing along the way was that this kind of sin repellent wasn’t working.

Women were whispering over the phone about how Mrs. So and So’s husband is having an affair with another woman in the church. And Miss Teen So and So was molested and Mr Youth Leader was sent away without a trial in court. The accusations began.. it was the woman’s fault. Just like Eve.

Now we couldn’t trust anyone at the church.

Everyone became a potential threat to our goldy lives. The blame is always put on the woman.

When do the men ever take responsibility for their own problems?

Those men are building up walls of religion and filling their repellent bottles with scripture memorization in hopes that women won’t cause them to lust. They hope that by making women cover up, and quoting verses in their minds will keep them from sinning. They put on blinders to keep their eyes from wandering and scream at women for causing them to sin.

The other women develop a hatred for one another and their sisterhood in Christ is hindered by their suspicions.

Fear festers.

The gangrene of carnality leads us to the operating table where we experience amputation of our limbs.

The cancer doesn’t stop.

It appears to be in remission, but it comes back stronger than ever.

Our dear brothers, when will you realize that we can’t stop you from lusting? When will it dawn on you that lust is your problem, not ours?

You teach us women that we are the weaker vessels and you dare to put your lust problems on our shoulders, when Christ already took your sin to the cross!

When will you take up His cross instead of making us take up yours?

Dear sisters in Christ, when will you stop blaming all of us for your husband’s problems?

When will you cease from making us carrying your husband’s crosses and yours to boot?!

Christ took sin to the grave and left it there!

All these attempts to create your own sin repellent doesn’t work.

James 1: 13Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. (KJV)

The key we all need to realize is that we already died to sin.

Romans 6: 5For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

When we continue to live by the Law, we reject the finished work of Christ through his death and resurrection. The Law, your sin repellent, can’t save you. Jesus already saved you.

1 Peter 2:24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

You have already been healed of sin, you simply fail to walk in the reality of the finished work of Christ.

Someone is feeding you with lies of religion, telling you that you are naked. Making you feel ashamed and trying to convince you to cover yourself with fig leaves.

Genesis 3:11 11He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”

Watch this… Adam says the same thing that many preachers and our own sisters say to us..

Genesis 3:12The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”

Why do men keep blaming the women?

Until the time Christ came, the ground was cursed because of MAN.

God dealt very specifically with Adam (man) because of HIS choice to eat the forbidden fruit.

God remains the same yesterday, today, and forever and he says specifically..

Genesis 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

So long as you keep feasting on the tree of religion, you will continue to perish in your deeds. You will continue to think you’re naked and try to cover up with your religious walls, your blinders, and spray sin repellent all over everyone around you. You continue to walk in suspicion of women and women continue to mistrust each other.

The truth is that Christ came and covered us with His own righteousness. We realize our death became a reality in Christ’s death. We died with him and our sin was taken to the grave. We were resurrected with Him and can now walk in the newness of life.

We are naked once again, before the Lord God and not ashamed.

Christ is our covering and we walk in grace.

Your struggles with sin is not our fault.

Face Christ and walk in the reality of your freedom from sin and it will no longer have dominion over you.

worship by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

Related Articles:

You’re the Example! How religion hurts our teens.

Condemned for a Lacking Quiver

Which Tree Are you Feasting On?

Filed Under: Faith, Legalism

The Drama I’d Rather Not Know About

April 5, 2011 By 1 Comment

If there’s anyone who gets angry at a pastor teaching false doctrine, it’s certainly the church members who have been deeply wounded by it. People I used to attend church with have no idea what I have gone through…and others like me who also left…they haven’t had their eyes open to it yet. I have no ill feelings toward those who are unknowing of those things and I have no desire at all to try and convince them. They wouldn’t believe me anyway. There are those who do know, who have confessed at seeing the abuse as well, and yet they stay, side with the man and reject me for crying out for help. This I don’t understand. I have sought the Lord on this so many times, trying to find peace within myself over it. It hurts. It feels like a stab in the back and they would probably deny that the dagger has their fingerprints on it.

I have studied the scriptures on how to handle situations like this and what I keep finding is that false teaching is rampant in the world today…and yet God has allowed it. Even john spoke about this when he said,

“Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour.” 1 John 2:18

John spoke of it being the last hour during his time and that there were many antichrists in the world.  With each new generation and increased population we see more of these false pastors rising up. They’re like drug pushers, take one down and another takes his place. Why does God keep allowing this?

How can we live this Christian life with all these varying beliefs in the world? Is there any way to stop them?

I have come to my own conclusion and you are free to disagree with me, but I think the answer is, no. God is allowing these people to remain here on earth and he is allowing them to teach what they’re teaching.

Paul called out Peter on his false teaching and I would imagine that cause quite a stir. Here was Paul, a former persecutor of the church correcting Peter, a man who was discipled by Christ directly(Galatians 2). Paul was clear in his disagreement with Peter about circumcision, yet some time later Paul directed Timothy to get circumcised even though it wasn’t necessary.(Acts 16).

We see this scenario played out a lot in today’s world. Then we see Paul, who was contacted about the trouble at the church in Corinth. They obviously had some serious drama going on, as Paul felt the need to send two letters to them.

Lets take a look at what Paul opens his first letter to them with:

1 Corinthians 1: 2To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:  3Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (italics are mine for emphasis)

Paul begins his letter with the acknowledgment that they are believers, that they are believers WITH ‘all’ those ‘in every place’ who call upon the name of the Lord. He didn’t use any -isms to describe their doctrine. He simply acknowledged them as believers. He even says in verse 8 that they will be,  ”guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” So here we have the apostle Paul writing a letter of correction to the church at Corinth and while they are being corrected he says they will be guiltless. We know that we are guitless because of Christ alone, not because we have the “right” doctrine.

His compelling words that begin in verse 10 really make me think of the ongoing saga between The Gospel Coalition and Rob Bell. Paul says very clearly to us today “You are not of Tim Challies, you are not of Rob Bell, you are of Christ”

Paul wanted the church at Corinth to be of one mind and of the same judgment, which is Christ the Lord. Certainly there are some false teachings and they are rampant in the world today, but Jesus didn’t say we would be known as Christians by our doctrine, but instead we would be known by our love for one another.

I think Paul’s words in this first chapter of this first letter to Corinth is speaking loud and clear to us today.

1 Corinthians 1: 18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19For it is written,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

20Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

So much of what we think is correct doctrine will certainly pass away one day and be burned in the fire. Maybe this happens for each of us individually as Christ sifts through our hearts to sort out all those things that lift themselves up against the knowledge of God. Jesus is mighty to the pulling down of strongholds and there certainly is a fire in that process. He did the same for me when he delivered me from legalism and he continually heats me up to remove the dross.

Proverbs 25:4 Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer. (KJV)

1 Corinthians 1:17 shows us that Paul had a specific calling and it was not to baptize, but to preach the Good News, Jesus is risen. Jesus opened the flood gates of grace and we can now come boldly to the throne of grace because of Christ.

His admonishment beginning in verse 26 take a whole new meaning for me in this day of the rising population of false teachers,

26For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29so that no human being  might boast in the presence of God. 30And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

There certainly are many in the world today who exalt their doctrines above Christ our Lord, thinking they have the only “right way” to “get grace” through Christ. Yet we can certainly see how God will take down all those things that puff themselves up against the Lord, pull those strongholds down, so that we really truly rest on our only foundation, Christ our Lord. Let our only boasting be that of Christ.

We have no part in our salvation, it is Christ alone.

There is no step by step, point by point process in which we can “get Christ”. He willingly gave himself to us. It’s a done deal.

When you come to believe this is true, praise God! You can then begin to walk in the reality of who He is, the Savior of the world.

But other than that, we will continue to study the ancient writings to try and figure out who God is. Each person will receive some different perspective, but one thing remains true, Christ our Lord.

There is another thing He invites us to do, now that we have believed, He says “follow me and be my disciples”. But I’ll save that topic for another time. My purpose in writing this is to remind myself and any who are willing to hear, that we love one another even when we disagree. Paul made it clear that the one thing he wanted to know was if people believed. Everything else that we learn is part of the journey of discovery.

1 Corinthians 2: 1And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

Lets not be so worried about the drama going on in other camps of Christianity, lets be focused on the fact that they believe Christ and then live with love for one another.

Colossians 3:14 “And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony”

light house (1) by tshack, on Pix-O-Sphere

All scripture quotations are from the ESV, unless otherwise noted.

This article in no way implies that any of the above mentioned pastors are false.

Filed Under: Faith, Grace, Inquisition, Persecution Tagged With: , , , , , ,

New Menu

April 2, 2011 By 3 Comments

resurrection lunch 2010 by ashley, on Pix-O-Sphere

Over the last two years I have considered myself somewhat of a faith gypsy, traveling through various camps of Christianity and exploring the wilderness with God on my own spiritual walkabout. This has been the theme of my blog for quite some time now. I have enjoyed these two years of exploring the boxes that others find so comfortable, but I never quite felt at home. Some camp sites have incredible music while others are great at helping you wash laundry in the creek, but the feasting table has left me hungry for more. I don’t mean that as a negative thing, quite the contrary. I think this has been good for me. The appetizers should be enjoyable, yet small enough to leave room for the main course.

I read something today on Facebook written by my friend, Tim King, who has his Masters of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Seminary. He shared his thoughts on ‘the tree called “theology”’ and how it ‘has a multitude of branches’. I appreciated his openness in recognizing that people from various branches enjoy studying with such diversity. My heart grieved in agreement with him when he said this,

“I often seen professed Christians at each other’s throats in the name of orthodox theology.  Having Christians ripping into one another is not an unusual sight, neither in this day nor at any other time in history.”

When you seriously study the history behind the reformation, the battles between Calvinists, Luther, and various other people trying to discover their freedom in Christ, it really doesn’t look much different than what we see happening today.

{photo credit by Ashley}

He goes on to say,

“…the command that God’s people love one another — and show mercy, grace, patience, forgiveness, kindness, generosity and gentleness to one another — is stated more bountifully and clearly than 95% of the doctrines we use to smite one another.”

In his note he shared his thoughts on 1 Corinthians 8 which I found to be  simple yet profound and I feasted on the Spirit bring ing life to me in this area. The apostle Paul says,

1Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up. 2If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. 3But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.

This reminds me of Proverbs 4:7  ”The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight.” We can get all kinds of knowledge, think our interpretations are correct, and draw the line in the sand to let people know where we stand on our beliefs, but if we can’t cross our own line in order to love one another then we remain isolated in foolishness.

There are some who are new to this revelation of Christ in them and they require nurturing, safety, and milk because this is gentle on their spiritual tummies.

1 Peter 2: 2As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:

There’s some things that new born babes don’t understand. Sometimes God sets a steak before us, but to eat it in the presence of a babe might cause them to stumble. Paul expresses this beautifully which pertains to where I am in my walkabout with God. As a traveler in the faith, I have seen different feasting tables with fine tasting pottage and at other times I see fatted calves being served. In this religious world of what some call “a different jesus” I have come to understand something in what Paul says here,

1 Corinthians 8: 4Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.” 5For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— 6yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

There’s something about a babe, they don’t know how to read, they tend to speak babble and make funny bubbles in their lips while they grin and make a mess of their plates. As a mom I can say that although babies get a bit messy, they are so adorable to me. God is our Father and His babes are adorable to him as well.

1 Corinthians 8: 7However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do.

Teenagers aren’t often fond of feeding a baby or letting them sit on their laps while they fuss, but our Heavenly Father doesn’t mind that. He has us right where He wants us and feeds us what He knows is best for us. He even wipes up our dribble. I don’t think he’d be too keen on us calling his babies names or belittling them for being babies. They are equally precious to him as anyone else is. Teens can partake in pizza while the babies eat oatmeal and that is just fine. Just don’t give pizza to an infant without the ability to process that food in his tiny mouth and throat.

steaks by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

1 Corinthians 8: 9 But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.

He’s speaking of our understanding of scriptures that are written, of books that are published, and videos that we watch. If a new born babe in Christ came to my home, I wouldn’t set out the book of Revelation as a topic to discuss. I may not lay out books written by Baptists in the company of a Calvinist friend. I certainly wouldn’t offer a reading from ‘The Shack’ to a new convert who worships in a strict fundamentalist church. In all this ongoing bashing of people who study and worship in different camps of Christianity, we really need to be careful of what we share with the audience we are in each day.

Perhaps this is why labels might be useful. I have disliked Christian labels for a long time, because I have seen how they hurt people, divide loved ones, and create chaos. This week I shared my thoughts on labels on Twitter when Misti said, “…Some get stuck on labels, so it’s harder w/ them. Others want to learn, so you can start w/ label & teach.”

You never know what you’re going to read when you come across a blog. The blogger doesn’t know who is reading therefore they have no idea on how to write on some topics so that babes don’t choke. So setting out the menu makes sense. This way a babe might decline the offer to dine with you and that is certainly their freedom to do so. Maybe your menu is written in such a way that they might come back at a later date. I know I’ve done that. Let’s just make sure not to scream “Rat” in someone else’s restaurant. That would be rude. You may not like Escargo, but God did create varying pallets that enjoy such dishes. {photo credit by Sisterlisa}

When I enter a gathering place for study and worship and I discern their nibbling on unleavended bread and sipping non fat milk theology I’ll respect that an not pull out my steak picnic in their presence, because even though Christ gave me steak, revealing that to others might be hindering the work He is doing in their lives.

1 Corinthians 8: 12Thus, sinning against your brotherse and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.

Therefore, I feel it is only fair to share with you that, for the time being, I am pitching my tent. There’s some believers who are sharpening their knives and cutting into steak and I want to see what nutrition comes from it. God told Adam that he could eat from all of the trees, except for one. This is the one tree I want to abstain from. The one that causes me to see with a beam in my eye.

Genesis 2: 15The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eatd of it you shall surely die.”

God gives us time to watch the branches to see if it bears fruit. I’ve been watching the fruit of many who are camping together and I am joining them for a while. I’m going to see how they tend the garden, watch the water flow, and see if I can bear fruit among them. You are certainly free to join me or watch at a distance. I do not judge you for that, I simply ask that you also follow Paul’s advice. If you think me a babe, leave me to eat what the Lord feeds me and love me just the same?

The fruit I have seen producing in the branches of Christian Universalism are bearing the fruit of joy, peace, and longsuffering. This is the kind of fruit I want to have. I want to know why this fruits grows among them. I have tried camping in other places that seemed to make fruit dry up, wither away, and become brittle in the hot sun. I discerned it was time to move on lest the Lord cast me away to be cut off. I don’t mind being pruned though.

John 15:2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

I do not think he is speaking about cutting us off as individual people from the Family of God, but rather cutting off that line of thinking. He is mighty to the pulling down of strongholds. But I’ll save that thought for another time.

I am working on my current ‘menu’ and will present it soon. If you are interested in what is set on the ‘feasting table’ here or even want to know the ‘recipes’, you are welcome to observe and when you feel you are ready..you may dine with me. Just don’t hate me or reject me if I happen to enjoy some dishes that may seem foreign to you.

feasting table by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere


Filed Under: Faith, Inquisition Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Equally Loved Leads to Humility

March 28, 2011 By 9 Comments

I’ve been hurt before. Deeply hurt. Deeply hurt by people I deeply love. Have you experienced this? The indescribable feeling of being betrayed by people you deeply love, by people you trusted. Trust. We trusted because there was a relationship there and now the betrayal makes it so incredibly difficult to love. When a person has just discovered that they were betrayed is not the best time to explain to them that Jesus commands that we love our enemies. That teaching goes right over the head of most victims of betrayal. Most times they can’t even fathom what that means. Discernment is such an important factor when ministering to people. Not all things in the Bible are good for all occasions, all the time. When Lazarus died, Jesus didn’t come right away. He waited a few days. Upon his arrival in town Martha runs to him saying that had Jesus been there he would not have died. Look what Jesus said to her.

John 11:23 “Your brother will rise again.”

He didn’t condemn her for how she felt about her brother’s death. He didn’t use it as an opportunity to preach condemnation to her. He used the opportunity to show them life, to reveal the power of God.

When the soldier approached Jesus because he had a servant who was ill, Jesus simply said, “I will come and heal him.” {Matthew 8:7} He didn’t require anything in return, he didn’t give any theological ‘only ifs’, He simply said, “yes”.

Jesus didn’t require any theological circus tricks of the ill servant either. As a matter of fact, his reply to this humble soldier was the very opposite of what many theologians preach today.

Matthew 8:10 When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. 11 I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, 12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Jesus said very clearly that MANY will come from east and west to recline at the table, but the SONS of the KINGDOM will be in outer darkness and they will weep and gnash their teeth. He says this after seeing a soldier (not a Jew or modern day Christian) seeking healing for a servant (also not a modern day Christian) and Jesus heals the servant, applauds the soldier’s faith, but says his very own ‘sons of the kingdom’ will be in outer darkness weeping and gnashing their teeth.

The religious crowd wasn’t much into hearing about Jesus healing non Jews or dining with them. Why is it so hard for religious people to accept that Christ loves us equally? Why would sons of the kingdom be in outer darkness when a soldier’s request for healing a non Jew be granted him? What is this outer darkness that sons of the kingdom will be in and weep and gnash their teeth?

In Luke 5 a paralyzed man was lowered into a crowded home, through the roof, and Jesus saw the faith of the men lowering him in and Jesus said to the paralyzed man “Your sins are forgiven you” {Luke 5:20}. The story doesn’t say that the paralyzed man asked for healing or forgiveness, it was simply granted after Jesus saw the faith of the men lowering him. Then we see the Pharisees question this act of love and mercy and called it blasphemy. What is this pattern of religious people who reject the love and mercy of Christ in the lives of people they don’t deem as worthy?

Jesus is teaching us a valuable lesson, if we will just listen.

In Luke 7 a woman enters the scene and lavishes Jesus with love. The Pharisee who invited him to feast with his friends began to question the validity of Jesus as a prophet. He says that if Jesus was a prophet he would have known this woman was a sinner. What did these Pharisees expect that Jesus would have done about that? Stone her to death right there in his dining room? Jesus responds to the criticism with a parable.

Luke 7: 41“A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.”

He is teaching a highly valuable lesson with a parable of a debt. Two men owe a debt, one owes a larger debt than another. The thing that sparks in me the hope of Christ is that neither of these two men asked for their debt to be canceled, the moneylender himself noticed the debt was unable to be paid so he canceled the debts for both of them.

Did you notice that Jesus did not say “which one will enter heaven”? He said “which one will love the moneylender more?”

He goes on to tell the Pharisee that his answer is correct when he says the one with the greatest debt paid would love the moneylender more. The moneylender story is not just about the debt being paid, it’s about love. The love that is the natural response to knowing your debt is paid by the moneylender when he knew you couldn’t pay it. The moneylender didn’t condemn the debtors, nor did he punish them.

He goes on to explain how this woman who, we have no doubt, knew she was a sinner, dared to enter the home of a Pharisee to lavish the feet of Christ with her tears. Perhaps she was trembling with fear, considering that she may be punished for entering the home of a Pharisee. Jesus didn’t push her back and demand anything out of her. She was allowed to come. Had the Pharisees had it their way she would have been prohibited from entering. I believe that because they did esteem Jesus as a Rabbi, that since he didn’t push her away, they ceased from being bold about their religious desires. Of course I am speculating, but given the history of the self righteous Pharisees I do feel safe speculating about this.

Jesus goes on to explain the lovely pampering she gave him, then made a bold statement to them in verse 47 “But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” This goes back to the story of the debtors and moneylender. Those who feel they have very little to be forgiven for will love Him less.

I think most of us want to be forgiven for the things we have done in our lives, but how many of us really forgive others when they sin against us? Isn’t this life in Christ more about forgiving others than it is about seeking it for ourselves?

Do we fail to love others much, because we don’t think we have much to be forgiven for? Is this why we love less?

The only avenue to understanding this is to understand that we’re all equal in sin and all equally loved. To state that we are not equally loved would be a confession that we don’t think we are equal in sin. There is no humility in that, only self righteousness.

Do you recall the story of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples? Those dirty feet of human men who were not equal with Christ? That very act of humility by Christ was to teach a lesson to the disciples. The lesson of humility. These disciples did not always believe what Jesus was telling them. They had their doubts about some things just like we all do. Yet, Jesus stooped down and washed their feet. His act of humility was intended to humble them. He didn’t need to preach condemnation to them to humble them, he simply served them and washed their feet.

Could you wash the feet of someone who doubts you?

As Jesus was beaten and nailed to the cross, bleeding and suffering he asked Father to forgive the very people who put him there.

Could you forgive your abusers? The ones who would murder you?

Why are we so afraid to forgive? Why is this thing of forgiveness so hard for us? Have we not realized how much we have been forgiven? Is this why we love so little? Will a hard fall into a deep pit be what we need to experience in order to understand how to love much?

We have heard this many times, this key phrase that is so popular, “Jesus loved you so much that he opened his arms wide and died for you” We tell people, “Jesus died for you while you were a sinner, He died for you before you were even born, knowing full well what you would do with your life.” We say, “Your debt has been paid”.

Some don’t understand that concept, especially if they don’t believe they have done wrong. So religious people try to force them into believing by condemning them with threats of eternal torture. Scare the poor people to death so they’ll believe? Are we the Holy Spirit? Is this Christ-like? Shall we usurp Christ’s authority over their lives and preach condemnation, torture, and scare tactics? Really? Is this how we fell in love with our own spouses? Is this how our husbands wooed us to the marriage altar? This isn’t love. This is abuse.

I think Christians have loved little, because they forgot how much they were forgiven.

A simple test for ourselves, shall we entertain some scenarios to test our love?

Can we allow ourselves to think of what humility really is? Dying for people who whip you, spit on you, and kill you.

Can we love our enemies and wash the feet of those who doubt us? Asking Father to forgive people who curse us, seek to stone us, and belittle us?

Can we ask Father to forgive our enemies? This is a humbling thought. I have been abused, belittled, rejected, betrayed, certainly nothing like what Christ went through, but I do have enemies. Do I really love them? Could I stoop down to wash their feet?

Someone said recently that perhaps Hitler will be required to wash the feet of those he killed. I imagined that and thought, “Now that would be a nice thought, surely there’s some justice in that.” Then Jesus asked me to imagine Hitler again…could Jews wash Hitler’s feet? Would a Jew wash Hitler’s feet?

Love your enemies.

Powerful thought.

If Jews could humble themselves to wash the feet of Hitler, would Hitler be humbled and realize what love is?

“But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” ~Jesus Christ

Could you wash Hitler’s feet?

“But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” ~Jesus Christ

Or would you demand that he wash yours?

“I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” ~Jesus Christ

Perhaps those that preachers call ‘false converts’ only ‘converted’ because of the scare tactic. Perhaps if they had been loved by humble people of grace, then they would have seen what real love is and been able to respond to love..instead they responded to threats.

Will we be little Christs? Bowing the knee to wash the feet of those who doubt us? Will we love our enemies? Can we forgive the enemies of the cross? Jesus did. He forgave them while they were nailing him to the cross.

Maybe we fear forgiving people, because it would mean we’re no better than they are. Then we would have nothing left to threaten them with. We’ll be free to love. Isn’t that what being a Christian is all about anyway?

{Love}

When I began this article I mentioned how some things are not good to say at the wrong time. So, just go with love. Jesus did.

‘Equally loved’ leads to humility and humility leads to love. Now that’s a revolving door I could jump into. Could you? Or will you be a son of the kingdom in outer darkness?

friends playing by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

Adding this post to Elizabeth Esther’s Saturday Evening Blog Post.

SisterLisa

Filed Under: Agape, Faith, Grace, Persecution
« Older Posts