Drawing a Line in the Sand

There’s only so much we can do in regards to sharing our thoughts and opinions on things while not offending people. Jesus spoke truth yet his words were offensive to many and still are offensive today. People don’t like to be reminded that we’re all equal, because that means they can’t justify why they are ‘better’ than those they look down upon. Jesus confronted the self righteousness and abusive ways of the religious folk in his day and doing so today brings about the same response those folks did back then. Call out a bully in defense of the victim and they accuse you of being judgmental. Accusations like this freeze people from standing up to bullies.

It’s going to be natural that people will differ on doctrines. There are so many perspectives on the bible and it’s evident by the 35,000+ denominations we have today, but what I find interesting about differences is that we have such a difficult time learning how to be gracious in disagreements. It really all comes down to maturity, but even the people we think are mature still battle with fear. Fear is the real enemy. We all suffer from fear, some more often than others. Fear causes people to belittle each other, verbal bomb one another, and even manipulate one another. It’s a trap that renders us impotent. Fear puts us in bondage. This kind of bondage can negatively affect our relationships, our jobs, and our growth as human beings. When this kind of bondage renders us useless to even make positive decisions then we need to re-examine ourselves. I found myself in this position in regards to how I express my faith.

coast by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

I have no problem jumping to the defense of people who are being victimized by bullies, but defending myself against folks who attack me can be quite daunting. Learning when to take the time to expound further on my beliefs and when to ignore people who are just there to attack is something I take seriously. Sometimes I take it so seriously that I don’t know what to do or to say. It’s a good thing we have comment moderation in blogs so I can have time to think about things and get advice from friends before responding.

In my old path of religion we were told not to be ashamed of what we believe. Well, I came to do just that. I came to be ashamed that I followed a religious bully for so long and followed that type of perspective on God. Being bold, as were told to do, with my former beliefs caused me to lose interaction with people I loved. We were assured that we should not be concerned with how others felt about our beliefs, that if they pulled away it was their own problem. Yet the consequences were fractured relationships. In the long run I came to realize that it wasn’t worth it. It wasn’t worth it to lose relationships based on the god and religious bully (who claimed to speak on his god’s behalf) that told me to condemn people to hell then if they walked away it was their own fault. In hindsight, I can see that my views were abusive and the consequence of relationships being fracture wasn’t the fault of my loved ones, it was mine. This is what has played a role in me being paralyzed to express my new path. I’ve been afraid that expressing my all inclusive view of God would push people away and that it would be my fault.

I need to draw a line in the sand for my own sanity and spiritual growth. I don’t like to do this, but if I don’t have a boundary for myself then I will be paralyzed by everyone else’s opinions and I don’t want to be in that kind of bondage. The difference this time is that I will be rejected by viewing God as all forgiving, all merciful, and all loving. Whereas before, I was rejected because I viewed God as limited in forgiveness, limited in mercy, and limited in love. I would rather be rejected for viewing God as all inclusive than for being rejected for viewing God as a religious bully. It’s greater for me to be standing on the side of grace than on the side of condemnation. So if I’m rejected for standing on the side of grace, then I’ll live with that and know that I chose to walk the path of love.

I do hope that people can at least appreciate that I view God with such an outstanding hope, even if they disagree with my view. I want to preserve my relationships, but I refuse to remain in bondage of what bullies think of me.

Sisterlisa

To the Devil

My other letters began with “Dear”, but I can’t honestly use that term with you. I encourage you to read what I had to say to Jesus, to the Christians, and even what I dared to say to God, before you read this letter.

I have a sneaking suspicion that you have been impersonating God for many years. Yes, I’m coming right out with it…an accusation against you. I’m not sure if this is all a part of God’s plan or not, but I see right through your mascaraed. Perhaps God gave you permission, like he did with Job, but I do not see where God ever said you could pretend to be him and frighten the people with your abusive, narcissistic, twisted so called leadership. Maybe I’m wrong in assuming you are behind all the trouble in the world today. If that’s the case, then I apologize, but I just can’t help but to see a really bad misrepresentation of God and I don’t know who else to blame but you.

graveyard by lady_jess, on Pix-O-Sphere
photo credit Lady Jess at Pix-O-Sphere

I’m not to happy with you taunting God about Job. Quite honestly, I’m not too thrilled with God about it either. All of Job’s children had to die because you two just can’t get along. The so called relationship you and God have is quite dysfunctional and I highly recommend that you two get some serious therapy.

But onto another subject. The apostle Paul mentioned that he gave two men over to you for their punishment. So am I to assume that you are the one who does the discipline in this Kingdom? Because if you are, I think you’re falling short. Haven’t you heard of all the false prophets around here? Some Christians claim that you are the one who empowers them, but Paul said you are the one who disciplines people. I just don’t get it. How can you be behind the evil in the world and discipline people for evil deeds at the same time?

Now let me get back to this mascaraed I mentioned above. You see, there’s this guy who claims to be God and he twists all the scriptures around to deceive people into thinking they’re naked, condemns them, and threatens to torture them forever if they don’t accept his so called love. Now, may I remind you that I am a mother. I have 3 daughters and if some guy came along and wanted to marry one of them, but threatened her with eternal torture if she declined his proposal, I would have the guy arrested. There’s no way I would allow my daughters to marry someone under those conditions. Maybe he is ‘a’ god, but he’s certainly not the God I know.

So if that’s you under that knock off God label, then back the heck off! And when I see your devoted followers continually abuse people with that story I’m going to call it what it is, a lie! Oh they won’t like being told that they are following the devil, but even Jesus said the preachers of his day were your sons.

But here’s the way I view God…he has adopted everyone and the gate is wide open and everyone is welcome to come when they’re ready. Yes, that means even the sons of the evil father..they’re adopted. They can enter the palace whenever they’re ready and you won’t be able to stop them.

I think it’s interesting that you have your sons and daughters standing at the open gate trying to tell gays, hookers, and Democrats that they aren’t allowed to enter in until they jump through your religious hoops and statements of beliefs. And no matter how many hours they put into picketing in front of the pearly gates, I’ll keep standing their with a bullhorn announcing the freedom they have to enter in. And while I’m at it, I think it’s extremely hypocritical of you to allow your children to condemn Harry Potter and Lady Gaga.

Again..if that’s not you behind all of that, then my apologies. But as I see it from here, you and God have a very twisted outlook on life. What a mess. And since I know God is probably reading this I’ll just add that I do wonder why the heck I would want into a heaven with such a God. Why would anyone want in there?

Maybe I’m just really confused because of all the so called Christian perspectives in the world. Maybe there’s some cosmic purpose for why us humans experience tragedy in order for joy to be such a triumphant occasion. Maybe you and God weren’t supposed to be literal people/beings for us to interact with or avoid. Maybe it’s all just a really great fable that can speak to us in some kind of mystical way to help us make decisions in this life. Maybe the bible isn’t really an instructional manual to be read on a literal plane. Perhaps it’s possible that we’re all in the Matrix and are mere chess pieces on a checkerboard, waiting to be moved into position.

By the way, don’t puff yourself up, any more than you already have, in thinking you’re equal with God and Jesus to warrant such a letter from me. I have a right to tell you what I think of you. Jesus already has the victory over you..and it’s only a matter of time before more people wake up to see the lies for what they really are. I’m not entirely convinced you’re even a real being and the purpose of this letter is more about me sorting through all the crap I was fed for so many years than it is about thinking you’re a real entity. I also don’t think Christianity, in general, is a ‘being’ or ‘entity’ either, but I will have some words for her another day.

Maybe these letters are helping me to see what some claim to see as well. That viewing all these deities as actual beings can cause a lot of mental health issues. But I have experienced what I believe to be Jesus and I happen to think we’re all connected in some cosmic and mystical way. But I’ll save those thoughts for another time.

Anyway, I have been closing my letters with “Respectfully”, but I am not sure I can honestly say that to you. According to the bible, you have a part in all of this and whatever that role is, I’ll just back away and let you and God sort it all out. You might want to give Jesus a chance. He’s a really good Mediator.

SisterLisa

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Dear Jesus

Dear God

Dear Christians

Dear Pastors

Dear God

Just in case you missed it, I wrote a letter to Jesus and my fellow Christians before I sat down to write to you. Please be sure to let the devil know that I’m not done with writing letters just yet. He has his coming soon.

Allow me to preface this letter with a reminder (not that you need it, but my readers might) about the story of Esther. First of all, her husband, the king, is an idiot. What kind of husband would carry the rule of death  over his own wife if she entered the throne room. Get real! Nevertheless, I admire her courage to boldly go before her king with the problem she and her people was facing. She had to risk her life just to try and save her people. She wasn’t rude at all, she went in humbly and I appreciate that. In the New Testament, in this thing people call the bible, it says we can boldly go before the throne of grace. So with all that in mind, I trust that you are holding out your golden scepter over me as I approach you with something very important to me and my people. I know many will shudder in fear that I am coming to you so frankly, but I have a very difficult time believing you would be wroth with me for doing so when the oppressed people are crying out for help.

Esther courageously informed the king that there was one in his court that was planning to destroy all her people. That was a bold move to make. She made an accusation and from what I understand of the culture in their day, women didn’t flippantly do such a thing out of fear of being physically punished. She was needing to “tattle” on an “authority” in her kingdom. I understand a little about what that feels like. I’ve had to tattle on a few authorities myself. I’ve even questioned how they carry out your laws and I have been shunned and accused of being a heretic.

If this grace that Jesus and Paul spoke of is true, then I walk in the power of that grace as I come to you with my problems. You see, not only do I need to talk with you about some of the things in the bible, but also about what’s going on down here on earth with people who claim to be your spokespeople and under shepherds. But even more than that, I need to talk to you about your anger problem.

I keep thinking that maybe these prophets and leaders were mistaken. I can’t fathom how you would ever command or empower people to kill humans, slaughter women and children, and claim that to be your perfect will. If a man did that today, they’d think the guy was psycho and needing to be locked up in a loony bin. So either the writers of the books in the bible were mistaken or you need a good domestic violence program. I know a few, if you’re interested.

I’ve been a victim of domestic violence and I turned my life around to help other victims as well. I know this might sound odd, but I can’t help but to feel sorry for you. The bible makes you sound like you have self-esteem issues. I’ve experienced jealously before and I know how awful it is to deal with. But what I learned in my own marriage is that I needed to be fully self confident so that jealousy didn’t run my life or throw me into a panic any time a pretty woman walked by my husband. I would think that a perfect God could be more patient..like Edward from Twilight. He was able to keep his cool when Jacob came around to try to seduce and manipulate Bella. Edward didn’t want to bully Bella into a relationship with him. He wanted it to be of her own choosing. He waited patiently for her and loved her dearly even when she was acting foolish. He didn’t get angry at her or threaten to destroy her if she looked at Jacob.

Anyway, I am hoping you’re not really like the writers say you are. Then I came upon one verse in the bible ….that says… “to people who are pure, you show yourself pure and to people who are crooked you ‘seem’ torturous.” And  there  is where I suspect that the writers had some mental health issues and they misunderstood you all those years. Then when Jesus simply said, “Who do you say that I am”, it hit me. I need to be able to know you and Jesus based on my own personal experience, not on how others view you. If I view you based on the crooked people’s observations, then I would have to view you as torturous. Pardon me God, but I have never been tortured by you. There was a time though…that I think I thought you were torturous…which most likely explains more about the people who were teaching me, and myself, than it does about you.

Which leads me to my next complaint. There are people down here who are belittling the brethren and sisters of the Kingdom. They claim to be your spokespeople and under shepherds, but they seem more interested in breaking the legs of the sheep than carrying them to safety. They line their pockets with our house payments with promises that you will provide our needs for us..but more people are losing their homes as they have filled their offering plates with their last penny. I realize that I can’t do anything to stop these so called under shepherds, but perhaps you could give me some power to speak the truth and get the people to listen? They need to be woken up from their hypnotic trances.

In the mean time, as the people begin to wake up, the other blind followers of those crooked leaders turn on us all like a pack of ravenous vampires. It’s worse than watching Underworld. Selene is much easier to deal with than those so called followers of yours. They certainly seem very misguided. I hesitate on asking you to hold them back a bit, they really do need leashes, but I understand that when people see them for what they really are, that it will serve as a caution to never go back.

God, I know people who have been so hurt by these under shepherds and their followers, that they have a very hard time believing in you. These so called leaders have misrepresented you. The people have believed them…that you’re really like what they claim you to be…and therefore they have openly rejected you. I can’t blame them really. You know I wrestled with you a couple of years ago. I had to come to grips with “who do you say that I am” and rest in the grace that Jesus spoke of for me to be able to even want to still have you in my life. And even to this day… I have a serious problem with how you are portrayed in the Old Testament. I can’t accepted that you really had such a violent temper, that you needed Jesus to jump in front of us as you came at us like a freight train and you ended up accepting his death just so you wouldn’t destroy us. Because quite frankly, God..if that really is you, then I don’t think you are worthy of worship. Could it be possible that all the glorious things that were said about “God” in the Old Testament was really Jesus in charge while you were on vacation? Did he step in when you weren’t looking? Because what some writers said about “God” sure doesn’t match what other writers said about “God”.

Is it possible that you and Jesus are a bit like that guy in Batman who goes by the name Two-Faced? Or how about Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde? It’s just really tough to try to make sense out of you. Maybe it’s more about us than it is about you. Maybe all of us humans just really struggle with who we are and that’s why we can’t see you as perfect..because we aren’t perfect. In the times we are weak and crooked in our thinking..you seem to be a torturous God. I’d rather see the pure God all the time…but I don’t have a pure mind all the time. And even though I know Jesus is my righteousness..I’m still a fallible human.

This is where I’m probably going to get way too close to that slippery slope everyone keeps talking about. But you are so complex that my human mind splinters while trying to figure you out. So maybe that’s why people worship lesser gods and goddesses. Or maybe they aren’t really lesser…but just individual personas of you. Maybe this makes it easier for people to approach you. The bible does indicate in numerous places that there ARE other gods and goddeses. I know there were a few that you weren’t exactly fond of, but you didn’t say much about the other ones. I mean… I know you have that jealousy problem, but what is their to be jealous of? Surely you aren’t actually jealous of Molech. He’s really creepy. I think I can understand you being jealous of Athena though, she’s really pretty. And Diana..wow, she’s a warrior woman.

Here’s the thing about jealousy though, if you are so magnificent, then you don’t have anything to worry about. People will figure out who you really are and make up their own minds. But if you really think that destroying them if they don’t choose you is the best way to go, then I feel sorry for you. I love my children and I would never destroy them if they lived their whole lives rejecting me. I love them more than that. Because true love doesn’t destroy people, it sets them free.

Anyway, whoever is giving those uneducated spokespeople power to speak in your name.. don’t mind me when I push back. I just won’t continue to tolerate such behavior against my own brothers and sisters of humanity.

I know for a fact that I experienced Jesus..he revealed himself to me when I was quite young..before I ever read the bible. I just knew. But you…I’ve never really had a ‘revelation’ of you the way I had of Jesus. I know people say you and Jesus are One…but that’s a difficult concept for me to comprehend. I was told that you understand us, that through Jesus, you/Jesus know what it’s like to be human. But do you know what it’s like to be a female? I haven’t found any stories that depict you as experiencing cramps and my menstrual cycle has been giving me hell lately (pun intended). So maybe you have experienced a ‘type’ of menstrual cycle and labor pains in the spiritual realm..but if you’re going to reveal yourself as a human to show us you understand what it’s like to be human, then shouldn’t you have had to be pregnant and give birth? I would think you would need to experience engorgement and blocked milk ducts. It’s really quite painful, especially when the baby bites. It also seems to me that you would need to come to earth as a teenage girl with weight issues and small breasts, because the bullying us girls go through is awful. Please don’t patronize us females when you say “I understand”. Pardon my boldness, but I don’t think you do. Unless you have been a female like we are, then how can you say you understand how we feel?

Then I come to the cross where Jesus died and he said to one of his disciples, “Behold your mother” and Mary wasn’t really this guy’s mom. Could the Catholics be onto something when they honor Mary so much? Was that you in female form? There certainly is a lot in the bible about honoring both father and mother. And how could you have a son without a wife? Mary certainly knew what it was like to be pregnant and have rumors spread about her. A virgin, pregnant? Ya right. She must have been the laughing stock of her town. That’s a lot of pressure for a teenage girl to go through in such a patriarchal society that lived by the Law and oppressed women as less than. Ok so this is starting to sound more like a rant and I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but I’m just talking to you from my heart, sharing my feelings, and I was told I could talk to you like I talk to anyone else.

Maybe the stories about you sound more like a human man with self esteem issues because it shows us how to just be who we are, human. That it’s normal to wrestle with who we are, experience all that goes on in this life, suffer and be joyful all in the same week. Maybe you’re more like we are than we thought. Perhaps we just don’t understand how to be what we were created to be, humans with needs and longings, heartaches, and enlightenment. Maybe it’s easier to be a human when we see that even God struggles with being perfect.

At any rate, I’m glad I can come to you just as I am. As you can tell, I have been told many things about you that just don’t make sense. Thank you for your patience while I try to sort all these things out.

Respectfully,

p.s. Don’t forget to let the devil know that he’s next…. and I’m taking the gloves off for that one.

Defending Grace May Not Always Appear as Gracious

The admonishment to be gracious can sometimes be overwhelming. We wrestle with giving the kindest response, because something within us triggers a knee jerk reaction to some things. Maybe we can stop trying to defend our own perceived righteousness and start really defending grace.

But does grace need to be defended?

Maybe it’s people who are resting under grace that need to be defended so they CAN rest. Wounded people ‘die’ inside due to the building pressure to be perfect in man’s eyes. They need a place to rest. But Law givers stalk them into the abode of peace and rip it right out from under them when they insist they get back on their feet and run in the race of ‘be perfect’.

Sometimes a sharp rebuttal against legalism can sound terrifying, but a legalistic teacher doesn’t usually respond to a meek silent plea for grace. Even Paul needed to have a blinding light strike him to get his attention. It was then that the Lord said, “Why do you kick against the pricks?”

I don’t often call out those that I believe are false teachers here on my blog. Those ‘popular pastors’ could care less what I think, but when a teaching leans into law and hate I just can’t sit idle and say nothing about it. To take a stand for wounded people who are being misled into a trap of bondage is risky business. Anytime one exposes a lie and introduces grace, the onslaught begins.

Proclaiming grace is risky business.

Standing in the gap to protect the wounded and shouting, “Back off!” may not appear to be very gracious. I’m not sure Jesus was exactly gracious in the temple either…when he over turned the tables and chased those ‘popular pastors’ right out of that building.

The plea for justice is twisted in today’s society, especially among Christianity. Many people think God’s justice is the same as theirs…the desire for never ending torture by fire. But many of them reject water boarding of terrorists and defend the right to live for babies who may or may not grow up to be Christians. Go figure.

When a wounded person lies ‘bleeding’ on the ground, stolen from, lied to, neglected, and their will to live is so stifled by their pain that they can’t even whisper a plea for grace, it’s us who needs to stand up and say something!

Back off!

fireworks by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

God’s justice is that the spiritual consequences for sin has been COVERED! Jesus is the person of justice. He brought the balance. Justice is not a form of extremism to bring about torture for humans who can’t do a single thing about their sin. Justice is that Jesus already took care of it. People have been called Christians because they are supposed to be ‘little Christ’s’ to the world. We are to be ‘little justice lights’ who put their feet down and insist the penalty has already been paid. We are to uphold the banner of grace, that Jesus already declared, over these humans wounded by the first Adam.

We are free in this kingdom of God, the banner is held high, and His grace is ours to claim.

Don’t even think about trying to tear down this banner of love, or you’ll have quite a fight on your hands.

That fight may not look or sound very gracious, and I think Jesus understands that.

Does God Really Hate Us?

After being under a patriarchy ministry for 15 years, I had come to the place where I felt so utterly unworthy to even be alive. The legalism that constantly pointed out sin in us and the world around us got to be too much to live under…I was dying inside. For me to be able to live through a sermon, I had to ignore it and doodle or make shopping lists, sometimes I was busy scribbling down verse of uplifting passages to myself. If we sat a child down and told them how awful they were and pointed out everything they were doing wrong, that child’s thirst to live would be parched. In some states, it would be considered mental and emotional abuse on a child. So why do adults put themselves under such horrific discouraging teachings?

Some people have such a twisted sense of God’s justice, it makes me ill. I can’t fathom ever sitting through another ‘semon’ where I’m yelled at, demeaned, belittled, and told God hates me. He’s the one who allowed sin to enter the world as it is, let alone now hate us for something He allowed in the first place?

Imagine for a moment that I set out an open dish of Hershey’s Kisses on the table in front of a 2 year old child. Now I’ll tell the child that she can eat anything in the kitchen she wants, just not these chocolates. I step out of their view and watch her eat 3 kisses and hide the wrappers. I watched the child do this. I did not stop the child. It’s a total set up, a test. Now I enter the room again and yell at the child that she’s a stupid little sheep and full of awful sin for her choices. Now lets say my husband enters the room and says he’ll pay the penalty for our daughter’s choice. Now, I accept the father’s payment as “paid in full” so the girl is not held responsible for her choice. Now, for the next 18 years, I’ll continue to belittle the child, tell her how awful she is, tell her I HATE her choice back then when she was 2.

Sounds like an unforgiving parent to me. Afterall, the father paid her debt.

Didn’t he?

This is the kind of Christianity that seems to be sweeping the nation…and leaving a trail of wounded people bleeding on the road side and gasping for breath.

We don’t have to listen to this kind of unforgiving hatred being perpetrated by these so called pastors.

The apostle Paul said “let each man be convinced in his OWN MIND.”

Do we really think God is holding our sin against us when Jesus already paid for it?

We either believe Jesus paid it all or we don’t.

Are we using his name in vain, claiming him to be Savior, but denying the power thereof?

Remember what God said to Adam and Eve? “Who told you that you were naked?”

It’s the adversary that stands at the gates accusing the brethren.

It’s one thing to confront someone who has stolen from you, it’s quite another thing to attempt to accuse people of ‘sin’ when they already have their sin covered.

There’s a HUGE difference between approaching a friend, in love, to help them in an area that is harming themselves or their loved ones…and telling Christians that God hates their sin. If a person claims Christ as Savior, then they believe Jesus is covering their sin…..which means the person standing in accusation of them is an unbeliever. I don’t care if the person claims to be a Christian or has a title of “pastor”. I don’t care if he’s written a bazillion books of commentary on the bible. It’s a very bold and ignorant person who tells a blood-washed child of God that Jesus isn’t actually covering their sin.

We can be corrective with people we love when it’s necessary and when we have discernment that the timing is right. But to use a blanket statement of “God hates you” or “God hates your sin” is loaded language. This kind of verbal assault is not meant to lift you up into his heavenly throne to be embraced with his grace. It’s the kind of language that slaughters a person in the very sight of Jesus Christ. Do we forget so quickly that it’s the kindness of God that leads people to change their minds about him?

So the next time you see a video, read a book or blog, or sit through a church service that belittles you and makes you feel awful for something you can’t do anything about…walk away and don’t believe what they’re saying.

Sunrise On The Blue Ridge Mountains by goose, on Pix-O-Sphere

{photo credit Laura Geese}

Because Jesus already has you covered. I pray we’ll all believe this and be free from this condemnation coming from the ‘men of the cloth’.

1st Church of the Dolphins

While my family was on vacation to Southern California, we visited Huntington Beach with the children. We ran along the shore, splashing sea foam with our toes and jumping in the waves. We were having a blast! Just off the shore about a hundred yards or so we sighted wild dolphins frolicking together. They were playing with the pelicans and seemed to be having a grand time and I stood there..listening to the Spirit as the wind caressed my face with salty kisses from above and in that stillness of the moment it dawned on me that I would never want to force those dolphins into an aquarium. How could I possibly bring myself to force them into captivity when they were already enjoying the home they were born into?

Ironically, we also visited Sea World in San Diego while we were down in Southern California. We got to see many animals in captivity, although these were animals who had once been injured and were safest with professionals who could care for them at the park.

dolphins sea world by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

I thought deeply about this and realized how ridiculous it would be of anyone to tell the wild dolphins that they must join the aquarium in order to be the safest. While the dolphins in captivity certainly are safe, that doesn’t mean the aquarium is the best place for a healthy, wild dolphin.

Some may think the wild dolphins are in danger since they do have some natural predators, add to that the fishing nets they get tangled in, but that doesn’t mean they should leave their natural habitat. With all this in mind I began thinking about us, as spiritual people. I was thinking about how many times people in churches are so fearful for those outside of church. Especially believers who do not belong to a specific church family. This doesn’t mean that those outside of church are at fault for not going to church. They are no more prone to dangers than those who do attend a church.

Folks who attend church have their routine set in stone, they have their activities, get together opportunities, support, and more..yet there are those who find the church system sorely lacking..for them. They desire something fresh, new, alive for their journey..and so what do they do? Where do they gather? How do they worship?

Although the book of Hebrews says not to forsake the gathering together, it does not specify how they gathered and what they did while they gathered. For anyone to dictate that we ought to gather in the hierarchy structure we see in churches today, would be quite a stretch of the imagination. There is nothing in the Bible to indicate they gather wrongly, just as there is nothing written that says gathering in another way would be wrong.

It has often been said by many theologians that we can learn about God through nature. While many clergy today might refute that in favor of their structured traditions, it is still true that we can hear teaching directly from God without a clergy telling us what God says to us.

Over the last couple of years a new movement has been growing called, the Organic Church. While at first the idea caught my attention, I’ve been keeping my eye on it and discovering that the very thing they claimed we had the freedom to depart from is forming within their own house gatherings. I’m not going to criticize them, as we all have the freedom to gather as we so desire, but for those who are interested in not getting back into such a routine, I will begin to share more about living an organic life of faith.

Perhaps the wild dolphins are their own church..the 1st Church of the Dolphins? Yes, it’s humorous, but think about it. Dolphins are in their own pods, usually the ones they are born into. They don’t all gather in the same pods, nor do they swim the same oceans. They aren’t out to try and make sharks into dolphins or put a suit and tie on the lead dolphin and worship him. They simply enjoy life together. You may also find them helping mankind or other animals from time to time. Dolphins have been known to circle swimmers to keep them safe as sharks approach. They simply respond as needed at the appointed times.

Isn’t that what living an organic life of faith all about? Responding as we can at just the right time, as the need arises?

But who teaches the dolphins how to be good dolphins?

How does a Christian learn to be a good Christian? Is there such a thing as a good Christian? What makes one a good Christian as opposed to a bad Christian?

Aren’t we all equally sinful yet equally redeemed?

In the wild, the lead dolphins are the ones who can protect the pods the best. It has nothing to do with teaching out of a book or who wears the most ‘goldy’ clothing. It also has nothing to do with who gets to tell all the other dolphins what to do. They live life as a team, a family…and in the wild. May we take a lesson or two, …or three… from the 1st Church of the Dolphins.

dolphins by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

This article has been added to the Organic Faith Tour

Also from the Tour:
Coffee, Love, and Grace from Hillary McFarland
To Love Simply by Sisterlisa

Offering Living Water to Pagans

I often think about how the four gospels and following epistles might have been worded had they been written in our time than way back then. Jesus often rebuked the self righteous Pharisees for thinking they were better than the ‘sinning’ Jews and the heathens they so adamantly opposed. Recalling how the Jews weren’t allowed to talk to the Samaritans, but Jesus didn’t let that get in his way of offering living water to the woman at the well.

In my town there is a large fountain in the town square and on Thursday nights you can go to the Farmer’s Market for shopping, feasting, and entertainment. I wonder if Jesus were sitting on one of those benches and a pagan witch were to walk by… would he have the same conversation with her that he had with the Samaritan? A free offer to drink of living water. Because she is so dearly loved. He gave her an open invitation.

town square in Chico Ca by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

{photo credit Sisterlisa at Pix-O-Sphere}

What if the town deacons came dragging a woman across the pavement insisting she was found in an adulterous act.. I wonder if he would confront these men and ask why they were watching. (Why did they not drag the adulterous men out too?)

Would the local church goers picket the town square with “heretic” signs as Jesus lounged on the grass, watching the stars with the homeless and the Wiccans?

(Would He find Christian women serving cocoa or dishing up hateful blog posts filled with condemnation?)

Time and time again we see Jesus challenging these self righteous folks with grace, mercy, and love. It seems that they didn’t know much about these things.

Matthew 23:1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, 3 so practice and observe whatever they tell you—but not what they do. For they preach, but do not practice. 4 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.

In today’s world we see some Christians preach grace, but they do not extend it to those outside their inner circle of friends. Do as they say, not as they do?

But there’s this thing people call ‘defending the faith’, but are they really defending faith or are they defending religion?

They have ‘standards’ that they believe God wants them to adhere to, and that’s just fine for THEIR family, but to insist that others adhere to their standards is out of line. 1 Corinthians 13 says that love does NOT insist on it’s own way.

Some Christians are so afraid of anything they conjure up as sin, that they can’t even tolerate being seen with those who ‘commit such acts’, or even have their blogs listed on the same blog roll. (I used to follow that line of thinking too.) The church I came out of refused to fellowship with other Christian churches because they didn’t use the KJV Bible and the women in the other churches wore pants.

Petty.

I can understand abstaining from hanging out at the drug dealer’s house while he and his buddies snort lines of crank. I can understand not having a beer with the pimp as he smacks his women around. I can understand taking a stand about protecting children from sex trafficking.

Then there are things we can be tolerant of and we should grow and mature in Christ so that we can see Him manifest in us in difficult situations.

Why should the light be hidden under a bush when it can be set on a hill?

“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.”

Some are afraid of letting their light shine, maybe it’s because they’re afraid of who will come close and want to know more. Maybe they are so afraid of who ‘in sin’ would come near them. Kind of like how the street light attracts all the bugs in town.

I’m glad Jesus didn’t follow that line of thinking.

He willingly died to set us free from all that fear.

While we were all ‘in sin.’

And just because we happened to believe in Jesus now, doesn’t mean we are somehow better than those who haven’t believed yet.

Knowing that we were chosen by God doesn’t make us an elite people, it makes Him an elite God. An elite God who loves and lavishes us with grace through His Son. The moment we believed, we were entered into a partaker’s journey with Him. He begins to show us how to actually apply grace to difficult situations. We become peculiar people. Peculiar because we stand by the side of one who is oppressed and judged by self righteous folks.

How can any believer in Christ ever condemn someone who hasn’t had a revelation of this glorious grace yet?

Lets get off our high horses and put down that picket sign that says,

“My sin isn’t as bad as yours is.”

We all miss the mark and Jesus hit the mark for us ALL.

He gives us all an OPEN invitation.

He obliterated the dividing walls that kept people away from approaching the throne of our Creator.

Jesus bridged the gap and we can all come drink of the water of life, freely.

Yes, it’s shocking..I know..the heretics can come to God because of Jesus. No amount of religious standards can shun them from the throne of grace. The gays can come to God because of Jesus. No picket line of hate signs can stop them from worshiping the Father. The inmates at the local county jail can come to God because of Jesus. No iron bars can stop them from communing with their Abba. The pagans can come freely to the Creator and no amount of crosses or holy water can keep them back. (I pray we can all put such superstitions away from us.)

And last of all, the self righteous Christians can come to the Alpha and Omega and no amount of religion or law keeping can stop them…unless they allow it to.

And for anyone else to abstain from coming to God, may it be because of their own inner struggles and not because some self righteous snobby fear-laden Christians ridiculed them, belittled them, or condemned them from doing so.

1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

Jesus fulfilled the Law. He HIT the mark right on the spot! Filled to the brim and running over with grace.

Please my dear sisters and brothers, do not attempt to hinder people, you deem as unworthy, from coming to know this glorious Creator and his unending love. It is because our Lord was found worthy that they can all come to God. It’s also not very edifying to assume that just because someone doesn’t make a public profession of faith in Christ, or that they don’t use Christianeze lingo, that they don’t understand and know the Creator.

And until they do, we are commanded to love them.

Maybe we need to go back to kindergarten to re-learn a few things.

If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.

Live by the golden rule.

Play nice.

If not, then back away and go sit in the corner.

Many blessings and positive thoughts to the pagan moms in the running in the Circle of Moms Top 25 blogs of faith.

Many thanks to the Christian moms who have responded to the recent drama (surrounding some less than edifying blog posts) ..with grace. It’s not always easy to go against the grain, but then again, grace does that sort of thing without worrying what other people think.

Many times women are misunderstood, but once we can re-remove the veil (that Jesus already ripped in half), then we can begin to see a spark of love that our splinter filled eyes had missed before.

Galatians 5:14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

p.s. I’m personally thankful for the night my 24 year old boyfriend didn’t oppress me from God when I (at the age of 19) was frying on acid and asking about God and heaven. Yes, that was my most profound revelation that all that talk about heaven was actually real. Had he stood outside his home with a picket sign or had been writing up a condemning blog post about people who take drugs, I would never have felt comfortable asking him about God. He showed me grace. (Not that he could condemn me. He was a Christian high on pot.) My point is this, condemning people doesn’t attract folks to Christ.

It’s the kindness of God that leads us to change our minds about Him.

Be At Peace, As Much As It Depends On You

I was hesitant on stating some of my beliefs about specific denominations, because undoubtedly there would be those who would leave comments of hate over my public disagreement about some things. No matter what I say I believe or don’t believe, there’s going to be opposition. Our human nature seems to drink the blood of opposition. Our nature craves it so much that so many are willing to suck the life out of us in hopes that we will all some day succumb to their way of thinking instead of thinking on our own two feet.

I had some heated comments come in over the weekend on an article where I asked for prayer for folks who are remaining in abusive types of churches. How a prayer request spawned a man’s desire to get into a belief debate is quite perplexing, but over the course of a few more comments I could see where he was going.

When a person leaves a style of church that demands their way is the only way, or even the ‘more right way’, there are bound to be some dogmas that they still hold to. I have no problem with a healthy respectful debate and deeper study of the Bible, but the attitude that goes along with some of that can get quite exhausting both mentally and emotionally. Not only do people cling to some dogmas, but the attitude in which they express those beliefs is of the same spirit from the place they left.

I have been a part of a few different ‘support groups’ over the last couple of years, where the commonality was that they all had come of the same style of churches. If you happen to share an encouraging verse from the KJV, you were asked to refrain from using that version. The reason is that they were so forced to take the KJV as if it is God himself and to use any other version would be a hell-sentence. Mentioning a fictional book might land you in the hot seat as they peck your eyes out and string you up for a lashing of 40 whips of the tongue.

And they wonder why people leave the faith entirely.

The controlling spirit in the flesh that seeks to demand that we all conform to one train of thought, supervised by one central leader who claims to have the ‘right’ interpretation of the Bible is a recipe for disaster.

Nevertheless, some of the comments made on my blog are taken seriously and although I hold some of them in moderation, I do talk it over with my husband. He is my best friend and we are equal in Christ. We share our faith with one another and we dont’ always agree 100% and that’s a good thing. It helps us to keep studying things out and we are a good balance for each other.

So we were discussing the comments made by one man and came to the conclusion that he still holds to the idea that he has figured out what is ‘wrong’ with ‘some’ things in a specific style of church, while he still holds to other things and that is certainly his freedom. His request of me was to ‘prove’ my disagreement with that circle of teachings.

I understand that it’s difficult to discern if text on my computer screen, in a comment section, are hostile or not. Sometimes we have no idea how calm a person really is on the other end, but this one seemed to rise in hostility and arrogance with each new comment.

He is passionate about what he believes and so am I.

We’re obviously not going to agree.

Then I get comments on Facebook from people who say things like,

“For a woman of God you sure don’t speak often enough of the Gospel”

“I just thought that someone who claims to be a spiritual leader would …”

I find this interesting, because I do speak of Christ… quite often in fact. I also NEVER claimed to be a spiritual leader.

Those who have expressed that they specifically view me as a leader have been critics, not devoted followers.

I don’t have ‘devoted followers’ and I don’t want any.

I do, however, enjoy having friends that can walk with one another in faith and encourage each other in Christ.

We are equals in the Body.

Some have varying degrees of patience with each other, but we are still a part of the family of God.

There are times when I share my faith, what I believe and don’t believe , as well as what I view as healthy or unhealthy in relationships and that is my freedom to speak of such things.

If we agree, then so be it. If we disagree, let’s talk it out. I’m not opposed to learning something new from a friend.

The Bible is a complex document passed down over the centuries that people from all walks of life view differently.

If it was so simple we would have so many disagreements.

We can have what we think is the ‘right doctrine’, but if we don’t have love..we’re nothing but noise pollution.

I’m not looking for people to blindly agree with me or to attempt to create another organized religion, but if you’d like to be encouraged to live free then I’d like to walk with you and enjoy this life together.

Romans 12:18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. (ESV)

friendship by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

{photo credit Sisterlisa @ Pix-O-Sphere}

Sisterlisa

When Mothering Needs Healing

Not all families have a Mrs. Cleaver as a mom and to expect our moms, or ourselves as moms, to be Mrs. Cleaver would be a tragedy. We don’t choose our moms, we are born to them without our consent. Mothering is a sacred calling. Many times I have heard people say they wish they had someone else’s mom as their mother, but they have no idea what her children say about their upbringing in her home. There have been other moms in the church that many teens wished was their mom, but what they didn’t know was those women had problems with drug addiction, financial irresponsibility, or were emotionally abusive to her own kids. We never know what another mom is really like, all we see is what each mom wants us to see.

Each family grows up with the mom that was appointed to them and we can either reject them or embrace them. I find embracing them to be much healthier than rejecting them, but there certainly are some instances when it’s best to walk away if the mom is causing a lot of turmoil in your life, but use wisdom and grace in doing so.

I don’t often speak openly about my upbringing with my mom, because we had many rough years. My mom has shared her testimony of alcoholism from time to time, but she hasn’t decided to make her testimony a very big part of her life and I respect that. However difficult those years were, (she went into recovery when I was 16) she is the mom God appointed me to. I don’t wish my years growing up would have been any different. The journey our family went through together was difficult at times, but there were many good times as well. Those rough years were used to form my life into a vessel that now ministers to families going through the same things. God has taken our cracked lives and put his Light in and made us into Lamps.

All moms make mistakes and sometimes we think we’re making the right decisions only to find out later our best decisions wounded our kids without us knowing. My 15 year journey through legalism was turning me into an awful mean spirited mom and I thank God that he pulled us out when He did. Each family has it’s dysfunctions and God’s power is made strong in our weaknesses. I am thankful for the mistakes my parents, and my husband and I as parents, have made over the years. Those mistakes gave way so Jesus could pick us up and show us His grace in our parenting.

The journey our families now have through healing is creating stronger ties in our lives and we’re moving forward in life with profound glimpses into the Kingdom life Christ created for us and opened our eyes to.

Maybe there are some things you have not been happy about with your mom. I pray you can find peace in God, healing is in His wings. There’s an abundant life for us to enjoy and sometimes trials are a part of this journey. Over the years I have been able to look back and see just how beautiful the journey really has been. Blessings to all the mothers out there.

gerber daisies by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

SisterLisa