Scandalous

Occasionally a couple of my friends and myself will have controversial conversations about current events or "trending" topics. Today one of them started off with the following link (click here). To understand this post you must first read the link, if you just read this with out reading that... well you might be confused.

A Christian university that has an LGBT group, how does that translate according to biblical standards/principles? Here is my take on it, and a few quotes of theirs.

Biblically homosexuality is a sin, so is sex before marriage, taking God's name in vain, dishonoring one's parents, and the list keeps going. These things are "normal" and accepted in our world today. Scripture says we are born into sin (Psalm 51:5 "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me."). We are not born Christians. We are born with a desire to be sinful. We want to rebel against our parents and other authority; we want to swear and drink and have premarital sex... Everything we aren't supposed to do is what we want to do. It literally takes an act of God to change us. People are tempted in different ways. Jesus, for example, fasted for 40 days. Satan tempted Him with turning a rock into bread to meet His physical needs (Matthew 4:1-11). Satan tempted Him in His weakest moment. When we are hungry or desperate for something we will do almost anything to get that thing, whatever "it" is. In 1991 a woman hired a hit man to kill her daughter's cheerleading rival to insure her own daughter would be on the cheerleading squad. Not all people's sin is that open, but when God comes in and truly changes someone's life, they are changed forever.

Think about it this way, if your co-worker/friend/spouse/etc runs in and says, "I'm so sorry I am late! I just got hit by a semi-truck and it took forever to get out of there." You would not believe him. Why is that? Because that person would look drastically different, and would possibly be dead. When someone is changed by God he will not appear the same. The physical appearance may not change but everything else about the person begins to change. If someone has homosexual tendencies and then comes to know the Lord that person will be changed. It may not be immediate, but change takes place in that person's life. The more this person spends time with the Lord the more the person sees that it is not spiritually natural to have that desire. Then the person will begin to seek God even more for Him to transform his heart. The person begins to want to desire what God desires. Christ's purpose was to spread the gospel and make His name known throughout the world. His second command to Adam and Eve was to be fruitful and multiply and fill the Earth. Why were they to do this? What was the point? It was to spread the name of the Lord. They knew what was good and evil. There were only two options, good and evil. It was not good and bad, rather good and evil.

Sin is evil. When we lie, that is evil. When we get drunk, that is evil. When we... do anything that goes against God's law, it is evil. God is perfectly forgiving. God is also perfectly just. Think about it this way, if a convicted murderer was called in by a judge and was told he was being set free. He was forgiven of his charges and was free to go. Everyone (and they mama) would be in an uproar. We would call that judge all sorts of crazy things. So why should we expect the same from God? God sent His Son to die for each of us so that we might have hope in Him. As a Christian/Follower of Christ we are to look different than the world. We are not to go out of our way to look different, but we are not to be of this world. We are just living in it temporarily until we are allowed to go "home". We are citizens of heaven, if we are followers of Christ. As a citizen of heaven our citizenship looks much different than those of the world. Homosexuality, sexual immorality, etc. fit into that category as well. Although we are not to participate in such, we are called to love them. There is a time to rebuke and a time to love. We can still love others while recognizing their actions are sinful. Many people believe that by thinking something is wrong we have to push our own agenda on others, even if we think that agenda is "the right one". Christ did not do that. He loved others and shared truth with them. He was the harshest on the religious people (read the New Testament to see more on this and what He said to the Pharisees).

I, like everyone else, am very sinful. Do people treat me like a leper or stand outside my house with signs and shouting things at me? No. Why should we be doing that to people who claim homosexuality? Shouldn't we show them love and respect? John 8:2-11 talks about the woman caught in adultery.

"Early in the morning He came again to the temple. All the people came to Him, and He sat down and tuaght them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to Him, 'Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do You say?' This they said to test Him, that they might have some charge to bring against Him. Jesus bent down and wrote with His finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask Him, He stood up and said to them, 'Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.' And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before Him. Jesus stood up and said to her, 'Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?' She Said, 'No one, Lord.' And Jesus said, 'Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.'"


He did not condemn her, He loved her. In His love for her He let her go and told her to "sin no more". We do not have the authority to tell others "go and sin no more" but we have the ability to love and respect. I was not there so I cannot tell you the level of His compassion or the depth of His kindness. I can tell you that scripture shows that He loved her enough to protect her from the harm of others and the harm of herself. If we are called to be like Christ (Christian means little Christ), aren't we called to love like Christ? Aren't we called to respect? Aren't we called to tell others about Christ? Yes.

Recently there was an article published about a pastor in North Carolina. This particular pastor told his congregation if their children start showing signs of homosexuality they should "beat" them. This is not what God has called us to. Christ washed the feet of the man who would betray Him. He ate with tax collectors and prostitutes. When was the last time you spoke to someone who was highly hated in your community? When was the last time you offered to eat a meal with a prostitute or someone society looks down upon?

In the community group I attend we spoke about lepers. Not just leprous people but people we consider outcasts in society. Think about who you consider an outcast and pray for them. Not just pray for them but take actions that show Christ love to them. Our community group leader asked us what do those around us begin to believe about us when we start reaching out to the "lepers" of our society? After thinking about it I said, "we become the lepers". We really do, it is not common practice to treat others with love and respect when we do not like what they are doing or when they are not doing what society approves of.

I dare you, reach out to your local leper. We are sinful, we are born into sin. So why not love the other sinners and treat them the way Christ did?

"It ain't gonna be easy, but nothing worth it ever is."

Walking through the living room I heard two men on a television show talking. The only part of the conversation I heard was one man telling another “It ain’t going to be easy.” The other man replies back, “Nothing worth it ever is.”  Wow! Such words of wisdom from, well I have no idea what show it was from because I was just passing through, but powerful none-the-less. This phrase has echoed through my mind for the past few months. I see it played out often and have used it when talking to friends about things going on in their lives. I have used it when applying things to my own life. Nothing worth it is ever easy. Think about the things you value or find worth in …  Your spouse? Your kids? Your best friend? Your job? Your … anything else. Marriage is hard! Not that I know from experience but I know second hand knowledge. Having friends who are married and tell me about the struggles of marriage, “it ain’t easy.” Friends that have kids, and well, my poor poor parents. Having kids is not an easy thing, yet it is worth it to raise them and to love them. Having a best friend is not easy. Anything where there is more than just you, well it is not going to be easy. But think about the friendships or relationships you value the most … how many arguments or disagreements or frustrations have you endured? You look back now and most likely say, “It was worth it.”

We do not fight for things if we do not think they are worth it to us. I look back on some of the arguments I have had in the past and even the things I have spent my money on and ask my self why I thought it was worth it. Ecclesiastes (the entire book) shows us that everything outside of living for Christ is “striving after the wind.” Keeping that in mind, reevaluating things that are worth it seem rather difficult to me. What is worth the money? What is worth the time? What is worth the effort? And so on and so forth. I am reading a book, Every Woman’s Battle, and in this book it poses the question “what are you storing up in your heart?” About a week ago, or so, our pastor mentioned the same question in his sermon, “what are you storing up in your heart?” (I think God has been trying to get me to reevaluate some things in my life, what do you think? J). Both my pastor and the author are getting at the same thing, the entertainment (movies, books, music, television, internet, hobbies, etc) that I watch/listen to/read/etc are all storing up in my heart. The overflow of the mouth comes from the heart. Am I showing Christ’s likeness from my mouth? If not, the worldliness escaping my lips are proof of what I hold as valuable.

We as people store up what we find the most valuable. There are people that collect Star Wars memorabilia and they count that as their most prized possession. Others stock pile their money, money is what they value most. Some hang on to pictures because they value the memories. Everyone has something they find valuable. Yet, is your most prized possession worth it? Is it worth the difficulty? Men lose their families because they become workaholics thinking more money will make their family happy and satisfied. The original intent was not bad, they value their family and want to take care of them yet they lose sight of their kids needing a dad and their wife needing a husband. They lost sight of the original commitment. Their idea of value somehow was switched and they now seek financial gain as their sense of security completely taking their eyes off “the prize,” Christ. Christ saw us as something so valuable and so worth it that He came to earth, was born in a smelly manger, lived a poor and humble life for 33 years, was crucified, and died. All because He believed that something so worth it would not be easy. He paid the ultimate sacrifice so that we could have a chance at knowing Him. Not just that, but scripture says that He being man was tempted in every way. He was tempted by anger, He was tempted with financial gain … get this He was even tempted with lust and sexual desire. Yet, He overcame it all. He lived a perfectly sinless life. He saw YOU as something so worth it that He would fight the fight for you, even 2,000 years ago so YOU could have a chance to come to know Him.

Christ knows that following Him is not easy. He knows that we are going to be tempted by things. Following Christ is not easy, but oh is it so very worth it! Living for Christ is the only thing that is truly worth anything. We cannot take our money, clothes, material possessions, entertainment, etc with us when we die. NO! It is temporary. We can only take with us the things we have stored up for eternity. Scripture tells us that all our words and deeds will be put to the test by fire. It says that all things of hay and stubble will be burned up but all things of gold and silver will come through. What do you see when you look at your life? God created us to glorify Him. Glorifying Him “ain’t gonna be easy, but nothing worth it ever is.”

Is what you are living for really worth living for?

Sand Paper People

Everyone of us have our "sandpaper" people. You know what I mean, the kind of person that no matter how nice they are or what they do they rub you the wrong way. To be honest, and I hate to admit it, but I have a sandpaper person and come to think of it, I am probably someone's sandpaper person. There is this girl who is super sweet but she just rubs me the wrong way. I hear her name and cringe at the thought of a conversation with her. But the thing is God's word tells me to love people. That is it, that is the command: to love.

For if you love those who love you what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

- Matthew 5:46

God's command to love has no criteria. Wait, I take that back. He says, "love your neighbor as yourself." That is a pretty hefty command. Sadly, I love myself alot. I would do anything to keep myself safe and comfortable. But then I read how I am called to love people. And then I read how if I am only loving those who love me I am doing nothing. It matters not if I love those who love me. That is easy. Since when is walking with God known as easy.

For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?

-James 2:2-7

Basically God's word tells me that if I love those that look good on the outside and who are easy to love, I am just sticking to what is easy. Seriously, since when is following Christ a breeze? He makes claims that He was hated first so we know that if we are following Him, we will be hated too. That doesn't sound like puppies and rainbows to me. We are called to live at peace with others.

If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

-Romans 12:18

What does it look like to live that out? It may look different for everyone. For me, with my sand paper girl it was a little different than what even I expected. This particular person is planning to do a summer mission. She sent out letters for support and I was one of the ones who received her letter. When I received the letter I wasn't quite sure what to do. My first thought was sadly, "oh crap, this means I have to meet with her." Then it was as if God Himself spoke to me and said, "Yes, yes you will have to meet with her. Not just that but I want you to financially and prayerfully supoort her. It is not about you or your comfort, it is about Me and getting My name to the nations. Did I not say that others will know you are My disciple by your love for one another? Why do you not love her?" Talk about instant conviction. I need to buy a can of that and carry it around with me every where I go. (Bad joke, I know!) God laid it on my heart to support her financially. He laid it on my heart to pray for her. He even laid it on my heart to meet with her. So I met with, gave to, and am still praying for her. To be honest, it didn't even give me the warm fuzzies. It just reminded me that this world will try to convince me that doing what I want and living how I want will make everything better. But that is such a lie! Living for myself will utterly destroy me. Loving my sand paper people is one of the many ways I can show Christ my true love for Him.

When I love people that are not well put together and people that are dirty and smell bad or people that just plain rub me the wrong way I am showing them, Christ, myself, everyone around me that it doesn't matter a person's outward or even their inward appearance. Christ has called us to know Him and make Him known. How did He call us to do that? Through love. If I loved my sand paper the way I loved myself... wow. Could you imagine that? Seriously, just once show your sand paper person the same amount of love that you show your most beloved best friend who you would do absolutely anything for.
I dare you.



Please do not think I am boasting about supporting others or even suggesting that this is the way everyone should do things. This is one particular case in my life. This honestly only reflects how God has delt with me in this particular way.

To Be Called Beautiful

Almost every little girl I know wants to be called beautiful by their daddy. As little girls we want to be our daddy’s little princess. We will put on our cutest dress and play make-up and add our little crown. “Daddy, don’t I look pretty?” little girls will say. At such a young age we may not clearly know what beauty is defined as but we want to be it to our daddy. Then as we enter into our teenage years and beyond we want to be beautiful to those around us. We want others to see us not just pretty but something to be desired by men. We want to be wanted. Even in my walk with God I have found myself wanting to be called beautiful by my Daddy. Reading through scripture has brought me hope of becoming beautiful in the sight of my Father.

”...let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.” I Peter 3:4

As women we will do whatever it takes to be beautiful by worldly standards. Within the extremes we starve ourselves to be thin, then once we are thin we need new clothes so we buy new clothes to fit in with what is hot and young, once we have the clothes we need the haircut, after the haircut we realize we need the phone and the car and the shoes to match the clothes. We realize that keeping up with the beautiful people around us is almost a full-time job. We will end up spending our energy, money, and time on being beautiful. But here is the kicker, God’s word which is holy and perfect says we are to “let (our) adorning be the hidden person (in) the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious”. Did you catch that? Our beauty is what is within us. So all the old ladies at church were right… it is not what is outside but what is on the inside. Not only that but it is “very precious” in the sight of God. So we have let the world tell us a big fat lie! Yes, I just called the world and it is no joke! Our beauty is not merely skin deep, it goes much deeper than that.

“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” Romans 10:15

Scripture also tells us that we are beautiful when we take the gospel to the lost. Right before this verse it says “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’” (verses 14-15). God finds us beautiful when we are working for Him. When we are laboring in the fields, with sweat dripping, no make-up on, in our dirty work clothes, God finds us beautiful. Our Father finds us the prettiest when we do not try to be this outwardly beautiful person yet when we are working hard for Him with our beauty hidden within our gentle and quiet spirit, we are His beautiful daughters.

Now, do not get me wrong… I do not expect you to find a husband being dirty and filthy all the time so if that is what you are looking for, know that I am no match maker. But, what I am saying is if we are looking to the Lord and seeing His beauty and He sees ours, we are far better off than spending bunches of money on beauty products and new clothes and such. God is perfect and has perfect timing. He will provide a significant other in right timing if He so desires. He may have you single for the rest of your life, who knows… well, He does but you know what I mean. Sisters, I urge you to keep on pressing closer to Christ. Trust in Him and know He is good. He is faithful. You are beautiful!!

Becoming an Extraordinary Woman

The 'extraordinary' women in the Bible "aren't memorable solely because of their physical beauty, their natural abilities, their personal accomplishments, or some position they attained. Not one of them distinguished herself through a great career, some worldly accomplishment, or anything that would even stand out in the eyes of a cultural observer. All of them were basically modest, in every sense of the word - as 'is proper for women professing godliness' (I Tim 2:10)".
John MacArthur, Twelve Extraordinary Women

Recently I read the book Twelve Extraordinary Women by John MacArthur. MacArthur went through scripture and discussed Eve, Sarah, Rahab, Ruth, Hannah, Mary (mother of Jesus), Anna, the Samaritan woman, Martha and Mary, Mary Magdalene, and Lydia. It opened my eyes to what Biblical Womanhood looks like. "If these twelve women teach us anything, it is to center our lives, our faith, and our perspective of the future on Christ and Christ alone." Being a woman I think about marriage, admit it...you do to. MacArthur gave some great truth about these women. "Did you notice that not one of our twelve extraordinary women is noteworthy exclusively because of whom she was married to? These women did not derive their identities or their reputations solely from their husbands." Most of the women he covered in his book were not even married at the time of their extraordinary faith. Eve and Sarah were the only two who were married at the point of the story in which we encountered them. All of the rest were either single, widowed, betrothed, or in the case of the Samaritan woman, living with a man whom she was not married to.

These women were normal women. They had daily tasks and lives they led. They were all sinful, just as we are. The neat thing is, we can be considered extraordinary to God just like these women. Each of them were known for the faith they had in God. As I read through scripture I see that I am not supposed to be worldly or covet worldly things. It is hard sometimes to see what I am supposed to be like when everything around me screams "covet me", "dress like me", "lose 25 lbs like me", "drive a brand new car like me", "date guys that look like movie stars", ... It is so hard to ignore the things of the world when we are constantly surrounded by it. Yet, Lydia who was wealthy was considered to be extraordinary for her faith in Christ. She didn't care about the money or about any of those things. She cared about making Christ's name known in the world around her. Her whole household (it was unknown if she was married or not so this could have been servants and such) came to know Christ. They were all baptized with her in the river. She had struggles too, just like we do. We may not have been told of them, but she was human so we know she had issues too. Lydia's story alone holds so much that you would have to read what I could write about her in parts.

These women were women of faith. They were also women of love. They each loved God and recognized Him as the Almighty, Eternal God of Heaven. From looking at these women's lives it is obvious that women who are being raised up in Him are to be like they are. Now, do not think I am saying in order to be a Christian it is a requirement to do these things. We know that in coming to know Jeuse Christ we will be transformed and made more like Him. Thus our desires will change. We will desire to have faith in Him and we will desire to love Him above all else. These women very obviously displayed that. They desired to put Christ before everything else in their lives. This was not something they were forced to do to retain a religious status. They genuinely loved Christ and expressed it outwardly to others by displaying faith, love, hope, ... (Galatians 5:25).

These women did not consider themselves extraordinary. For the most part they considered others greater than themselves (you should check out their stories in scripture). So from their lives I have concluded, being an extraordinary women requires a genuine love for God and submitting your whole life to Him. He loved you enough to die for you, so what makes you think He loves you any less now then He did then?

A Life Worth Dying For

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. -- Philippians 1: 21
If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. --John 15:18
...and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. -- Matthew 10:22

Last night I went to see a movie with some friends and some people we have been trying to minister to. The movie is about this guy who is willing to die for the honor of his country and his family. He wanted to restore his family's name and bring honor to his country. It made me start thinking about what is truly worth dying for. I have, as you too probably, heard the phrase "I would die for" or "I would kill for" this or that. Most of those people are just expressing how much they would love to have something. But that phrase, if we really disect it makes for a dangerous thing to say. We will use body image for this little example. There are girls who will say "I would kill to have her body" or "I would die to be a size 2, like (insert name of the size 2 girl you know here)". There are really girls who nearly kill themselves trying to become a size 2. Then when they hit a size 2, they are not small enough and they want to try for a 0 or a 00. Then they have to fight to stay that tiny. Here is another example for us as girls. As women we desire to be beautiful and have things that make us look and feel more beautiful. But sometimes that causes us to start trying to keep up with the Jones' and we end up in more trouble than we realize. Hearing girls say they would die or kill for a designer bag that is $800 is a little sad. Watching girls go into debt because they want to have the latest trend or the hottest fashion to feel better about themselves. They do not kill others nor do they nearly kill themselves physically. They are probably killing their credit, though.

Are those things really worth all the trouble? Is it really worth all the physical pain and the emotional stress? Honestly, according to scripture, no it is not worth it. Christ calls us to be satisfied in Him. He wants us to make His name known. According to scripture, making His name known is worth dying for. Christ has commanded us to know Him, make Him known, make disciples of all the nations, baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teach them. He wants us to work for Him and not the things of this world. Showy cars and hand bags and being able to fit into a size 0 are not worth the time. One thing God has been teaching me lately is I would much rather be hated here on this earth for trying to make His name known than die and get to heaven and have the blood of others on my hands. God has put people in our lives for a reason. Things are not by chance, not fate, not luck, not anything other than the divine appointment from an Almighty God. Our purpose in this world is not to be the coolest thing to ever touch the face of the planet. We are called to be aliens. Weird huh?! Scripture says that those who follow Christ will be treated as Christ was. Guess what, Christ was hated. He was not only hated but He was beaten and brutally murdered. This is not to say that everyone who is walking with God will be brutally murdered. But we will be looked down upon, especially if we are living radically for the gospel to be proclaimed among the nations.

In David Platt's book Radical he asks several convicting questions. "Are we willing to obey the orders of Christ? Are we wiling to be like Him? Are we willing to risk our lives to go to great need and to great danger -- whether it's in the inner cities around us, the difficult neighbor across the street, the disease-ridden communities in Africa, or the hostile regions in the Middle East? Are we willing to fundamentally alter our understanding of Christianity from a luxurious lifestyle to the life style of soldiers that forsake comforts in the world to accomplish an eternally significant task and achieve an eternally satisfying reward?" Is your current lifestyle justifiable before Almighty God? Are you willing to be considered a stranger to your family for the name of Christ? A "freak" in your workplace? Or even a variety of other names to the lost world around you?

Christ came and lived 33 years on this earth to provide you and me an opportunity for salvation. For that very purpose He shed His blood. He died to save you. Are you willing to give back to Him for what He gave you?

Is "The Modern Family" really "Better With You"?

This evening I watched a television program with my family called "The Modern Family." This show is about a family living in Los Angeles close to other relatives. This is loosely called a comedy. I say that because it laughs at sin. Claire (Julie Bowen) plays the role of a modern housewife. She has a brother who lives with his gay partner and their adopted vietnamese baby girl. Claire's father Jay (Ed O'Neill) divorced his wife and married a much younger woman. It saddens me to think that this is America's view of the modern family. We no longer care about family values. We simply care about what makes us "happy" or "comfortable" or even feel good. The show gives us a message that tells us it is not only ok to laugh at these issues but to allow them into our families.
I beg God that my own family does not chose this path. Everyday we are faced with the option to either choose God or to choose sin. This program shows these people constantly choosing to live in sin and openly laughing at the disfunction it brings about.
We also watched a program "Better With You." This is about three different relationships: 1) the marital relationship of the mother and father (Vicky and Joel Putney); 2) the relationship of Vicky and Joel's daughter, Maddie and her boyfriend Ben of 9 years living together; and 3) the relationship of 7 weeks between the other daughter, Mia -who is pregnant out of wedlock and preparing to marry the father of the child- and Casey.
This program also laughs at some of the issues that breaks God's heart. I found myself laughing at things I knew was not scriptural. These are things that absolutely break God's heart. If I saw my dad upset about something, maybe even crying, I would definitely not laugh at the issue! So how can we, as Christians (how can I) sit and laugh at these very things? I beg God to make me more like Him, to change my heart to desire the things He desires. For His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). "For as the heavens are higher than the earth,so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." We are called to a higher level of excellence. We are not called to be like the world. I John 2:15 and James 4:1-10 let us know that we are clearly not to love the things of this world. We are told that to be friends with the world means we are an enemy of God. We (Christians) were not sent into the world to become part of it, but sent to share with those who do not know our Father in heaven.
There is a silly yet simple question that can be asked, and has been by few, of why Christians remain on the physical earth once they come to know Christ. Why does Christ not allow them to go to Him in death immediately? We are told very plainly in John 17 that we are here to spread the message of Christ. Christ was sent into the world and we are sent into the world. We are not to become part of it, yet we are to take His word to those who are in this world (where else would we go :) ). We are also reminded here that Christ intercedes on our behalf. He also prays for those who will come to know Him after we have brought His word to them. We are not to be out there bashing others for not believing in Him. We are not to be yelling at others telling them they are going to hell for the wrong they are doing. We are to love them, give them grace, show them mercy, and share with them the love of Christ. How can we share with them if we are telling them Jesus hates what they are doing?
It makes me very sad that I have participated in watching these shows. Their elevated rating due to my laziness of walking out of the room. I basically spit in God's face and said the cross didn't matter in supporting both of these 30 minute programs. Is one hour really worth breaking God's heart? Is the modern family really better with you?

Sweet Surrender

Written: April 24, 2009

For I have come to have much joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.... Yes, brother, let me benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. Philemon 1:7,20

I am seeing how fellowship is used for spriritual growth and how sharing things with our brothers and sisters in Christ helps us so much more than we could know (or admit). So I thought I would share this with you guys.

Last semester a sweet friend of mine shared a conviction of hers with me that I basically wrote off as something just for her. The more I thought about it and prayed about it, the more I saw that it was not just for her, it was for all. My convictions are greater in this area now as well and thought you guys might be blessed in this also.

What started the conviction in my friend was the playing of secular music at evangelical meetings. Her heart was set on not having that type of music played there. The arguements made here were "we are to become all things to all men" yet the other side of that arguement was "God needs nothing added to attract people to Him." What to do in this case...
My thoughts (and I believe my friend would agree with me) on this are we really should not have to add anything to draw people in to hear God's word. Yes, we are to become all things to all men. However, Jesus did not become a drunkard to the drunkards nor did He become a gambler to those who gamble. So why should we conform to the world "Therefore I urge you, brehtern, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:1-2

A Chance to Die: The Life and Legacy of Amy Carmichael (by Elisabeth Elliot)
Pg 126
"Saral came one day with an idea for drawing the women to hear the Gospel. She would teach them to knit with some pink wool she had been given, "and they will love me more and like to listen when I talk about Jesus."
Amy could not say yes to that. She explained that the Gospel needed no such frills. It is the power of God for salvation. Saral protested that there was nothing in the Bible which bore upon pink wool and knitting needles. Indeed there was-- Zechariah 4:6 'Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.' There was no need for tricks which might open houses-- houses were open. No need for methods of helping to humanize and fill bare and empty lives-- 'these women have a full day's work.' To try to help God with pink fancywork was, she felt, plain unbelief."

If it is not pushing us closer to God then it is pushing us away from Him....no matter what we think, it is pulling us away. So in thinking, praying, and searching the scriptures I have found that it is not for me to listen to any more. Psalm 1:1-3 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers. What seperates us as Christians from those who do not follow Christ?

What in our lives seperate us from others? Are we walking in the same counsel as the world or of Christ?

Music
Movies
TV
Attitude
Speech (the things you say)
Actions
Clothing
Books (the things you read)

Our delight should be in the law of the Lord and not in the world. We should be meditating on God's law day and night. By doing this we will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water yielding its fruit in season...and whatever we do it will prosper. Honestly, I want things to prosper in my life and my bet is that you want yours to do the same. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. Psalm 1:6 If we truly understood how great God is and what He did/does/will always do then we would not spend so much time, energy, and money on things that do not matter. We would spend more time worshipping and rejoicing to God with reverence and trembling (Ps. 2:11), we would spend more time evangelizing and fellowshipping and seving as we have been called to do so.

May God bless you!

The Things of This World

“But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.”
--I Timothy 6:6-9

My friends and I have this joke about me leaving the state of Arkansas. It seems as if the past 2 years God has not allowed me to leave for more than 7 days at a time. I had an opportunity to be apart of a mission team going to Indonesia for 8 weeks. The next year I began praying about moving to another state to pursue a short-term degree in culinary arts. Then later that year I began to pray about an opportunity to be apart of a mission team going to Brazil for 12 days. There are many other things I have been able to do. However, all of those things had to be 7 days or less. Today I jokingly asked a friend if she thought God would allow me to move out of the US sooner than what we originally expect, that expectation is roughly 4-5 years from now. The whole point of me asking the question had to do with the fact a co-worker and I began looking at pictures Peace Corps volunteers had taken over the years. My heart immediately went out to all of the people in those countries. Many of them have no idea who Christ is, those that do have misconstrued ideas of who He really is. Many believe Jesus was a prophet or a very moral person. God has placed something on my heart that has been there since the time I came to know Him. However, lately He is pressing it on my heart. I cannot be content with the things of this culture, nor can things of this world satisfy me. He does not let me forget that this world is not meant to be my home. My home is with my Father in heaven.
I have no reason to be concerned with things of this world. There is nothing here that I can take with me when I die, except for the salvation that is given to me by Christ Himself. The Lord has placed upon my heart to not be worried about cars or money or higher education or expensive things. I am concerned with the souls of those around me. God has given me a unique opportunity to work with over 900 people from 68 different countries. Hearing about the way a majority of people live in the countries that are represented makes me extremely sad. For the most part I do not know anyone from those type of areas, the people in the US from other countries are here because they can afford to be here (I am referring to the students I work with). It breaks my heart to see so many girls more worried about how well their hair and make up are done and what they are wearing to this or that party. It makes me sad to hear the amount of money spent every year at fast food chains. It tears me up to know that we chose to forget about the rest of the world when so many are perishing without know who Christ is. We are leaving them without clean water to drink; yet we have indoor water parks. We leave them without food to eat; yet we buy groceries and forget about them two days later. We leave them with no hope, dying in various parts of the world from things we do not take the time to educate them about. We are no better than they, we have the answers and do not share. I am speaking to myself here. There are so many ways that I could be helping and chose not to.
God has allowed our country to have access to some of the most amazing resources, wealth, knowledge, etc. Our poor are wealthier than the rest of the worlds poor. A friend was telling me about a guy taking a poll in soup kitchens. He walks into a soup kitchen and asks everyone in the room “how many of you have cable television?” Every person in the room raised their hand. All of these people could avoid the soup kitchen if they simply did away with cable. However, we as a whole would much rather try and keep up with the Jones’ than feed the hungry, clothe the naked, share the water, and educate those who have no chance. We are a self-centered people. Our everyday choices show this.
We are so wrapped up in sports and big cars and new computers and the latest phone and the nicest house in the subdivision. God has not allowed me to be content with these things. Last year I bought an iPhone. I just “had” to have it. Honestly, I thought I deserved it, I thought all of MY hard work and MY hard earned money had earned ME a new phone. From the time I bought it until the time I sold it, that thing was a lemon! I bought it with selfish intent and it showed. My work began to take over my life. I would answer emails at 2 am (or whenever my phone would beep and tell me I had an email). I was constantly holding on to that thing, I could not let it go. It was more important to me then…well…almost any other thing. That is called idolatry. My phone was my idol. How dumb is that?! Well, a friend helped me sell it. Which was awesome because it sold for 3 times what I paid for it. Apparently it was “worth” more than I thought, monetarily anyway. God used that instance in my life to show me a phone is a piece of junk. No matter what type of phone I own, I will not be taking it with me when I die. No matter what car I drive (if any) and no matter what clothes I wear. He has not allowed me to be content with the things of this world.
God is the only thing that matters in this world. We, as Christians, seem to be the first to forget that we were not made to impress those around us. Not even other people, God does not want us to try and impress Him either. He can see straight through everything we think, say, and do. He knows us completely. He knows more about us than we could know about ourselves. We are selling ourselves short. If we live only to keep up with the Jones’ we are missing the point of life…
Are you missing the point of life? Think about what your daily thoughts, words, and actions say about what you believe. Are you truly living out what God has called you to? Do you value God more than you value your possessions?

**Please know that I am not saying you should go sell your phone, car, clothes, etc. because you are “unspiritual” for having them. These are just the things that God has shown me.**