PURE

PURE

Isaiah 1:18

“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.

Look at these sheep.  They really stand out against the back drop of green grass.  They are white, fluffy, and pure.  White is the color of purity.  Purity is a good thing.   Let's look at the next picture below.

Now? Not so much.  They look nice and white when they are compared to green grass, but once you place them up against sometime a lot whiter and more pure like fresh snow, the flaws and dirt become obvious.

That's sort of what Jesus does.  Jesus is Pure.  He is Holy. He is perfect. He is without defect.  We are not.  Sometimes we'd like to think we or someone we love is like the pretty white sheep standing in a lush green pasture, but truth is we are all are or were like the dirty white sheep standing in the snow.  We need Jesus.  Jesus is the only one who can make us pure and clean us up to be like Him.

It's very easy to get caught up in I'm a good person, I do good things, and I don't know why I need this Jesus.  It's also easy to be very critical of others faults or presumed faults while ignoring the much worse ones you have. 

Which sheep are you? Are you the one hiding in the green grass pretending to be pure? It's like putting yourself around fat people so that you look skinny, or hanging out with people uglier than you so you look pretty.  It's like being hurtful or tearing someone else down so that you look smart.  All you are doing is trying to cover up your impurities and hide your faults.

If we hold oursleves up to a higher standard which is God, we realize we aren't as pure. We have faults, blemishes, and defects.  But, don't get depressed or low self-esteem. There is good news. What we all really need to do(yes, this means me too) is look at Jesus who is PURE and compare ourselves to Him. We need to realize we need Him and we cannot be pure without Him.   God makes us pure.  Its the reason Jesus came to earth, lived as a human, died a cruel death on the cross, and become our sin, took our hell, and defeated them all in order to make us pure.  He became our sacrificial lamb. Jesus is the pure white sheep.

We can become pure, only because of Jesus. Not anything we did, can do, or ever will do.  Purity comes from Him.  It is our goal to strive to live pure lives.  We us purity alot of times talking about sex, but purity is really for all areas of our lives.  Anytime we sin, pick up bad habits, or do wrong, we become impure. 

 Dictionary defines Pure as : "free from tainting or polluting matter; clean; wholesome"  This is what God does for us through Jesus.  We get "tainted" or "polluted" with sin, problems, negative attitudes, bitterness, envy, hatred, addictions, etc....and Jesus comes in and makes us "clean" and "whole". 

All of us are born human, therefore we are born into a sinful world and over time, we ourselves become sinful and dirty, and impure.  I know I was dirty once and there was a time I gave up the purity to be dirty again. Thank God He doesn't give up on us!

  Many times we don't realize it because we surround ourselves around things and people and places that mask or camoflauge our imperfections and impurities, we sometimes hide behind them in order to make ourselves look good. However, when we compare ourselves to the Purity of Jesus, we realize we need to be like Him, we need Him, and He is the only one who can truly clean us.  Then we can share with others how they can become pure no matter what they've said or done in the past or present.  God is Pure.

 Titus 1:15

To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted.

Psalm 51:7

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Holiday Inn Express Religion

Holiday Inn Express Religion

You remember those cool commercials back a few years ago don't you?  Where someone is an "expert" in something and come to find out they really weren't a Doctor, or a Animal Trainer, but they did stay in a Holiday Inn Express the night before. It went with their marketing campaign "Stay Smart".  I for one enjoyed these commercials, because it showed these people who were just average people trying to do things they were not educated, experienced, or skilled to do, yet they thought they could because they stayed at the Holiday Inn Express. (btw picture of Sarah Palin has nothing to do with article, but only funny one I could find)

Sad thing is we got people who live this way in real life, not that they stayed at a hotel, but they they think they are experts or know about things they don't.   Whether they have grandiose thoughts or are narcissistic or simple delusional by their own thoughts, there are people out there who don't go to church, yet they seem to be experts on the church.  They don't claim christianity, yet they seem to know everything about being a christian and how you should be living and acting.  They don't read the Bible or study it daily or regularly (and some don't even claim belief in God), yet they seem to want to quote the bible.

What's up with that?  Now to be fair, I will say there are some churches out there and some "christians" who do bring on trouble themselves and who do hurt the cause of Christ and give church and christians a bad name, but it's like just anything, they are mostly the exception and not the rule.  However, that being said, I also think alot of people who for whatever reasons have issues with God, the church, or Christians like have this idea they know all about the Bible, God, Christianity, Jesus, and the Church yet don't.  I call this "Holiday Inn Express Religion", thank you I just made that up.

I've had people question my faith, my calling, or my christianity in the past because they didn't agree with something I said, or think I said or meant, or did, or God only knows why?  But, my conclusion is it's because people for various reasons (doubt God, confused, been hurt by the church, judged unfairly by a christian, etc...)  have some sort of underlying issue with God, the church, or christianity, so because of that they try to make the church look bad, look for reasons to discredit the bible, judge christains harshly, or try to use the bible against you by taking bible verses out of context, misquoting it, or saying things not even in the bible(of course even chrisitans/churches do that sometimes defending their legalistic ways).

My point being if you don't believe in God, then you should have no worries, shouldn't have to defend yourself or put down others.  I don't believe in Santa Claus, but I  don't go around telling little kids she's fake or they are hypocrites for trying to push santa on me.   I don't believe in psychics,  but I don't go around condemning and telling them how to read tarot cards or palms or quote out of their mystical books to them.  You see my point? If you don't believe in something, then live like it.  There very few true atheists or agnostics out there. They claim it, but if you are trying to prove christianity false or make religion look bad or looking for reasons to discredit it or those who believe that's real hypocracy.  I agree some religion is bad, but believing in God and having a relationship with Him is not.   Also, there are people who have distorted views of God for whatever reasons?   They are spiritual, but not religious; or they are religous, but not spiritual;  or into other gods or religions or something? I think the biggest issue is people are trying to figure out God and fit Him into their mold, belief system and  lives, when true christian faith in God is fitting ourselves into God's mold and His life and allowing Him to work in us.

People fight and argue, condemn christians, churches, preachers, and faith because of their own demons, ignorance, agenda, or confusion.  They try to use the things of faith (bible, church, etc) against christians, that is why its so imporant for christians to know their bibles, and know why we believe what we believe, and  to be mindful of satanic attacks.  Also, we must realize no matter what we say or do, we are going to sometimes be attacked unfairly regardless.  That is the problem of the attacker and not you.  If you are striving to live like Christ, grow in your faith, and be an example, there is nothing you can do with these so called "experts". Nothing you say or do is going to change their mind, because they aren't willing to listen, because "they already know".  They think they know more about church, religion, christianity, and the bible than you and you can and will never live up to their expectations, but funny thing is they are trying to make people live up to a standard they themselves don't practice or believe in.

Truth is, I'm a christain, but I still don't know everything, I am a preacher by calling, but I still sin and make mistakes(and have a past).  I go to church, read and study my bible regularly, and pray constantly, but do I know everything about God, the bible or christianity? No!  But, I do know I don't know everything and don't pretend.  I've stayed at a Holiday Inn Express and I don't know everything about God. I'm even a Priority Rewards card carrying member of their hotel rewards points and Im still not an expert.  Truth is, if you reject God, choose to not believe, or don't accept christianity, then don't pretend you know everything about something you refuse to accept, follow, or receive and don't worry about those "christians".   In the same token, us confessing christians, do need to work daily to know what we believe and why.   If we are going to stay a christian, we need to "Stay Smart" , learn, and grow from our relationship with God.

I Peter 3:15-16(NIV)

15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.

Things I've learned my first year of marriage

1st Year Anniversary
Saturday, June 18th will mark the One (1) year marriage anniversary for Cheryl and I.  Though many thought Jesus would come back or pigs would fly before I ever got married, it did finally happen.  Cheryl has been a childhood friend whom I grew up with, graduated High school with, and we shared many mutual friends. She was also my sister's best friend.  After High School our lives went different directions, probably as far different as you can be.  A couple years ago, our paths crossed again, of all places on Facebook.  After we renewed our friendship and catching up on our lives and even visiting over dinner with my sister and her family, eventually Cheryl asked me out on date and shared her feelings with me, that were mutual and I came back to WV for a date and we started dating.  I was still living in Indiana at the time, so we did the long distance thing for a few months before I decided to move back to WV.  We dated for 6 more months and were married on Friday, June 18, 2010 in a small ceremony with family in the front yard of her parents house.

I would like to say that our first year of marriage was easy, filled with fairytales, rainbows, and bliss, but it wasn't if I was being honest.  We love each other deeply, we are glad we are married, and people make fun of us for expressing our love on facebook so much, but with any relationship, especially the first year is learning to live with someone new, getting to know each others habits, personalites, quirks, strengths & weaknesses, and everything else in between takes adjusting.   Our first year of marriage not only brought those challenges and blessings, but also the mix of a 37 year old bachelor never married, a person coming out of a abusive married and nasty divorce,  two children(one with mental illness), and also dealing with the recent death of Cheryl's dad about 6-7weeks before our wedding, and some family issues. Can you say it, reality TV?
I'm an analytical person, so I like to evalute, analyze, and look at things (sometimes too much), but I think it's healthy for all couples married or not to regulalry communicate and evaluate their relationship, what's working,what's not?  What can I do better?  what am I doing right? What am I doing wrong? what do I need to change?  What successes are we having, what failures?  What issues are contributing to our troubles or making our marriage healthy?  These type of questions should be asked and communicated in the relationship as well as, personal self-evaluation and constructive criticism from your partner.

After coming out of a unhealthy and nasty relationship I wasn't for sure I wanted to be in another, and Cheryl after being in her long abusive, negative, unhelathy marriage, wasn't for sure she wanted to ever get married again, probably let alone date.  But, we believe it was no mistake that God brought us together and crossed our paths.    I am sure Cheryl has her own list of things she's learning or has learned from being togehter,  because each of us view things different and based on our life experiences, personalities, and relationship with God view or see the world and people and things differently.  But, these are the things I've learned my first  year of marriage (and yes I had Cheryl approve this before posting it for the world to see, I'm not totally stupid.) Anyway, this list isn't in any type of order, but hopefully it can help others, so here goes things I've learned my first year of marriage.

1.  Moving beside your In-Laws not a great idea starting out your marriage.  While this may work for some, it also can cause conflict and with our circumstances was a bad idea. as Forest Gump says, "that's all i got to say about that."
2. Blended families take a lot of work.  Cheryl has 2 children and one who has Asperger's Syndrome(high functioning Autism) and other issues.  Both have issues do the experiences that have face with being children of divorce, especially a nasty one, and dealing with unstable family members.  It has been rough on them.  Having a new step-dad come in the picture is also complicating. It has been an adjustment for all of us, we are still working on.
3.  Talk about things before they happen.   Cheryl and I sat down before getting married and decided what my role would be as a parent and how we wanted to run our home and raise children.  Whether you have no kids yet or both bring in kids from a previous marriage, its' important to decide how you are going to do things before you are faced with them, even then, it still wasn't and isn't easy. Have to be supportive and consistent.
4. Center on God.  No relationship is going to have balance if both people aren't seeking to put God at the center of their lives and especially in their marriage.  Cheryl and I both love God and want to please Him and have him in our marriage, but there are times we both fail as individuals and in our marriage. We are trying to learn to put God first in our personal lives, so we will be the best partner for each other.  It's a struggle because there are many distractions.
5. Learn to Apologize. Sorry doesn't always cut it, sometimes we like to say sorry or we say it so much it loses it's meaning, but I find when you live with someone every day and depend on each other, you at times misunderstand each other's feelings, intentions, or motives.  We end up offending, hurting feelings, or frustrating each other unintentional and you have to learn to apologize often.
6. I'm not the only one.  At least for me being single for so long, i was the only one I had to worry about or be concerned about. Now I have a wife and 2 kids to think about.  It's easy for me to be impatient or get angry easy waiting on them to get ready or them to slow me down, because I am so used to only me.  I'm having to learn that more people  require more patience and more time to do things.
7.Both have Baggage.  Even though I haven't been married/divorced and Cheryl has, we still both bring in baggage to the relationship, just different. The older you are, the more baggage you can accumalate if you don't deal with it.  Even though I was single I still dated and had failed relationships and still have my own "set in my ways" type mentality, though I always strive to not become that way, we still do.  Also, having to deal with an ex-spouse is stressful and also depending on circumstances bringing in past abuses and problems, can complicate new relationships.
8. Ex-spouses stink.  I told Cheryl she might win the award for the worst Ex-husband ever.  He's a treat. I've met many an ex-spouse whether it was people I dated or during my years of ministry to students and people, but no matter how you cut it, dealing with an ex-spouse, especially one that is uncooperative and when dealing with children and custody issues is difficult.  It's a constant reminder of the past, and regret you have, and it's constant interference in your current marriage, whether you want it to or not, especially if you have an ex-who is difficult.  If  you are reading this and have an ex or are an ex and you have custody and children together, don't be a jerk. It's no longer about you, it's about the  kids.  Cooperate, do what is best for the kids. Our kids are used and manipulated and used as pawns and for personal selfish reasons.  Makes me mad and sad and nothing I can do about it.   But, marrying someone who is divorced and has kids is sometimes part of the deal. 
9. Don't get sucked in. It's easy for me to get sucked in to the trappings of dealing with Cheryl's ex-spouse.  Which only causes trouble in your current marriage. As difficult as it is, you have to stay out of it, unless it is a safety issue for them.  Sometimes you need to step it and sometimes, I've had to help Cheryl make a decision, but overall it's best to try and let your current spouse handle their ex spouse.
10. Get rid of Distractions.  For some it's a job, for others it's friends, some it's hobbies, or whatever.  We can have people or things in our lives that come between you and your spouse.  A negative friend or relative who is unhappy in their marriage so they constantly interfere or give you bad advice on your marriage.  Spending too much time at your job, or your hobby. I'm having to learn to prioritize and have balance in my time so that my wife and kids get their fair share of me. 
11. Communication, Compromise, Change.  3 C's easy to remember hard to do.  You have to communicate, over communicate if you have to, regardless of your personality.  I've got to compromise on some of my ideas, wants, opinions, and feelings. And I've got to be willing to change the way I handle things, think about things, and even deal with things.
12. I've got a lot to learn.  My whole life I've tried to prepare myself for marriage.  Learn to not do things the way my parents or others have did, but in the end, I know less than I thought. I've got a lot to learn in how to be a good husband, good father, and good partner.
13. Your spouse is your best friend.  I have been lots of friends and lots of  male friends, but your spouse should be your best friend.

14. Same Team.  A healthy marriage is where both realize they are on the same team. You support, endorse, and have each others best interest in mind.  It's easier to say than do, I'm still trying to learn it.

15. I affect others.  My moods, my word, my ways, etc...effect my wife and my step-kids.  I tell it like it is, I don't hold back, and I can be blunt, stubborn, hard-headed, and "as matter of fact", most times that's a good thing, but sometimes. I have to learn to be sensitive, understand anothers feelings, or consider how they feel or view me and my behavior, attitude or actions.

I am sure there are other things I've learn and so much to learn, this marriage is a journey and each day should be an adventure to learn.  I probably say I'm sorry as much as I love you, but I'm learning and hope to always be learning how to be the best spouse I can be.  I want to grow closer to my wife day by day, year by year, and enjoy the time the Lord has given us together and spend the rest of my life with my bride Cheryl.  I want to be just as happy on my wedding day a year ago as I will be if I live another 30,40, or 50 years.  I also want to love her kids as my own and be the best dad I can be.  Above all I want to honor God!

I love you Cheryl, thank you for loving  me, accepting me, tolerating me, and putting up with me. I pray my experiences and mistakes can help others in their relationships both now and in the future!  I hope to learn alot more this next year!  I leave you with the words of I Corinthians 13 that is our model for how we should love each other, especially in marriage.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.

Conditioned

(I'll be away from the computer monday so you're getting my blog on friday instead of monday)

Conditioned

Hebrews 12:1(NIV)

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

My air conditioner is broke in my car. It's getting hot. You know for years people lived without a/c in their houses and cars and got along just fine. You know why? They were conditioned. They got used it, and before A/C they didn't know what they were missing anyway. However, we live in a society today where people are conditioned to have a/c, so when it's hot and humid(for you that live out west look up humid), people can't handle the heat, but really it's they think they can't handle the heat.

Now I'm not martyr, and i'm with the rest of you, I got a/c in my house still and there is no way I'd want to live without it, but I've decided to hold off on getting my a/c fixed in my car because #1 it's going to cost several hundred dollars, and #2 we need the money for other things, so I decided I will go this summer and just suck it up and suffer. (I bet people will not want to ride in my car).

Conditioned. That is what I want to talk about today. We get conditioned(get used to something). and it becomes acceptable or ok. That is what happens with sin or bad habits. The more you expose yourself to something though at first it may be uncomfortable or make you feel guilty, the more you do it or expose yourself too it the less those feelings reside and the more comfortable you get, til pretty soon you are conditioned.

Let me give you an example in my own life. Television/movies. There are things we see on tv now even on network TV that a few years ago, bothered me, offended me, and made me uncomfortable (foul language, content, etc) and now i hardly blink when I hear or see something on my favorite tv show or a movie, why? It's because I've become conditionied by it. Hollywood slowly pushed the envelope and society has slowly caved in, to where what once was awful is now acceptable.

I remember 20 years ago Ellen "coming out" on her tv show and everyone being in shock and it making news, you can't hardly watch a tv show or movie now without gay characters and honestly we don't even think about it too much, I know I don't. I've become conditioned.

I'm tired of being conditioned by the world. I want to exercise my freedom to change the radio station if I don't like the song, to change the channel if something in a show offends me, to walk about of situation if it makes me uncomfortable. Our being conditioned goes alot farther than just tv or music. It goes into hanging with the wrong crowd, dating and marrying the wrong people, and putting up with dishonesty and backstabbing at work. We can get conditioned to anything if we put up with it or tolerate it long enough.

How many of us said we would never say something or do something, yet later down the road we find ourselves doing that very behavior or having that attitude we said we'd never have? Conditioned. We've allowed ourselves to be conditioned. The thing is, it's different for all of us, I might take a strong stand on what music I listen to, but ignore what friends I associate with. I may take a strong stand on what tv shows I watch, but have little thought for how I choose a person to date/marry. I may take a stand for abortion or equal rights, but then I steal from work or look the other way why someone else cheats. You see how we can easily we can give in? not think things through? allow things into our lives? accept things?

God wants us to be accepting of others, but that doesn't mean accepting their behavior, lifestyles, or even becoming a part of their lives if it doesn't honor God. God wants us to live in the world, and not be "of the world. Meaning, we live in this world, we interact and be part of the world, but we don't do so until we become "just like" the world.

I may have to suffer without a/c in my car this summer, but i've already started getting used to it, to be honest, the extra sweating probably don't hurt me any, I need to lose back a few pounds anyway, but it made me realize, I dont need a/c, I want a/c. And you'll find there are lots of things in this world we think we need we don't. And lots more things we've made ok, but they are not ok in God's eyes, and alot more things we accept, that we shouldn't. I can't tell you what those things are for you, because we are all different, but I'd take inventory of your life on a regular basis and see what's sneaking in and what you need to get rid of and what you've become conditioned to that's not healthy and get rid of it, avoid it, or pray about it.

Open Your Eyes

Open Your Eyes

Well the picture speaks for itself, but have you ever had something right in front of you and you couldn't see it?

Everyone else could see it except you? Your husband is cheating, your girlfriend is 2 timing you, your best friend is lying about you behind your back. Your co-worker is throwing you under the table and blaming you for their mistake.

These types of events happen everyday, but some of us, choose to look the other way and not see what is obvious. I wish I had answer, but I don't? People would rather live in a fantasy world or living a lie, than face the truth sometimes.

Truth is, some people aren't very good to us sometimes. People who are supposed to be. People that we were supposed to trust. They lie, cheat, steal, gossip, betray, mock, and hurt us. Why? Different reasons. Sometimes selishness, sometimes jealousy, envy, or unhealthy desires. Sometimes greed, to get ahead, because they think it makes them popular or in control, or because they refuse to deal with their own personal struggles. Or sometimes not sure they even know.

I'm not saying all people are bad or evil, they are not, sometimes those we love dissapoint us or hurt us and it's not intentional, they just mess up or accidently hurt us. I'm not talking about these type of events or circumstances. I'm talking about people who aren't very good people, and we need to avoid them.

We need open our EYES and choose our friends, who we date, and especially who we marry very carefully. We need to surround ourself with people who encourage us, build us us, and are trustworthy. We need to avoid people who are only in it for what they can get out of it, and users, and people that will hurt you and not even feel bad about it, let alone admit they did anytnhing wrong.

People abuse their kids, cheat on their spouse, betray their friends, lie to their bosses, and use people to get what they want and don't blink an eye. These are the type of people we need to avoid. They are life suckers. They are energy zappers, and they are heart-breakers.

We don't want to believe our parent would do that, or our spouse would say that, or our best friend could be that way, but yes, even those we love and trust or should be able to trust, can turn out to be rotten people.

God loves everyone, and everyone is capable of change, but problem is people like this see no need to change, so the danger is they may never, and besides, it's not up to me or you to change them. We can only help people who want help and can help themselves and the rest of them will drag us down to their level, if not step on us as they go by, so open your eyes.

I'm not saying be skeptical or don't trust anyone, I'm saying be wise whom you let in your life and whom you trust. Don't be so naive. Don't be so engrossed with good looks, you can't see the person you want to date is a selfish jerk even though they are hot, or don't be so desperate to not be alone you settle. Don't date people for wrong reasons, let alone marry them and have children. Don't be so obsessed with being popular and having friends, that you will be friends with anyone no matter that they use you, talk bad about you behind their back, or take advantage of you.

I'm not trying to be negative today, I'm trying to be realistic. We have too many of us going through life destroying our lives and collecting baggage because we won't open our eyes and make better choices when it comes to our relationships with others.

We must learn to be objective, look at the facts, and not base our relationships(friendships, working, church, dating, romantic, marriages, etc...) on wrong motives, wrong choices, or compromising right/wrong. If not the cycle of bad relationships will continue in our lives and these relationships end up affecting others as well.

That is why we need to surround ourselves with Godly, christian influences and people. People who are honest, trustworhty, care about others, who are sincere, unselfish, respectful, and treat others with mutal respect. People who protect others and are loyal and are self-less. These are the types of friends, dates, spouses, family, and co-workers we need and need to be. So, open your eyes and get to being that type of person and avoid those who are not!

I'll close with the words of Paul who reminds us the type of people to avoid in:

Romans 1: 28-30

28 Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents;

Defend

Defend

The dictionary defines Defend as "to ward off attack from; guard against assault or injury".

In Luke 10:25-37 (go read), we have the story of the "Good Samaritan". A Jew was beaten, robbed, and left for dead in a ditch. A priest (preacher) came by and saw him and went on other side of the road. A Levite(religious servant) came by too and saw him and went on the other side of the road. Finally, a Samaritan (an emeny of the jews, jews looked down on them) came along, saw him, had compassion on him, helped him, and took care of Him.

Now the parable Jesus told was about "who is my neighbor?" and Jesus was saying everyone is our neighbor. We are to love everyone. God first, then others. However, I want to go a step farther. I think we as Christians have an obligation to stand up for those who are helpless, hurting, in need, and have been wronged. We should not only be "Defenders" of the faith", but "defenders" of those who are wronged.

Love this scripture in Proverbs:

Proverbs 31:8-9 (NIV)

8 “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. 9 Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”

Unfortunately, we live in a society today that "doesn't want to cause a scene", or "doesn't want to get involved". We love to look the other way, or think it will just go away eventually. People don't want to stand up for what is right or for people who have been wronged because it's "Uncomfortable" sometimes it involves someone they care about, so, It's easier to ignore the problem, or let it go, or pretend nothing happened, or how it all works out on it's own.

My wife and I both in our pasts have been hurt at the hands of other people. I am sure some of you reading this have to, we all probably have in different times and ways been hurt or wronged by people. It seems the people who should care the most to defend you or come to your aid don't. People will tell you to your face how awful it is what you endured or went through and how wrong it was, but when they are faced with the problem or the person that hurt you, 99.9% of the time, they do or say nothing. I'm not sure what hurts worse? You may also think, well if you've been hurt, you just need to get over it and move on, sometimes it's not that easy, especially when you don't have the proper support.

Now, I'm not suggesting we take matters into our own hands or seek revenge because justice and vengence is for the Lord(Romans 12:19). I'm not saying if someone hurts your kid to go hurt them back, or someone is mean to your sister to go beat them up. What I am suggesting is that we defend those who cannot defend themselves. What I'm saying is that we don't look the other way, pretend nothing is wrong, or allow the person who is wrong to go around pretending they did nothing wrong or contribute to their delusion.

Many times, people who do wrong, won't accept or admit their wrong, and they go around acting as if they did nothing wrong, and the problem is when we see them and we allow them to act that way, by being nice or acting like nothing is wrong. This just encourges them to keep living this lie or justifies their actions even more. Does that make sense?

There are too many people walking around free in this world living their lives of lies. They are evil, mean, wrong, or need help and either in deep denial or simply don't care how they treat others. They bully, abuse, betray, treat others wrong or bad, and if people don't stand up to them, or defend those they are hurting, how does the cycle ever break?

We can pray for God to convict them, and we can pray for God to deal with them and bring justice and avenge the wrongs, but I also think as Christians we have an obligation to defend our own. Not with physical violence or revenge, but with simple standing up, taking notice, not looking the other way, and not being "fake" nice. Jesus didn't mince words with the pharisee's when they were being hypocrites and Apostle Paul didn't sugar-coat His words when dealing with sinful people in the church.

People want to think being a Christian means being nice all the time. We are in spiritual warfare. Satan is on constant attack, we have to be on constant alert. Satan uses people to hurt people. We have the power of God within us at our disposal. God wants to use us to defend His church, His people, and ourselves with His power at work in us. Sometimes that means being uncomfortable, having uncomfortable conversations, confronting someone, or standing up to defend someone. Being a Christian isn't always nice ,cozy, & sunday morning smiles. Sometimes it's confronting sin, standing up for right, and defending wrongs.

If you have family members or friends or church members who have been wronged or hurt by others, then support them, care about them, and do so by defending and not allowing the hurt to continue or to be made worse. Nothing worse than salt in a wound. If you are confronted with the person who hurt your loved one or friend, you don't have to punch them, or kick them, or cause a scene, but you can avoid them, and if you can't avoid them, you can let them know with body language or words, that you know what they did, you don't appreciate it, and you aren't just going to act like everything is ok or let them get by with pretending they didn't hurt someone. I hope that makes sense? I'm not promoting conflict, or revenge, but I am promoting standing up for what is right, defending those wronged, and ending the cycle of silent approval.

Most of all if you have been wronged, you can forgive the person even if they don't admit doing anything wrong, and you can pray for them to repent, but also for God to bring justice. Prayer is the best thing we all can do.

SHOCKER

SHOCKER!?

That's what I always say, in a sarcastic voice when something happens when people are surpised by something that is so obvious is going to happen.

We live in a society that is "Master of the Obvious", it's not shocking that if you play with fire, you can get burned; if you don't look when you cross the street, you could get hit by a car; if you don't study, you won't pass the test; there are countless examples in life of "natural" consequences for not making the right choices or doing the right things, yet when they happen, people are shocked? Caught off guard? Didn't see it coming?

Why is that? Stupidity? Igrnorance? Apathy? low expectations? all the above? I don't know for sure, but we should know that life has natural consequences and that when we make certain choices or decisions, things in life are going to happen, regardless of what we want or wish.

You keep giving in to temptations, you are going to fall. You keep cheating, you will eventually get caught; you keep lying, it will eventually catch up with you; you keep drinking too much and too often, you are going to have multiple issues; you hang out with the wrong people and for the wrong reasons, you are going to get hurt.

Yet, we date the loser and are "shocked" when they cheat on us or hurt us? We hang out with the wrong crowd to fit in and are "shocked" when they throw us under the bus? We don't take God serious and we are "shocked" why we struggle in our faith? We don't read our bible or pray to God and we are "shocked" we don't know God's will?

People there are natural consequences. Then there are good consequences for good choices and bad consequences for bad choices. Then there are warnings signs, warning signals, and things that show us "not to go there, or not to do that, yet we ignore them, then we are shocked when things bad happen for us.

If I get in my car and drive to New York City, I'm not going to end up in Los Angeles. As Andy Stanley says, "direction not intention, determines destination". In other words, you are going to end up in what direction you are headed.

You lie, cheat, act lazy, have a bad attitude, cheat, be dishonest, don't care, etc..whatever your attitude is is where you will end up. You do drugs, abuse alcohol, use people for sex, gamble away your money, and you're going to end up addicted, alone, desperate, isolating those you love, and could end up in rehab, the hospital, or dead.

People the warning signs are there for a reason. Don't be shocked when your decisions and choices lead you exactly to where they are supposed to. Also, don't think because you are a Christian or become a Christian that your life is going to be easy, or you're going to coast. Though becoming a Christian is the BEST choice you will ever make, becoming a Christian puts target on your back. The closer you get to God the more the devil may tempt you, persuade you, and pursue you. When the devil doesn't bother you is when I'd be concerned. It means you aren't doing anything that is a threat to Him.

Heed the warnings friends. Don't go down roads you don't want to go, they lead to sin, pain, struggle, and destruction. Don't be shocked when you choose selfishly and end up hurt. Don't be shocked either that when you strive to live for God, that Satan is right there fightin you every step of the way.

I Peter 4:12-13(NIV)12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.

Rely

Rely

2 Corinthians 1:9 (NIV)

"Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead."

Do you really rely on God? I mean lets be honest, most of us do only what is within our power to do and most churches really only do what is within their power to do. Many of us don't really live by faith, which is the call of the Christian.

God did not create us to rely on ourselves and certainly God didn't send Jesus to die on the cross and go through hell on our behalf for us to rely on our own wisdom, strength, or power.

First, God is God, He created us, therefore He is to be sought out. Secondly, God sent Jesus, so that through Him we may not only have forgiveness of sins, but also so we can have a relationship with God on a personal level. Thirdly, God promises and gives us His Spirit when we are baptized into Him to help guide us. Father, Son, & Holy Spirit, these 3, are 3 in 1, and because of that, we don't need to rely on anyone, anything, especially ourselves without Him.

Look at how many decisions and choices we make everyday and do not consider or consult God. We take jobs, buy houses, enter dating relationships, make business deals, financial decisions, pick places to worship, we get married, we make friends, and make all sorts of choices without fully relying on God's guidance, wisdom, discernment, and approval. I am guilty, we all are and can be.

God cares about us. He loves us uncondtionally. He would not have created us, send us His Son, or give us the gift of His Spirit if we are not valuable to Him. However, God is a God of freedom and will not force us to Love Him, choose Him, obey Him, or listen to Him. All He can do is offer and be there for us.

We must choose God. Choose to seek, listen, decide, and choose. It is up to us whether we read His word, pray, grow, attend church, serve, or use our gifts God has given us. If we do not choose God or learn to rely on Him, then our life will be riddled with regret, pain, sorrow, and grief. If we don't rely on God, we may make choices or decisions that could have been prevented had we relied on God.

Relying on God isn't going to keep our lives free from mistakes, problems, or even temptations. But, learning to Rely on God will help us make better decisions and choices. It will help us have strength, endurance, and hope when we are faced with troubles, trials, problems, and things that grieve us that are out of our control.

Rely on God. Put your faith into practice. You will not grow or mature in your faith until you learn to rely on God and learn to fully surrender your will, your ways, and your life to Him. It's a process, it takes time, but slowly we all can learn to RELY on God in ALL areas of our lives and how different will our lives and churches look if we've got people relying on God to do things only God can do?

Learning Lessons

Learning Lessons

I find myself sometimes in church or listening to a sermon/message on the radio and thinking "I wish __________(fill in the name) could hear this." Are you with me? It's very easy for us to want "others" to be taught a lesson and wish they'd hear a good sermon and get convicted for their actions that have hurt us or others.

Truth is we are not God. God is God. It's up to Him who,when,where, what is being taught. Our job is to worry about our own self. There are lessons we need to learn. Believe me, God will keep teaching us the same lessons until we realize He's talking to us, and WE need to hear it.

I am very guilty of this, when I am wronged or see someone else wronged, I want the offender to be convicted, accept responsibility, and for God to teach them a lesson. The fact is, I got my own lessons to learn, and secondly, we have no idea how or what God might be doing to teach that person.

Also, if we do not learn the lessons God is trying to teach us, He will keep providing opportunities until we do "get it" or we will continue to suffer consequences. I think the real issus is that we need to focus more attention on our own behaviors, attitudes, and things God is trying to teach us, and allow God to do His job and not try to do it for Him.

Believe me in the big scheme of things, those of us who are committed Christians don't get what we deserve ,but by the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ, we are saved and secure. However, there are those out there who reject God and will never surrender to Him and then there are those who claim christianity, but still refuse to follow God's will.

But, the point is today, it's not our job to teach others lessons. It's our job to learn the lessons we need to learn. We all have areas of in our lives where we need to work, focus, and learn things God is teaching us. We also need to allow God to work in the lives of others. If someone has wronged you, trust God that He will bring you justice, and that He will take care of the wrongs in this world people do, one way or the other.

There are happy endings sometimes when people wrong us, know it, admit it, accept responsibility, and seek to make ammends. Nothing wrong with praying for these outcomes, sometimes we cannot have those outcomes and sometimes those outcomes, we are better off without that person in our lives. Either way, we need to let God do His job. He's the ultimate teacher. He will convict those who need convicted, teach people the lessons they need to learn, punish those who do wrong, forgive those who confess their wrongs, but even then we will have to accept the natural consequences.

Learn the lessons God wants to teach you. He taught me a valuable lesson this morning, worry about myself and the lessons I need to learn, and let Him handle others. He don't need my help. God will take care of everyone in His Time, His Way, and according to His will.

Psalm 103:6(NIV)

The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed

Blame Shift

Blame Shift

In Exodus 32 in the Old Testament of the Bible, while Moses went to talk to God up on the Mountain, we have the story of the Golden Calf. Moses was gone awhile, and the people got restless and came to Aaron and wanted to make them a God. So Aaron told them to bring all their gold to him and He fashioned a Golden Calf out of all the gold they brought.

God knew what was happening so He sent Moses down off the mountain to deal with it. He was furious at what the people were doing, Dancing and partying around this Idol God. The Bible said he burned with Anger and he want to Aaron and this is what Aaron said:

22 “Do not be angry, my lord,” Aaron answered. “You know how prone these people are to evil. 23 They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt, we don’t know what has happened to him.’ 24 So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!” (Ex 32:22-24)

Do you see what Aaron did? He shifted blame on the people and did not accept responsibility for his actions. He could have told the people to wait on the Lord and corrected them, but instead He gave into their wishes and then when confronted blamed them.

Sounds familiar doesn't it. Not many people want to accept responsibility for their actions these days. It's so much easier to blame others for our mistakes, problems, and decisions. We blame our parents, our friends, our children, our spouse. We blame the government, our employer, our school. We blame God.

Truth is truth. When we make mistakes, poor choices, bad decisions, lie, treat people bad, steal, swear, use people, are selfish, and do wrong, it's OUR FAULT. We all have ultimate control over our feelings, choices, decisions, and life.

People may die, we may grow up poor, we might have been abused, we maybe have been wronged, or missed a break or two, but ultimately, our attitude, mindset, feelings, and emotions dicate what we do, how we act, and how we treat others. One WE can be accountable for our own actions, no other person, place, or event.

Bad things happening to us is no excuse to give up, throw in the towel, fall apart, become bitter, resentful, or horrible to be around. If that was the case, we'd all have an excuse to be and do evil.

As long as you constantly blame others for your behavior, faults, problems, and attitude you will never overcome anything. You especially will not allow God to work in your life if you always blame shift and never own up.

None of us is exempt from mistakes, bad choices, or problems, but being human some of those things are our own fault. We screw up, we err, we have a bad day, we sin, we fall short, or we let the situation get the best of us. Best thing to do is own up, accept responsibility, be honest, and learn from it and move on. Most of all allow God to work in your life in whatever situation it might be.

Do not be like Aaron and join in on the wrong and then blame shift.

Proverbs 19:1(NIV)

Better a poor man whose walk is blameless than a fool whose lips are perverse

One Hit Wonder

One Hit Wonder

VH1 has tv show's dedicated to them, there are cd's dedicated to them, even in different decades. They are artists/bands that only had one good song, and were never heard of again?

"Oh Micky, your so fine, your so fine you blow my mind, Hey Mickey?" Remember who sung that song? Me either? Or anything else they ever sung. Did Vanilla Ice every have another Hit besides Ice Ice Baby? I don't know either?

I don't know the reasons, but for whatever reason, these musical artists didn't last or make it past their hit song? Well it reminds me of Easter. People come to church once for Easter(or insert Christmas here too) and you never see them again? Maybe they go because their mom or wife or in-laws guilted them to go, or they are in town visiting family and had to go out of respect for them.

My bigger issue is that there are people out there, that are totally content in going to church once or twice a year. Like christianity or God is an annual event that you go watch once a year like the superbowl or Grammy's?

God is not a God who wants our church attendance. We are not doing God a favor by coming to church once a year, or even once a week. Yet many have this attitude about God. We go to church to GIVE God worship, not get props for being there. Going to church is about something bigger, being a part of God's body as a whole. We go there to worship God, serve Him, and join with others in worship.

Sure, we can go and worship God in song, we can take communion to remember His death on the cross for our sins, hopefully we can hear a sermon that teaches us, challenges us, equips us, and convicts us depending on what we need that day, but the bigger picture is that we are part of something bigger. We go to church to worship God in various ways and to be a part of His Body. His church.

I think it's great that churches invest so much energy in Easter Sunday. it's a great opportunity to share Jesus with people who normally don't hear the message. Maybe that one Sunday there, may open up a door for them to hear or see something that makes them think, challenges their heart, or makes them wonder maybe life was meant for something more? I think churches need to make a big deal every week myself! Every Sunday is important, let alone every day of our lives!

I don't want to be a one hit wonder. There is more to this life than just attending church on Easter or Christmas. There is more to God than just putting on nice clothes and enjoying a choir special. God created you with purpose. He created you for a relationship with Him.

God did not create us to just attend a church service once a year or once a week. He created us to have a relationship with us. In having a relationship we become a part of His body or family that is the church. God did not create us to be there once and disappear and never be heard from again. God created us to thrive, to grow, to serve, with purpose, with value, and most of all for eternity.

We spend so much time trying to find purpose and value in earthly relationships, partying, hobbies, happiness, success, and you name it, but the bottom line is, you will never have peace, never be fulfilled, and never know true relationship and purpose until you get serious about seeking God.

Do not be a one Hit wonder, God has so much more to offer you and your family, than just one church service a year. Give Him a chance,you won't regret it. Let your life matter.

Do not be a person who just goes to church once a week out of duty or obligation. Enjoy being a Christian and worshipping God. If you're not happy at church, maybe you're the problem? Or maybe you need to start letting God use you to help the church? Or maybe you need to find a new church? I don't know, but I know God created us to worship Him and be a part of His church. Make a difference for God.

No one remembers one Hit wonders, but they do remember those that last. Like Elvis, The Beatles, George Straight, Stevie Wonder, or Johnny Cash. Artists that have had hits for decades, and some that have died, and their music has outlived them.

That's the type of christians and people we should want to be: our lives, our service, and our love for God outlives us, though we will go and live for eternity in Heaven.

Go to church, Be the church, Worship God, Serve God, and let God of Wonders be the One.

3 John 1:3 (NIV)

It gave me great joy when some believers came and testified about your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it.

Stereotypes

Stereotypes

It's very easy for people to come up with stereotypes for church or christianity isn't it? Think about it. You get treated bad by a christian, and you say all christians are bad. You went to church with your grandma when you were little and it was all old people, boring, and was the white church with the big steeple, and you say all churches are for old people. boring, and the same. It's very easy for us to stereotype things and in doing that we dismiss them.

While some stereotypes may be true in life, most are not. It's not fair to do that to people, places, and especially a faith. I mean, I could go out and be rude to someone and treat them bad and would be it be fair for a person to say all men are rude, all white guys are rude, all guys name Jason are rude, all guys from WV are rude, and all guys that are good looking are rude? Ok, maybe not the good looking, but you can see how stereotyping something or someone based on one experience is not only not fair it's not accurate.

True, there are some people out there that call themselves christians, but do not act like it, just surf the web and check out those whacko's from Westboro Baptist in Kansas(http://www.godhatesfags.com/) who hate gays and protest soldiers funerals. Do you think they give the church and christianity a bad name? YES! But, they do not represent Christianity or the God I know, love, and serve? NO! It's not fair to God and the church to judge them based on people and places like this group of delusional people, doing wrong in God's name and abusing the church.

True, there are churches out there that are dying, out of touch, legalistic, self-centered, and doing the same things the same way for 100 years and they are dying because they refuse to change. They are not relevent, they are not reaching lost people, or discipling members. However, there are thousands of churches out there that are reaching lost people, growing, and discipling it's members. There is a church out there somewhere than can and will meet your needs and help you grow in your faith!

I want to challenge you this morning. If you do not go to church because you had a bad experience with a church or a christian in the past, stop using that as an excuse not to go to church or become a christian. We all have bad experiences in life, but we can't let those stop us. If I have a bad experience at a restaurant, I may stop eating at that particular restaurant, but I'm not going to boycott all restaurants based on that one bad experience at that particular store. That would be stupid. Do not do that with God or His church.

I promise you, if you look with sincerity, you will meet great christian people and you can find a church that isn't boring, fake, dull, or full of hypocrites. Yes, they are some bad churches and bad christians, but not all of them. It's like anything, there is always a few bad, but there are way more good, if you will only look for them and not let your bad experience judge your search.

I know that you or I would not want to be lumped into a negative, false, or bad stereotype that wasn't true about us, and I don't believe God nor His true church wants that stereoytpe either. Unfortunately, because we are human, we live in a world where some people who proclaim Christianity, don't live up to the name, and we live in world, where some churches, stopped being the true church a long time ago for various reasons? I can't always live up to my christian faith, and if we were honest with ourselves, we know no matter how hard we try, we sometimes make mistakes and fall short.

The important thing is that each of us know God in a personal way and make a commitment to Him and that we serve Him through His church. We need God and we need His church. People think you can have a relationship wtih God without His church and you cannot. But, we also need to understand not every church out there that claims to be a church is being the church. Therefore, we must search for where God want us and use wisdom and discernment.

Do not label all christians bad and do not label all churches bad. Stereotypes are bad. Seek the truth, don't let bad experiences keep you from knowing God and serving Him through His church!

John 7:24(NIV)

Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.”

Mold

MOLD

I know your first thought is gross, lol. I'm not talking about mold on leftovers forgotten about in the fridge or mold on the loaf of bread in your cabinet. I'm talking about molding and shaping.

What is your life molded from? How are you shaped? You've heard it said, when they made "fill in the blank" they broke the mold. Or that person is from the same mold as His father or mother.

Things in life mold us and shape up. Our families, our surroundings, our experiences, and our choices, all mold and shape us.

However, what we really need to be molded after is Jesus. Our goal should be to be like Jesus. I'm not saying, we can't pick up positive traits from our parents or others, but ultimately, our life should reflect Christ, if we are serious about our faith. Unfortanutely, we also can pick up negative and bad traits from others and life choices and experiences.

Some christian people they mold and shape their faith after their church, after their religious practices, or their traditions. Those things are not Jesus. Some people are so proud to be baptist, or legalistic, or traditional, or set in their ways. They boast and brag. These things aren't molds God wants for us. Jesus came to give us freedom, to liberate us, and to give us a model. He wanted to destroy religion and traditions that people make of God. Our mold should be after God and God alone.

Also, in the world, we mold ourself in so many negative ways. We are over-opinionated, pushy, moody, domineering, selfish, like our way, etc...we are all guilty of this, including me. These practices are not good ways to mold and shape our lives. All they do is cause us conflict, drama, and push people away from us and make it hard to have healthy relationships with anyone, including God.

We need to ALLOW God personal access to our lives from the inside out. Then slowly over time, God molds and shapes our lives. We are like Clay in His hands and He begins to change us. He can change our attitudes, our habits, our personalities, our motives, and most of all our lives. God can do anything He wants to do, but He can only work in our lives if we allow Him. God will never force himself, but if we allow Him, he can mold and shape us into the person He created us to be.

If you are an artist and create something, you understand it takes time. It takes time to paint a portait, create a sculpture, write a song, or make something by hand. God is our artist. He is our creator. He wants to take us in His hands and mold us. shape us.

My prayer for you and me, is that whatever areas of our lives, we are not giving to God, maybe all? We will hand over to God and allow Him to mold us. We need His handy work in our lives if we are going to grow in our faith and do great things for Him. Give yourself to God, allow Him to work in ALL areas of your life and grow you, change you, shape you, and mold you.

Isaiah 64:8(NIV)

Yet you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.

Do Not Assume

Do Not Assume

I don't have to tell you what assuming does to you and me. It is very easy to make assumptions about circumstances and people without really knowing the truth, facts, or what's really going on. I have been guilty of it we all have did it I am sure.

So many times we look at someone's situation or lives and we think we know what the are going through or their situation and we judge them unfairly. We look at how a kid acts and we assume their parents aren't good parents, when you don't live with or raise the kid on a daily basis. You might not know they have some issues and the parents have tried everything to control them. Or you look at a woman married to a man and you don't understand why she stays with him, he's a cheat, a perv, and mean. Yet, maybe the woman is afraid,or feels trapped, or is threatened if she leaves?

We don't know people's circumstances. When gossip and rumors get out in town or at church about someone, it's very easy to think we know it all, because of what we heard, but many times, what actual reality and truth is, is very different than what we hear or think we know.

You don't know whta it's like to live in someone else's house, walk in their shoes, or be in their circumstance, so it's not fair or right of us to assume, judge, or condemn them. We have no idea how we would handle, react, or respond if we were in that given situation or dealing with those issues. It's very easy to talk about how we'd handle something, as long as we are not in it. It's totally different when you are living it.

My encouragement this morning is this. Stop assuming you know every situation. Don't judge someone because you think you know their situation or problem. If you haven't lived it or experienced it, you don't know it. And in most cases we never truly have all the facts.

I have been very guilty of making assumptions and judgements of people and their problems or circumstances based on my thinking I know, but not really knowing, and I want to change that.

If you don't know about a person or their situation, then don't say anything or act like you know. If a friend or family member comes to you with issues, then listen, give advice or counsel when asked, and don't assume or judge if you don't know. If required be supportive, if required be honest and truthful if they need to hear it, but only about facts and reality, not assumptions.

We all have opinions, some of us more than others. We think we know it all, but let's be real honest, if we haven't lived it, experienced it, or been through it, kind of hard to know it. And if we got stuff in our lives we aren't dealing with, kind or hard to tell someone what they need to do in their lives.

It reminds me of the simple lesson Jesus tried to teach in Matthew 7. We need to worry about ourselves and get ourselves together, then we can worry about someone else.

3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. Matthew 7:3-5(NIV)

Let's get the plank ourt of our eyes, then we can help others with their speck, but if you don't know the speck, don't assume you do.

Childish

Childish

There are two types of childish behavior at work here in our lives. One is positive and the other negative.

When we are children, we learn and grow, physically and mentally. However, some children learn good behavior and habits, while others learn bad behavior and habits. Some grow and mature, while some grow more immature.

When it comes to our personal faith. God wants us to have the attitude and purity of a child, while at the same time not being childish? Does that make sense?

Read these two verses below and see if that helps?

1 Corinthians 14:20 "Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults."

Matthew 18:3"And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

Some people grow into adults but never fully mature. They are immature, act childish, behave childish, and because of their behaviors and atttitudes they seem to stay in trouble, cause conflict, and hurt others. You know anyone like that? Got them in your family?

However, on the flip side of that, though God wants us to mature in our faith, he wants us to maintain a child-like faith, which is of innocence, purity, and unconditional love.

There are people out there that will never grow in their faith because they refuse to mature and grow and act like an adult. Then there are those who grow and mature deeply because they work on staying pure at heart and keeping themselves innocent of sinful behaviors and surroundings.

Being mature means treating people with respect, not retaliating when someone hurts you, treating others how you want to be treated, and not accusing people falsely, and accepting responsibility for yourself and your actions. Being immature means being disrespectful, causing drama, trying to hurt others even if you don't have all the fact, and treating others badly out of your own selfishness.

Being Child-like faith is striving to have a pure heart. Doing things like praying daily and reading your bible regularly and being involved in bible studies and serving God and reading christian books and listening to christian music and things like this that will help you meditate and stay pure. It's protecting your innocence by avoiding things that cause you to be tempted, to lust, to cheat, and to hurt others.

We must grow and mature in our faith as we physically age and grow older. And the older we become the more we should grow in our faith. Which means we become more knowledgeable of God's word and will, we improve in areas of our lives where we are weak, we hone our spiritual talents and gifts and use them for God's kingdom. Our life becomes less about us and our wants and more about God and His needs. The more we grow in our faith the less judgemental we should be, the more wisdom and discernment we should have, and the more we make a positive difference in the world for God.

At the same time we are aging and hopefully maturing and growing in our faith we become more child-like in our faith. That simply means that God wants us to keep an attitude of purity and innocence like a child. Seeing the good in others, learning to share, avoiding things that corrupt our hearts and minds.

God is our spiritual father, we are His children. I hope we all can learn to have child-like faith, while the same time learning to grow and mature in our faith.

Realistic VS Legalistic

Realistic VS Legalistic

Are you being realistic in your faith or legalistic? Legalistic is defined as: the principle of strict adherence, to law or prescription, especially to the letter rather than the spirit.

Realistic is defined as: interested in, concerned with, or based on what is real or practical. So again, I ask how you in your personal faith in God?

I want you to Look at 3 scenario's and be objective:

1. Which christian does more harm, one who drinks alcohol(wine/beer) socially, in moderdation, or rare occasions (not getting drunk) or a christian who gossips regularly and often?

2. Which christian does more harm, one who was led to Christ by reading the (NLT) New Living translation of the Bible or one who condenms every translation except one or condemns anyone who reads any other translation other than the one they think is the only one?(typically the King James Version).

3. Which christian does more harm, one who fellowships and accepts other christians of other denominations or those who believe different than them on certains biblical issues or the one who thinks their church is the only church going to heaven and you are only a christian if you got to "their" church?

These are only 3 scenario's, I could write several others but for space/time reasons I won't. My point today is, there are many judgemental, narrow-minded, ignorant, set in their ways, and uneducated, maybe even some well-meaning christians out there, who are doing more harm than good. They condemn certain behaviors or people or groups, while their own behavior or attitude is really more harmful to themselves, others, and God. PLEASE UNDERSTAND I am not endorsing or promoting drinking, every bible translation, or even every group that calls themselves a church, but we need to be realistic and objective, that sometimes we fight the wrong battles, focus on the wrong things, and many people do more harm than good. Also, we need to keep in mind that we all have indiviual freedom, convictions, and preferences in certain areas of our faith.

Let's look closely at these 3 scenarios:
First, scripture is clear on getting drunk and drunkeness being a sin (Luke 21:34, Romans 13:13, I Cor. 6:10, Prov. 20:1 & 23:20-their are several other scriptures as well), however, scripture also teaches us (whether we like it or not), that Jesus did indeed drink wine (Luke 7:33-35 and John 2-water into wine-he accepted others drinking wine) and Jesus clearly didn't condemn alcohol use, but scipture does condemn mis-use, abuse, and lack of self-control of alcohol. Alcohol isn't the bad guy, it's the people who use it excess or abuse it. Sort of like people who abuse authority, food, or other things out of their intended boundaries. However, gossip is always wrong. There is not place in the bible where gossip is ok in moderation, on occasion, or in social settings. Gossip is ALWAYS wrong. (prov 11:13, 16:28, 18:8, Romans 1:29, 2 Cor. 12:20) However, many churches are full of "christians" who gossip on a daily basis and nothing is said, but you hear or see a "christian" drinking a beer at a restaurant or see a picture on facebook of someone having a glass of wine at a social gathering and we automatically condemn them as being a hypocrite, sinner, or evil? But we look the other way at our church full of gossips, dividers, and slanderers?

I think it's honorable if people choose to abstain from alcohol, certain foods, or certain hobbies, or practices, but we must be very very careful to not bind our own personal convictions on everyone else(Go Read Romans 14, esp 14:22) especially when scripture doesn't back it up, and again I'm just using alcohol and gossip as examples. Don't miss the forest for the trees.

Secondly, the word version or translations is pretty self-explanitory to me. It means it's a version of the original or a translation of the original text. Not every tranlation or version is a good one, but not everyone is a bad one. Many people have come to Christ and have grown in their faith and even preached and taught others with the King James, New King James, New International Version, New Living Translation, American Standard, Revised Standard, and the Message to name a few. Who is more Christ-like? One who shares the word of God and reads it and does what it says or one who is dogmatic, negative, judgemental in saying there is only ONE translation and the rest are uninspired, evil, perverted, or wrong? Heaven will be a small place if only people who read one version go there. (Eph 5:6-empty words, 2 Tim 2:24 false teachers, Hebrews 4:12-God's word). Sometimes translations improve the original texts, and changing words, doesn't always mean changed meanings. Wy is translating the orignial texts into today's language so evil? If we found another ancient writing today, would we not translate it in today's language or would be go back to 1600 Shakespeare old english? Jesus did not speak old english folks. Which is realistic and which is legalistic?

Thirdly, there are many denominations, non-denominational, established, and independent churches out there, there are many branches of different movements. I agree there is only ONE church, but that church is GOD's church, not a certain denomination or non-denominational group. The church is the BODY of Christ. HE is the head and we are all a part in that body.

We may attend the Baptist, methodist, church of Christ, Presbyterian, or community churches, but we all can be a part of HIS church. Are there churches or certain religous groups out there that aren't teaching the bible correctly? Yes. Are there churches out there that started for the wrong reasons? Yes. Is there a church (group) out there that's doing everything correctly? No. No church whether denomination or not, is doing everything correctly, or has all the answers. If there was, then Jesus died in vain. Do we all have to agree with every topic, issue, or doctrine out there? No. Do I have to have the same belief about speaking in tongues, the end of times, baptism, or grace to consider you my brother or sister? I shouldn't, but many people do. They judge someone a christian or not based on whether they agree with them and where they go to church.

I don't agree with a lot of peoples views and I certainly don't agree with every denomination or doctrine out there, and many wont' agree with me today, but that doesn't give me a right or authority to condemn every christian who doesn't agree with me or doesn't go to the same church I do. When we do that, we limit God, put Him in a Box, and make salvation about being in the right group or right set or rules and not about what Jesus did. Jesus condemned this type of behavior (read the Matt, Mark, Luke, & John and Jesus words to the Religous leaders and Pharisees. Paul fought legalism too, read Acts). Jesus came to FREE us from religion, rules, and legalism, by enabling us to have a relationship with him. Why do we want to make being a christian, going to church, and being saved so hard for people?

Are there some churches and christians out there mis-informed? Yes. Are there some things I believe that are probably wrong? Yes. That is why it's important for us to talk to God daily, read and study our bibles, and contine to grow in our faith. Many churches are known for what they are against instead of what they are for. Many christians push people away and turn people off from God and the church because they are arrogant, argumentative, pushy, and judgemental. You are not going to lead too many people to Christ with those types of attitudes. Does that mean you have to agree with everyone or be comfortable in every type of church? No. Go to church and serve where you feel led, but don't condemn another church, worship style, preference, or christian just because it doesn't match up with the way you were raised, taught, or even feel. (Romans 14:1, John 3:17, Romans 15:7, Gal 2:21, Eph 2:8-there are many other scriptures)

We need to be REAListic not LEGAListic. Our salvation comes from God, not our own smarts.

Our relationship of faith in God is up to us, not others. We will answer to God, not someone else and not our church group or personal opinions. I believe in absolutes, I believe in boundaries, right and wrong, and sin. But, I also believe in personal freedom/choice, grace, preferences, and common sense. What is wrong for you, might not be wrong for me, but I am also to exercise wisdom and discernment. Sometimes things are better for us not to do or say, not because they are a sin or wrong, but because it may offend or hurt someone else or even hurt the church.

Sometimes we might not agree with someone over bible translations, worship music, or even doctrinal issues, or personal choicies, but we can agree that Jesus died for us, he loves us, and His grace covers our sins if we repent. We make things issues that I believe God never intended for them to be issues, but when you mix human beings that are sinful by nature an not perfect, things get complicated.

God wants us to have freedom in Him, that's realistic. God doesnt want us being legalistic and limiting His love, power, and grace. No matter your views, opinions, preferences, or even beliefs, be careful to get the plank(Matt 7:3-5) out of our eyes first.

We may never drink alcohol, but we gossip constantly. We may only use the King James, but we never use it like the person who uses their NIV everyday and shares their faith. Or what about ther person who prays and fellowships with people of other denominations, while one person has nothing to do with anyone other than "their own" churches. Who is making a bigger difference?

I don't have all the answers, you may not agree with some of the things I said today, well good news, you don't have to. I'm at a place in my walk with God where I'm not going to let people, churches, or anything dictate how I live, believe, feel, or serve.

I want my life to reflect my relationship with God and that's as REAL as it gets. I want God to use me to give others FREEDOM in Him. WE need to stop being so legalistic in our religion and start being more realistic in our faith. I encourage you to search the scriptures, pray, and study on your own, don't take my word for it, take God's.

John 8:36

"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."