I’M THROUGH!

I want to state from the beginning of this article that I am pro-life, pro-marriage (defined as one-man/one-woman) and generally socially conservative, but I have to say that I don’t really like the pro-life, pro-marriage, conservative movement.  Over time, more and more Christians have aligned themselves with these movements, however, this wing of social politics has become known largely for it’s angry, nasty, shouting protesters and commentators instead of loving, caring, respectful, compassionate people of Godly Christian integrity, offering caring, wise counsel and options.  Many Christians have allowed division, news channels and the politics of “Herod” to drive a wedge between us as a country and as a church.  Instead of seeing hurting, needy people, we only see issues, arguments and agendas.  Too many Christians simply see politics and social issues as a debate to be won instead of hurting people to be ministered too with the love of Jesus.  Honestly, because of these attitudes, I stay away.

It increasingly seems that those with loud mouths and an argumentative spirit are simply attempting to out shout the opposition and they no longer see the very real needs of hurting people who are grappling with these issues in real life.  Far too many fail to see that in every debate, every argument, every shouting match is found someone’s son, daughter, wife or parents with a very painful story and a broken heart.  We have forgotten (or never knew) that we are to “speak the truth in love.”  In the beginning, God created all life including humankind and He made man and woman in His image.  Then He said about the mankind He created “that it was good”.  Perhaps we should walk in His steps.  Even when man fell and became separated from God, decided not to follow His will, chose not to love Him and not love others, the Bible tells us  “God still loved the world, so much that He gave His only son”.  God so loved that He gave!  He didn’t picket or protest.  He didn’t argue and debate.  He didn’t shout down mankind.  No!  He loved and He gave.  Yes!  Let’s not forget that He still gave us rules including the 10 commandments because He loves us, cares for us and wants the best for us.  But ultimately, God desire a relationship with us, NOT RULES!

Psalm 51:17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise.

Matthew 15:8‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.

When people find that I am a follower of Christ, will they only see me shouting about their sin, debating about their depravity?  Or will they see my acts of love, taking joy in their value as a person, made in the image of God.  If that is going to happen, I must see them through the eyes of God’s redemptive love, eyes of Jesus that loved so much that He gave.

I want to be a Christian whose focus is not on Fox News, MSNBC, CNN, the Republicans or Democrats, but I want my focus to be on bringing hope, encouragement, peace, strength and redemption.  I’ve left the debating, arguing, shouting and disrespect behind.  Will you?

IT'S CONFESSION TIME!

OK! There is an old saying that goes "confession is good for the soul". Not exactly scripture but it is still true. The bible says in James 5: 6 to "confess your sins to each other and pray for one another that you may be healed" So I am going to make a confession here for all the world to see.

My confession: I have been distracted. Distracted from my calling, distracted from my sheep, distracted from my family and more. I have been self centered. I have not seen it as self-centeredness, but it was. See, the church that I pastor has been under incredible financial stress during this recent recession. On top of that, I have faced and dealt with (not necessarily well) some very painful personnel situations. Add all this up and I have allowed myself to be distracted from the important things and become self centered on myself. My "ministry", my "reputation", my "feelings", my "income", my "success" (or lack thereof). That's it! My - my - my - my. Listen, I'm not saying we shouldn't take care of ourselves and I'm not saying we personally don't need ministry, but what I'm am saying is that my life has been extremely unbalanced and well ... self centered. 

Well, that is my confession! Now what am I going to do with it? Come back for my next blog entry to read all about it.