Do You Mind If I Stomp On The American Flag?”

     It seems that for years now the most controversial act of “Free speech” has been to desecrate the American flag by burning it or walking on it.  The most recent trend is to take your picture standing on it and spread it on social media.  Unfortunately, I believe that I am guilty of something much worse!  

     I understand why people get so angry, even violent when they see pictures of someone desecrating the American Flag.  My Grandfather was a medic in WWII, and saw first-hand the cost of the freedom that flag represents. 

     When I say that I am guilty of something much worse, I am not referring to the American Flag, but to something that is even more precious to me than my Country.  I am talking about my God.   

     Whenever I write about or preach about the amazing grace God has for us I will inevitably get a comment from someone to affect that “We don’t want to slip into Hyper, Cheap, Easy, or Greasy Grace!”

     I trust that their statements are made out of concern that people are going to use the Grace of God as an excuse to sin.  I understand this concern and it isn’t anything new.  Paul had to address this problem 2,000 years ago when he wrote, “Shall we continue to sin so that Grace may abound? God Forbid!” 

     With that said, I think that we cheapen the grace of God whenever we leave any hint in people’s minds that they have to in any way earn, deserve, or maintain the grace of God.  Biblical grace is defined as “Unmerited Favor.”  Unmerited means it ISN’T deserved.  It is a GIFT.  If we do anything to earn something it is no longer a gift.

     Let’s talk about the term “Cheap Grace.”  Grace is way better than Cheap! It is totally and completely FREE!  It costs us nothing!  All we have do to is receive it by Faith. 

     On the flip side of that coin, Grace definitely isn’t CHEAP, because it cost Jesus EVERYTHING!  He died an excruciating death to pay the debt that we owed for our sin! 

     

     Grace is not an idea or a theological concept!  Grace is a Person! Jesus Christ! 

     Paul tells us in Hebrews Chapter 10 that when we use God’s grace as an excuse to sin we “have trampled on the Son of God!”  I strive to avoid sin, not to earn or deserve God’s love, mercy and grace, but because I love Jesus.  I love Jesus because I am continuously overwhelmed by his love! 

God doesn’t want a Debt/Debtor relationship with us but a committed, passionate love affair with us! 

     I have the freedom to trample of the flag of the great country I live in, but I never would because I know the cost that flag represents. 

     I also have the freedom to trample on the grace of God by blatantly disregarding how he desires for me to live.  I have definitely been guilty of that in the past, but as I grow in my understanding of what Grace cost Jesus, I now long to honor that sacrifice! 

A Big Ol Pile of “Should!”

“I don’t go to church as much as I SHOULD!  I don’t pray as much as I SHOULD!  

Have you ever caught yourself saying or thinking this?  

My question is, Do we ever arrive at this magical land of “SHOULD?”

I was listening to Christian radio recently and heard a song called, “these hands are tired.”  

The writer said that he was writing the song about how he struggles with not reading the Bible as much as he SHOULD!  I think that this song is popular because most Christians can relate to this feeling.  

We go to church like we SHOULD and preachers get out their shovels and load us down with a whole lot of SHOULD!

“We don’t give like we SHOULD!”

“We don’t volunteer like we SHOULD!”

“We don’t love as much as we SHOULD!”

Unfortunately the preacher isn’t the only one.  It seems like everyone else in the church somehow can add up to the SHOULD list.  When you talk to them they SHOULD all over you as well.

We leave the church which God created to be a place of encouragement, more loaded down with guilt, shame, and remorse than which we came in. 

But can anyone please describe to me what this magical land of SHOULD really looks like? 

How much SHOULD we pray? Once a week, every day, 3 hours every day?

How much SHOULD we read our Bible? Every day, 3 chapters every day, Proverbs once a month?

How much SHOULD we give? Pocket change, $20, 10% of our income?

When we think that God is only interested in our performance, we are never sure of our position with him.  We never arrive at this magical place called SHOULD!  We always think that we aren’t adding up and we SHOULD be doing more.

Listen to what Paul wrote to a group of believers in Ephesus: “God saved you by his GRACE when you believed.  And you can’t take credit for this: it is a gift from God.  Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”

It sounds to me like Paul is saying that we didn’t BEGIN our relationship with God by doing good things.  So why do we think that we KEEP it by doing good things?

God is unrestrained in his love for you and did everything that had to be done so that we could have RELATIONSHIP with him.  Jesus took our punishment for ALL of our sins.  His motive was LOVE not DUTY!  All God asks in return is for you to believe (aka put your trust in him.)    

When we trust God, we avoid sin, not because we know God will be mad at us, but because we know that it will break his heart and destroy our lives.

We read his word because we want to know his heart, not because we SHOULD.

We pray because we want to talk to God, not because we SHOULD.

The Old Covenant was all about SHOULD.  Jesus died to bring about an entire new paradigm, which isn’t about performance but relationship! 

Was Jesus Stupid?

    "Now that's just stupid!" My dad was reading my family a Bible story about Jesus, when I shouted these words!   As Christians we are taught to have the utmost respect for the teachings of Jesus, but have you ever read or heard something Jesus said or did and disagreed with it? I was about 8 years old the first time this happened to me.
     My dad was reading us the story about when Jesus cursed the fig tree.  If you are not familiar with the story you can read it in Mark 11:12-25.   Jesus was hungry and he walked up to a fig tree but there were no figs on the tree, because it wasn’t the season for figs.  He says “may no one ever eat your fruit again!”  The fig tree then withers up and dies! 

     It was at this point in the story that I shouted "Now that's just stupid!"  This did not receive a positive reaction from my parents.  “How dare you call Jesus, stupid?” My response didn’t really help matters any, “Uh, I’m not calling him stupid, just what he did!” For some reason, my 8 year old brain was more concerned with the poor fig tree than the deeper lesson Jesus was trying to teach his disciples.

     There have been many times that I have had a negative reaction to the words of Jesus.  My next instance was when I heard that he said, “Love your enemies, and if they hit you on the cheek offer them the other one!”  “What, that's just stupid!"  But years later as I watched the movie “The Passion of the Christ,” I watched Jesus live this principle out on a level no other human being ever has.

    Another saying of Jesus, which I have currently had to wrestle with is when he instructed us to “become like little children” to get into the kingdom of heaven.  I have always thought this meant we should have “child-like” faith (aka, naïve.)

     I saw an example of “child-like” faith last night.  I asked my youth group “Why do you believe that the Bible is true?”  I received mostly blank stares until a couple of kids spoke up, “Because the Bible says it’s true!” 

     I quickly tried to show them that their statement was circular reasoning.  But later I realized that this is exactly where my faith started.  I trusted my parents and they said the Bible was true, so I just believed them.  In fact that is where almost all of my information came from when I was little.  My parents said it, so it must be true.

     Upon further examination of what Jesus was trying to teach us in “becoming like little children,” He goes on to say “Anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” 

     The reason why children are teachable is their humility.  They realize they don’t know anything.  On the flip-side of this is the arrogant person who thinks they know everything, they are the ones who are truly stupid! 

     Child-like faith is a great place to start but isn’t where God wants us to stay. Look at Ephesians 4:14 “Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown by every wind of new teaching.  We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.”  

Foot Note: I also don't think that believing the Bible "because the Bible says its true," will suffice. To read about evidence for the truth of the Bible click here: 

The Embarrassing Gospel

or here:

Does It Really Matter If Bible Is True

Does it really matter if the Bible is true or not?

     According to 2011 Gallup poll 3 out of 10 Americans believe that the Bible is the literal word of God, while another 49% of Americans believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God but shouldn’t be taken literally, while another 17% consider the Bible to be an Ancient book of stories recorded by man. 

     This is fascinating to me!  How would you answer this question?  Is the Bible the literal word of God?  Is it the inspired word of God, but shouldn’t be taken literally? Or is it an ancient book of stories recorded by man?  Your answer has massive implications!

If the Bible is the literal word of God. . .    

Jesus said “I have come to give you life in all its fullness.”  His words provide both meaning and purpose for life here and in eternity.  His words have the ability to change our thinking, actions, and ultimately our destiny.    

If the Bible is the inspired word of God but shouldn’t be taken literally. . .

I think this is the most comfortable answer to give.  You show respect for the Bible, but you don’t have to take it “literally.”  Which basically means that you can make the Bible say whatever you want it to say, and you can pick and choose which parts of it you actually want to apply to your life.

If the Bible is an ancient book of stories recorded by man. . .

 It is irrelevant.  Frank Turek says “If no other God exists, then my life is meaningless, as there is no design or purpose for humanity.  I am free to do whatever I want.  If another God exists, then I am subject to His/Her teachings.”

     Let me ask you a very important question, “What evidence would it take for you to believe that this collection of ancient writings that we refer to as the Bible was the literal word of God?”

     What if the Bible predicted future events many years before they actually took place, would that convince you?

     What if archaeological evidence was discovered that proved that the “stories” recorded in the Bible were actual historical events, would that convince you?

     What if there was evidence that who recorded these “stories” were actual eyewitnesses or relaying actual eyewitness accounts, would that convince you?

     What if these eyewitnesses were so convinced of what they saw, that they died excruciating deaths rather than recant what they knew to be true, would that convince you?

     The fact is that each of the premises in these questions are indeed true.  So are you now convinced?

     Finally, if you do believe that the Bible is the literal word of God, what is keeping you from reading it and following its teachings? 

     Do you say that you believe the Bible to be the literal word of God but live like it is actually just a bunch of ancient fairy tales?       

Fuzzy Blue Robe! (Written by Dianne Singleton)

     It was a cold morning, late enough that my oldest brother David was at school.  The kitchen was bright and mother was busy.  She already closed the dishwasher because I had tried to pull out the spoons and forks.  I loved the feeling of their hot metal in my hands my brother Jonny was sitting under the table and mom was trying to answer the phone.   
     The floor was cold and I wanted to be with her.  She is so busy and worried.  The house must be cleaned.  Looking up, I tried to reach the curly cord of the telephone, but she was moving.  I touched her soft blue robe.  Finally, she was still.  
     “Mom I’m here! When will you be done talking? Jonny is here too.” Crawling under her robe we both hung onto her legs.  I looked at him and he looked at me.  We had won!  She would have to stop now and see us.  
     We were on the inside of the big fuzzy robe, and every time she tried to move, our little bodies would slow her down.  “Uh huh, Uh huh, I see.” On she talked and on we held, secure under her robe.  Away from the mess, away from the cold bedrooms, in our secret place.         
     Sometimes as a grown woman I miss feeling the warm covering of the big blue robe, and having someone much bigger and much wiser, that I could at any time reach out with all my heart and hang on to.  Why must faith be the evidence of things unseen and yet hoped for? I know God loves me and yet sometimes I need new eyes to see it.  
     As a grown up, walking out the dreams I had as a child.  Trying to be a mother to my own children.  Trying to work at a job and minister to people.  Sometimes I wish there was some secret place I could go and cuddle close to my father God.  And get a glimpse of who I am in His eyes.  
     What if “being” is more important  than I think?  Looking back at this memory, I have a tinge of guilt.  Knowing I was an even busier and distracted mother than my own.  I wonder what my little ones thought as I stopped what I was doing to look down at their little bodies wrapped around my legs, and in frustration say “No more this just won’t do.”
   I haven’t been very good at just dwelling and just being.  I have been much more comfortable with going and doing.  But something deep down inside seems to be calling out for a secret place. To get away or maybe to just cease to move, stop, and look up.  Catch the breath the Lord has so gracefully given.

3 Books Every Christian Needs to Read

I love to read.  I believe that my habit of reading regularly has been more impactful on my life than anything else.  Most of the books that I choose to read are based upon other people’s recommendations.  If you are a follower of Christ, (or even if you aren’t) there are 3 books that I would recommend as essential reading.  Disclaimer: I realize there are dozens of books that could have made this list, and many that you think should be on this list.

1.      The “Bible” by God through 40 different writers

I know this one sounds like a no-brainer!  But statistics tell us that 61% of Christians have read the entire Bible.  That means almost 4 out 10 have not.  Essentially these people are saying that they are committing their lives to something that they haven’t taken the time to read for themselves.  I implore you not to read the Bible out of guilt and obligation but out of a deep desire to discover truth.  There are so many resources out there to assist you in getting started on a plan to read the Bible.  I recommend the Bible App  www.bible.com/app

I have found this extremely helpful in making reading God’s word a daily habit.    

2.      “I Don’t Have Enough Faith To Be An Atheist” by Norman Geisler and Frank Turek

Being someone who was raised in church since I was a baby, I was taught what to believe but not necessarily why to believe it.  With the exception of “We believe it because the Bible says it.”  This book gives page after page of convincing arguments and evidence for the basics of the Theistic/Christian worldview.  I found it extremely informative and inspiring!

3.      “How To Win Friends And Influence People” by Dale Carnegie    

I know this one may sound a bit odd to make the list.  You may be thinking, “What does this have to do with Christianity?”  The previous books will equip you to understand what you believe, why you believe it, and how to articulate your faith.  But if we don’t have people skills no one will want to listen to anything we have to say.  This book is a classic written in 1936.  The principles he writes about are timeless.  This is one of a handful of books that I have reread multiple times!      

I encourage you to make reading a part of your daily routine.  It has forever enriched my life in more ways than I can count.  I would recommend starting with these three books.  

Abortion: A "Right" or a "Wrong?"

     I recently had a fascinating conversation with a young man on Facebook regarding the topic of abortion.  Our conversation basically started out with me stating that life within the womb was sacred, and he responded by stating that the developing fetus in the womb was a “jumble of cells,” therefore giving the women the right to choose abortion. 

     I had to admit that if he is right and the developing fetus was just a “jumble of cells” then the woman probably did have the right to eliminate them from her body.  I then asked a clarifying question, “So in your opinion when do these ‘jumble of cells’ become a human being?”  He responded with “A jumble of cells can become a human if the person chooses to carry those cells to the point at which they are an autonomous being and no longer a parasite.”

     I was intrigued and by this statement, because I still wanted to know at what point a fetus goes from being a “parasite” and becomes an "autonomous being."  In my opinion this is a foundational question to be answered in the abortion debate, “Is the developing fetus a human being?”  And if the developing fetus is a human being when does it become human? 

     To quote William Lane Craig, “There is no nonarbitrary point in the process before which you can say the fetus is not human but after which he or she is.  The fact is that any human attempt to draw a line and say ‘not human before this point, but human afterwards’ is wholly arbitrary and without biological foundation.” 

     Answering the question of “Is the developing fetus a human being?” will lead us to the underlying question of “Do human beings possess intrinsic moral value?”  This second question is foundational to the issue of abortion as well.

     In another discussion with the aforementioned young man regarding abortion, I asked “In your opinion is abortion a good thing or a bad thing?”  He said, “Abortion is good because it provides an option to people if they are in a situation where they cannot have, afford to have, had no choice, do not want, and/or had not planned to have a child.”

     I then asked “Would you like to see more or less abortions performed in America?”  He said “I, personally, would like to see less performed.” 

     This is the point I think that most of us would agree upon, “Less Abortions.” 

     I finally ended our discussion with this statement, “I am for less abortions because I am morally opposed to it. I believe that unborn babies are human beings and deserve to be given the chance at life. I don't want less abortions because I hate women but actually because I care about them and I believe that abortions have many negative consequences on the mothers. I'm not talking about making abortion illegal but making it less common. I'm for sex education but would like for abstinence to be discussed. I'm for adoption. I'm for churches and non-profits helping young ladies who are pregnant and wrestling with the decision of abortion with love and respect.”

The Embarrassing Gospel!

     
Have you ever done something that was really, really embarrassing?  I sure have.  I once volunteered to be a part of a strength exhibition at our church.  I was going to pull a 40,000 lb fire truck!  Hundreds of people were there to watch and when the fire truck showed up, it was actually 80,000 lbs and it had begun to rain.  That didn’t stop me from trying!  On my third attempt to pull the truck, I pulled so hard my harness snapped!  Needless to say, the firetruck never moved and I was rather embarrassed.  If I had been making up this story, it definitely would have had a more triumphant ending.

     There were a group of men who have told a story and unfortunately they have been accused of making it up.  I am talking about the Disciples of Jesus of Nazareth.  They shared their accounts of the life of Jesus in the four gospels of the New Testament.  Their accounts have endured endless criticism. 

     I submit one line of evidence among many for the reliability of their accounts: Their Embarrassing testimony. 

     Have you ever lied to make yourself look good?    Probably.  Have you ever lied to make yourself look bad? Probably not.  This is why the embarrassing details of the gospel writers is deemed to be reliable.  If you are going to make up a story you are more than likely going to make you and your friends out to be heroes, not bumbling idiots.

     There are several categories of the embarrassing details, one of which is that the disciples were cowards! 

     When Jesus is captured, all of the disciples run away in terror!  Mark even includes in his account of a follower who ran away naked! Many scholars believe that Mark is referring to himself as the naked coward.

     After Jesus is captured, Peter denies that he even knows him, three different times.  When he is confronted by soldiers? No, when he is confronted by a middle school girl!

     After Jesus is crucified, the women followers are the only ones brave enough to go and discover the empty tomb!  This embarrassing detail is quit revealing considering the culture at that time.  In a court of law, a woman’s testimony was not on the same level as a man’s.  Consider this quote from the Jewish religious text “Sooner let the words of the Law be burnt than delivered to women!”  Women obviously occupied a low rung on the Jewish social ladder.   This is evidence that if the disciples where making up a story, they wouldn’t make women the first to discover Jesus resurrection.  But the women were the heroes of the story!

     I want to highlight two lessons we can learn from these embarrassing details of the Gospel accounts.

1.    The Gospel Accounts are FACT not fiction! 

If they said Jesus said it, he actually said it.

If they said Jesus did it, he actually did it.

2.    God will use cowardly imperfect people to change the world if they will only put their faith in him!