The shooting in Orlando, Florida in the early morning hours on Sunday was a horrible tragedy. It was a horrific mass shooting that was both a terrorist shooting by someone who identified himself with Isis, and an act of domestic terrorism by someone born here who bought an assault rifle and decided to use it […]
The latest hot topic regarding transgenders and bathrooms has created a lot of political and media fodder. It is NOT my intention to discuss this topic nor debate it, but the fact remains – because of this new focus by many, new questions have been raised with me and Deana. These have NOT been mean natured, judgmental, or within the “bathroom” realm of questioning. Instead, people who have never really considered the “T” in LGBT have begun to seek to understand. This is always a good thing and we welcome and applaud the idea. However, it also opens up the need to clarify a few things – and that is the basis of this post.
First, let me get the harder part out of the way, and this is not so much because people have asked us this, but because it seems to be a prevalent correlation when the topic of LGBT comes up in general; just because someone is LGBT, does NOT mean they are a pedophile. While I am sure there HAVE been occasions where a pedophile is gay, I believe statistically there are more straight pedophiles abusing children, based on the fact there are more heterosexuals in our population. So pedophilia is NOT a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered issue – it is a societal issue. (See this medical research for info on that, so you know I am not just spouting my views).
Now, for more interesting questions. We have been pleased that many of our friends have been researching transgender information and trying to understand people who identify as transgender. I will be the first to tell you, I have walked down the same path of inquisition. We have a few very close friends who are transgender, some we only knew as the gender they identify with, and some as they transferred to their identified gender. In both cases, I can’t tell you honestly that I wasn’t just as confused as you may be. I mean, just because I am a lesbian doesn’t mean I totally understand what these children of God are going through. And that is the first question I’d like to address in detail – Deana and I are NOT Transgender; we both identify as women and we both feel attraction towards women. Of the two of us, I am definitely more androgynous and am more drawn to things that society has deemed more “male” in nature. I like baseball caps, sports, cargo shorts, etc. Sometimes, the clothes I wear were made for men, but not because I want to be a MAN, but because the style fits me better. However, the majority of my clothes were made for women. When my kids were younger and Mother’s Day was approaching, I’d get so irritated that the mothers were given a “tea” at school while the dads got to play in a tennis match. I am not much of a “tea” person EXCEPT when I am in England and then look out, I am totally down for finger sandwiches, crumpets, and the like. I really don’t like to shop nor do I prefer to wear frilly clothes that flow and swish. But really, there are MANY women, even straight women, who are similar to me. Deana, well she fits the more feminine mold for sure, likes to wear platform shoes and long necklaces, but can play basketball with the best of them and can intimidate others with her hispanic attitude…..and that’s okay too. But neither of us wants to be male. I enjoy many things that society has labeled as “female”, and pretty much I have always felt female. Neither of us have any desire to change that. That’s NOT to say we’ve not had those theoretical conversations where we’d say “it would have been SO MUCH easier if one of us was a man”. But that’s a different topic.
So, that leads to the “B” in LGBT, signifying bisexual. While it is not my intent to get too graphic on this site, nor do I want to expose details that should remain private, I often get asked if I am bisexual given I was married for 16 years to a man. I feel it would be unfair to ignore this question. I loved my husband and never felt an aversion to being a wife to him. My goal, when we were married, was to be straight and to be healed of my attraction to women – it was never my intention to allow my attraction to women to develop further than the secret pull that was within me. Other posts have shared some of the struggle I went through during this period of my life, so I won’t go too deep here. But, I want to be clear – my heterosexual marriage was not torture for me. HOWEVER, I was conforming to what I felt society, my church, my family, my everything was demanding I be – a heterosexual woman. After spending my entire post-puberty life (and 16 years with my husband), I knew I was lying. That began my present journey that ultimately lead to meeting and marrying Deana, whom I’ve been with for 13 years. So, despite my marriage to my ex-husband, I do not identify as bisexual. I identify as a lesbian; I am attracted to women and feel completely fulfilled within my marriage with Deana.
Now to “G”, signifying gay. In general terms, gay is associated with homosexual males, whereas “L” is associated with homosexual females (or lesbians). You will see I sometimes use “gay” to describe myself. I have shared the technical definitions, though in my own life, lesbian and gay are used interchangeably.
Now to “T”, transgender. This is someone who identifies with a gender that does not correspond to their biological gender. And, let me start by saying……..that’s hard for me to understand. As someone who has always felt and liked being a female, it is hard for me to truly absorb feeling differently. (Wait…..disclaimer…..I resented that I could not go topless on a hot day when I was about 8. My brothers were allowed to “because they were boys” and that did tick me off. Ha.) It seems “weird” for me to consider feeling like a man when I was born a woman. But, in a small way, I can see aspects of it in my life. I mean, when I was little I resonated more with my male friends, wanting to play with hot wheels and throw a football. I NEVER wanted to play dress up, put on makeup, etc. And I knew, without anyone telling me anything, that I was “weird” and shouldn’t probably act that way. How much more would the pressure be if my very MIND told me day in and day out that my body was totally wrong? What if, as I began going through puberty, the breasts that began to develop was a significant affront to the fact I felt like a man? (Which, side note, had I been born transgender this would not have been an issue since I was Olive Oil until after I had Kirstie! 🙂 ) In any regard, I don’t understand why people are transgender, really I don’t. I have just as many questions as you probably do. But I do know this – those I know and love are honorable people. They struggle and pray and cry out to God, and they are humans and have feelings. Not one of the transgender people I know have changed their mind, thinking “Oh shoot, I am really female (or male) after all!”. Every one of them truly wishes they were born with the correct biological bodies so they didn’t have to struggle to align what they feel inside with what shows outside. And every one of them feel whole now that they have started or completed their transition. And, every single one of them are Christian. That’s not to say ALL are Christian in the transgender community, but neither are those in the heterosexual community. And I feel compelled to share – for those of you who are Christian, Christ calls you to love EVERYONE, even your enemies……even transgender people. And many times, you may not even realize the person you are interacting with IS transgendered! And that is the truth.
So, all that to say, Deana and I are not experts on transgenders. We probably have more acceptance for them than many do. We still shop at Target, and again……I don’t really like to shop so I guess I am stepping outside of my comfort zone to “take a stand” for those who were thrown into the limelight and I am not even sure WHY they are there. I encourage you ALL to “seek to understand”, as Mr. Covey tried to teach us with his “7 Habits of Highly Successful People”. Sometimes, seeking is the most important part of this thing called life.
It seems like, for many decades, we Christians often focus our efforts on one big topic – Holiness. This manifests itself in so many ways, and in many religious groups or denominations. When my parents met, they could not be married in the Catholic church because my mother was divorced. The divorce made her “not holy enough” to have her marriage consecrated by the church. Or, to state it differently, allowing her to have ANOTHER marriage would cause her not to be holy, which of course the Church could not do. That is how it was explained to her at the time. Further, many of her neighbors, co-workers, and acquaintances shunned her because she was a divorcee during a time when most people (religious or not) believed it “was bad”. Ah, how times have changed!
In contemporary ways, this attitude still exists. LGBT are not welcomed in many churches – Protestant, Catholic, and others – as many view it as unholy. Few churches restrict attendance based on divorce today, but stigmas still exist in many forms. In addition, congregations are encouraged to present themselves in ways that show their holiness; by wearing certain clothes (suits for men, dresses for women), by avoiding secular movies or music, by abstaining from activities or winning souls door to door each week. At the same time, if people who DO partake in said activities or dress differently were to enter the church, more often than not the congregants would not welcome them warmly. I’ve seen that and I’ve done that. It exists today. This is not a religion or denomination issue – this is a human issue.
All these views or rules are in place to point us to one thing – being holy. Now, don’t put words in my mouth – I am not saying not to be holy! I am not even saying we should not take the direction or encouragement we receive in church seriously. There are many scriptures that call and direct us to holiness. But I am saying, as a society and as a Christian Body, we often look at the wrong things when we seek holiness. Heck, even the rhetoric by many politicians and the platforms they support focus on moral directives that supposedly make this country and its citizens “more holy”. But, my thought is that we are going about it the wrong way.
For example, a few years ago I started a new job and went out to lunch with some new co-workers. For some reason, the story of the Good Samaritan came up, and one co-worker decided he’d share with me and my other new co-worker what the story REALLY meant. His version went something like this:
One day a man was seriously injured and fell to the side of the road. At the same time, a priest who was heading to his duties in the temple was walking down the street. The priest, wanting to avoid the man, went to the other side of the street and passed him. In the mean time, the Samaritan – who was the dirtiest of the dirty by the virtue of being a Samaritan – helped the man immediately. He even paid the inn keeper to care for him and promised to come back and pay any amount due, as long as the man was cared for.
And the moral of the story? The priest cared so much for God, that he knew he could not touch the man because the injured man would make the priest unclean, and then he would not be able to serve God or God’s children for several weeks. During those weeks – God forbid – he would be worthless as he purged the uncleanness from his life. We, as Christians, should be more concerned about serving God like the Priests of the Bible and yearn to remain clean for God.
I promise, that is what he said. And he believed it with his whole heart. And, on the surface, it DOES sound nice to yearn to be holy, to remain pure enough to be used by God and to serve others so they can get closer to Him as well. But how does this story read in the Bible? Let’s check it out.
Luke 10:25-37 ESV (as told by our Lord Jesus, but emphasis is mine)
And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”
Jesus clearly shows here the Samaritan, despite his “poor standing” as an unclean person, showed love and mercy and was the person we should emulate. NOT the Priest, who we assume was very holy in appearance at least, as we also assume the Levite was holy based on the additional rules and laws that applied to both. Rules and laws direct us to Christ, but Christ directs us to Love. And love always directs us to His Righteousness, which makes us holy. Well, that and His sacrifice, but that is a different blog post!
So, as I have been reminded I hope to remind you – show mercy. Be kind to the impatient traveler next to you. Assist the mom who is struggling with two young kids as she’s grocery shopping and mentally trying to figure out how she is going to afford Christmas. Don’t react to the tailgater who is scowling into your rearview mirror, inches behind your bumper flying at 80 mph. Overwhelm with kindness the person who sent you a message telling you LGBT people can’t be Christian. Feed a hungry person. Smile at a stranger. Ignore the loud politician who posted a harsh meme on Facebook, or your friend who shared it. THESE things lead to holiness as we emulate the teachings of Jesus Christ, more than any 3 piece suit or hymn. And, before WE know it, He is our focus instead of our own actions. Let us go and react as the Samaritan reacted. What a blessing.
While I have partaken in the recent wave of ALS Ice Bucket Challenges (www.alsa.org) , and while I am confused by the “controversy” that so many are talking about regarding this wave…..this post is not about that topic. Although, I will add, if you’re looking to donate to a worthy cause, ALS is one of them worth considering.
HOWEVER, this blog post is about “making a difference”, which has been a topic that has touched my life for a long time, though it has been rumbling around in my noggin a bit more lately. I have always wanted to “make a difference”, and that is the root of this post.
I think it’s fair to say most people want to make a difference in some way. I know that is true for me. I try to find ways to make a difference as I can; donate to good causes, pray for those in need, pay my taxes with a smile. You get the drift. At times these activities make me feel good about humanity, and good about myself. I imagine you can relate to that as well. But this week I had a revelation that pulled me beyond the normal “making a difference” ideas – we all make a difference, everyday, in almost every interaction we hold.
What? It’s true.
You see, we are not islands. We interact with people everywhere, throughout the day. And our very beings “make a difference” no matter if it is conscious or not. When we walk down the street, if we smile at someone walking the opposite direction, that smile can turn a horrible day into a sparkle of hope. I contend that NOT smiling to that person also has potential for altering that person’s day. When you get cutoff on the freeway, honk your horn and maybe flip a “sign”, you can make the other driver more angry and maybe even irrational (believe me, I can attest to that). When your flight is cancelled and you see a frazzled gate attendant trying to assist dozens of ticked off travelers in addition to you (and if that “you” is me, chances are cranky is accurate), a kind word can go a long way and make them persevere just a bit longer. When a young mother is struggling to get through a door with a massive stroller, your inaction in assisting or action in assisting both make a difference in her day. We make differences, all day, everyday.
I hope I – and maybe you – can move away from the idea that “making a difference” is exclusively making donations, or quitting jobs to “join the ministry” or doing something huge. Not to say those are actions don’t make a difference; they do! Making a difference is more vast than these noble acts. And making differences are good and bad. My goal is to make POSITIVE differences, but fully admit that is not always the case. But I have challenged myself to notice humanity around me. Notice that humans that I may dislike or that may cause me frustration or that honestly are easier not to notice in the first place are worthy for me to make a difference on behalf of. To notice things when I am knee deep in situations of my own, stressful or huge or serious…..it doesn’t matter! We humans are in this together and my issues don’t trump others around me, per se. To admit that simple gestures such as smiles, or courtesy, can make huge differences for others. That “loving your neighbor” is not exclusively a huge outpouring in action, but finds its strength in the mundane. And really, “making a difference” should be more about “loving your neighbor” than about us. And believe me, when it is about me I can attest I am more often making a NEGATIVE difference than anything else. So, for me, I am approaching the idea of “making a difference”, differently. And, no matter what I may be going through today or tomorrow, this brings me great excitement. I hope it is contagious!
Actions Speak Louder than Words (Aka Rocking your Identity)
As presented at CCC 9/25/11
How many times have you heard that phrase? How many times have you USED that phrase? I know I can answer both “A LOT!”. And yet, I feel that God has been showing me this phrase in action, and in different ways, in recent days.
On the one hand, He has taught me in my new “Jesus plus nothing” – grace filled life that I don’t have to PRESENT anything to be His……I don’t need to act or be or look a certain way in order to be a “good Christian”. All things are permissible……and yet, I am the first to share that leading a hypocritical life does nothing to encourage me or others. I Is this where “…..but not all things are beneficial” comes in? Is this where “the fruits of the Spirit” comes in?
Some other ideas about “being a Christian” exist in my life, too. Like the prevailing idea that, as a Christian, my first and biggest focus needs to be on converting others to my faith. On the surface, this is important because – REALLY – we have such freedom in Christ, don’t we? And being saved from eternal damnation is kind of important, too. Even John the Baptist went out on a limb to get the attention of the Jews back in the day – wearing camel cloths and screaming out to anyone who would listen, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” So, often I hear the nagging thoughts that bounce around the back of my head that I am not doing enough to witness to those around me about the Saving Grace found in Jesus Christ Alone.
But THINGS have been shaking up this view of mine lately. First, let me be clear – I am NOT saying we shouldn’t share the love of Christ. But I think I’ve looked at this wrong my entire Christian life!
First of all, I will tell you I weigh too much – if you could see me now, you’d realize this truth without any words coming out of my mouth. I have been this way for a while. So, imagine my reaction if I was sitting having a fabulous lunch and a personal trainer that I didn’t know came up to me and said, “Hey, I noticed from across the room that you are entirely too fat. I am a personal trainer and I would like to help you overcome your gluttony….get you off of your couch, and get you back to living a healthy life!” While his comments would be – let’s be real – 100% accurate, I could tell you will full honesty that after I punched him in the face, I’d tell him off without hesitation! THE NERVE of the man! I mean, he didn’t even KNOW me, and yet you are rude enough to come talk to me that way?!?!? I mean, WE AREN’T EVEN FRIENDS!
Yet, so many of us Christians think it is okay to walk up to people and either say straight out or imply they are going to hell or that their belief system is totally inaccurate! These statements are very accurate, just as my example of me needing a personal trainer was, but are they a good approach? I’m not so sure.
Let me put it this way – imagine a group of Hindus are out and their goal is to teach us “poor Christians” that we are doomed if we don’t convert to their real religion. You and I both know that WE have the truth and their efforts would be wasted. Why do we American Christians expect a different reaction from Hindus (or others – religious or not) when we approach people without any introduction and straight-out say “you’re lost man, you need what I got!”?
“BUT”, I say to myself, “I DO have what they need!”
So, using the tools that have brought me through the steps of The Naked Gospel, I decided to STUDY the life of Jesus and really absorb how He interacted with those around Him. The difference being, of course, that Jesus COULD condemn, COULD judge, COULD direct, etc – while I cannot. You get the drift.
Jesus with the Immoral – the Adulteress (John 8:3-11)
I need to start by saying first that I was always taught and really focused on the end of this story, “Go, and sin no more!” I used to absorb it as Jesus saying, “Hey, I am God and I have given you this chance to clean up your ways, now go do it – you might not be this lucky next time!” Or, when I’d look at the failures and bad decisions of my OWN life, I’d look to this interaction as one to make myself feel better – I don’t deserve to be stoned by others who are just as messed up as me, and now I need to shape up. I have even reminded myself of this story to not judge others who really kind of deserved what they should get……but I would “do what Jesus did” and forgive them. Maybe you can relate to what I am saying, but now I am going to ask you to focus on Jesus and how He was in this story – not the accusers, not even the woman who had committed adultery. Jesus. Period.
Now first, let’s consider some truths about this situation – the Mosaic Law established that this woman who was “caught red handed” should be stoned. Jesus never said this law was wrong, nor did he say He was changing the law. Instead, Jesus asks the accusers to go right ahead, “as long as they were free from sin as well”. They all could say no such thing, and so they left. Agreed?
But let’s get back to our focus – Jesus. He was without sin. He was God and was the only human on the face of the earth who could have applied HIS law to this woman, for His lack of sin provided the right to throw a stone based on His new feedback to those that accused this woman. He also could have turned to the accusers and screamed, “You hypocrites! You bring this woman to me and yet you are lying, cheating, horrible men inside! Further, you are bringing this woman to me not because you love the law, but because you hate me and want to trick me into making a fool out of myself!” Jesus had EVERY right to react that way to all involved. And yet, what did He do?
Verses 6-11 say this:
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
He did not debate, he did not yell, he didn’t even take the stance of power, really. Jesus could have set them straight with who He was! He could have yelled for all to hear the secret and also easily seen sins each of them held in their lives. Yet, in almost a “whatever” way, he stood and spoke the truth. There was NOT anger in His voice towards the accusers, and there certainly was not any hint of condemnation in His voice towards the accused. In fact, His very WORDS removed any condemnation from her!
Jesus with the Hated – Zacchaeus the Tax collector (Luke 19:1-10)
Both Pastor and Shaw have shared this story recently, and shared how society hated the tax collector Zaccheus, and yet Jesus honored him and loved him. Jesus truly came to save the lost, and that is where our hearts should be, too.
Jesus with the Rejected in Society – Foreign, female, Samarian (John 4:5-29)
Again, Christ could have condemned this woman just by the mere fact that she WAS a woman, never mind that she was a Samaritan AND a sinner. And yet their interactions not only shared salvation with the woman, but those she spoke to also believed in Christ. Jesus did NOT denigrate her, did not condemn her!
Jesus with the Political Leader – Roman Governor, Pilate (John 18:33-40)
Jesus spoke truth to Pilate, but He didn’t disrespect him. Instead, he acknowledged Pilate’s position on the earth and noted that His own position was not of the world but of heaven. Even in doing so, Jesus didn’t fight with Pilate or tell him he had no authority over him. After the interaction Pilate found no fault in Jesus.
Jesus with The Condemned – Criminal on the cross (Luke 23:39-43)
Here was a criminal, found guilty by the laws of the land, and yet Jesus clearly shows He was saved when he said “today you will be with me in paradise!” Jesus didn’t preach to this man, He didn’t point out the man’s sins, He didn’t even say ANYTHING to this man before faith was received by him!
So what do we do with this????
I know I am under GRACE and have accepted that I am who I am only because of who Christ is. As such, I need to extend this grace to others, too! Yet I also think I need to be different from the world, heck I even need to be SEPERATED from the world to be a really, really GOOD Christian! The Bible says it man!
2 Cor 6:17 Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”
For years I’ve used this verse and similar ones to justify why I should not associate with sinners, to not attend parties where alcohol is being served, to not go to clubs – you get the idea. I even would ask if what I was doing would please my Lord. And when I would succeed, I would feel pretty good about myself, because after all I am an Ambassador for Christ! But through the months and year I’ve been at Crossroads, I have been compelled to dig deeper into this attitude.
First, I quickly found out that I am not alone in this attitude – today or in the Bible itself! You do a search on Google about “being set apart from the world” and you will quickly see a grocery list of things Christians should not do:
• Do not associate with or be around sinners, relatives or not
• Do not go to parties
• Do not go to movies where the story line is immoral
• Do not be excited about doing worldly things, because you will be an enemy of God
• Being around sinners approves of their sin
When I read this, I kept hearing “what about LOVE?” And you know I love this verse because I reference it almost every time I stand here:
Mark 12:30-31 Amplified
And you shall love the Lord your God out of and with your whole heart and out of and with all your soul (your life) and out of and with all your mind (with your faculty of thought and your moral understanding) and out of and with all your strength. This is the first and principal commandment. The second is like it and is this, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.
So I began to pray about those around me – everyone – whether or not they LOOKED like a sinner or not. That man in the nice clothes? Probably not a sinner. That thug with the baggy pants, questionable.
Do you believe me? Okay, you know I am making a point! But I do admit that when we were at Gay Pride last week I did think with some sadness, “A lot of this is not how I want the world to think of the LGBT community, it seems so sinful. I mean there is a man with only underwear on. Over there that woman is completely drunk. Some were dancing very suggestively. Maybe I shouldn’t even be here.” And that was wrong of me.
You see, in the Bible we hear a lot about the Pharisees, and they were very “holy”, at least in appearances! The word Pharisees comes from the Hebrew perushim from parush, meaning “set apart”. Did I want to think and act like the Pharisees, being set apart from anyone? When I started thinking about the Pharisees, I couldn’t ignore the following from Matthew, where Jesus is teaching the crowd about the Pharisees:
Matt 23:1-12 NIV
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. “Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others. “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
Then Jesus begins to speak TO the Pharisees in verse 13:
13-15
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.
Jump down to Verse 23-26, where Jesus doesn’t hold back!
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
And then he ends in verse 33:
“You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?
Well I will tell you, that kind of shook up my attitude about those around me whom I felt I needed to separate myself from. I did NOT want to be like the Pharisees!
But what about 2 Cor 6:17?
I stand before you now and contend we DO need to be separated from the world! But it’s not how I’ve been taught my entire life! Instead, I challenge you to consider this:
First, let’s define some worldly attitudes:
First, we have to acknowledge that this world is a kingdom in its own right, and it is influenced by Satan.
• Luke 4:5-6, John 14:30-31, and 1 John 5:19 speak to this.
The dominant values of the world include wealth, power, pleasure, revenge, fame, vanity and status. These things are most important to people who perceive no power or purpose beyond themselves. Worldly values promote jealousies, resentments and conflicts among people in accordance with the purposes of Satan.
Now, I think it’s pretty clear that we, as Christians, should NOT act like what is described here. We should be SEPARATED from these types of behaviors. Does it say to separate from the PEOPLE who do these things? NO!
So, as Christians, how SHOULD we act?
The kingdom of God (also known as the kingdom of heaven) is not a geographic location but rather it exists IN US. It exists within the world among those people who put their faith, trust and loyalty in God.
• Luke 17:20-21 and many other verses speak to this.
The values of the kingdom of God are often the opposite of worldly values: kindness and respect for all people instead of power; humility instead of status, fame and vanity; honesty and generosity instead of wealth; self-control instead of pleasure; forgiveness instead of revenge. Christian values promote peace and good will among ALL people in accordance with the purposes of God.
So how do we accomplish this????
1. Follow the biggest and baddest commandments as noted by Jesus in Mark 12, which we read earlier, and Love God. And if you love God first, it’s hard to act selfishly or focus on silly things that in the end mean nothing to define our identity as Pastor has been teaching us.
• Excessive attention to material things such as houses, cars, clothes, jewelry, physical appearance, entertainment, etc.
• Pursuit of wealth, power, fame, pleasure or status
• Excessive devotion to self, job, hobbies, country, ideologies, heroes, leaders, even family
Not only do these object not define me, but they take my devotion and focus from God and others.
2. Love and respect ALL people.
• The English word “love” has many different meanings, but the Greek word, agape, used in the New Testament, is commonly known as “Christian love.” It means respect, affection, benevolence, good-will and concern for the welfare of the one loved.
• We know from the Parable of the Good Samaritan that Jesus meant EVERYONE regardless of race, religion, nationality or any other artificial distinction. We must even practice that Christian love even toward our enemies as taught in Matthew 5!
Now don’t you agree if more Christians acted THIS way, we truly would be separated from the world? I mean, what does the world expect from Christians anyway? Condemnation, arrogance, religiousity?
So having reviewed this I first replayed our interactions with those we met at the Gay Pride Parade last weekend.
As you know, we had a crew out there handing out stickers using the word GAY to explain God Accepts You. Many have shared on Crossroads Facebook page that people would hunt us down, RUN to us to get those stickers! And there was something amazingly freeing to say to someone “God accepts you right where you are!” and seeing the shock on their face!
I had an interesting conversation with one girl, and it went like this:
“God accepts you right where you are!”
“Do you promise?” she said, and I sensed she really wanted to believe me.
I responded, “Well of course, it’s in the Bible!”
At the word Bible her face fell. “Oh, I have been told my whole life that the Bible says I am going to hell.”
And moved by mercy, because we all have had that feeling before, I said, “The Bible is clear that you are not going to hell if you love Jesus. And He loves you no matter if you’re gay, straight, a cusser…….He loves you right where you are. I promise that.”
I was moved in this interaction, because there is something SO AMAZING about sharing the LOVE and TRUTH that is the grace we have TODAY in Jesus Christ!
And yet, moments later I was seeing what I deemed immoral behavior and questioning my presence at Pride! It should not be so!
So God reminded me of how HE interacted with those that were the biggest sinners when He was on the earth.
• When Jesus called Matthew to be a disciple, he followed him home to have dinner with Matthew, a tax collector, and other “sinners”. When the Pharisees saw this, they could not believe Jesus would stoop so low as to associate with such horrible people, who were otherwise looked down upon. Jesus, knowing their thoughts, rebuked the Pharisees, showing us how we should act with people even today (Matt 9:9-13). Jesus mixed with those deemed “in the world”.
• You know that he hang out with prostitutes, gentiles, and so many others.
• In all cases, Jesus shows us that it is more important to humble ourselves and show kindness, compassion, and love to those our contemporaries might classify as “untouchable”. We must show respect to those that some would deem off limits or beneath us.
So I took these truths a bit further, in conjunction with the Bible Studies on Crazy Love and this journey about witnessing. And God, He is so faithful!
First, at my new job I work with two Indian women; one has interestingly been raised as a born again Christian while the other is Hindu. I had already decided that I would show love to my coworkers, whether I really liked them or not, and not push any agenda on my part (which, really, is not my M.O.). One day Hema, the Hindu, mentioned she was fasting for the day. This is when I was deep in the Jesus Plus Nothing review when I was finding areas of my life where law really did rule me – be it Biblical law or the laws I created in my life to define what a “good Christian” was. I commiserated with her a bit and asked her why she was fasting. She shared that it was for religious reasons as it was supposed to bring her to a stronger spiritual focus, but all she really was thinking about was food! I shared that I had done similar things in my own faith and that often what turned out to be arrogant works drew my focus from where it should be. It was a casual conversation – there was really no condemnation, just sharing of feelings.
Suddenly she said to me, “I really can’t believe you’re a Christian!”
That statement shocked me, and honestly kind of hurt, and I replied, “Why would you say that?”
She answered, “Well, you’re the first Christian who hasn’t told me I am going to hell.”
That broke my heart! And she also shared she had never spoken to a Christian so long about religion without being shut down and pretty much wanted to leave! To this day, she has sought me out at least 3 times a week to speak about my religion in a very casual way and I have been blessed beyond measure!
So I ask you – is my choice to not condemn Hema wrong as a Christian? I don’t think so!
So going back to the Pride Parade and those who I resented in my heart for being immoral; being there does not condone activities that I am uncomfortable with. And I have been reminded by Paul that it is not fair to put the yolk of laws on these people!
So let’s discuss this 2 Cor 6:17 in context.
A misunderstanding of this command, “Come out from them and be separate,” has spawned (6:17a) a kind of holier-than-thou brand of separatism in certain sectors of the Christian church. Let me clarify what this command does not mean and what it does mean.
First, our passage isn’t talking about separation from believers, but about separation from the idolatry and sexual immorality of the pagans in Corinth. There is a time, of course, to separate from believers. In an earlier letter to the Corinthian church, Paul clarified his teaching as recorded in 1 Cor 5:9-11:
“I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people – not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.”
In the 1 Corinthians 5 passage, Paul says clearly that we aren’t to associate with believers who continue to practice immorality. Elsewhere, the New Testament teaches to separate ourselves from divisive people (Romans 16:17), idle brothers (2 Thessalonians 3:6, 14), and false teachers (2 John 10).
Some Christians are so separatist that they refuse to associate with Billy Graham because he cooperated with liberal Christian churches. This is known as “second-degree separation” – that is, separation from anyone who will not separate from the things we believe are wrong. Dear friends, this kind of militant separatism breaks the primary law of “love one another.” It is judgmental and exactly the kind of separatism practiced by the Pharisees in Jesus’ day.
Again, our passage in 2 Corinthians does not teach separation from believers (though there’s a time for that). Separation from believers is not the point or the purpose of this passage.
Notice in the passage quoted above from 1 Corinthians, Paul does not require separation from unbelievers. Indeed, we should retain friendships with unbelievers! Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to influence them for Christ. And we’ve already discussed how Jesus associated with sinners of His day!
But it does command us to separate ourselves from people and associations that will lead us into sin. Paul’s concern was that the Corinthian Christians still participated in the pagan feasts and their attendant sexual immorality. That is a very different thing from me attending the Gay Pride Parade, because I was able to refrain from public intoxication and some of the other activities I saw. Yet, had we not had a presence at the parade, so many in the LGBT community would still believe that God hates them!
And I have also been taught over the last few weeks that you NEED To love each person where they are! There is NO set list of how to react to people or how to act “holy” with people apart from loving them.
A person who seems to do this well I’ve witnessed through my friendship with Tori. Now, you might not know Tori really well, but she runs pretty deep – the wheels are often turning! Here are some of the things I’ve noticed and learned from Tori:
• She’s not afraid to laugh. Even maybe at a secular joke! Even at MY jokes!
• She’s not afraid to cry, especially if her friend is crying.
• She’s not afraid to listen, even when what she hears is someone’s failure.
• When she listens, she doesn’t judge. She loves.
• She is very humble, but I tell you what she is so powerful in that humility!
• It’s amazing, no matter what the conversation, Tori represents love and grace to me – and she often SINCERELY/AUTHENTICALLY brings Christ to the center.
• I am blessed to call her my TFF.
So I pray that you can laugh, love, and grow in Christ. To see and love others where they are instead of where they should be. To allow the Holy Spirit inside of you to do His works. To love like Jesus. And rock your identity in Christ!
This is the Bible Study I did for church this past week. I took out some personal info but otherwise it is intact. Let me know what you think!
Today, I am going to talk about two major concepts – LOVE and ENCOURAGMENT. These are two amazingly powerful words, that become extraordinary items when, as Pastor has recently shared with us, they change from LOVE and ENCOURAGEMENT to LOVING and ENCOURAGING!
But I have to admit, love when we humans get our hands on it, sometimes doesn’t always FEEL good. We can all share stories where “the love” of others were really heavy yolks around our necks. We’ve heard, for example, that OUR love is not sacred nor do we really know the love of God. At times like that I want to shake my fist in the air and scream out these lyrics by U2 (because, after all, aren’t all things from the 80’s perfect in such occasions?):
You say love is a temple, love a higher law
You ask me to enter but then you make me crawl
And I can’t be holding on to what you got
When all you got is hurt!
But can’t we rejoice today that the TRUE meaning of love and all it encompasses is defined not by others around us, but by our Heavenly Father? Today we are going to focus on one segment of this amazing area of our Lord as He has been teaching me a lesson recently.
If you’ve been a Christian more than 3 months, or even if you’ve attended church more then twice, you’ve probably heard about the whole “love your neighbor as yourself” story. It’s pretty active in Christian-speak, at least in my circles. And yet, as I mentioned earlier, it often is overlooked in practice. There are many reasons for this; our definition of “neighbor”, or busy lives, our human natures that are SO powerful – this list goes on and on. Yet, the Lord has been working on my heart really, and admittedly this is a topic that is very close to my view of myself and others. Because of that, I’d like to share my journey with YOU!
Let’s begin with the Word – starting with Matthew 22:34-40 (NIV):
Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Before I go too far, let’s analyze these verses together.
Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’: Jesus, true to form, didn’t have His own agenda when dealing with the Pharisees – his response quotes Deuteronomy 6:5 and had been read in the Temple for centuries and basically said “booya” to the expert who I believe had hoped to trip Jesus up. Then Jesus, goes on to add the hierarchy to His response.
This is the first and greatest commandment. Jesus’ words set this as the greatest commandment, one that the Pharisees could not really argue against at all, although in practice some of the other 600+ laws they liked to follow often seemed to come before this one. But Jesus didn’t stop there……..
And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ This addition brought a whole new level of rules to the Pharisees, as they had already begun living a very regimented cast system that excluded Samaritans, Tax Collectors, women, or anyone they deemed as unworthy based on the whim of the moment. This statement meant real trouble to the Pharisees! It totally shattered the concept of how they really acted towards the majority of those around them. And yet, Jesus still had another punch coming!
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. To me, this is the “nuke statement” Jesus made that day. How can anyone hear or read these words and not understand the very clear hierarchy that Jesus established? If you don’t love God and your neighbor, nothing else matters. NOTHING! When I realized this piece of information, I realized I had been going about my Christian walk all wrong! Instead of focusing on acting a certain way or pulling away from the world, I became conscious of the fact that I needed to LOVE! Love my God and love my neighbor. JESUS defined the hierarchy and who am I to interject other laws or rules above these?
But I also believe that the love we have here can’t remain only within these doors – and neither do Pastor and I am sure you too. So, I would be remiss if I didn’t also analyze the Biblical definition of “neighbor”. Some suggest this means other Christians. Many say the net includes your friends and family, maybe even your co-workers. But what does the Bible say?
Matthew 5:43-48 (NIV) says:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Christ clearly states we need to love EVERYONE, even those who we view as enemies or whom we do not agree with. And perhaps I am wrong, but I see loving them is CARING about them, especially their eternal life. That means your physical neighbor who refuses to mow his lawn or take the trash cans in timely. It means the homeless person begging on the corner. It means the political person that you didn’t vote for and whose ideology you despise. It means the person that cut you off on the freeway this morning. Even those that spew hate at your and those you love! Basically, it means EVERYONE, but ESPECIALLY those whom you would never ever give the time of day except that Jesus told you to love them.
I think you probably get that. I really do!
But for me, it turned a corner when I thought of the ones that have so much power over me – power that I’ve given them. I have a family member who I know loves me but whom to this day refuses to even mention Deana’s name or ask how Zack and Sophia are. To my former Christian employer, who fired me when they found out I am a lesbian. In the past, I would want to pull out Matthew 22 and scream to them, “GOD TOLD YOU TO LOVE ME! YOU HYPOCRITES! YOU HATERS! YOU CAN WEAR YOUR “WHAT WOULD JESUS DO” BRACELETS BUT YOU HAVE NO LOVE!” And I would feel so righteous, knowing I was right! But I hope you realize, as I have, that Matthew 22 AND 5 applies to me, too. And while I don’t view my family member as my enemy per se, no matter how they react to me, I need to love them. ESPECIALLY since they have judged me, I need to love them! I even need to love my old work, at least try to. Because, love that is unfathomable is very Christian, don’t you think? Because if someone DESERVES or EARNS your love, is it really so hard to love them? So, let’s agree that “loving your neighbor” means “everyone – especially those who don’t deserve it”.
What about the definition of LOVE? Paul is very eloquent in describing what this is about in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7:
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Jump down to verse 13:
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
I love that the Bible sets the hierarchy so clearly. Jesus established the two most important commandments for us to follow in Matthew, and He further directed Paul here to tell us that LOVE is the greatest attribute we should manifest in our lives. And He loves us so much that he clearly describes what love IS and IS NOT. And, while I fully admit that I have failed in both loving my neighbor and putting love above all else, I can also testify that Jesus – through His Holy Spirit – is daily giving me a bigger dose of His love so that I can grow in these areas! And so can you!
So, we now know the Biblical definition of NEIGHBOR and LOVE – what are we going to DO about it? That has been the biggest area where I struggle – head or heart knowledge versus acting it out in my mind, heart, and actions. So walk with me as I break out some of the “IS” statements we just read.
Love is patient. First of all, I hope you all know not to pray for patience! Take it from me, God is faithful and will give you opportunity after opportunity to grow your patience! But I have learned over the last year that God knows me, he sees where laws and churches and people have worked to tell me that I am wrong. And I may want to change every single mind I encounter today, it probably won’t happen. But my focus has always been to point out how stupid people are, and let me tell you, that’s not very loving. My impatience has skewed my ability to LOVE. I have to love and no amount of shaking my fist in the face of my opposition will make things go faster.
Love keeps no record of wrongs. Ouch! You know, I appreciate and accept the give of Grace I received from Christ and I thank Him daily for loving me and saving me. But even so, I had a long list of those who have wronged me, especially as their actions relate to my sexuality. While I want them to accept me as I am, I sit with resentment, hurt, anger, and think these people need to get right with God. But truly, MY heart needs the Holy Spirit to erase the list I hold onto! And, as we’ve already discussed, this premise needs to extend to everyone I encounter everyday.
Love always protects. What does this mean to me? To you? A more obvious answer would be that we don’t hurt the ones we love, or even go so far as to defend them from hurts/danger/pain, etc. I believe that view is true and noble. But I also believe I am being called to take this a step further! How about adding that, as a Christ follower, I will protect EVERYONE I encounter! How about, if I come across someone that doesn’t align with my point of view or even believes something that is an affront to my religion, I PROTECT THEIR DIGNITY, THEIR VIEWS, AND THEIR LIFE?
Here is what I mean by that – so often I am focused on BEING RIGHT or GETTING MY VIEWS OUT THERE, that I lose track of love altogether! This realization of my actions came crashing to the forefront on Facebook, of all places! I took part in a glaring debating – although the details really don’t need to be shared today. During the course of this debate, which had compelling points on both sides, some of us (and I do mean us) stepped it up a notch and began to add blood arrows. By blood arrows, I mean insulting strings of words that basically attacked something, be it the other person’s intelligence, way of arguing, whether or not they were even a Christian…….instead of even focusing on the original debate! With each arrow I became more arrogant, more zealous in my view, and began to FEED on the arrow’s line of attack rather than sharing why I held my views. It only got worse as alliances were built on both sides of the debate and pretty soon we had nothing more than a blood bath!
That, my friends, was the first time I realized that I was a failure, for I had not loved ANYONE in the interchange. I didn’t PROTECT my neighbor, but sacrificed them to my ideology and to my very pride in wanting to be right! I didn’t even love my FRIEDS, because my angry and hurtful actions gave my enemies fodder to condemn us! And I believe many of us repeat these actions over and over again and never even realize that – even if our ideology is a noble one – we are breaking the second most important commandment Jesus Himself taught us! And it showed me very clearly that my raised fists against those that I know hate me or want to limit my rights has been wrong as well.
But realizing my weakness doesn’t make it easy to love those that, well let’s face it, that I don’t especially LIKE. Logically, I can find reasons to not extend real love to them. Even now I feel the need to tell you that I don’t believe what they believe, that I believe they aren’t right – but it’s more important that I tell you my actions have been totally wrong!
So what should I do? What should WE do?
Maybe, instead of feeling paralyzed by our inability to love our enemies or at least those that we don’t like, we can start somewhere a bit more palatable. Pastor has been talking for weeks about reaching out to our community, and what a great way to begin flexing our spiritual love muscles is there? We can and should reach out to those that have bought the lie that God doesn’t love them. Through our love we represent Jesus through Love instead of through anger – but maybe it’s less intimidating to start. We no longer need to convince those that insist on fighting us that Love is the main goal, and instead throw out our nets of love to those who never, ever expect to receive it.
But you may be thinking – okay Gina, you’ve talked a lot about Loving, but what about encouraging others? We know love needs to be an action, and what better way to manifest love than to ENCOURAGE other!
When you’re shown loved by someone, doesn’t that encourage you? Maybe you are blessed to have family members who love you even though you’re flawed. There are TONS of verses in the Bible that speak about encouraging others. And there are many manifestations of encouragement; let’s go over just a few.
John 15:26
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
You know what? I often limit God. I define what I can and can’t do and live my life through that paradigm. Yet, the Lord has been faithful despite how I act. I need to tell you something – the Lord placed on my heart on July 13th that I needed to write this Bible study. He placed on my heart the need to review my view of love and encouragement on that day so heavily that I began to sit down and pray, research, and meditate on the Word. Deana asked what I was doing and I told her – she asked if I was asked to teach or something. I said no. And that was the truth. So, to hear on Sunday the 18th Deana was asked if I was interested in doing Sunday School, I was blown away. If you asked me two weeks ago, I would give you about 25 instant reasons why not only I was not QUALIFIED to be here, but I would tell you I would not know what to say. But I am standing before you today because God loves me enough to use me, and as His ambassador I pray that He speaks to you today.
Is that encouragement? Maybe it was meant just for me, for I am standing here feeling abundantly blessed and honored by my Lord!
Hebrews 3:13
But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
I mentioned earlier, the love you share with everyone who walks into this church is very encouraging. That is a very important manifestation of love and encouragement that each one of us can do easily each week. Walk up to someone you don’t know. Smile to those across to room. That’s encouragement. And you will even begin to realize that your actions will encourage those that may not even been the recipient on the encouragement! When Marvin Matthews was here a couple weeks ago, Jessica noticed a woman across the room who didn’t have a praise sheet; she worked that piece of paper across dozens of people so that the woman could sing along! In doing so, I was encouraged that Jessica saw the need and met the need!
2 Corinthians 9:7
Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
Sometimes encouragement is financial in nature. When you tithe or offer money to this church, it encourages this body and the work it does in this community. Although your tithes or offerings may be smaller or larger than those being given next to you, it encourages Pastor and this body!
Matthew 5:4
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Sometimes just being there for someone is more encouraging than you know. Seven years ago my 20-year-old nephew was killed in a car accident. When I finally arrived at my brother’s side, I really didn’t know what to say. For over 10 hours he and I just sat next to each other as I prayed for him silently. I felt so very inadequate during those hours, but do you know what? To this day he said nothing encouraged him more than the fact that I was willing to sit next to him during the darkest hours of his life. So, sometimes it feels like we aren’t helping, but God directs us and blesses others just by being near. And it’s important to remember that we carry the Holy Spirit in us people! And He can and does comfort those in pain better than we ever could.
Hebrews 10:24-25
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Sometimes encouragement means doing nothing! Yes, I said nothing! Recently I was at a client site, a lovely Christian woman, and an owner of a neighbor business stopped by to shoot the breeze. This man was very nice, but he used the most filthy language we no thought to me or the woman I was working with!
I went from being shocked to internally becoming angry and offended inside – I mean SERIOUSLY, how disrespectful! After he left, I shared that I could not believe his language and couldn’t believe she had to deal with that several times a week. She replied, with no judgment towards me I might add, that she didn’t like the language either but that it was more important for her to show love to him by accepting his as he was and maybe someday he would be receptive to the Word of the Lord. Let me tell you, her actions not only showed me what encouragement looks like, but encouraged me to love others with my actions in real, if difficult ways! And her actions are BIBLICAL – check out Can you imagine how the neighbor would have reacted if Melissa had said “hey man, your language is HORRIBLE! If you’re going to cuss like that, you best not come here.” I believe it wouldn’t change his language, but it sure would close the door of love! Instead, she is leading his THROUGH LOVE to being loving. Maybe a foul mouthed lover, but one that can love……..
But to me, the most amazing story is not one that you will find when doing the usual search in the Bible for the term “encouragement”. In fact, the story really starts with a sad note. It relates to the Apostle Peter, whom I personally related to a lot! I mean, I can totally see myself jumping out on the water but taking my eyes of the Lord and falling into water. I can see myself jumping to cut off the soldier’s ear, only to be chastised by the Lord.
Peter loved the Lord very much, but even though Jesus warned him ahead of time that Peter would deny Him, he incredulously denied the possibility. We know, as Matthew 26 tells us, that Peter did, in fact, deny Christ three times. I’ve always been blown away by this – I mean Peter lived with Jesus for THREE YEARS, spending time with Him, being taught by Him, see Jesus perform miracles over and over. In Matthew 16, Peter is recorded as being the first to acknowledge that Jesus was the Christ! And yet, even after being warned of his failings, Peter denied Christ three times, emphatically!
Can you imagine how Peter felt when that happened? Matthew 26:75 tells us that Peter remembered Jesus’ words and wept bitterly. I know I’ve had situations where I’ve failed the Lord and once I was done crying, I put on the clothes of my failure and limited my ability to be used by God. I held onto those failures and defined myself through them. And I suppose Peter probably did that to some extent too. But I am encouraged by what Jesus did with Peter.
Now Jesus could have very easily said, “Peter, dude, I warned you and you still denied me. After all we’ve been through! How can I trust you?” Yet, let’s go over what Jesus did:
John 21:15-17
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.“
In the NIV Bible, the section header states “Jesus reinstates Peter”. I have been so blessed by the fact that Jesus PHYSICALLY asks Peter three times “do you love me” – to specifically cover the three times Peter denied him. Jesus LOVED Peter, and he ENCOURAGED him. But, true to form, Jesus didn’t stop there! He EMPOWERED Peter to LOVE and ENCOURAGE the world – “the sheep” – and I believe that is the most important message Jesus wants you to hear today. He will create ways and empower YOU to reach others in His name. Don’t limit yourselves by your own view of yourself – as Pastor taught us, don’t look back and listen to the echo of who we were. Romans chapter 3 tells us we are the righteousness of God through our faith in Jesus Christ, and we need to start living that way, not to boast but to LOVE and ENCOURAGE one another. So if you ever start focusing on your failures and want to limit how you can be used by God, think of Peter and how Jesus himself took that bull by the horns.
So, in the coming days, think of small and big ways you can begin to see all situations and people – your neighbors – with love. Think of small and big ways to encourage those around you, even yourselves! And by doing so, be prepared to feel the blessings flow!
Love your God
Love your Neighbor
Find ways to encourage others, even yourself
Just Rambling 