Land of the Free?

Humans are adept at finding ways to make what we want seem all about God. ~Beth Moore

I've been noticing a disturbing trend in our society (just one, you say?) but especially amongst Christian circles. It's the abuse of our freedom in Christ by doing what we want, when we want and how we want...and then having the arrogance to proclaim God has stamped His approval on all of it. Whether our chosen sin is lying, cheating, stealing, sexual sins, disrespecting others or whatever, it comes from a heart as hard as stone and as selfish as a typical 2-year old. It lies in our failure to obey God. Its root is in our blatant disregard for His voice. We have lost all semblance of absolutes in our lives. We have thrown away our compass and declared ourselves God.

Jeremiah is a book all about the faithlessness of the Israelites. The Lord speaks to Jeremiah about the whoring of His people and how throughout their cheating, they continued to show up on Sundays acting like nothing was wrong. "Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, "We are safe" - safe to do all these detestable things? Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching!" declares the Lord.1

"Where is this rant coming from?" you may ask. My exposure to facebook, the news, TV and radio has shown me that as a society, we resemble a modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah more each day, and we as Christians have settled very comfortably within its city limits. We have forgotten we are to be in the world but not of it. We have chosen the slums over our Promised Land. And then we have the audacity to say God has us there and wants us there!! Since when do we pretend to know the mind of God? Since when do we excuse our sins by declaring them righteous?! Since we became close neighbors with the Sodomites, I would guess.

"Yet in spite of all this, you say, 'I am innocent; he is not angry with me.' But I will pass judgment on you because you say, 'I have not sinned.'"2

The more tragedy, heartbreak and chaos I witness around me, the more pity I have for those caught in their own mess and the more anger I have for those who excuse the mess as "normal" by today's standards: the man who cheats on his wife saying he just can't stand to stay in a marriage without respect anymore and would God really blame him if he left?; the woman who leaves her children behind to join together in marriage with another woman and says it's ok because God loves and accepts them as a couple; the CEO who bilks millions from a dying company saying he deserves it because of all he's done to get to the top and who cares about the little man beneath him? OR what about the wife who escapes life by spending too much time on the computer and neglecting the kids? Hey, she deserves a social life too! Or the husband who stays a little later in the office than necessary so he doesn't have to come home to a bunch of unruly kids. After all, a man deserves some peace and quiet after a hard day's work! Or the temptation to not pay as many taxes or not give our firstfruits back to God or not make that extra dish of food for the widow down the street or not offer to watch that single mom's kids or...you get the idea.

Anytime we use language that asserts our rights or emphasizes the strength of our emotions over God's unchanging standard of truth, we are living dangerously. Anything can be justifiable, it seems, if we feel it strongly enough.

Strange how we never need to justify doing the right thing, not in our minds or to anyone else. Righteousness stands on its own, unaided, while sin usually involves complicated attempts to justify something that deep down we know is wrong.

Often, the things we tell ourselves will fulfill us instead will destroy us and bury us in regret. 3

Whether it's a big sin in our eyes (you know what I'm talking about - murder, sexual sin, abuse/neglect) or a small sin (little white lies, turning a blind eye, missing the mark), we tend to feel guilt with no resultant change or we decide to be King and excuse it away with a wave of our hand and proclaim ourselves Not Guilty. "Have you not just called to me: 'My Father, my friend from my youth, will you always be angry? Will your wrath continue forever?' This is how you talk, but you do all the evil you can."4

The Ten Commandments were not given to a chosen people because God wanted them to forever stay lost in the desert. I don't even think they were given to show how wicked mankind is and how unable we are to keep them all. I think they were given to give us a clearer picture of what the Promised Land is like - a land where the Ten Commandments are naturally practiced. God has given us directions to follow if and only if we want to be true to how He created us - perfect, sinless, peaceful, joyous, content, harmonious and loved. "But am I the one they are provoking? declares the Lord. Are they not rather harming themselves, to their own shame?"5 When we choose to not follow His guidelines, we create our own slum and declare ourselves artificially happy. We sit in our own filth pointing out Bible verses showing others how we have every right to be there and how they have no right to judge us when we, like Lot, should be running to the hills and not looking back.

There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death. ~Proverbs 16:25

I think what we need for this day and age is a good old-fashioned revival. A revival not about tolerance and compromise but about returning to and proclaiming the Truth which is uncompromising in its very nature. What do you say, fellow warriors?

1. Jeremiah 7:9-11
2. Jeremiah 2:34,35
3. TNIV, True Identity Bible, pg. 1109
4. Jeremiah 3:4,5
5. Jeremiah 7:19

Rise and Shine

Looking out over the sea of faces in your church, do you ever wonder who among you are revivalists, revolutionaries, countercultural rebels? I would imagine that most attending service are there to be fed, to be inspired, to be cared for, to fellowship with their brothers and sisters in Christ - or they are simply one of the thousands who simply goes to church to chalk one more Sunday up to God forgetting He lives outside the building as well. So as you look at familiar faces and strangers alike, your curiosity over the condition of their lives and hearts makes you wonder if they are making a difference - in their home, in the church, in the world. Are we among world-changers? Are we in the presence of godly warriors? We know every church has its "Creasters" (those who come faithfully on Christmas and Easter), those who have been guilted into coming, those who have a habit of coming to hear but not do (myself included), but what about the others? The ones God could probably count as His highly favored - the ones who are serving God in ways seen and unseen? Oh, to be highly favored of God! To be among those helping to change the world! To be the salt and light of the earth!

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? ... You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid... Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.1

The Christian’s task is to be the salt of society, preserving, reconciling, adding taste, giving meaning where there is no meaning, giving hope where there is no hope. It is about the quality of life. It is interesting that when the early Christians were persecuted in the Roman Empire, the Christian Apologists pleaded for tolerance saying that society continued to exist because of Christians. What they were saying was that Christians upheld the good values in life, they worked for reconciliation and peace, and they prayed for the empire and its well being.
To be the salt of society means that we are deeply concerned with its well being. We preserve cultural values and moral principles and make a contribution to the development of cultural and social life. We add taste and flavor to the common life. Because there are Christians in a city or in a village, its people should be able to praise God for the harmony and fellowship, joy and happiness which Christians bring to the common life.2

Wow, that is quite a statement! If there is a Christian around, there should be evidence of harmony, joy and other positive elements that so improve the quality of life that people will want to praise God! Do you think those around us feel that? It almost makes me laugh typing that as it's hard to describe my own life like that at times, never mind the poor souls living next to me. Seems like a tall order to fill! But we are encouraged when we realize we don't need to fill any orders as Christ is the one who fills us. It is Him whom we reflect. Both salt and light themselves are colorless or invisible. Is that how we are to become in order to make a difference in the world?

It seems to point to one thing: if you want to do any good in the world you will have to be willing to disappear! Everyone complains about politicians who only do things in order to be seen and to scoop up votes. But the complaint is valid against anyone at all, not only politicians! “I am the light of the world,” he said; but also “You are the light of the world”. “Let your light shine before others, so that seeing your good works they may give the praise to your Father in heaven.” That is the nature of light: to make others shine. It is the nature of God, John says.3

I certainly don't feel as if I have the answers on how to become a world-changer. I guess my point would be that in and of ourselves, it is impossible to have an impact on the world because it is God and only God who creates and changes worlds - individually and astronomically. Only God in us brings about His kingdom on earth as long as we are willing to simply be used. How countercultural is that?

Let me know your thoughts,
Crystal

1 Matthew 5:13-16
2 From http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1528
3 From http://www.goodnews.ie/jacobswellheer.htm

A Spirit of Excellence

A spirit of revival has started to grow among us – have you sensed it? It starts with the dissatisfaction of something in our lives - the lack of intimacy in our marriage, the way we’ve been parenting lately, the lack of involvement in our church, the resolutions we’ve made and already broken this year, etc. Whatever it is, we feel the desire to do something, to change something, but we’re not quite sure what. After all, our lives aren’t that bad – our children are cute as buttons, our homes are a bit cluttered but cozy, our husbands are good men (and handsome). Why would we be discontented? God has blessed us abundantly - we should feel grateful, not dissatisfied in any way, right? But there can be no change without some sense of dissatisfaction. The Holy Spirit prompts us at times to change, whether it be ourselves or a situation. It is a calling to maturity in Christ. Feeling these feelings and thinking these thoughts may be good and necessary, but if we don’t go further in the process, they are just feelings and just thoughts and no transformation can come from it.

A recent lesson about Zaccheus in a Bible study of mine goes like this:
For most of us, we will readily admit that we need to spend more time with the Lord. We need to pray more. We need to be living more simply that others may simply live. There are lots of things we should or could do. We will even discuss our faults and failings among a gathering of friends. We can get warm fuzzy feelings in sharing our shortcomings. But this is not really a cry for help. I am not disparaging that in any way, it is just that that is all window dressing unless or until we are willing to take the next step, as Zaccheus does, and publicly commit ourselves to live a changed life! To walk down the aisle – in front of everyone – and make a commitment and follow through. I know this. There is a huge difference and a thick wall of resistance between talking about Jesus and admitting our need and surrender.

Denial is concealed behind walls of resistance, walls erected by success, status, acceptance, comfort and laziness. We are willing to talk about the need to change in a setting with friends, even joke about it. We reinforce our present state with thoughts that things will work out. We build a moat of excuses. But knowing who we should be is not the same as becoming or being that person. It is not easy to say publicly: “I am lost. I need help.” It is even more remarkable to say: “This will be the evidence of my surrendering my life to Christ.”

Jesus acknowledges the genuineness of Zaccheus’ transformed life, not because of the change in his words, but the change in his life.1

Transformation comes from a change in action, not only in thoughts but deed. The ironic thing is our commitment to change and be and do comes only from surrendering to Christ. Only through His power can we be shaped into the being He wants us to become and acting out the actions He wants us to carry out. I believe this spirit of revival is calling us to lead lives of excellence - to be women of excellence to our children, to our husbands, to our friends and to those around us we may not know.

Many have no example of what excellence looks like. You were created to live a life that displays a higher standard. My Spirit in you, combined with your desire to be the best and do the best, has the amazing ability to inspire others to break free from mediocrity. Together, we will encourage them to step into an abundant life of blessings and generous giving. Come to Me every day, and let me lift you to a level of excellence that is only possible in the supernatural realm. I don’t want you to wear yourself out by trying to empower yourself. Remember I am ready and able to equip you with the power and passion to achieve an excellent life.

Love, Your Generous King2

For many, the New Year is usually a time of reflection and resolve. What things in your life do you wish were different? What about yourself do you wish was changed? What commitments have you made and not delivered on? And when was the last time you surrendered yourself to God, praying for Him to empower you to change what needs to be changed? Allow Him to do what He does best – making you excellent.

Love,
Crystal

1 Lesson written by Duff Dietrich (former senior pastor of my church)
2 From His Princess: Love Letters from Your King by Sheri Rose Shepherd