blessings through raindrops

"Pastor 'Ameen,' leader of the evangelical church movement in Iraq, said that before baptizing new believers he teaches them that they will face persecution."
- Voice of the Martyrs magazine, July 2012

Pastor Ameen tells them they WILL. he doesn't say it's just something that happened in Bible times, or to faraway believers in countries with scary governments.
why don't we teach the same thing here in the US?
why is it that we feel almost entitled to a peaceful life with no arguments?
why have we adopted the ridiculous notion that it's a faux pas to discuss 'religion and politics?'
why are we shocked when we hear that Christian kids are being bullied at school, or when atheists sue to remove 'in God we trust' from our currency, or when we make a Christian statement on the internet and get blasted and barraged with insults for speaking about Christ, or when you sit down to pray but immediately get inundated with phone calls and texts and knocks at the door and hunger pangs and the temptation to watch tv? (yes, persecution is not only bodily harm from ill-willed unbelievers; it is often attacks from Satan in the form of temptation or distractions, etc...)

Jesus clearly said we WILL suffer and we WILL be persecuted.

"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death,

and you will be hated by all nations because of Me."

- Jesus, in Matthew 24:9

"In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted..."

2 Timothy 3:12

"Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering,

as though something strange were happening to you.

But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ,

so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed.

If you are insulted because of the name of Christ,

you are blessed,

for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you."

1 Peter 4:12-14

Pastor Ameen's approach brings home the gravity of the situation: when you choose Jesus, you need to be fully committed, and fully aware of the implications. there's no 'nominal' allowed with God, no situation where luke-warm is acceptable.

"In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus sends out His disciples on two occasions: in Matthew 10 and again in Matthew 28. On both occasions He gives the disciples specific instructions, but neither time does Jesus tell them to assess the risk. he doesn't tell them to ask permission to share the gospel or heal the sick. And He doesn't tell them to poll the villagers first to measure their receptivity to the gospel. 
"In fact, Jesus' words in Matthew 10 would not be considered hopeful or positive by the world's standards. He tells the disciples that they will be delivered up to government officials and will be 'scourged' or terrorized by religious officials. He tells them that families will reject them and even have them killed. To leave no doubt about how they can expect to be treated, Jesus summarizes their situation as 'sheep among wolves,' telling them that they will be 'hated by all' for His name's sake.
"Still, He said, 'Go!' and His disciples went. They had a mission to accomplish - reaching all nations with the gospel (28:19)."
- Voice of the Martyrs magazine, October 2013

"... Jesus wants His disciples to know that mission and persecution are inseparable. When done in the spirit of Jesus, you cannot have one without the other. When done in the spirit of Christ, mission has always taken place in the shadow of the cross. ... Survival, however, is not their prime concern. They are to be committed to accomplishing the purposes of God, even if it means their death."
- late Glenn Penner, former CEO of Voice of the Martyrs, Canada

yep. even if it means their/my/your death. i love how he says mission always takes place in the shadow of the cross. always. the meaning of the cross - its suffering leading to our salvation and thus our right relationship with God - is our whole purpose as Christians. Jesus, our perfect example, suffered unthinkably. why is it odd that we should follow in His footsteps, even the suffering ones?

it is shallow to think the Christian life will and should be easy.

it's human nature to look for the easy road. we like the world to be in a perfect, predictable pattern. we want 'follow these 5 steps to get this great outcome.' that's why the false gospel of health, wealth, and prosperity is so successful. be good and God will bless you. send money to the poor (often it doesn't even reach them) and God will send you money. like we can con God into blessing us. like we can force His hand. like He owes us 'the good life' if we're doing good deeds.
WRONG!!!

Jesus told a story about a guy planting a farm. he threw down seed as he walked. and if you know gardening, you know that not every seed you plant will grow. there are different reasons for non-growth: weeds, rocks, no dirt...
Jesus likened the seeds and soil to people who have received His message; some will take it and grow, like they are in rich soil. but some act like seed planted in rocks, which support a beginning growth but have no room for roots, and the plant dies.

"But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. 

When trouble or persecution comes because of the world, 

he quickly falls away." 

Matthew 13:21

how do we get that root? how do we survive the rocks of persecution and trouble? we must choose God first every day. spend time with Him. read His word, if you have a Bible. listen to His voice. worship Him as you drive to work or as you sit in your back yard. what would you do with your best friend? - do those things with God.

the good things you do should be from a motive of worshiping Him and growing your faith, not to get earthly pleasures in return. 

and sometimes, though you do all the right things, say all the heart-felt prayers, read all the right verses, God will still allow hardships to come your way. He has the freedom to bring prosperity or to allow evil to visit you. 

and sometimes we actually learn better when we are facing hardship than when everything is going swimmingly. why do you think the gospel thrives and expands in countries where persecution is most rampant (like China)? persecution brings out the true believers, and forces those on the fence to make a decision.

"blessings" ARE a blessing, but sometimes so are hardships.

"We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; 

perplexed, but not abandoned; 

struck down, but not destroyed."

2 Corinthians 4:8-9

"... We also rejoice in our sufferings, 

because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 

perseverance, character; 

and character, hope." 

Romans 5:3-5

i love the words of this song about blessings coming in ways we don't want or expect. God has promised blessings, but often they're not the pleasures and wealth we're looking for here on earth. sometimes even the suffering is the blessing, if it leads us to learn or grow.

Blessings by Laura Story

we pray for blessings, we pray for peace
comfort for family, protection while we sleep
we pray for healing, for prosperity
we pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
all the while, You hear each spoken need
yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops?
what if Your healing comes through tears?
what if a thousand sleepless nights 
are what it takes to know You're near?
what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?

we pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear
and we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
we doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
as if every promise from Your word is not enough
all the while, You hear each desperate plea
and long that we'd have faith to believe

when friends betray us
when darkness seems to win
we know the pain reminds this heart
that this is not, this is not our home

cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops?
what if Your healing comes through pain?
and what if a thousand sleepless nights
are what it takes to know You're near?
what if my greatest disappointments
or the aching of this life
is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy?
and what if trials of this life
the rain, the storms, the hardest nights,
are Your blessings in disguise?

persecution is hideous. it's not what God's world was supposed to look like. it's a result of the sin cancer.
but God is still present, and He still desires that every human being would turn from sin and selfishness to discover Him.
that is why Christians find joy in suffering. for the joy set before us. that's why Jesus endured the taunting and the spitting and the jeering and nailing and the piercing and the gasping for air and the excruciating separation from His Father and the dying - for the joy set before Him.

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, 

the author and perfecter of our faith, 

who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, 

scorning its shame, 

and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." 

Hebrews 12:2

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, 

whenever you face trials of many kinds, 

because you know that the testing of your faith 

develops perseverance. 

Perseverance must finish its work 

so that you may be mature and complete, 

not lacking anything." 

James 1:2-4

Jesus' joy was conquering death so that He could bring that same power to us. All true Christians will conquer death!!!!
Jesus' joy was bringing life so that we could enjoy that same life forever with Him.
Jesus' joy was sitting at the right hand of God after enduring.
our joys are similar:
-the joy of some being saved through our lives and words
-the joy of knowing we are on the right path: on God's path
-the joy of being saved now and being part of God's kingdom
-the joy of personally knowing God's voice and His leading hand

-the joy of reaching heaven one day and God saying, 'well done, good and faithful servant!'

do you have that joy?
are you willing to suffer persecution and hardships in order to claim Christ as your own? if you choose Him, you WILL suffer.
if you're looking for the easy road on earth, choosing Jesus isn't guaranteed to get you there. but it IS guaranteed to bring unspeakable joy, immense security, and eternal life in the long run.

JOIN US!!!

enemies

i found it a really sad commentary on our culture when i read the news that people were protesting the local burial of the Boston marathon bomber. yeah he did a terrible thing. true he tried to kill hundreds of people there in Boston.
but he's still a human being, and believe it or not, GOD STILL LOVED HIM just as much as He loves each of us!
that's right. God loved Tamerlan Tsarnaev. He didn't just like him. and He certainly didn't hate him. He created him and loved him and desired that he would come to know Jesus.

then i read the news story about a Bostonian man who offered his own burial plot as a place for Tamerlan to be buried. what a breath of fresh air! he did it in the name of Christianity, which was extra-fresh air.
and i heard that other people along the way had also offered burial plots. now that is how humans should treat other humans!
(i'm sad to say, it's over and above what i would even find myself doing. if all the drama had happened where i live, and if i had a burial plot in the first place, i'm pretty certain that it wouldn't even occur to me to offer it to him.)

it is a natural human response, when someone does something heinous, to despise that person, to hate them and want them dead, and when they do die, to rejoice and continue trying to punish them even after they're dead.
that's what happened with people like Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden when they died.
but it's WRONG.
Jesus said it plain as day in Matthew 5:43-45:

"'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 we profess to be followers of God, we will love our enemies, because that's what He did.
think about it. YOU were God's enemy! and if you don't believe in Jesus as your Savior, you are still God's enemy!
do you really understand that? if there were a big universal battlefield, you are either standing with Jesus on God's side, or you are His mortal enemy, standing on Satan's side......... the enemy.
and when you were still standing on the enemy side, God came to YOU and gave His life for YOU so that YOU could be saved and join Him on the other side.

"Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, 

though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 

But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: 

while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." 

Romans 5:7-8

why would God tell us to do such a thing - love our enemies?
looking at His example, He did it so that we would be drawn to Him and learn to love Him back. and His desire is that ALL humans would be saved from eternal suffering and become friends with Him. so, if He has that desire and He has us as followers, it makes sense that He would want to train us to reach the rest of the world the way He did. and humans respond best to love. especially when love is offered freely and 'just because'.
think of stories you see on the news, or read about in books, or hear about in songs. the stories that amaze us and wrench our hearts are those where someone gives themselves unabashedly for the other.

• during the Aurora, Colorado, shooting, 3 men used their bodies as shields to save lives and died in the process. 
• books that survive time, like Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens, are full of unrequited and self-sacrificial love. 
• Bruno Mars sings 'I'd catch a grenade for you,' while the girl clearly is not as committed to him. 

in our hearts, we desire to be the object of this type of love. it's a love that is not conditional. it's a love that gives all. it's the love that God showed to us, but that we find exceedingly difficult or impossible to show to others.
and it is difficult, it is impossible - if we try to use our own power to do it.
but that's what makes Christianity stand out. God lives in true Christians and it is by HIS power (and His power ONLY) that we can love others, even and especially enemies. as my pastor said last week, people are often unloving, unlovely, and unlovable, so we have to borrow love from God. He has a deep, gushing, luscious well of love, when ours is a grimy, muddy, and boggy puddle.
and THAT love is what will change the world. THAT love is what can make an enemy a friend, can turn hearts from evil to good, can save people from staying on Satan's side of the battlefield.
the response that Christians should have for those who die while they're still in Satan's army should be grief and regret, not rejoicing! Christ died for Tamerlan, and for Jeffrey Dahmer, and for Hitler, and for Stalin, and for bin Laden, the same way He died for you and me.

and as it turns out, there will be a battle between God and His enemies at the end of time. (Revelation 16:14-16 & 19:19-21)
whose side are you on? 



the Boston controversy: http://news.yahoo.com/uncle-arranging-boston-bomb-suspects-burial-rites-163554313.html
Yale grad offers his own plot: http://www.christianpost.com/news/christian-offers-burial-plot-for-tamerlan-tsarnaev-after-body-is-refused-everywhere-95502/
finally buried: http://news.yahoo.com/police-dead-boston-bombing-suspect-buried-141202538.html
Aurora, CO, sacrifice: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/aurora-shooting-died-bullets-sweeties-article-1.1119395

when you feel tired...

i feel tired.
my head has been in pain all day. i haven't been home much this week. my workdays have been averaging 10 hours long. i've been on my feet for days. my eyelids feel puffy and heavy.
i feel tired.
i love my work, but i feel a little worn.

it's weeks like this when i find myself sighing and stretching and correcting my slumpy posture that i think of God's unweariness and feel thankful.

Psalm 121:3-4 puts it this way:
"He.. watches over you and will not slumber;
indeed, He who watches over Israel 
will neither slumber nor sleep."

and this isn't referring to some sort of insomniac who stays awake in a sleep-deprived stupor.
God doesn't NEED to sleep! He is above that. tiredness doesn't affect Him.

so as i plow through tired weeks, going-going-and-never-stopping, aching for those moments when i can sit down, just for a few minutes, it's a good reminder to lean on God. it's a good reminder to remember the completeness, the above-ness of God.
it's almost good to have those weary times, just so i can remember the awesome qualities of God.

it's good to remember that when i am not enough, He is.

how's your pulse?

(unmarked Bible references today are from Matthew 27-28, Mark 15-16, Luke 23-24, & John 19-20)

when Jesus died on the cross on Good Friday, He was dead. DEAD dead. no life. no pulse. no breath. He was dead before the soldiers came by to make sure He was dead by spearing His side, as they did at every crucifixion.
it was a dark day, literally, when God died. He had been hanging in agony on the cross for 6 hours (i can barely manage the first 3 seconds when i accidentally smash my finger!), finishing His work of bringing God's message and then paying the punishment for what we do. the sky was black, the curtain in the Jewish temple spontaneously tore in half, and dead people rose from the grave all over town!
this was no ordinary death!
His disciples went into hiding. they were devastated. the guy they thought was going to save them all from the Roman occupation, the guy who was supposed to be the reigning Messiah, the guy they'd followed in spite of ridicule and opposition, the guy they'd hung all their hope on.... was dead. and on Sunday morning, after the Sabbath rest (which probably wasn't too restful for most), they were huddled in a room, probably feeling utterly alone in the world.
some women disciples set out around sunrise to visit the tomb. the Romans had put guards around the tomb; i wonder if any of the guards contemplated Jesus' claim of rising again as he stood there all night...
but when the women arrived, the guards were nowhere to be found. they had been shocked by an earthquake as a hugely imposing, brilliant-as-lightning angel of the Lord came from heaven and singlehandedly rolled away the stone from the entrance, then sat on it. in short, the burly Roman guards fainted, then ran away.
instead, the women found the angel, who apparently looked a little more normal, because they weren't quite convinced by him telling them Jesus had risen. after she had fetched Peter and John and they all looked at the curiously empty tomb, Jesus Himself appeared to her and she believed.
this was no ordinary gravesite!
Jesus was ALIVE! after all the agony, after dying till He was dead on the cross for all to see, He was alive again! and He was alive by His own power! it's one thing when Jesus raised others from the dead; it's a completely different story when He raises His own dead self from the grave! He had breath. He had a pulse. He had scars from the cross to prove He was who He said He was. and He stuck around proving Himself and continuing His teaching for 40 days... then one day, as His followers looked on, He rose Himself right into the sky, finally disappearing behind a cloud! Acts 1:9
this was no ordinary guy!
after He left, His followers gathered together, praying, and as they did, the Spirit of God came into their room like a blast of wind, leaving little tongues of fire on their heads, and enabling them to speak the gospel to foreigners in those foreign languages. Acts 2:1-12
there was a new Life living in the followers of Jesus. it was His life. they didn't serve a man who was just a good guy who then died; they had chosen to follow the Man who had created the universe, then left His lofty home to become a Man who brought salvation from their stubborn sinful nature, then went back to heaven to rule as King and sent His Spirit, His very Life, to live in them.
they were given a whole new breath of life from God Himself as they believed, called the Holy Spirit. back in Genesis, God breathed into Adam to make him alive. now in the New Testament, God breathes into us to give us eternal life!
this is no ordinary religion!

are you alive? are you born again, breathed-into again? Jesus said,
"I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."
John 3:3

John later wrote:
"Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God... Everyone born of God overcomes the world... Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." 
1 John 5:1a, 4a, 5

how is your pulse today?
are you still dead? you were given the breath of life by God when you arrived on the earth as a baby, but have you accepted the new, eternal life of Jesus? if not, you're a dead man walking. you are destined for eternal separation from God. PLEASE don't stay on that path! be one of the 'few' who find the small gate and walk the narrow path of following Jesus! Matthew 7:13-14

are you barely breathing? did you accept Jesus' life, but now you're living farther and farther apart from Him? are you in danger of rejecting Him all over again? Hebrews 10:26-27 says this: "If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God." don't fall for the idea that you can just say some little 'prayer' that makes everything better; Jesus is to be King of your life.
or are you someone who believes but keeps falling for Satan's temptation, struggling and losing? or maybe you are being careless with how you choose your life path? do you choose t.v. over spending time with God (i struggle with that all the time)? do you get so busy with life that you neglect to read His word? do you fail to go to Him for advice? 1 Corinthians 3:15 says this about building your life with careless, inferior materials: "If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames."
don't you want to be triumphant, not just making it by the skin of your teeth? it will be your loss. your life could have been abundant and full, but if you're barely breathing, it's like you're choosing to walk around everywhere with a big oxygen tank strapped on when you could take it off and breathe freely!

or hopefully, are you fully alive?? have you accepted Jesus as your King and now live as His child, accepting His purification, choosing to love Him daily, remembering His sacrifice? are you breathing His Spirit?
Jesus wants this for you; that's what He came for. He said in John 10:10b, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." and He is the author of life; it is His to give. it comes from putting yourself aside each day and choosing God. it comes from listening to His words and following them. it's not always happy-clappy, as my pastor used to say. hardships will come. but God sustains, and that is what a full life is all about.

i personally find that i fluctuate at barely breathing with some awesome gasps of full Spirit life. i yearn to be fully alive with God's Spirit speaking to me constantly, but i get in the way. i'm busy. i'm bored reading the Bible. i fall asleep when i try to pray. i'm distracted by life and it's worries. i'm clinging to life here on earth when i should be living with my eyes on Christ. i get scared of physical pain... the list goes on. do you have a list like that?
i pray that you will join me on the journey to full shining life in Christ. if you haven't accepted Jesus as your King yet, this Easter season is an appropriate time to do it! Jesus didn't stay dead!!! and you won't either if you accept Him! take on His life, accept His Spirit to live in your heart. and join me on the narrow road, striving for full life with no oxygen tanks!

the importance of an ear

on the real Maundy Thursday, right after spending a solemn dinner with his closest friends and followers, Jesus was arrested. the evening was dimming to night, and they had gathered to pray with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, an ancient garden of olive trees. when a crowd led by Judas the betrayer arrived, Peter panicked, pulled out his sword, and chopped off one of the arresters' ears. the guy now missing his ear and in excruciating pain was Malchus, a servant of the high priest.
as the Roman soldiers tried to figure out which guy was Jesus in the midst of all the din and rustle, and as Malchus stood there probably screaming in pain and trying to get someone to come to his defense, Jesus didn't run off into the trees, as i would have wanted to do. instead, Jesus calmly rebuked his disciples for being so rash, approached Malchus, and touched his' bleeding head, healing his ear! (Luke 22:47-51)
why did Jesus do this? and why was it included in the Bible?
it strikes me as amazing that it was the ear that was cut off. and that Jesus took the time in the midst of His own arrest to heal that ear. it brings to my mind the times when Jesus said, "He who has ears, let him hear!" Matthew 11:15; Revelation 2:11, 29;  Matthew 13:9 - reiterated in Mark 4:9 & Luke 8:8. He would say it after a parable or after instruction, and He meant more than just physically hearing with your ears. He meant UNDERSTANDING.
God wants so badly for everyone to understand and accept His message! 

He pleads with us: "Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts..." Psalm 95:7-8 and Hebrews 3:7
we humans, on the other hand, want to keep doing what we're doing, disregarding God, and pushing Him away. in Acts 28:27, reminding us of the Israelites in the Old Testament, He describes how we humans choose our own way, closing our minds to God:

"For this people's heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears, 
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts 
and turn, and I would heal them."

we refuse to hear because we want to do what WE want to do. we don't want to be under authority, even if it means HEALING!! In 2 Timothy 4:3, we see a prophecy that is coming true right NOW:

"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths."

doesn't that sound eerily familiar??
notice these things in that passage:
1) it is by CHOICE that we turn from truth. when we use the phrase 'i won't put up with that,' we usually think we're turning away from something that is bad, but in this case we are rejecting sound doctrine, the thing that is RIGHT!
2) we pick and choose who we listen to, according to what we want to hear.
3) we gather 'teachers' who say what we want to hear - this means people in authority who supposedly "know what they're talking about." but they're telling total lies! (Americans, for one, like to think they are listening to 'authorities on the subject,' but BEWARE, some of these 'authorities' are telling lies! just because a 'scientist' says the earth is millions of years old doesn't mean he has any science to back it up. just because a newscaster makes pro-lifers sound unreasonable doesn't mean abortion is ok. just because a teacher in school says you can't speak the truth that homosexuality is a sin doesn't mean you shouldn't. just because a pastor ignores or belittles uncomfortable topics like immodesty and sex before marriage doesn't mean those things aren't wrong.
4) we are turning aside to myths. you know what a myth is, right? it's a phony story that needs to be debunked. are you falling for the myths that make you feel comfortable living the lifestyle you live?

i wonder if Jesus healed that man's ear to communicate to Malchus how 'deaf' he was, and how Jesus wanted him to be on His side that night, instead of with Judas.
which side are you on today? as we start thinking about Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, when Jesus was crucified, where are you standing? are you with Judas - betraying and rejecting Jesus? or are you on Jesus' side, purified and listening to the truth?
do you want to really hear God and know His voice? you must belong to Him.
Jesus said, "He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God." John 8:47
turn away from the myths. turn away from false teachers and scientists and politicians who teach what they teach for their own selfish gain. turn to the truth, which is God's truth.
Jesus wants YOU!

"My sheep listen to My voice; 

I know them, and they follow Me. 

I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; 

no one can snatch them out of my hand."

John 10:28

don't you want to belong to the Good Shepherd?

NO EXCUSE: the world is a picture of God

"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities 

-- His eternal power and divine nature -- 

have been clearly seen, 

being understood from what has been made, 

so that men are without excuse."

Romans 1:21

i love how God created the universe so that we could find Him. the more i look around at nature, the more i realize who God is and how the spiritual world works. He made it with infinite detail and meaning. then He plonked us right in the midst of it, with at least 5 senses to take it all in.

the more we learn about ourselves and the world we live in, the more we are without excuse when we stand in front of God. 

the Trinity

today is st patrick's day. it's a bit of a sketchy holiday for me, seeing as i don't approve of getting mad drunk and taking part in the sexual immorality of half-naked dancing and the co-ed 'sleep-overs' that ensue. 

i also don't agree with revering regular humans as 'saints.' according to the Bible, every Christian is a saint, and there is not to be any praying to or through particular people, or using them as some sort of amulet or charm to make life go well. 

on the plus side, however, my favorite color, green, is celebrated today. and that is partly thanks to the original guy named patrick, who lived back in the 300-400s AD. he was a Christian missionary to Ireland who is sometimes credited with one of my favorite illustrations of the Trinity: the shamrock. 

this plant is basically clover, with skinny little stalks holding up striking green leaves, each with 3 distinct lobes. and that leaf is where the illustration comes in. 

it's really hard for us humans to figure out how the Biblical Trinity makes any sense. how can 3 separate persons, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit, be contained in a single person, God? makes no sense. but the shamrock gives us a picture of how to see it. each part of the leaf is separate and basically whole by itself. but they grow together and are one leaf.

so if you are like me, and feel a little distressed by all the ungodliness going on during st patrick's day, remember the shamrock, a wonderful little piece of God's creation that reminds us of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

another part of God's creation that helps me make sense of the Trinity is water. water has 3 forms: solid, liquid, and gas. they are totally distinct from each other; you would not look at an ice cube and say, 'hey, there's some steam!' but they are still forms of the same molecule.

same with the Trinity. the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have totally separate characteristics and functions, but are one God. i do not worship multiple gods, but simply 3 forms of the same God. it is like trying to separate 'solid,' 'liquid,' or 'gas' from 'water'... they ARE water so it's not possible. in the same way that i can't look at an ice cube and call it 'steam,' i also cannot look at the ice cube and say that it has nothing to do with steam; it is the same molecule!

so who is this God who has 3 entities?! i will close with some of what the Bible has to say about Him (there is so much more than what i have here! look for yourself in God's word):

GOD THE FATHER:

CREATOR: Genesis 1 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." (vs.1)

ETERNAL: Psalm 90:2 "Before the mountains were born... from everlasting to everlasting you are God."

PERFECT and JUST: Deuteronomy 32:6 "He is the Rock, His works are perfect, and all His ways are just."

RESCUER and REFUGE: Psalm 68:5 "A Father to the fatherless, defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling."

ALL-POWERFUL: Job 38-39 (God speaking) "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?... Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place... Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea or walked in the recesses of the deep?" (38:4, 12, 16)

KING: Psalm 47:7 "For God is the King of all the earth; sing to Him a psalm of praise."

GATHERER of Jesus-followers: John 6:44 (Jesus speaking) "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him."

LOVING PROVIDER: Matthew 6:26 "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"

ULTIMATE JUDGE: Acts 17:31 "For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising Him from the dead."

GOD THE SON:

SAVIOR: 1 John 4:14 "And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world."

FULLY HUMAN & FULLY GOD: Philippians 2:5-8 "Christ Jesus, Who, being in very nature God... made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness..."

COMPASSIONATE: Matthew 9:36 "When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." 

INTERCESSOR for believers: Romans 8:34 "Christ Jesus who died -- more than that, who was raised to life -- is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us."

ETERNAL: John 8:28 (Jesus speaking) "I tell you the truth... before Abraham was born, I am!"

PRINCE: Acts 5:31 "God exalted Him to His own right hand as Prince and Savior that He might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel."

PERFECT: Hebrews 7:26-27 "... holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, He does not need to offer sacrifices day after day... He sacrificed for their sins once for all when He offered Himself."

THE ONLY PRIEST: 1 Timothy 2:5 "For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all men.."

LORD: 1 Peter 3:15 "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord."

GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT:

INTERCESSOR for believers: Romans 8:26-27 "the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." 

CONVICTER: John 16:8 "When He comes, He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment."

TRUTH-BRINGER: John 15:13 "When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth."

POWERFUL: Acts 1:8 "But you will will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you."

KNOWS GOD'S THOUGHTS: 1 Corinthians 2:11 "For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God."

GIVES UNDERSTANDING OF GOD: 1 Corinthians 2:12 "We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us."

GUIDE of Christians: Romans 8:9, 14 "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you... those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God."

LIVES in Christians: 1 Corinthians 6:19 "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, Who is in you, Whom you have received from God?"

SANCTIFIER: 2 Thessalonians 2:13 "...God chose you to be saved throug the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth."

FATHER, SON, AND SPIRIT TOGETHER:

1 John 4:12-16 "No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us. We know that we live in Him and He in us, because He has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God."

John 3:34-36 "For the One whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in His hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."

John 14:26 (Jesus speaking) "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."

Matthew 3:16-17 "As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on Him. And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.'"

Acts 5:30-32 "The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead -- whom you had killed by hanging Him on a tree. God exalted Him to His own right hand as Prince and Savior that He might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him."

ingesting the bread

James 1:22 says this:
"Do not merely listen to the world, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says."

i find myself thinking of many in the American 'church,' people who go to church every Sunday, but don't think about God during the week. women who wear skimpy outfits (even to church) and men who condone it. people who are smiley in the pews, but who will swear and yell all the way home. people who have their Bible on their lap on Sunday, but live immoral lives at home. people who claim they've been Christians for years, but enjoy raunchy t.v. like South Park or American Dad or Desperate Housewives, or have a live-in boyfriend, or are eating themselves into obesity, or excuse homosexuality, or cheat in their work or on their taxes...
the picture isn't consistent.
it's a huge problem.

James 2:14, 17 continue on:
"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? ... faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."

works do not save you, but they are EVIDENCE of being saved. if someone claims to be something, we look for evidence to back him up. if he says, 'i am the king of England,' we look for evidence of that. if there is none, we dismiss him as a liar.
same with Christianity. 
the world is looking intently at Christians, and when we live in ways that oppose the Bible, they deem us liars and dismiss Christianity. i can't tell you the number of times i have talked about Christianity with someone and they have said they reject Christianity because they knew someone in their past who claimed Christianity but acted like a jerk.
often, that can come from hearing the word, but not doing what it says.
don't deceive yourself. are you a doer, or just a hearer? do you flippantly claim to be a Christian, but don't really know what that means, or don't really care? i've often encountered people who quickly say they're Christians, but are clearly uncomfortable with the subject and don't want to talk further. seems like a red flag. and i have found later that their lifestyle is one that has no regard for Christ.

imagine sitting down for lunch with someone. the food came and you both started eating. what would you think if after chewing every bite, your friend spat it out on the ground? 
i don't know about you, but i would think, incredulously, 'what are you doing?! you're not really eating!' 
in order for food to do any substantial good to our bodies, it must be swallowed. it must be ingested and absorbed into our tissues.
the Bible refers to God's word as bread. Jesus also called Himself the Bread of Life (John 6:35). as Christians, we must absorb what God says and who He is into our lives. it changes us.
if you're no different than the day you claimed Jesus as Lord, then there is something wrong.
have you really INGESTED the bread?

"Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you... Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you." James 1:21, 4:7-8a

the gun conundrum

i think it's time to write a bit of my thought process down about guns. they seem to be a big topic these days, from the government down to everyday people.
(personally, i don't like guns at all. i wish they could all be banned, from the government down to the kids, but i know that's completely unrealistic in this fallen world. worldwide peace is only going to come when Jesus returns.)
now, i don't have any end-all answer to the debate of banning guns, but here's what's been mulling in my mind as i hear more discussion on the topic.

show me the facts

first of all, here are some stats and pieces of info i have run across in recent weeks. links to my references are below.

- dateline said in the US, 36 people are killed with guns every day. that's more people dead than there are hours in the day!

- last year, 9,000 people were killed with guns in the US. 1 this is the highest rate in all 'industrialized nations.' other similar countries have stats in the hundreds, while we are at multiple thousands!!! and a suspiciously correlating fact: the US has the 'highest rate of gun ownership in the world, with 88.8 guns per 100 people' (Serbia is next, with 58.2). 1

so let me get this straight so far, we have the most guns per capita (most people say they have guns to protect themselves), and we are also the most dead nation in the world because of these same 'protective' weapons.... hmmm...

- we're experiencing more and more mass shootings like at the Connecticut elementary school and the Colorado movie theater and the Wisconsin Sikh temple... an excellent overview of mass shootings here in the US can be found at this link: mass shootings map

over 3/4 of these killers had legal weapons!

after the shooting in Connecticut this last December, everyone was talking about weapons and if some should be banned. even a staunch pro-gun-er named Joe Manchin changed his tune and made these comments: "i never thought i'd see the day when i would see children and babies slaughtered in america... i think seeing the massacre of so many innocent children, it's changed america... never before have we seen our babies slaughtered." (i can't help but interject here that he is wrong, because we have been slaughtering our babies for decades through abortion... why only outrage now??!) he thinks even the NRA might lighten up a bit on its argument against banning at least some semi-automatic guns. 2  (a few weeks ago i was in a conversation with someone who has been involved in violence most of his life, as a pimp and drug dealer who used guns, and even he said there's no need for anyone to have an automatic weapon.)

- and just this January, there was another senseless, horrific shooting in New Mexico. a 15-yr-old boy shot his mother, his 3 siblings (ages 9, 5, and 2), and his father. he had also contemplated killing his 12-yr-old girlfriend's family, as well as going to walmart to shoot a bunch of people there. 3 what in the world?! the county sheriff hit the nail on the head when he said this: "there seems to be a devaluation of life in america." 4  he argues, rightly, that schools and faith-based organizations should be doing more in the prevention of this. and i would add that families need to do more groundwork to teach non-violence.

how'd we get here?
what is it about humans that makes us ever want to kill another person? or hurt them.. why does it feel good to get someone back or to be stronger than someone else? here are some ideas:

1. plain ole ego. it's all about me. back to the Garden of Eden when Eve wanted to be like God. she and Adam threw away the words God had said in favor of what tickled their egos and their self-importance. God had been clear: eat from that one tree and you will die. they chose to gamble with death, just like all of us since then. we feel invincible. we think we can take care of ourselves. we think we're number one.

2. fear. despite acting like we're number one and we're invincible, we really are afraid of everything. Americans especially. Americans must be some of the most fearful people in the world. we're afraid of germs, afraid of our neighbors, afraid of the rest of the world, afraid of growing old, afraid of sickness, afraid of death, afraid of ghosts, afraid of confrontations, afraid of the weather... and in the same breath, we constantly test the limits and step to the edges, kind of as a coward's way of proving we're not afraid. we watch scary movies, we ride crazy roller-coasters, we eat ourselves into un-health, we drink alcohol till we puke, we spend the night in graveyards telling 'ghost stories,' we yell obscenities at the t.v. from the safety of our couch, we run around town with guns in our pockets to prove we're tough .......... it all comes back to fear.

3. anger. sometimes fear comes out as anger. sometimes circumstances breed anger, like financial troubles or broken families. sometimes people are angry just because it gives them something to do.

4. video game violence. yep, i said it.
basically, most Americans have too much time on their hands. we watch hours of t.v., our kids play hours of video games. and it's ridiculous to think that we can fill our minds with violence hour after hour and not be affected. like my husband always says, "companies wouldn't spend billions of dollars on advertising if it didn't affect our minds and our actions." the thing about video games now is a) how REAL they look, b) that you play them in FIRST PERSON, running along with a gun in your hands, c) how INVOLVED the storyline is (why do you think people get so mad when they lose?!), and d) how MISLEADING it is to die over and over again or kill others without real consequences.
you think this doesn't affect your kid when they sit absorbed in the game for hours?? then you're not in touch with reality.
if you read the article about the boy who killed his family (3), you'd notice that the sheriff talked about how the boy "gushed to police about his love for violent video games during the interrogation... he told police he loved to play Modern Warfare and Grand Theft Auto." red flag!!!

a Christian response

today as i ran errands, i was listening to the radio station my husband had left on in the car: Christian talk radio. they were talking briefly about the gun issue. granted, i think the issue being discussed in government has been about automatic weapons, but these guys were discussing just any guns at all.
the show host clearly seemed to be pro-gun, against any gun-banning. they were discussing whether or not it's ever ok for a Christian to have a gun in their house 'for safety,' and what happens if a burglar comes into the house at night. they mentioned a Christian leader who said that Christians shouldn't have a gun for 'safety,' because then you run the risk of killing someone who hasn't heard the gospel. the talk show host kind of snorted at that and said this: "when a burglar is in your house, that is not the time to share the gospel." 
that disturbed me.
what if that is EXACTLY the time you are supposed to share the gospel, or even lead that person to Christ, or to be a different kind of example, instead of holding a gun to their face and shooting them dead in the name of 'protecting your family?'
it brings to memory true stories i've heard of Christians from WWII who won over their captors by sharing the gospel - hardened nazi killers who had only evil in their minds... changed by GOD in the presence of someone who cared more for the nazi's soul than for their own safety.
or how about the Chinese girl who was imprisoned just for being a Christian, who, though almost starving herself, spent her days voluntarily washing other prisoners' cells and sharing the gospel with them... her example caused the guards to ask her about her faith.
or i think of the countless stories i've read in the Voice of the Martyrs magazine, about modern day Christians who are killed for believing in Jesus, but whose last words before death caused their killers to later repent and become strong Christians themselves.
what if those Christians had met their attackers at the door with a gun?
what if Ananias in Acts 9, had met Saul, a serious Christian-killer, at his door with a gun? there would have been no Paul, and think of how many people were saved after hearing his words, both in his day and up to ours!

i don't think it is necessarily wrong for a Christian to own a gun, maybe for minor bits of hunting or something (even though i eat some meat, it's hard for me to think of actually shooting an animal...). i don't know the answer to what we should do across the board when it comes to guns.
i DO know we have a violence problem in this country, which i think is a family/morality problem at its core.
and i DO believe that automatic weapons are seriously unnecessary for normal people to have.

when it comes down to it for me, if i picture Jesus living as my neighbor in 2013, i don't picture Him with a gun under His pillow. 


1 cnn - US vs the world in gun violence
2 joe manchin
3 family shooting
4 sheriff talks about family shooting

behind the scenes in Nigeria

i've written briefly before about the terrible violence against Christians that's been going on in the place i call home, Nigeria. Jos post
but last night as i read my new Voice of the Martyrs magazine, i was reminded anew of what's going on in the real world between real Muslims and real Christians.
i feel strongly about sharing this story, so after a couple of my own comments, i will quote the magazine story, and all the credits are below, along with a way to receive your own free subscription to the Voice of the Martyrs.
it is important that we, as Christians, stay aware of what is happening to the rest of Jesus' body around the world.
"If one part suffers, every part suffers with it..." 1 Corinthians 12:26
persecution is VERY real today. it is a unique part of the Christian faith, because of its purpose and blessing. when we suffer for Christ, we consider it an honor to be counted worthy of sharing with Jesus. the original apostles were strong examples of this. after they were flogged for teaching about Jesus, they left, "rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name." Acts 5:41b
suffering is something we look forward to.
"I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His suffering, becoming like Him in His death..." Philippians 3:10
we do not desire it in our human selves (that would be crazy or masochistic!), but because it produces incredible fruit in us.
"...we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." Romans 5:3
it also allows Jesus' name to be honored and spread to those who are still lost, and it can be endured because we know with certainty that we will spend unimaginably-wonderful eternity with Jesus in the end!
"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." Romans 8:18
please remember these things and think of your own response as you read this true account of what happened to a Nigerian family,

"... on Wednesday night, Nov. 28, 2012, when they heard men banging on the front door and threatening to force their way in.
"Before they could fully comprehend what was happening, the men entered their living room and ordered them to come out of their bedroom. Adamu dressed quickly and walked into the living room, followed by his wife and young son. They were met by two men, one of whom was holding a rifle.
"The men told Adamu's wife and son to stand aside and ordered Adamu to kneel down. They asked him several questions about his occupation and his religion as he knelt in front of them. After Adamu told them that he was a Christian, the men told his wife to bear witness of his death if he did not cooperate with them. At that point Adamu's wife realized with terror that the men were part of Bodo Haram, the Islamic militant group working to Islamize Nigeria through violence.
"The men told Adamu that they would give him an opportunity to live and to live a better life if only he would become a Muslim and recite the Muslim confession of faith. He replied that he was a Christian and that he would remain a Christian even in death.
"As one man continued the interrogation, the one with the rifle walked through the house with Adamu's wife, taking all the money they had as well as their cellphones. When they came out, the interrogator told the other man that Adamu had refused to yield.
"The armed man then placed the rifle against Adamu's face and said, 'Since you refuse to become a Muslim, here is your reward.' He pulled the trigger and shot him in the face. The bullet passed through Adamu's face and came out the other side. The men threatened to return and kill Adamu's wife and son if she tried to call for help or didn't stay quiet.
"Adamu had fallen to the floor, and blood was pouring from his wounds. The men stepped on his leg to see if he was still alive, and when he didn't move they assumed he was dead. A few minutes after they left the house, Adamu, still alive, told his wife to get help. She hurried out, but the attackers had locked the gate from the outside. She tried repeatedly to go through the fence, but she couldn't fit through it. When she returned to her husband, he insisted the she must find a way out to get help for him. He told her that if no one else would come, he knew that a Christian elder named Baba Jibir... would definitely come and help him get to the hospital. Adamu didn't know that his attackers had already killed Baba Jibir and his son.
"Adamu's wife finally made it through the fence and saw that the men had left the keys of the gate beside it after locking it. She asked their Muslim neighbors for help, but none of them would take Adamu to the hospital that night. One neighbor gave her the phone number of a police officer. She called the number repeatedly before getting an answer, but the police never arrived even after promising to come help them.
"The next morning at about 6 a.m., they took Adamu to the general hospital in Potiskum. Adamu is still healing from his wounds. On Dec. 14, I took him to Kano for further surgery. Pray for all of us in Nigeria."

-"From the Field: NIGERIA." The Voice of the Martyrs March 2013: 10. Print.

please contact Voice of the Martyrs to receive your own FREE magazine, or to donate, if you'd like, at:
The Voice of the Martyrs
P.O. Box 443
Bartlesville, OK 74005
email: thevoice@vom-usa.org
website: www.persecution.com

and PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!!!
pray for endurance.
pray for true commitment of Christians, that leads their persecutors to desire Jesus themselves.
pray for new converts to be strong.
pray for Jesus' words and encouragements to flood these situations.
pray for miracles and deliverance.
and pray for yourself, to be ready when persecution comes your way.

twisted truth

Satan is good at twisting the truth. he is a master of emphasizing half-truths that really are lies. he loves to bring up parts of Bible verses that confuse Christians or leave them speechless and without argument. his greatest goal is to destroy as many humans as he can, and he does that by turning them away from God, whom he hates. he is the Father of Lies, and if we are not careful, we fall for his deception.
this is how Jesus described Satan:
"He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." John 8:44
"Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." 1 Peter 5:8b

as Christians, we must equip ourselves! we must read God's word so that we can identify these lies!
"Be self controlled and alert... Resist him, standing firm in the faith..." 1 Peter 5:8a, 9

one of the ways Satan has fooled Americans is by leading them to misuse Bible verses. this takes multiple forms. sometimes it's mindless quoting of a whole verse or part of a verse, sometimes it's a clever saying that people think is in the Bible when it's not, sometimes it's a verse that is taken totally out of context... whatever the case, the meaning is often twisted or lost completely, and people don't even realize it. sadly, many Christians carelessly fall for these half-truths themselves, or if they find themselves in a discussion about it, don't know the Bible well enough to correct what's wrong. (sadly, i've been in both situations)

how about some examples of mindless verse quoting, which goes hand in hand with taking a verse out of context... verses that even non-Christians like the sound of, but don't really know where it came from or the truth behind it:

John 8:32

"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
i see this on billboards and chiseled into buildings of learning, i hear people say it because it sounds good. but they use this saying as though truth is the end-all, highest standard, the main goal, the answer to any question. but here is the whole quote, John 8:31-32, said by Jesus Himself to people who were deciding to believe in Him:
"If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
in context, truth is secondary. it is very important, don't get me wrong, but it doesn't stand alone. it depends fully on holding to Jesus' teaching and being His disciple. without those prerequisites, truth will not be found, and freedom will not be had!

Matthew 7:12 and 22:39 
"Do to others what you would have them do to you." and "Love your neighbor as yourself."
again, these are famous quotes from Jesus' own mouth. and they are extremely important. but we have named this concept 'The Golden Rule' and have forgotten that Jesus said that something else was MORE important. look with me at it in context of the preceding verses, Matthew 22:37-39:
"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"
pretty clear... FIRST priority is to love GOD. second priority is to love our neighbors. they go hand in hand, but the first is most important. without loving God, we will have no ability to truly love each other.

Matthew 7:7
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."
oh, how we love this verse! people quote it to each other when they are searching for a job. prosperity preachers use it to ensure us that God wants to give us our every desire: money, jobs, beauty, cars... as if God is a piggy bank in the sky, our personal wizard. they mix it with the New Age idea of putting positive ideas into the universe and getting it back...
yes, God loves to lavish blessings on His people and He wants us to pray to Him about our needs. BUT, if Jesus is truly your Lord, your desires will shift, and your requests will change. a few verses back, in Matthew 6:33, Jesus commands this: "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you."
if you are seeking God's kingdom and God's righteousness, how do you think your requests to Him will change?

Matthew 22:21b
"Give to Caesar what is Caesar's."
the religious leaders of Jesus' day were trying to trap Him when they asked Him if paying taxes was right. He wisely held up a coin and reminded them that Caesar's face was imprinted on their money, so they should give Caesar what was his. good answer. it may be tough and it may be unfair, but we live in a world where we are under government authorities, and we pay them the money they printed.
but when i hear this verse quoted, i almost never hear the second half: "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."
oh.
ok then, what is God's? think of Jesus' answer. he pointed to the coin and asked them whose image was on it. now, think of this: whose image is on YOU?
"So God created man in His own image,
in the image of God He created him;
male and female He created them."
Genesis 1:27
He breathed life into you. He gave you a sense of right and wrong, fair and unfair, good and evil. He gave you choice. He gave you the ability to love, and to create. He gave you the desire for eternity.
how long are you going to claim ownership of yourself? how long are you feebly going to demand kingship in the face of the One who made you?!

Romans 8:28
"In all things God works for good."
it's often said a little different, like, "God works all things for good," but it's the same message: it'll all turn out ok. everything will be all right, and 'happy clappy,' as my pastor used to say.
again, it's missing the rest of the sentence: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." we don't like it as well with the rest of the sentence. it's not as warm and cushy. it doesn't include everyone. it doesn't sound like we can just lay there and let God's good yumminess come to us. it doesn't sound like there's a paycheck coming or a new car or a handsome boyfriend, if we just get through today's troubles...
here's the real context: the previous verses talk about Christians suffering through life, waiting for Jesus' return, waiting as the world gets uglier and more sinful, waiting as we struggle with our inward battles against personal weakness. this verse IS a verse of hope, but it's one to encourage Jesus' followers to choose every day to love God, just as God chose to call them.

Matthew 7:1
"Do not judge, or you too will be judged."
this is a really popular one these days. everyone is determined to do what they want, when they want, and most Christians crumple when confronted with this quote. they feel that they no longer have the right to identify sin, because people will feel 'judged.'
don't let this quote derail you or muzzle you, Christian! this passage continues on to detail how we need to avoid being hypocrites, and we are told in other passages that we are not in position to judge if someone is God's child or not.
BUT, we are definitely supposed to speak the truth, and identifying sin is part of that!
quoting God's word is not judging. the Bible points out many things that are good, as well as many things that are sins, which God detests. it is good to label sin for what it is: wrong. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 gives us one of those lists of wrongs. it may not be popular, but it's the truth, and we all have to deal with our own sins, as well as others': "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." these are all people who are choosing their sins and rejecting God. as Christians, we must remember the next verse, which reminds us that we ALL come from sin: "And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
we are not to judge as though we are superior, but we ARE to judge between right and wrong, for ourselves and to point others to God's truth.
2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that "all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness." God changes US through Scripture, and we are meant to help each other on the changing journey too. we all know that sometimes it's easier to see the truth from the outside; we need each other to get perspective.
and though Jesus is the only One who judges souls, we are told that there are clues to tell us who God's true children are and who aren't. 1 John 5:12 says, "He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son does not have life." there are clearly 2 groups of people: with the Son or without the Son. with life or without life. and Jesus gives us another clue in Matthew 7:16: "By their fruit you will recognize them... every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." and this isn't just talking about kind deeds, or giving loads of money to charity. the Bible says that God's fruit look like this: "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."
for related topics, please visit real Jesus post and/or double standard post

Romans 10:9
"If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." 
now, when i mention this verse, i am in NO WAY saying that anything can be added to obtain salvation. this is it. all we can do to be saved from the consequences of our sins is to believe in Jesus. period. nothing can be added or taken away.
(just wanted to make that clear before i forge ahead.)
what i would like to address is something related to my above paragraph, when i mentioned knowing a tree by its fruit. we must be careful of saying, 'i believe,' and then stopping there and continuing to live as before.
the EVIDENCE of believing in Jesus will be a changed life. the church in general has been very lax about this aspect. many churches focus only on a simple and undefined 'belief' and leave it there. because of this, we have thousands of people who claim to be Christians, but know nothing about Jesus, don't care about following Jesus as their Lord, claim God or blame God when it suits them, and frankly, still bow to themselves as god. if you truly believe, you will begin to act like it.
though the whole Bible describes how we should live, James is especially clear: "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says... What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? ... You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that --- and shudder... As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." James 1:22; 2:14a, 19, 26
Hebrews 10:26-27 is really clear too: "If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgement and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God."
yikes.
if you claim Jesus, you must give Him authority over your life. there is more to Christianity than believing (not more to salvation, but more to your life after believing). it's serious business.
as a Christian, you must deal with your sins (sometimes slowly, sometimes immediately, sometimes we fall off of wagons and have to start again...) and, by GOD'S POWER, your heart and your desires will change. that's what sanctification is: the process of being cleaned by God. you put away those lists of sins, and gain the Spirit's fruits.

John 3:16
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."
the most quoted verse in the entire Bible. and it's a great one. they are the words of Jesus, describing Himself.
it speaks of God's incredible, undeserved love for the entire world!
it speaks of our need for salvation from death to eternal life!
it speaks of HOW we get that salvation!
it's a precious verse.
but because we are humans, we like to just memorize that yummy-sounding verse, stop there, and think of how nice it all sounds. it sounds like the whole world is fixed. yay!
but there is danger there. Jesus didn't stop talking. the next verses point out the truth of our sins and our human desires. He says, "Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." verses 18-21
we cannot just acknowledge salvation and ignore condemnation. John 3:16 is beautiful, but it carries much responsibility for non-Christians and Christians.

to those of you who don't claim Jesus as your King, realize that the Bible DOES clearly state that if you do not believe in Jesus, you will be condemned. and as the condemned, you will be spending eternity in the 'raging fire that will consume the enemies of God,' like in the Hebrews verse above.
please reconsider your position! Jesus is longing to hear your voice claiming Him as Lord (He is Lord of all, regardless of what you claim, but in order to belong to Him, you must choose Him). it doesn't matter what you've done in the past, or how you're currently living; God will accept you where you are, and you can move forward together from there.
please choose the Light.
today.

to the Christians reading this, the rest of the John 3 passage should stir your heart to compassion for the lost. how many souls near you are condemned? how many in your sphere of influence are choosing darkness and hating light? just as you were saved at one point, they may be saved, if you would pray for them, or talk to them, or show God's love to them.
and as far as this blog post goes, YOU are responsible to know God's word, if you have access to it. YOU are responsible to read verses within their context. God gives understanding as you show yourself willing to hear.
don't just take your pastor's word for it, study the Bible for yourself!

"The wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight."

1 Corinthians 3:19

"To God belong wisdom and power;

counsel and understanding are His."

Job 12:13

"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, 

who gives generously to all without finding fault, 

and it will be given to him." 

James 1:5

don't let Satan fool you with his twisted truth.