My Injustice

I've started working through Kelly Minter's study, What Love Is: The Letters of 1, 2, 3 John (Living Room) So far, I really like what I'm studying. But today, a commonly quoted verse brought me to tears as the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart and opened my Kingdom eyes.

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (I John 1:9, NASB)

You don't have to be a Christian very long before you hear this verse. In fact, if you had someone walk you through any step-by-step proselytizing format (like those used by Campus Crusade, Youth For Christ, YWAM, etc.) you probably recognize it as one of the scriptures used to illustrate that in order to receive salvation, one thing you need to do is "confess your sins".

You'll also notice that I put the letters NASB after the reference. That's because I use the New American Standard Bible. If you've known this verse, you probably stumbled over the word "righteous", just like I did. That's because most of us memorized, or have heard quoted a gazillion times, the word "just" there, as used in the NIV (New International Version).

This morning, when I saw the "righteous", but my brain slid in the word "just", something transforming happened for me. Holy Spirit nudged, "Now if just and righteous are interchangeable...do it again." What did He mean? Look at the last word of the verse and this is what I read:
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all un-just-ness.

Now...you and I both know that "unjustness" isn't a word...but injustice is.

Injustice.

The kind of thing that keeps people enslaved to give me coffee or sugar.
The kind that allows me to spend $2 for an iced tea when a single mom in Asia only has that amount to feed her five children for an entire day.
The kind of thing that keeps one race feeling "less than" my race.
The kind that turns Christians ugly and mean when other people don't live up to their code of conduct.
The kind of evil that opens up gunfire in a church.
The kind that drives millions from their homes while we look on from afar.
The kind that allows people to live on top of a garbage dump.

I can actually go on. But I won't. You get the point, I hope.

We are surrounded by injustice. And often I am extremely self-righteous about it. [Notice the "self" part of that.]

When I back up in I John 1:9, I'm reminded that only God is righteous. Only God is just.

Ever since I was a small child, I've had this profound sense of "fairness". As a middle child, I have always wanted everything to be fair and equal. It isn't. And when it's not, I get downright angry. But there's one more big word in this verse. It's a word God's Spirit has been growing in me for a few years now. It's a word that I've shared the meaning of with anyone who will listen.

Faithful.

What does faithful mean? This isn't a technical definition, but as I studied this word a few years ago, I became aware that it essentially can be explained as this: God's faithfulness is God's really-real-reality.

You see, it doesn't matter what I say is real. It doesn't matter what our culture, government, family, school, neighbor, boss, friend, co-worker, coach or the rest of the world says is real. Everything goes back to God's reality.

His.

Not mine.

And His really-real-reality is that He is just...He is righteous...and when I admit honestly that every inclination in my heart is evil (Genesis 8:21)...only then can He begin to cleanse me of the injustice that lurks in my heart.

My heart.

No one else's.

I don't confess my sins so that someone else will be cured of their alcoholism, or convicted of their adultery. I don't admit my shortcomings so that the world will sanctify my point of view.

No.

I throw myself on the mercy seat of Jesus' blood, because a just and real God wants to purge me of my injustice. He's ready to cast out my judgmental ways, my critical spirit, my arrogant pride and anything else in this mortal, flawed shell that feels somehow I deserve better treatment than a leper in Calcutta, a slave in Indonesia or a pedophile in Wyoming (yes...I went there. I am no better than even him!)

So, I hope you'll forgive me if I haven't "taken a stand" or "voiced my outrage" or "shared my concern"...I'm too busy pleading with my Maker to clean me up and create in me a pure heart.

Like His.

I Am Sad. I Am Sad. I Am Sad.

If you say it three times, people know you mean it, right? So why the sadness?

Am I really the only person that when a few months ago the U.S. came out in support of one side and Russia came out in favor of the opposition and both started supplying their respective sides in this Syrian mess...thought, "Oh, crap...this is the next place we're going in!"??? Did no one else see the proverbial handwriting on the wall?

We are supposed to be pulling out of other places where we've been far too long, so we have to find another, right? And what better place than a powder keg that's ready to explode? Iran has already warned the world that this entire region has a shaky peace at best and that we all need to stay out before it implodes. I would like to point out that they have made that warning to all...not just the U.S.

And yet, here we are once again throwing our weight around...telling the world we're ready to strike...and we're not listening to the U.N.saying, "Let the inspectors at least finish their job." Meanwhile, Russia is sending two warships to the Mediterranean Sea. Anyone else out there concerned by this?

While I am grieved at over 100,000 Syrians killed in the last two years and about 2 million forced from their homes into refugee camps and the chemical weapons being used...what will us dropping bombs accomplish? Don't we risk killing more innocent people...like the over 1 million Iraqis that have died at the hands of the U.S.? I know, I know...you can choose to naively believe that your government will only target military arsenals for dropping bombs. Anyone old enough to remember Bill Clinton and the Sudanese aspirin factory bombing? Are we just supposed to say, "Oops...my bad...sorry for blowing up the your source of pain relief when our intel told us you where making chemical weapons."

Have we truly not learned from Iraq and Afghanistan that the police can come in and dictate how you're supposed to live, but if the family in the domestic dispute don't want a better, more peaceful life...no amount of force will change the overall outcome? And just exactly who are we to tell them what "a better life" entails? The arrogance to presume that everyone is miserable if they don't exactly mirror the white man's world is repugnant at best.

I used to reserve my comments like these for private conversations from fear of being placed on some government watch list as subversive. I also used to tell myself I was being a paranoid conspiracy theorist. [Can anyone say Edward Snowden?] So yes, I am taking a risk by publicly asking us to take a step back and think about what we're doing.

But the bigger risk is in the Christian circles I rub elbows with. To proclaim the peacemaking of the Kingdom of God over the patriotism of the U.S. is tantamount to heresy in some hearts and minds. Here again, I've already been deemed a dreaded "Liberal" by the conservatives and a narrow-minded "Conservative" by liberals. So really...do I have anything to lose?

Well, actually I do have a lot to lose. You see, I have a son...a 15 year old son to be exact. And a few years ago as God was walking me through my biggest fears and teaching me to lay them at His feet, I had to reconcile myself that in my lifetime it is a very real possibility that compulsory service in the armed services will begin again. The day I first saw that momma collapse on her front porch in Saving Private Ryan, I knew that could one day be me. Even though my baby boy was only two months old when the movie was released, for the first time...I understood the sting of what mommas like her all over the world have felt when their little boys fight far from home in a war not of their own making.

And we're still losing sons and daughters in far off places that don't really want us there to "help" them. Is Syria yet one more? I really think some of us need to stop and look at the map and remind ourselves where it's located. Do you see the close proximity to Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Israel and the small leap over to Egypt. Yeah...Egypt...there's no instability there. Um, Turkey has seen better days too. Many of these countries are overwhelmed caring for the Syrian refugees. Are we prepared to support them and prop them up as their already tenuous resources are tapped by the inevitable influx of more?

So here's what it all comes down to: You have every right to disagree with me and believe that we should run swiftly to save the Syrian people. I am asking you to at least take a moment to stop and think about the consequences. That is something I didn't do with Afghanistan or Iraq and I deeply wish I had.

But for Christians, I am asking you to go one step further. Not only should we stop and think about the consequences, we are called to ask what Jesus (yes, God Incarnate) would say about warring nations. Surprisingly, we don't have to look very far. When Jesus began teaching, one of His first lessons was taught in what we have dubbed, The Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 5:9 He simply stated, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God." 

You see, that's the other loss I don't want to experience...my "sonship" with God. If I am truly a child of the King, I cannot get around the fact that my Daddy (aka Abba) has told me that to be called His I must live as a peacemaker. God's Kingdom doesn't look like any on earth, yet Jesus told us the Kingdom was here AND not yet. My first allegiance is to Him and no matter how it may offend or perturb others, I am first and foremost to speak as a Daughter of the King.

So go ahead, call me Liberal or call me Conservative and I'll be honest to admit that not pleasing people is greatly disturbing to me. Worrying about what others think of me consumes too much of my time and energy. But I also recognize that God is striving to bring me to a place where no matter the outcome I must "Repent!" or turn away from, the thinking and teaching of this age and embrace the 'Kingdom that is at hand.' (see Matthew 3:2)

If you are a Jesus follower, I am imploring you when all of this brew-ha-ha is spinning and broiling and whirring about and you have to make a choice in the cloud of confusion on exactly which side of the fence you hope to land when the dust settles around our feet, ask yourself where Jesus said we should stand. Personally, I'm being drawn to the Peacemaker's Camp...there seems to be a lot of extra room there. Wanna join me?

Have You Seen This Yet? KLOUT

Okay...this social networking thing is completely getting out of hand. I recently signed up to blog about books for free copies of the books. I know...I know...something right up my proverbial alley. The company though, reserves select copies of their books for members that have a "KLOUT" score of 30 or more. Even more select copies are available to someone with a score of 60+.

What is KLOUT, you say? It's a social networking site that analyzes your social networking use. When I link my Facebook, Twitter, Google+ (also LinkedIn, Instagram and Foursquare, none of which I have) KLOUT analyzes your data to give you a score. Now, I recently had a birthday, so I received a lot of posts from people and I think my scores a little inflated because of that, but I had a score of 53.

Here's the problem I see that could be developing quickly: Depression onset by a low score. 

Just as the number of Facebook friends, likes or Twitter followers can make or break your perception of yourself, I foresee that this could become the bane of the low-self-esteemer's existence. Beth Moore puts Facebook into perspective in her study of the book of James and I think she is spot on that ignoring friend requests, withholding likes, etc. can be used as a form of power, manipulation and control. For someone that's a pleaser at heart (like myself) this can have huge consequences on your emotions.

Is it really that big of a leap toward people doing whatever it takes to up their KLOUT score? Maybe...maybe not. I have a Facebook friend that just posted an article yesterday about how SnapChat was originally developed as a venue for sexting. Ugh! Lots of encouragement abounds, mostly from stay-at-home Christian moms, to have us slow down, set down the electronics and stop and "smell the roses".

No matter your feelings on social media, iPhones, iPads, Kindles, computers...and on and on and on...my point is, maybe this is all getting a little out of hand. I speak for myself and my family when I say that I think it has. Last night we were excited to get a free Redbox rental (coupon for my birthday) and we opted to watch Warm Bodies again. Less than half-way into the movie, I had one daughter and one son each on an iPod messaging friends or whatever. Now, I can't judge them too harshly, because there are many times my youngest wants me to sit with her to watch something and I whip out the Kindle to check status updates, tweets or just to play a game.

I guess my point is this, God knew we were going to progress to this point in history and He knew most of us wouldn't be able to be hermits and keep ourselves completely untainted by the outside world...but when my media is dictating my feelings, emotions, priorities and energy expenses...it's probably time for me to step back and reevaluate how much and when it should be allowed to speak into my life. Letting God keep the scorecard of my influence is probably the best option...oh wait, He doesn't keep score.

Precisely!

To Think or To Love? THAT is the Question!

Here goes...I might as well hang up my Midwestern, evangelical hat because it'll probably be handed to me after this one.

I recently had a conversation with a person that grew up in, what they described as a toxic, Southern Baptist church experience. Later in life, they attended a "more liberal" church where homosexual couples even participated in leadership. This person told me that although this was something that had been very foreign to them at the time...they found it refreshing and freeing. I just smiled (or at least attempted to keep a poker face) and listened. I dared not say a word, one way or another...and I distinctly had the feeling that I was being "tested", or maybe measured is a better word, by how I would respond. Yet, I offered no response.

Afterward, as I processed through the conversation, I kept repeating over and over in my thoughts, "I couldn't say anything...because I don't know what to say...because I don't know what to think!" I very distinctly heard God's Spirit assure me "don't think...just love."

And there it is: God incarnate (aka Jesus) never commanded that we think about our neighbors the way we think about ourselves. No...He said the greatest commandment right after loving God with all of your being was to love everyone (aka your neighbors) just exactly the way you want to be loved. 

In light of yesterday's huge Supreme Court decisions, it's not that I wanted to wade in with my two cents worth. I've been wanting to write this post for two weeks. I simply thought the timing was perfect.

Honestly, I still don't know what to think...and I'm learning to be okay with that. If you're disappointed that I'm not taking a more fundamental, hard-line stand against something you deem to be the end of Christian civilization as we know it...I guess my response would be that I concede that you have every "right" to feel that way, just as I have every right to choose to love first. I'm not trying to lose favor with you...I only seek to obey my Savior who set the standard by which I desire to live.

Amen!

Zero Dark Thirty

Yesterday, I finally saw Zero Dark Thirty, starring Jessica Chastain as Maya, the CIA agent who with single-minded determination focused everything on finding Osama Bin Laden.

The movie is Rated R, and rightly so. [To find out why, visit this link to IMDB.com] I used to be able to watch all kinds of movies. My kids can't believe now that I used to enjoy horror flicks, because I have no desire to see them now. As I've matured in my faith, some of what I used to tolerate actually turns my stomach. Such is the case with the interrogation scenes of this movie. I can't even tell you how bad they are, or if they're bad at all, because as soon as I saw what was happening, I fast forwarded to the next scene. But such was the climate of post-9/11 questioning of suspects, so it's something we should know was done. Still, to watch it was a little too much for me.

Overall, the docudrama feel to the movie wasn't something I liked and knowing the outcome, I didn't have any "edge of your seat" expectancies like I did with Argo. For me, this sums up why Argo won best picture and Zero Dark Thirty did not. Argo did an amazing job of creating suspense even though you already knew the ending.

Still, Jessica Chastain's Oscar-nominated performance was worthy of the nod and I hope to see her receive more great roles in the future. But compared to the Oscar winning Argo, or the other nominees that I've seen, Les Miserables, Lincoln, Life of Pi and Silver Linings Playbook, I'm uncertain how this film fell into the same category as those great movies. Not to deter you from watching the movie if it's been on your must-see list. I would give it a solid B+, I just didn't feel it was on the same level as the aforementioned films.

I "Choose Joy...

...Because Happiness Isn't Enough"

This is the title of an upcoming four week study our women's ministry is doing. It starts the last week of this month. We've already signed up, reserved childcare and have looked forward to getting together for one last hurrah before the summer begins.

But the irony is not lost on me that this study was written by Kay Warren. Yes, the Kay Warren, wife of Rick who has been in the news the last few days...sadly because of the suicide of her 27 year old son. We've all just learned that the Warrens' son suffered from depression and mental illness for most of his life. When our women's director was promoting the upcoming study, she shared with us that Kay wrote this study out of her own struggle with depression and her battle with cancer.

It seems that her joy is, once again, being put to the test.

And evidently, the onslaught is not only from this terrible tragedy that has fallen upon their family. I have read posts from both Gregory Boyd (see article by Frank Viola Rick Warren's Horrific Tragedy) and Beth Moore (see "Sadness and Madness") and discovered that apparently the Warren's are being attacked by people who call themselves Christians. [If you don't take the time to read both of these articles, I can summarize for you that both blog posts condemn the hateful, spiteful things being said of and to the Warrens.]

For what they are being attacked, I do not know. In what state of mind could you ever possibly believe that God would condone expressing hatefulness to someone that has just lost their son. I read some of the comments that Mr. Viola quoted and stopped...because I just don't want to hear (read) it!!!

I can never think of a time in Holy Scriptures when Jesus told us to kick a person when they're already down. In fact, Beth Moore says it best I believe with this quote: "There's a bigger issue in the Body of Christ than immorality. It's hatefulness. If the greatest priority Christ assigned to us was love, the gravest offender is hate."

Lord, LORD...help us overcome the hate, malice and spite of this world and continue Your work of ushering  in the Kingdom of Heaven. That Kingdom is one of indescribable, boundless, immeasurable Love!

It seems to be the fashionable thing to bully and discredit someone with whom we do not share the exact same views. It happens too often and quite frankly, is beginning to make me nauseous. The past election season was...in my opinion...one of the most detrimental phases in the American church for the cause of Christ. Or, at least in my lifetime. I did not find one redeeming comment from Christians anywhere. I even had discussions of disagreement and I believe lost potential friendships because of my words of caution and care for our witness to a lost and dying world.

It seems that ever since the political rhetoric began flying about a year ago, there has been a ceaseless barrage of condemnation, retaliation and alienation from people who call themselves my brothers and sisters in Christ. And I don't even need to single out a cause...you name it...Gay Marriage, Gun Control, Entitlement Programs, Obamacare, the Budget Issues, Evolution v. Creationism, Abortion and on and on and on.

I have seen tirades both for and against each and every one of these issues...and I am disgusted with it all!

When it's a slow news day, I guess we've run out of things to rail against so the sights have been set on Christians instead. It's happened before...Ann Voscamp, Brennan Manning, Eugene Peterson, even Richard Foster, for pete's sake, have all been called, "new age" and "theologically unsound". Really? Are you perfect 100% of the time? Yeah...that's what I thought...neither am I!

So my tirade is this: Shut up!

And please...Quit using God's Word as a platform to walk hand in hand with evil!!

You know what...I'm choosing Joy instead...why don't you try it too. You just might be surprised.


***For further reading, try the Book of James. He has a lot to say about taming the tongue, judging your neighbor, speaking against and judging our brethren, catering to the rich while ignoring the poor and that we need to be very mindful that the Judge is standing right at the door***

Okay...I'll FINALLY Wade In...

...well, not really.

But don't feel cheated...I still have an opinion...it's probably not the opinion you want to hear though. What do I mean? Well, odds are you're on one side of the fence or the other...at least if you live in the U.S. And many of you are firmly planted...deeply rooted...on that side. There in lies "the rub".

"Huh?" You may ask.

You see, I've intentionally avoided wading into the foray (a.k.a. muck!) of politics this year. This is the first presidential election where I've been active on Facebook and quite frankly, I'm pretty much sick of all the mud-slinging. First, I opted out of all the political ads that kept constantly coming up on my page. Facebook asks you why. I replied with the innocuous "repetitive" when what I really wanted to check was "offensive". Then there are all of the ads on local TV.

I grew up in Indiana during an age that on election night, all the news commentators threw up the Red Indiana (meaning Republican) before they'd even had their first commercial break. Presidential advertisements were not something to which I was accustomed. Then, just when Indiana gets interesting...we moved to Kentucky. You guessed it...in the last election the first state projected was the Red commonwealth of Kentucky. So you'd think I wouldn't have to worry much about the ads...and you'd be wrong. Our TV channels come from Cincinnati...as in Ohio...as in one of the most hotly contested states there is. And Cincinnati's airport happens to lie across the Ohio River and just down the road from my house. Big deal, right?

Well it is a big deal when the President, Mr. Romney, both of their VP wannabes and even the First Lady have made, to the best of my recollection, at least six visits to the Cincinnati area in the four weeks proceeding this one. Again...what's the big deal? Well, they shut down the interstate (both ways) for the 10 mile (sometimes more) stretch that lies between where they land...and where they need to be.

We Kentuckians get all of the inconvenience...and none of the fun of our votes actually mattering...or sought after. If I actually thought it would matter and if I could actually get anywhere near the motorcades without being taken out by security...I'd love to hold up a sign that reads, "Hey...what about us?" You'd think they could at least throw some candy out the window as they went by or something.

Okay, so those are some of my gripes...but the biggest one has come from the little people...yes...us! Too many times to count I've been honked off at something someone has posted on Facebook. I will not even dignify any of them with a reply. There's been a few times when I've been more than tempted. One of the best things I've seen posted though, came from a Facebook friend, Christi Marcotte. She posted How Would Jesus Vote? on her blog and I agreed with every word.

Actually, it seems like some of the hullabaloo has died down...but there's another debate tonight and I know it will rear it's ugly head soon so I think that's why I'm writing this.

You see...here's the main reason why I haven't posted anything on Facebook: No matter what I say...I am bound to offend someone...multiple someones.

My Facebook friends include ultra conservative right wingers and "just as far" to the left wingers too. I am connected to heterosexuals and homosexuals, some married...some single of each. I don't know for certain, but with over 400 "friends"...odds are I am "friended" by women who have protested abortion and some who have had abortions. I can recall that just recently, there were many that stood in line for hours at Chick-fil-a and many that protested Chick-fil-a. With a heart's passion for single moms, I have many connections to women that desperately need food stamps, government supported health care, free college grants and access to student loans, free school lunches for their kids, the tax-time child tax credits and earned income credits (both only available to working people) and any other available assistance as they work sometimes two jobs and go back to school to better themselves. But I recognize that I have just as many (maybe more) Facebook friends that strongly oppose and resent a lot of government assistance to whom they deem to be "lazy" and "noncontributing"...of which I know there are many in our society. To be fair...I also have a lot of single Facebook friends that probably feel extremely put off and slighted simply because they are not married, nor have any children so a lot of the mud-slinging about benefits, health care, extended family leaves, child tax credits, earned income credits, food stamps, etc....don't apply to them and yet they still have to help pay for them with their tax dollars.

Do you see my predicament? Now, isn't it obvious why I've not waded into the foray until now?

To be completely honest, most of the mud-slinging I've seen and also heard "live" has come from people who call themselves Christians. At first this made me mad...now, it just makes me sad. Don't get me wrong...if in "real life" you actually engage me in a conversation about politics...I am going to have a lot to say...good and bad about both sides. But two Thursdays ago, the women's ministry director at our church spoke some simple, yet powerful words to over 100 women attending our morning Bible study. Sue said something like, 'Remember...this is a place where we come to study God's Word...to come together and love each other and grow closer together as the Body of Christ. This is not a place to discuss politics. There are godly people on both sides of the issues and this is not the place to discuss it.' I could have shouted, "Amen!"

I know this is lengthy and if I haven't angered you too much, I'll go one further, because God says something similar. Yesterday, in my study of James...which has a LOT to say about our tongues by the way...Beth Moore directed her readers to another Scripture that I think I may just post on Facebook every day between now and the election:
     "If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain." (I Timothy 6:3-5)

Beth Moore was asking for the "description of a person who does not submit to sound instruction." How it hit me, was "right between the Facebook eyes". As Christians we do need to submit to sound...godly wise, instruction and when we do, I believe, we will stop participating in a "morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions and constant friction!" 

Before I got too "high and mighty" because I haven't been political this year, God's Spirit reminded me of my fascination with conspiracy theories, secret agendas and the like...and how they get me all riled up until I spew out the poison all over my husband who, quite frankly, doesn't want to hear it anyway. Keeping my heart and mind...my questions, passions, desires, wants, needs, fears, frustrations, pain, anger, happiness, contentment and even joy...constantly turning back to Him (where my focus should be anyway) and then why would I even begin to entertain the thought of posting something that would cause division or alienate even just one of the Facebook acquaintances or real friends I have?

So yeah...if you're a Christian...you may think I'm "copping out", "riding the fence", "afraid to stand up for the truth". My response? You may be right. But I know in a private conversation, I will gladly speak the Truth when the Holy Spirit prompts me to. As for the public forum? I just know that the only Truth in my life...doesn't need me to stand up for Him anyway...He's done a pretty good job of it since the beginning of time...I think He can handle the next few weeks without me alienating anyone that He is concurrently attempting to draw to Him.

He is Love...and there's no two sides about it! Amen!