Life Long Battle

This week has been a rough one.  It is not easy to be confronted with the darker parts of yourself, especially when you think you have overcome an area in your life.  This past Thursday I came face to face with a part of myself that I thought I had managed to overcome and in all fairness I did do better than I would have a few years ago but it showed me just how far I have to go.

You see, on Thursday there was an incident at my house with some of our students and my wife.  To make a long story short my wife ended up being so upset that she left the house crying and when I tried to find out what had happened from her I only got a snippet of what really transpired because she wasn't able to speak coherently (this happens when you wife works nights and is operating on almost no sleep).  Now, I do not handle it well when members of my family are in distress, whether that distress be emotional or physical.  I become extremely protective and tend to lash out at the perceived cause(s) of that distress.  In this case I went in to get the students side of the story and to be honest I was struggling to hold my anger in check when something one of the students said caused me to snap.  I told them that whatever they had done had caused my wife to leave the house and that she was so hurt and mad that she was crying uncontrollably in our back yard and that because of that I wanted them all to, "Get out my house".  When one of the students started talking about how they hadn't done anything wrong I raised my voice and repeated the demand that they vacate the premises.  Yeah, not a great moment in my ministry career if I'm honest.

Now, if I had stopped there things might have gone a bit better but no, in my anger I sent out a private message to all the teens who had been there further expressing my displeasure.  A few years ago I would have tagged them in a status so the whole world would know what they had done so at least I had the restraint to make it for their eyes only but that's no excuse, I shouldn't have sent it and I REALLY shouldn't have written a post here on my blog ranting about the night's events (don't bother looking for that post, it was only up for a few minutes before I deleted it) and shared it on FB and Twitter.

Needless to say the damage has been extensive.  There are students who we have been building relationships with for the last four years who may never speak with us again (at least that is my understanding).  At this point I can only hope and pray that someone else will be able to speak into their lives and that their walk with Jesus won't be permanently damaged.  Of course I would much prefer that this be a character building exercise for all involved but that isn't always the case.

If anything, the events on Thursday have served as a reminder to myself that walking with Christ is difficult and that it is all about embracing and allowing change.  Now I don't mean change as in what color the carpet should be or whether to allow people to bring coffee into the sanctuary.  No, I'm talking about deep inner change.  The kind of change that is difficult to admit we still need even after decades of walking with the Lord. We want to think the best of ourselves and even though we give mental assent to the idea that we'll never be completely finished being transformed into the image of Christ on this side of the grave we functionally act like we have arrived in an area (or areas) of our lives when we don't have a relapse for a while.

Of course that is in direct opposition to what Scripture teaches.  If Paul, who penned 2/3 of the New Testament had to deal with this reality then it should stand to reason that we will as well.  Paul outlines his struggle in Romans 7 and 8.  Whether we like it or not we are engaged in a spiritual war both with ourselves and with the powers of darkness that roam the earth.  Paul gives instructions for us to prepare daily for this warfare in Ephesians 6 and I have to admit that I have become complacent in that area.  Coasting along and not standing guard as I should have.

To my students, I apologize for my behavior (yes, I will be apologizing in person as well) and I ask that you extend grace to Sarah and I.  We are only human and we make mistakes and don't always handle things as we should.  To those whose behavior wasn't appropriate and precipitated these events, I forgive you and extend to you the same grace that Jesus has extended to me.  To those whose words were misunderstood I ask your forgiveness and pray that we will be able to learn and grow from this unfortunate event.  For those caught in the crossfire, I hope that you can forgive those of us who failed to handle our emotions and the situation properly and can learn from our failure and so allow Christ to enact lasting change in you even as we allow Him to make those changes in us.

Wife vs Inner Zombie

I hate gardening.  I mean really hate it.  I hate it with the same intensity those football fans who paint their chests and go to a game without a shirt on so as to show support for their team.  I LOATHE it.  In fact it has been my practice up until recently to avoid it at all costs.  My wife however loves it, so you can see the problem this causes.

Last summer my wife was diagnosed with degenerative disk disease which means that the jelly-like substance between the vertebra in her back is gone.  She has the back of an 80+ year old woman at the ripe old age of 42.  This means that many of the things she wants to do she is unable to do because they cause her a lot of pain.  That includes gardening.

So, what's a husband to do.  I can either stick to my strict 'No Gardening' policy or I can choose to garden for the sake of my wife.  Here's what I've found; though I despise gardening I do enjoy spending time with my wife and as our life gets busier that becomes harder to do.  So, rather than give in to my inner zombie and refuse to help her garden I have chosen to help her.  I look at it, not as gardening, but as spending time with my dearly loved wife and choose to focus on that.  It helps me to serve her with joy and not grudgingly or with the attitude that says I would rather be anywhere else but in the garden. Bottom line: I love my wife and choose to serve and spend time with her rather than indulge my selfish desires.

Are You Hated By the World?

In our society today we are increasingly seeing an erosion of what we considered core moral values just 20 years ago.  The assault come from all sides and is continuous and unrelenting.  As Christians there are two basic things we need to remember.  First; this world is not our home and second; we will be hated for standing for Biblical truth.

Jesus tells us in John 15:18-22 that we will not be immune to being hated by those who reject Christ.  In fact, it will be quite the opposite.  Even as Christ was hated so too will we be hated.  When we stand for truth there will be a flood of hate and vitriol sent our way.  We will be called names, we will be ostracized and we risk physical violence and even death.  The further humanity removes itself from God in favor of living lives of selfishness and depravity the worse it will get.  

We must keep in mind though that we don't wrestle against flesh and blood, (Ephesians 6:12), but against spiritual forces.  These forces come from within, which the bible calls sin or iniquity, and without which would be demonic in origin.  We are to resist Satan and his demons but we are called to love the people.  Loving them doesn't mean condoning sinful actions and behaviors, it means being gentle but firm as we present the truth of God as written in His Word keeping in mind the entire time that we are but sinners saved by grace.  If it wasn't for Christ's work on the cross and our acceptance and submission to the same we would still be where they are.

So, is there any good news?  Yes, Christ will return for those who did not reject Him and we will spend eternity with Him in heaven.  Of course the surest barometer for whether you are standing firm in the faith is the amount of resistance you are experiencing from those who oppose God and His laws.  Are you hated by the world?

Change and the Zombie Inside

There are times in our lives when things change.  Sometimes we see it coming and sometimes we don't and sometimes we see it coming but hide our face in denial in hopes that it isn't real.  Irregardless change is one of the few true constants in life.  We all have to deal with it and some of us handle it better than others.

Change is a time when the zombie inside can wreak havoc in our lives if we let it.  Change by it's very nature brings uncertainty and that can lead to anxiety and fear.  It is when we are in these kinds of emotional states that we are most vulnerable to its influence.  

In times like these we need to be on our knees.  We need to be not just asking God for provision or direction but we need to spend at least as much time if not more listening for His voice and not making any move until we know we have heard from Him.  Of course once you have you need to act and with decisiveness and step out in faith.  Don't listen to the voices of fear and doubt, that's the zombie trying to get you to act impulsively or irrationally.  Once you go down that road it can be awfully hard to recover.

My wife and I currently find ourselves in a time of uncertainty and we have for several months now.  While things aren't heading exactly where we had hoped we are praying and trusting God to lead us and guide us by His Holy Spirit and we are constantly on our guard against the zombie inside... 

Abolition Movements

If you ask the average person in America if they oppose slavery, or if you're keen to be politically correct, human trafficing most people would say yes. Ask the same person if they consider themselves to be an abolitionist and you will most likely get a confused look and maybe some mumbling. It just isn't a term we heard used in our everyday lives but that is changing.

What is an abolitionist? Simply stated it is a person or group of people looking to abolish (i.e. do away with) something.  The term is most often linked with the nineteenth century movement to abolish human slavery in the British Empire and here in these United States of America.  I am happy to say that there are many examples of these same kinds of abolitionists around today and the numbers are growing thanks to organizations like Not For Sale. These organizations are opening peoples eyes to the fact that slavery still exists in the world, it simply isn't legal anymore. 

The fact that it is illegal does mean that there are now legal avenues that can be used to bring down slave owners, exploiters and merchants that weren't available to the folks in the nineteenth century and that is good but that isn't the whole issue. When we fight against slavery we are battling to change a mindset. People are human beings and, by the virtue of the fact that they ARE human, have an intrinsic value. The aren't property, they are PEOPLE.

You might be thinking, "Well, duh that's a no-brainer!" but traditionally slavery was justified by declaring that the slave wasn't, in fact, a genuine person but an animal and therefore could be owned as property. Those who enslaved others denied the personhood of the enslaved. That's why it took so long to make slavery illegal, you had to change the worldview of the slave owning culture so that they could accept that the enslaved were, in fact, people.

Now that term personhood is one that comes up in another societal debate. One that traditionally isn't associated with the term 'abolitionist' and that issue is that of abortion. The pro-abortion folks say that the organism growing within a womans womb isn't really a person until it is born. Therefore it is not morally wrong to terminate it for whatever reason the woman whose womb it happens to be gestating in deems acceptable.

As a Christian I cannot, in good conscience, agree with that assessment. I believe that God handcrafts each and every person and if that is the case then from the moment of conception they are a person, someone who was lovingly created by God and who God had planned a future for. It is therefore murder to end the life of that human being, no matter what reason I may have.

"What about in the case of rape?", you might ask. Honestly, while rape is a horrific act and is never justified under ANY circumstance the fact of the matter is that of a pregnancy does result that child is still a human being and no one should have the right to end its life. That child had no say in how it was conceived and to sentence it to death because of the crimes of its father isn't right by any standard I am aware of. You wouldn't put a kid on death row because his father was a rapist, a gun runner or a drug dealer would you? No, you'd go after the father and punish him.  Now, I can understand a woman in that situation not wanting to raise that child sure to the painful circumstances surrounding its conception but there are many couples out there who can't have children who would be more than willing to give such a child a god home by adopting them but that's another discussion for another day.

So why bring up abolitionists and them talk about abortion? What's the connetion? There is now an organization looking to abolish human abortion around the world. Their name: Abolish Human Abortion or simply AHA.

Ok, so what does any of that have to do with fighting the zombie inside? Stripping someone of their personhood so that you can trample their liberties for your own selfish reasons is the height of allowing your inner zombie to rule you. 

4G LTE

So why in the world am I bringing up 4G LTE?  This isn't a blog about technology so what am I up to?  Well, this past March my wife and I went to the Simply Youth Ministry Conference in Louisville, KY and we were introduced to a way of presenting the gospel that was called the Four G's.  Each G stands for a different part of the gospel and we found it to be a compelling way to share the gospel and I'll get into that a little later in this post.  Those that know me know that I am a geek.  I love technology and so when I heard the Four G's I immediately chuckled to myself and thought of the 4G LTE but promptly got over it and simply began using the Four G's to present the gospel at my concerts.

The first G stands for Good.  In Genesis chapter 1 God says that his creation is good at the end of each day and at the end of the sixth and final day He says it is very good (verse 31).  God created everything good, very good in fact.  That was His original plan, that we would be good and He still handcrafts every single human being on the planet innately good.

Unfortunately, thanks to our first parents, that goodness was spoiled.  When Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they brought the Guilt of sin upon the human race.  Why the whole race?  Because at the time they WERE the entire human race.  That sin nature, which here we call the zombie inside, means that every person born is guilty before God of sin and therefore must pay the price for that sin.  What is that price?  Death.

God in His infinite mercy doesn't wish for anyone to perish.  After all, He created the human race to be in relationship with him eternally.  So God, seeing that our guilt would bring us death and eternal separation from Him put into motion a plan whereby we might experience His Grace, His unmerited favor.  Because God is just He couldn't simply overlook our sin, the penalty for our transgressions had to be paid in full and no human being was ever going to be able to pay that price because none would be capable of living up to God's perfect standard.  That is why God came down himself in the person of Jesus to live among us.  He was subject to all the hardships and heartaches we are and yet was still able to live a sinless life, even in the midst of being falsely accused, tortured and ultimately killed by the most brutal and shameful means ever devised by man, crucifixion.  That was the plan all along.  One perfect man redeeming the entire human race, just as one man had condemned the entire human race to a life of hardship and suffering.

But just because Jesus paid the penalty for our sins God still wanted us to love Him for who He is, He still wanted us to choose Him.  That means that while the free gift of salvation is available to everyone and anyone each individual must, as Romans 10:9-10 tells us, Believe in his heart and confess with is mouth that Jesus is Lord and that God raised him from the dead then they shall be saved. Yeah, I paraphrased that but you get the point, it's up to each of us individually to choose to believe in and follow Christ.  By choosing to follow Him we will begin living our life in such a way as to please Him.  In other words we will live as He directs us out of a sense of Gratitude for what He has done for us.  Romans 12:1 says that we should offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God.  This is our spiritual act of worship.

So the 4G's are Good, Guilt, Grace and Gratitude but what about the LTE.  Well, that stands for Living Transformationally Everyday.  As we've discussed here numerous times, while we are new creatures in Christ there still lurks within us the zombie inside, that part of us which still wishes to live in darkness and attempts to drag us back from our relationship with God.  By Living Transformationall Everyday it reminds us that we are in a constant struggle to live as God has commanded us to live.  Until we arrive in Heaven we will have to fight against the zombie inside.  Therefore we must be in constant, active relationship with God everyday, seeking to become more like Christ so that we won't slide back into the darkness which He rescued us from.

4G LTE, the way we are meant to live.

Just Follow Your Heart...?

Just follow your heart.  We've all heard people say it and just about every sappy offering from Hollywood has either said it or eluded to it but is it such good advice? Not really.

Scripture says in Jeremiah 17:9,"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?"  Even as far back as Genesis 6:5, "And the Lord saw that the sin of man was great on the earth and that all the thoughts of his heart were evil."  Why is this?  It has to do with our natural condition, the one we are born into, our sin nature.  Of course here on this blog we call it our inner zombie.  Basically our heart is where our inner zombie resides.  When you realize that it is no wonder that the Bible tells us that our heart cannot be trusted.