I'm not allowed in schools -God

"Dear God,
Why do you allow so much violence in our schools?

signed,
 a concerned student

Dear Concerned Student,
 I'm not allowed in schools.

God


A few people posted this on FB the day after the school shooting. In my experience this has not been the case. I remember my teacher and principal leading my class and school in prayer in my elementary days. My daughter, on several occasions stood in front of her class and read Bible stories or sang songs she learned at church. When we lived up north our pastor went to a public high school and had chapel services there with some of the students. So please don't blame violence in public schools on God not being there, because He is. His presence is more known in some than others, but He is there. The truth is there is violence in schools because there is sin in this fallen world. We know that it is not because God is absent, and we know it's not because God doesn't love us or that He is not in control. We know that this is not the way He designed the world to be and that's why it hurts so much when these things happen. We can be comforted to know He is coming back someday to make everything right again. Some of those teachers lost their lives to protect the students they loved. Where do you think that kind of love comes from? God help those parents that didn't get to pick their kids up from school, the pain must be unbearable.

The Wedding

I was reading about the miracle of the water being turned into wine. Everyone at the wedding was celebrating and enjoying the wine so much they ran out. Jesus came to their rescue by changing the water into wine so they could continue their celebration. I started thinking about a Baptist pastor in that situation. It was hard to imagine a Baptist pastor even making an appearance at a wedding reception that served alcohol, but I pictured him running to the store to buy more wine when they ran out at the reception so they could continue drinking. However, I couldn't see that happening in real life. I think sometimes we live our lives filtered through the culture of the church rather than through the Gospel.

Cornelious

 Acts 10:4-  "And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God."

I read this verse a couple weeks ago and it lingered in my mind. At times I strugle with the thought that I can't do anything that pleases God because even my good deeds are so tainted by dark motives. I'm so full of sin and don't know if I do anything with purely good motives. I know there is no good in me apart from Christ, but I  wonder if I do anything that pleases him. This verse is about Cornelious. He lived a godly life, not because he wanted to do good so God would bless him, but because he really loved God.  God spoke to Cornelious and told him how his devotion and faithfulness were like a fragrant offering to Him. As a result, Paul came to his house and preached and salvation came to his family.

It just really touched my heart that God noticed Cornelious and appreciated him and blessed his family. Imagine what that would be like! Imagine God noticing some good work in us,telling us that it meant something to Him and then giving us a special blessing as a result.

Holiness

This morning our teacher in Small Group asked, "How do we become more holy?" A part of me wanted to raise my hand and say, "Well, we make a list of things we should  and shouldn't do. The bigger the list and the better we stick to it the more holy we are." I refrained. Someone else had a much better answer, she said, "We become more holy by confessing sins." I agreed with her answer, but thought there must be more to it than that. I thought about the people in my life that I consider holy. They don't seem to be striving toward holiness; it's like holiness just happened to them while they were striving toward something else. I thought about humility. Humility isn't when we think little of ourselves, it's when we don't think about ourselves at all. The moment we think we've become a humble person, we've become proud. We can't specifically work towards becoming more humble. Humility happens when we stop thinking so much of ourselves and put our eyes on Christ and others. Maybe holiness is the same way. If we try to become holy, we become legalistic. If we stop trying to work on our own holiness and put our focus on God's holiness, we will be in awe of His greatness and overwhelmed by our sinfulness. The people I consider holy, are the most humble and most aware of how much they fall short. They don't think they're holy, which is probably a good indication that they are. Should we specifically strive toward holiness? if so, how do we without becoming legalistic?

Now, Say, "You're Sorry"!

 "Love lets the past die. It moves people to a new beginning WITHOUT settling the past. Love does not have to clear up all misunderstandings...Love prefers to tuck all the loose ends of past rights and wrongs in the bosom of forgiveness- and pushes us into a new start. Love is forgiveness." Phil Ryken

 I find it quite difficult to forgive the person who who sees no need for forgiveness- the person who has deeply hurt us and admits of no wrong doing. I attempt to justify my unforgiving attitude by telling myself I'm not obligated to forgive one who won't ask to be forgiven, one who is proud and unwilling to work things out, but then I gently hear, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." We want justice and sometimes we think that forgiveness and justice are opposites. Forgiveness does not disregard justice, but rather purifies it. When we begin to love as Jesus loves, we begin to forgive as Jesus forgives. When we forgive we release ourselves from our prideful anger, and replace it with compassion and love for others. Forgiveness becomes justice uncontaminated by our sinful motives and revengeful spirit. Only through love and forgiveness can we move on without settling the past, or getting an apology or proving to the other person that we're right.  I've learned that forgiveness is not just a one time thing for each offense. It's often a constant, daily battle. There are some who have wronged me and I will likely never have closure, but it is a daily battle of forgiveness to avoid letting that seed of bitterness find a place in my heart. I pray I'm not that person in someone's life.


After writing this, someone contacted me to apologize and ask for forgiveness. So much time had passed and it would have been easy for her to forget and let it go. Though all the while I struggled not to be bitter toward her. She didn't know. There was no communication between us. When  I read the words she wrote, I had instant respect for her humility and desire to do the right thing and the struggle against bitterness toward her went away.

 To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in me.” -–C. S. Lewis

Stick to the The Approved List

 "When you judge another, you don't define them, you define yourself."

Jason and I have been taking ballroom dance lessons since July and we have not kept that a secret. When I first started writing about it on FB someone commented, "Does anyone else have any secrets they want to post?" I purposely did not want to hide it. I find it more difficult to get to know people in the church than people from work or the kid's school. It seems there's an unspoken approved list of things to talk about such as work, kids, church, sports, school. We can't reveal too much about our personal lives. We can't talk about drinking or dancing and we have to be really careful discussing books, movies, or music. We try to build relationships with people in church by walking on eggshells and not revealing too much about ourselves. This makes for some very shallow relationships. I really don't feel like people are judging me and it wouldn't bother me if they were because I struggle with that myself at times- we all do.

What's the Stink About Ink

 "Mom, what does that guy have all over his arms?"  "Those are tattoos. He's probably not saved and needs to hear about Jesus. We should pray for him."  I've heard similar conversations from others and I know I've had those conversations myself at one time, but what does the Bible say?

First of all, does the Bible clearly teach that tattoos are sin?  Some would say, “Yes” based on Leviticus 19:28, "You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the Lord." It seems pretty clear if you isolate that phrase. The preceding verse talks about not eating anything with blood and not shaving around the sides of your head. In that culture those things were pagan rituals and meant something very different than they do today. So, if a Christian believes tattoos to be sin based on this verse, they must also abstain from the other things mentioned in the preceding verses to be consistent with their beliefs. It's more about motives.

Second, we must be very careful not to look at someone’s outward appearance and judge their heart. People get tattoos for different reasons- Maybe as a memorial to a child who has died, or to remember a momentous event in their life or maybe to have a constant reminder of a verse that has been a source of strength. I have Christian friends who have tattoos and some got them after they were saved. The Bible says that we will know them by their fruit, not by whether or not they have tattoos, or the length of their hair or the way they dress or any other external thing. If we can tell the state of someone’s heart by their outward appearance, where do we draw the line? We can only know if someone is a Christian if there is evidence of the fruits of the Spirit in their life. We can only see evidence of that if we get involved. Next time you see someone with a tattoo, feel sorry for them and say, "They're obviously unsaved and just need Jesus", think again, maybe they just saw you loose your patience with your child and they were thinking the same of you.

John 13:35   "By this shall all know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

Galatians 5:22-24    "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against this there is no law. And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."