Musings about the Covert Methods of Sin's Amalgamation

Let us pray:

Father,

    We are constantly reminded that we fall short of Your glory. When Your Son walked among us, and conducted His earthly ministry, He knew not to turn down a chance to be a good representative of Your love.  He never forgot that to show love, you first care for and then correct those around you. He was sure to tell every sinner that forgiveness is only as far away as acceptance of the Gospel, but that following forgiveness, we should seek to sin no more. In this search, we often find ourselves full of hate, misapprehension, anger, or fear. We know that none of these are from You, but that every emotion flowing from You is love, caring, compassion, and gentle constructive criticism. Please Lord, we pray to You that You constantly remind us that the most important citizenship we possess is the citizenship of being one in body with You through Your Son, Our Lord and Savior. We pray that Your Spirit would continually rebuke us of all sin and error, and that we may be molded into Your image consistently.

We ask all this in Your glorious Name, and in the indwelling of Your Holy Spirit, and in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ.

Amen

    So, today, I have two links below. I'm gonna talk about something, but I want to make sure that my musings are centered around the articles I've linked. Also, I ask for prayer for one of my friends who I met during college. He passed away yesterday morning, and I believe in the promises of the Lord that He is faithful to forgive us and to welcome us home when we pass from this world. I ask for prayers specifically for his family and friends that they may have the peace of the Lord descend upon them, since losing a child, or a brother, or a close friend when the young man is only 28 is hard for us, considering we think in life expectancies of closer to a century in this day as the norm.

   So my musing today is both a criticism of the Church and its thinking, and also an explanation to those outside of the Church who think of us as judgmental or hypocritical. I'll address the Church first, then hopefully, my musings about those outside the fold will make sense. Church, in this day and age, is too often thought of as the place we go, and not the life we live. This is the main premise of the article linked from Relevant magazine.  We, and by we I mean those who consider themselves Christians, should view our entire life after accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior as a testimony to His redeeming grace, His glorious mercy, and the transformative power of the Holy Spirit.

   Please, do not misunderstand me when I say that we should be transformed. I do not mean that once we accept Jesus, we no longer sin. Nor do I mean that the works we do after our rebirth are a purchase or a price we pay. We are not redeemed by works, but through faith! That is my testimony, in that the Lord can use the worst of sinners like Paul and myself, and turn them into loving, caring, gracious people. I hope one day to have demonstrated how much I love the Lord by my actions, but I know I will never buy His love, no matter the lengths I go to.

   To get back to the point, our lives should be dedicated to His service, for in Him we find a purpose and a meaning to help others, to spread the Gospel, and to seek to testify of His unending love. If we say, "I go to church at __ Church of __" or "I go to First ___ Church," we are claiming that we attend services at that location, but we must be very cautious. It is so easy for the Enemy to whisper to us that this or that isn't allowed in Church, but it's ok at home. I don't use certain abrasive words at church, but I use them occasionally at home. Is that because I think church is special? No, it's because even though the words hold no curse meaning to me, they are offensive to some of my Brothers and Sisters in Christ, and so I refrain from offending them as much as I possibly can. I don't wear shorts to church. Why? I don't wear shorts to church because I feel that I should honor God by dressing in a way that demonstrates that worship and fellowship are important activities which I feel are worth preparing for. Does this mean that worship or fellowship is the most important activity of the week? In absolutely no way.

   The most important activity of my week is when I meet one of my coworkers for lunch, I buy their lunch because I know they are enduring a rough financial situation, and then I talk about their cat. Why is this the most important activity? It's the most important activity of that week because that is when I am living the Gospel. That moment is when I am showing that I love that person, and I am demonstrating that my love is for them regardless of the state of their bank account, physical appearance, professional standing, or Sunday activities. This is how I live what Jesus preached. I love my friends, and when one of them is not a member of the Body of Christ, they see God's love reflected, albeit very dimly, through me. When they eventually ask about that love, that allows me to share the Gospel to them in a way that means something, not Fire and Brimstone, but love, fellowship, acceptance, and the redeeming work of the Godhead in my life.

   If we begin to think of Church as only the location and building where we spend some part of Sunday, or even a significant part of every Sunday and most Wednesdays, then we forget that our lives are the Church. We are constantly the body of Christ, not only when inside those four walls. Everything we do and everything we are is a testimony to the Lord. Keep that in mind, when driving, when out with friends on Saturday nights, or even when posting angry and demeaning comments on a Tweet or <facebook>Status. This is where I confess. I am not sanctified in action! I am a constant sinner! I have anger and I have resentment. I have fear and I have confusion. These are attacks from my old life and the Enemy trying to convince me that the world is greater than my God. But in those moments of anger, or fear, or tension, I have to try to tell myself to stop. Walk a mile in my enemies shoes, love my enemy, and be reconciled to them. Then, I am displaying the completely forgiving love that only comes through the work of God. By my constant struggle to be shaped into the image of God, I am speaking the Gospel, and occasionally using words.*see footnote

   Now, to address those outside the Body of Christ. Above, there is a lot that you don't care about, but some things below won't make sense without at least trying to read everything above. I want to make an understandable statement,  so please understand the continuity of this post.

   Yesterday, a decision was made. This decision is the subject of the second article below. In the article,  a discussion of a legal case between a lesbian couple and a photography company is summarized. I will not attempt in this article to explain why the owners of the photography company believe that homosexuality is inconsistent with orthodox Christian theology. That is a discussion for a different time for two reasons.  The first is that I will not attempt to explain any person's beliefs other than my own. This is two-fold. First, I do not do so because I may fail to convey their beliefs accurately, and then commit sin against my brother or sister. Second, I do not do so because I do not have full knowledge of anyone's beliefs other than my own. In knowing that I do not even understand my own wife's beliefs fully, because I am not constantly inside her head, I admit that I do not want to assume I have greater knowledge than I do. I will, however, attempt to convey why a person might want to take the stance that the photographer did, and attempt to explain why my views about the subject are the way they are.

   The first thing that I need to make perfectly clear is that I believe that someone being gay, in the sense of being attracted to people of their same gender, is not a crime or a sin. I believe that the attractions that we have are significantly influenced by natural effects from our genetic predispositions. This is not to say that I think that a homosexual lifestyle is consistent with my religious beliefs. I believe that while we may have attractions and predispositions which are completely natural, that does not mean they are correct or holy. My religious beliefs determine that any sexual conduct outside of a biblical marriage between a man and a woman is a sin. Do I think I'm holier than a gay person, or someone who has premarital sex? NO! In no way do I think that I am holier than them, in that I understand and have been in their situation. I wish that I could go back and undo sins I committed earlier in my life. I express my opinions, when they are asked for, because I want to help others to not have to face the pain that I went through resulting from my own sins.

   This view, which is typical of a large number of orthodox Christian believers, tends to make us appear as though we are discriminating against people whose actions go against our religious beliefs. We object to the performance of same-sex marriage ceremonies due to our beliefs. We do this because we feel that it does not fit within our moral framework. This is why many of the talking heads in the media will say that Christians believe that gay marriage will lead to marriage with animals or inanimate objects. This claim has its basis in the fact that denying a moral system, without replacing it with something which is equally valid, results in a system with no morality, which Christians cannot accept. We view morality as not a subjective enterprise, but as an objective ideal which is glimpsed at by multiple angles, but which is achievable by following the guide of our Creator in His revealed commandments. When the expansion of the definition of marriage was discussed, many Christians were worried that if marriage was redefined, that they could then be forced to participate in religious ceremonies which they did not agree with.

   This is what I feel the defendant, Elane Photography, was attempting to claim when she stated that forcing her to accept the couple as clients was decided. It violated her right to refuse to participate in the religious ceremony which was being performed. Let me attempt to frame this in another way.  Let's imagine a hypothetical vegan atheist who started a photography studio, which she held as a public company. She agrees to photograph wedding ceremonies, because they don't require her to be a part of the religion to take pictures. She greatly enjoys her work, and she becomes known as one of the best wedding photographers in the area. A couple approaches her. They ask her if she would be willing to photograph their ceremony, and during the discussion they let slip that they belong to a religious community that requires that everyone present at the ceremony acknowledge this religion's deity as Lord over their lives. The ceremony further requires that everyone inside the building in which the wedding is performed to consume a piece of meat from the carcass of an animal which blood ritually has brought the couple together in union. This photographer informs them that she will be unable to photograph their wedding, due to the fact that she knows she could not, in good conscience, lie or participate in the way that is required by their religion. We would feel that this photographer was completely within her rights, and we would defend her completely from any charges brought about discrimination, correct? I know I would.

   In the same way, many Christians feel that their life, all of it, including the work they do to earn an income, is part of their religious duty to serve the Lord. We feel that if we are involved in something, it must, at least, not conflict with our religious beliefs in such a way that it can be construed that we do not hold the beliefs which we claim. One of the leading charges against the religious devout when Jesus came to Earth was that they were hypocrites. Many Christians attempt as best they can to avoid that charge, because we feel that when we are being hypocrites, we are displaying that what we say versus what we believe and show by our actions are not the same. This is a charge deserving, in our interpretation, of our Lord looking upon us during our judgment and saying to us, "Be gone from my presence, I don't know you at all!" This is why, even though we may love our friends who are homosexual, we still cannot agree with their lifestyle. This is why, even though we love these people with all our hearts, we find it very challenging to determine whether we would even attend a ceremony in which they declare their commitment. This is also why many Christians are fearful, and rightly so apparently, that because marriage has been redefined, it will result in those same Christians being forced to participate or perform functions for the ceremonies in which a form of religious claim is made with which they disagree. While you would not expect that a church building would be forced to allow a same-sex marriage to occur inside this facility if the religious community which had funded and inhabited that facility disagreed with same-sex marriage, likewise, you cannot expect someone who feels that they are continually a part of the Body of Christ and the Church to be a part of something with which they disagree, and which fundamentally goes against their religious beliefs. We may disagree on whether same-sex unions are correct or righteous. We may disagree on what level of religious discourse or performance is appropriate in public spaces. We should, however, be able to agree on the fact that in the United States, our freedoms are prescribed in the Bill of Rights, and the interpretation of those freedoms should be considered and interpreted in a way which allows for the most freedom permissible, with the least government intervention necessary for the future procurement of those freedoms.

   I would like to end with a summation, or in modern parlance, TLDR(I found out recently that that stands for too long didn't read). Christians, you must attempt to always live a life which honors God, then honors your neighbor. This is the whole of the law and the prophets, correct? Do this in such a way that even though those outside of the Body may never step inside church premises, they have been in the presence of the Church through their interaction with you! Those who aren't Christians, just as we must put down our pitchforks in order to understand and develop tolerance and bridges with you, so must you also give Christians benefit of the doubt in order to develop rapport. Tolerance is a bridge that goes both ways, and we must seek to live in peace with our neighbors, if at all possible.

http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/church/when-we-think-church-building
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/08/22/New-Mexico-Court-Christian-Photographer-Cannot-Refuse-Gay-Marriage-Ceremony-Next-Stop-U-S-Supreme-Court

* paraphrase of quote originally attributed to St. Francis(unconfirmed), which I recently misquoted as being from G. K. Chesterton

Knowledge

Let us pray:

Father,

    As we approach another school year, we are reminded yet again of Your promises. You promise to be the Father we can always run to, the Restorer of all broken things, and the Holy One to whom we can call out for love, guidance, and comfort. We pray for Your blessings on all the children as they learn and grow in yet another year. We ask that You guide their hearts and minds to grow in Your ways, and towards Your purposes. We look to You to shepherd them as you shepherd us on our daily routines to advance Your Kingdom, on Earth and in Heaven.

We ask all this in Your glorious Name, and in the indwelling of Your Holy Spirit, and in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ. 

Amen

    So, I wonder how many people could honestly say that they know enough. I don't mean how many people think they know everything there is to know. I mean I wonder how many people think they know enough to squeak by. I think about it every time I consider our education system. We seek to teach children everything they need to know to be productive members of society, but we can't even agree on what fulfills that requirement. Does it mean they need to be functionally knowledgeable in every major academic discipline, including business, history, science, art, literature, and philosophy? Surely not, for I know plenty of people who have a high school education or less who are extremely productive members of society. 

    Do we think they should know more than their parents, so that we continually get more and more educated society as a whole, and eventually, we ascend out of the mire that way? Not in the least, because often, children don't learn the lessons their parents try to teach them, and so they spend their entire life just catching up to where their parents are. Do we think that every person needs a large enough instruction in a career to make a living? Surely not, because we are told that the only way to be smart enough to make a living is to never stop learning.

   I pose this. Maybe, the only thing I need to know is how to love my fellow man and God. If I love my fellow man, we can work together to produce amazing works of art, literature, and business would be a cinch with everyone working together. If I love my God, then my search for the truths of science and history is covered with a heart for good, and surely, that would be enough to get by. But maybe, just maybe, all I need is what I was born with. 

   In the 18th chapter of Matthew, the Lord says that in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, we must become as the child. This child, who has no instruction in science, philosophy, business, literature or any other academic subject, has what is required. You know what the best thing about being a teacher is? Every year, you are reminded that the faith of a child is all that you need!

Oh, what a marvelous plan you have!

Let us pray:

Father,

  You are God, protector, provider, and redeemer. You provide us with an endless supply of blessings that we are not even aware of, and we choose to curse Your name. Please, sow in us repentant hearts and love for our fellow man. We ask for your continued grace and mercy, and the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives to shape us in the image of Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. We ask that You write on our hearts Your law of love, forgiveness, and holiness. We ask that You renew our hearts and minds daily as we seek you, as a body, a nation, a church, and a world. 

We ask all this in Your glorious Name, and in the indwelling of Your Holy Spirit, and in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ. 

Amen

  You know, sometimes, just sometimes, I wish God was wrong. No, not in the sense of wishing where it was actually true that He was wrong, cause I know that that's impossible and that that would have disastrous side effects(I'm looking at you, Dogma). I wish in the sense of I longingly imagine what would happen if sometimes, when the Lord is convicting me of something I'm doing wrong, that just once, I'd be right and He'd be wrong. 

  Then I realize that if I had the right attitude, I'd never wish that. Then I ask for forgiveness, for both the thing God's convicting me of, and for wishing He's wrong. 

  It's at these times, after I've asked for forgiveness and I'm seeking to improve myself and remove the things God's convicting me of from my life, that I'm amazed at His wondrous plan. You know, I can barely plan out my day. I know the traffic reasonably well on the roads I regularly travel, I know what things I need to do next at work to get the experiments I want done in a timely manner. I have a pretty good idea of what commitments I will have each day to take up my time. And yet, daily it seems, I can't even tell you in the morning, how much time I'll end up doing things other than what I had planned. This isn't to say that I don't get a lot of productive work done, just that things are constantly changing, and I'm having to adapt. 

  And then there's God's plan.  His plan is as old as time itself, although technically it's older because it has existed since before time, but immeasurably older because it's impossible to say how much time it existed before time existed... One of those funny things to contemplate. Anyways, His plan is older than time itself, and yet, He knew exactly how things would go down from the beginning of time to the end of time, even with allowing for us to have free will, and yet He never has to erase a mark out of His calendar. He's never fretting about too much traffic, or a spill, or a missed opportunity. He has this great plan, and because it's His, it's perfect, and it's guaranteed not to fail. And, I'm impressed. I mean really impressed. In the words of the psalmist, "Show me Your ways, Oh Lord. Teach me Your paths." His plan is sooo cool, it just inspires me, and then I think about that that's part of His plan, too! We serve an amazing God!