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This morning I read in Acts 3 about the early Christians taking care of each other. Not one of their number (and it was over 5000) was in need of anything, because they all shared what they had. Those who had much liquified some of their holdings in order to help provide for those who had little.
It’s not a coincidence that after reading that story I had the idea to take stock of my closet. It’s the BermudaTriangle of my house and desperately needs organizing. There are nineteen pairs of shoes and 125 shirts and sweaters. Not including my pants and dresses. Not including my husband’s clothing.
What in heaven’s name am I doing with 125 tops? Yikes! To be fair to myself, I admit that at least three quarters of them are probably ten years old or older. But that doesn’t eliminate the fact that there they sit, collecting dust and other closet grubbies, while another Christian somewhere halfway across the world makes do with one or two shirts and one pair of shoes mended with cardboard.
I am just one person. How can I make a difference? How can I change my life so that I resemble those first Christians who realized that nothing they owned was really theirs and shared with each other, seemingly without a second thought? I feel so insignificant in the face of the world’s woes.
Our nation is Lost, with a capital L. The Muslim countries who vilify us and call us the Great Satan may only be labeling what they see as our consummate greed. Even those of us who claim to be Christians often live sequestered lives, turning a blind eye and refusing to see, to really see, the world as our God sees it. Instead, we think of judgmental excuses:
- That homeless man with one arm holding a sign is really just a con artist.
- That one over there is just gonna go buy some dope, so why give him anything?
- What kind of woman with three kids ends up homeless? She must be on drugs or something.
- Why should I give money to the food bank? Isn’t that what food stamps are for?
- Those people want to live on the streets.
In this tight economy, we find ourselves holding on to what we have with a death grip, forgetting that everything material is temporary, except the love that we show to each other. Maybe one reason Christianity is losing ground in our country is that we have stopped taking care of our own…or, at the very least, is because the media has stopped reporting about us taking care of our own. There is a new religion rising up in the USA. It’s called Government. People everywhere are turning to the Government to save them
…from foreclosure
…from unemployment
…from hunger
Why Government? If there were no needy among us, would the government still feel compelled to step in?
The old song, They Will Know We Are Christians By Our Love, rings hollow today when we spend 105 percent of what we earn (a statistic from 2007, before the recession). How can we give to others when we are so wrapped up in ourselves?
Oh, that the Lord would just wipe the smudges off our lenses so we could see ourselves as we really are…and then so we’d do something about it. Repent. Turn away from materialism. Reach out a helping hand.
There are many avenues to explore, starting with our churches. Local food banks. Leftover food from restaurant often gets thrown out. Discarded clothing ends up in landfills all over the country. Homeless shelters have many needs.
One of those needs is a family headed by a single mom named Irene. I don’t know her situation, but whatever it was, she had to leave everything behind her. Maybe it was spousal abuse. Maybe her husband became very ill and died, leaving immense medical expenses. For whatever reason, Irene and her three young children found themselves without a home. Can you imagine not having a place to lay your head at night? Can you fathom what it is like to not know where your four year old girl will get her next meal?
A local homeless shelter took her in, and the shelter has been their only home for awhile now while Irene gets back up on her feet. She has a good job and is about to move into the shelter’s transitional housing program with a twist: she and her children will move into the furnished apartment with the knowledge that everything they see around them: the furniture, the clothing, the food, the dishes, the beds — is now theirs. When she graduates from the program in eighteen months, she’ll be able to secure her own apartment, or even home, based on the good credit she’s earned, without having to start over.
I have had the immense blessing of partnering with the homeless shelter in this endeavor for Irene. I’ve used my church and homeschooling contacts to completely furnish Irene’s apartment. I tell you this not to toot my own horn but to encourage you to follow your own nudgings. This has all been possible because of God’s blessing and leading and design. He planted the idea when I saw a newspaper article about the program years ago. It took several years of desire on my part to do something before enough doors opened to allow me to act. Words just can’t express the true joy I have experienced through this process. I scrubbed someone else’s shower and toilet with such vigor (the job required it!) that my muscles shook from exertion. I wanted it to be clean for Irene, you see. As I labored, though, I sang, just from the pure joy of using my time to serve someone in need. This is clearly a new beginning for Irene. But it is also a new beginning for me! I am proud of what God has done through my hands and the hands of those of my friends who have pitched in to help. My utmost hope is that Irene will walk into her new apartment and feel the love her heavenly father has for her.
But this blog isn’t about me, or even about Irene. It’s about you, Christian.
Somewhere you have seen something about helping others that resonates with your soul: maybe it was something in church or a direct mail advertisement. Maybe you felt a twinge as you walked past a panhandler downtown or feel drawn to help secure clean drinking water for the millions in the world who have none. If you are a Christian, then be assured that the Holy Spirit is gently prompting you to action, whatever that may be.
We will never reflect Christ as we should until we step out in faith and love others. We will never reflect our Lord until we put the welfare of others above ourselves. That kind of love is attractive. As Toby Mac aptly puts it,
Love is in the house and the house is packed
So much so I left the back door cracked
Mama always said it’s a matter of fact
that when love is in the house the house is packed…”
I pray we will each take a moment to reflect that our lives aren’t about us. He created each one of us for purposes beyond ourselves. Even Jesus, the Lord we love, existed for a purpose beyond his status as God’s Only Son: he existed for God’s Glory. He constantly looked for ways to glorify God, whether it was by restoring someone’s sight, turning water into wine, or raising a person from the dead. He told us that we would do GREATER things than those miracles, for God’s glory.
Do you believe Him?
Like Jesus, you exist for God’s Glory. How will you reflect the Glory this week?
It is fascinating to watch God weave the events of our lives so that “coincidences” pop up all over the place. Mind you, I don’t believe in coincidences because, in my mind, our omnipresent Creator already knows every thought before we think it and every action before we move.
You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord .
You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave, you are there.
If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
–from Psalm 139
Lately I’ve been wrestling in my mind over how to live out my faith. I alternate between being disgusted with my materialistic Lexus and praising God for his provision. My husband and I have had discussions about what constitutes a tithe — does it have to go to the church, or are all charitable donations considered tithes in the Lord’s eyes? Why is it that so many in America who claim to be Christians don’t attend church? Somehow something about my bubble life doesn’t seem to resonate with Jesus’ commandments to love my neighbors. I love my family, yes. If I learned of a neighbor in need, I would reach out to help — but that’s kinda difficult when my neighbors and I don’t see each other except to wave as we drive by on our way to another destination or errand.
The Blue Parakeet is a newish book about reading the Bible that my church book club is currently reading. I’m more of a fiction kind of gal, but with an intriguing title like that, I decided to get the book, dig in, and see what all the fuss was about.
And I discovered pretty quickly that the one fussing is me.
This book is going to be difficult to read. It is also going to be intriguing because it addresses so many of the questions I’ve been wrestling with. I am deeply concerned about its premises on several levels.
For starters, the author writes that it is impossible for modern-day Christians to fully literally obey the Bible in today’s world. He writes that we all pick and choose what we focus on. He’s right — at least in my church, we skip over the part where Paul writes that women should have their hair covered and think of that as a “that was then, this was now” kind of thing. Well, some homosexual believers say the same thing about the teachings about them. Isn’t it hypocritical of me to hold up one thing as TRUE while dismissing the other as something that doesn’t apply anymore?
In fact, if I’m honest here, I have to say that I have always had a tendency to “weigh” the words of Jesus more heavily than those of Paul or Peter or John or Luke. Many times Paul wrote commands such as this one, in 1 Timothy 2,
I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.
And yet we have Jesus doing the exact opposite of what Paul “permits.” He appeared directly to Mary Magdalene and then commanded her to go and TELL his brothers a message from him, the Lord, in John 20:
She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?”
She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.”
“Mary!” Jesus said.
She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”).
“Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then she gave them his message.
In that instance, Mary provided information to the disciples. Isn’t that teaching?
It’s safe to say that reading this Blue Parakeet book is opening up many skeletons that I have firmly shoved into the dark closets of my mind, the ones labeled “DANGER! Don’t Open!” There are some topics that feel scary to tackle, such as apparent contradictions. If I question these things openly, does that mean I question the bedrock of my faith, that Jesus is the Son of God, born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, died on a cross for my sins and rose again on the third day, ascended to heaven? No, I still believe that truth.
The way I reconcile in my own mind the apparent difference between Paul’s teaching and Jesus’ teaching is that Paul was a man, and Jesus is God. Of course I will believe Jesus over Paul. But when I do this, I am, as the author asserts, picking and choosing what to believe.
How about the one about the rich young man who wanted to get into heaven? Apparently this was an outstanding young man who had followed all the commandments. He wanted to know what else he needed to do in order to receive eternal life. Jesus told him:
Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (Matthew 19)
Notice the order of the steps he had to take. Before he could follow Jesus, he had to sell his possessions and give the money to the poor.
That is not the way we do things in our church. Most of us are not homeless, and if we are, it is not by choice. Why do we Christians not live our lives in this way? Why do we increase our standard of living to match (or exceed) our income? I’m including myself in this question because that’s definitely the story of my life. When we moved to Texas, we found that for the exact same amount of money as our Florida house sold for, we could buy nearly double the house here. We COULD have bought the same sized home for nearly half the amount, but chose the bigger house instead. Why did I do that? It’s clear that at that moment in time, I had three choices:
- Purchase a smaller home, giving ourselves an almost-paid-for-house
- Give all our proceeds to the poor
- Purchase a larger home, giving ourselves as much debt as we started with
Now, if we had chosen door number 2, where would we be today? Where would we be living? I don’t know. It would be a scary proposition to find myself homeless and without STUFF, by choice.
Suffice it to say, this is one of those passages that we Americans tend to gloss over. We don’t strive to be perfect, do we? In fact, in The Blue Parakeet, the author goes so far as to say it is impossible to do such a thing in a modern world.
But just think about it. What if fifty Christian families sold everything and gave it all to the poor in YOUR community. What would happen next? How then would they follow Jesus when He himself is bodily in heaven? Would they begin a walking tour, telling everyone the good news, just as Jesus did? How would such a tour be financed? What would the impact be on our world today if we did indeed step into the past and do just as Jesus said we needed to do in order to be perfect? The author says it is impossible. I disagree. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!”
Who said anything about being perfect?
Um, our King did. Look at what he commands in Matthew 5:
If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Maybe we can wiggle out of this by focusing on the word perfect. In the above verses, the Greek word is teleios, which means the utmost of human integrity and virtue; being brought to its end without needing anything else to achieve its completion. We are to be finished. Sort of like sending a young woman off to finishing school for some polishing…only much more. Jesus used the same word teleios when he spoke to the young man. And when the young man who had many possessions walked away, shaking his head in defeat, Jesus told his disciples that it would be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Apparently the rich young man just gave up. He was on his way, but he wasn’t teleios.
Does the fact that I have not sold all my possessions and given them to the poor mean that I am not entering into the Kingdom of Heaven? Is Christianity as we know it totally messed up?
The author of The Blue Parakeet wrote about our differing interpretations of the Bible, and about what we pick and choose to focus on as:
What we decide is our way for our day.
My warning antennae just went up on high alert. I have been reading in Judges and have been seeing what happens when a group of people begin to do what seems right in their own eyes.
Rape. Murder. Demolishing entire villages in order to capture the virgins. Forcefully giving the virgins as wives to a tribe so they can be made to have children that will continue on the tribe. Stealing young women from another village to take away as wives.
Holy Spirit, I pray for wisdom to know what it is that you want me to do in my lifelong quest to follow Jesus. Do I take Jesus’ words literally? Do I pick and choose?
Paul Coleman has written a song that beautifully captures my angst about these matters. It’s called Last Night In America. These lyrics capture my heart:
I’m afraid to turn my TV on
And I’m hoping what they said is wrong
Can I just live my lifetime here and then move on?
I’ve had a million conversations about
Who is right and who is wrong
And how would Jesus want for us to carry on
I’m praying for God’s will but secretly wanting
Riches and blessings to pour in my hands
Is this my last night in America?My tendency is to run away
And try to keep my family safe
But tell me how to hide away from all this hate?
The dominos that we see fall
Were set in motion long ago
Fear became a flower and the garden grows
I’m seeing the irony, the battle inside of me
You brought me peace now I’m at war with the world
Tell me is there some way out
Tell me that I’m not alone
Show me the mystery oh cornerstone
Is this my last night in America?Is this my last night in America?
Or is it my last moment anywhere?
Our breath is a vapor that’s lost in the air
Is this my last night in America?Well I’ve read about a God of war
And painted blood from door to door
Canonized in scripture and in black and white
And I’ve read about my Jesus Christ
And I’ve received His sacrifice
But is it turn the other cheek or is it stand and fight?
‘Cause I’m just a simple pilgrim I’m not a man with wisdom
What do I do when there’s a thief at my door?
Do I resist him or in silence assist him?What seemed right isn’t clear anymore
Is it the fall of a nation or the great tribulation
The eve of invasion or the book of revelation
Well I’ll wear my freedom as an invitation
To the God of creation who’s keeping the score
Is this my last night in America?
I live in a small town of barely more than 10,000 people. There are, however, not one but two self-storage businesses within a five mile radius. Imagine my surprise to see red earth and bulldozers in a field less than two miles away from my home with a “Coming Soon: Self Storage” sign affixed to a newly erected construction fence. Soon there will be three self-storage businesses that will be happy to hold on to my stuff.
I guess my mind is on storage “crap” today because I am getting up the nerve to clean out the dreaded CLOSET UNDER THE STAIRS. I could probably have my daughter film a horror movie out of that one. The closet, I’m afraid to say, is so packed and jumbled that a person has to bend over and climb over mountains of junk just to get to the back. What is supposed to be a coat closet for guests has become a catch-all of all the stuff I don’t know what to do with. There’s a Dora the Explorer game my daughter played with six years ago…it’s missing about half its pieces, but for some odd reason it moved to Texas with us. We have a solid brass bar sink in there somewhere. Yes…you read that correctly. There is even a SINK in the closet! My in-laws gave it to us when they moved. The original intent was to “one day when we win the lottery” put in a bar upstairs and use the brass sink. Other goodies include a baby gate, tupperware plastic bins filled with half-completed photo albums, assorted pillows, black widow spiders (probably), and a set of doggie pooper-picker-upper baggies that we’ve never used. When I get off this chair and pull everything out, I’ll probably have more interesting things to report.
What I refuse to do, however, is to buy storage for my junk.
I think Americans (including myself!) have enjoyed so many blessings that when hard times hit, we have a whole generation (mine) that does not know how to do without. My parents’ generation knew all about pulling up those bootstraps and “making do” with what you have — and being grateful for it. People saved and re-used aluminum foil. They grew their own vegetables and froze or canned what they couldn’t eat right away so they’d have food in the winter. They bought modest houses and made the children share bedrooms and even (gasp) sometimes made sisters share a bed.
Fast forward to my generation. When my husband and I bought our first home with an FHA loan, we had to jump through many hoops to be approved. My husband had to provide letters and other documentation about his overtime pay. I had to provide proof that I would indeed be a teacher again the following year. We did not know for sure if we were qualified until the day they called us to sign the papers. As frustrating as it was for us to keep providing “one more thing” to the loan company, I understood why they were being so cautious. We were first-time home buyers. We did not have established credit, and it would have been irresponsible of them to provide a loan to someone who they knew could not — or would not — pay it back.
Since that time, we have sold and bought four more houses. (Lots of cross country moves, you see.) Each time, it got easier and easier. I thought at the time this was because we’d established credit — and that’s probably part of it — but I know in retrospect that lenders were purposefully relaxing the rules and making risky loans. For example, before we even looked for a home, we called our lender to see how much of a loan we could afford. By our third house, they told me to first find a home and then come to them with the amount!
No wonder the housing market crashed.
Americans kept wanting bigger and bigger houses. We had to have extra bathrooms. Media rooms became all the rage…game rooms are great places to corral the kids. I’m not knocking down the American Dream of prosperity. I’m just trying to get a handle on MY part of this, from a godly perspective.
I’m squirming in my seat to read these words from Jesus in Luke 12:
When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required. I have come to set the world on fire, and I wish it were already burning! I have a terrible baptism of suffering ahead of me, and I am under a heavy burden until it is accomplished. Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I have come to divide people against each other!
In light of the images captured on this short video,
I can see very vividly how people today are divided against each other. It’s not just Democrats vs. Republicans. That’s a very narrow view of the world. God sees us all. There is no Jew or Greek or master or slave or rich or poor in Christ. Many of these extremely poor people are believers…praise God! They have hope, and in God’s kingdom, they will be WAAAAYYY ahead of me. Many more are not believers. Can you imagine what it must be like to watch your own children starve to death right in front of your eyes without having God to lean upon? How do they do it?
The Lord requires much of me…because He gave so much…because He’s given me so much.
So, it’s back to the closet. I’m going to try to get organized. But what to do with the stuff I’m not going to keep? What do you do with the “junk” in your house?
Because I’ve always wanted to do a poll, this seems like as good a place as any to include one:
Perhaps if we all dug through our closets…and our cabinets…and our drawers…we’d find a new use for old stuff so we could, like our parents, learn to “make do” with what we have instead of running out and buying more. Better yet, maybe we can find someone in need — at church, through homeless shelters, through a friend of a friend — who would be very blessed to have our old stuff.
It is with great joy that I introduce the newest member of our “family.” Zulma is a beautiful ten year old girl who lives in Guatemala. She has two brothers and two sisters and lives with her mom and her dad. Her dad is an agriculture worker, and her mom stays home to take care of the family.
Recently our family took the step of sponsoring a child — Zulma — through World Vision. Those who have been following this blog know of our trouble to have more children and our struggles with should we or shouldn’t we adopt (me wanting to, my husband not ready yet). Zulma is one answer to our prayer! We will be supporting her financially each month, but more importantly, we’ll be establishing a relationship with her through emails, letters, photos, and prayers. My daughter has always wanted a sister; now she has one. My husband and daughter are already dreaming up a time when we can go visit her.
Why World Vision? Well, for starters, our church partners with them. For another, 87% of all donations go directly to the children. One of my dear friends, Holly, told me about child sponsorship over a year ago. I never forgot her shining eyes as she described the children she and her family support — and a little voice inside my head told me to get off my hind end and do something.
But what to do? When I mentioned it to my husband, he sort-of brushed off the idea. There are stories he’s heard of sponsorship companies that use most of their money to pay their executives and very little to the children. And then there are all the needy children in America. Wouldn’t it better to support “one of our own?”
In the end, it was our daughter’s curiosity and desire to help a child her age in need that turned the tide of our indecision. She and I looked at the website together. She picked Guatemala as the country because we have a dear friend who is originally from that country, and then we searched for a girl around ten years old. It was heartbreaking to see photos of so many children in need who fit our search criteria! I wished I could have selected every last one of them. But we prayed that God would show us the one girl he wanted us to love. As soon as we saw her picture, we both knew. Zulma is in our hearts forever. Just look at her smile!
It wasn’t until this weekend, however, that any of us understood the true need behind our sponsorship. Saturday there was a welcome packet from World Vision in our mailbox. Included in the packet was a DVD that did a great job explaining what it is exactly that World Vision does to support needy children and their communities.
Seeing the conditions in which others in our world live takes my breath away. Literally.
In Zulma’s part of the world, homes are made of clay bricks and tin sheets or with bamboo cane and straw roofs. Her entire house would probably fit inside one of the bedrooms of my house. The whole village shares a water faucet. Just yesterday at church I fussed at my daughter for drinking out of the water fountain at church. (My obsession with germs, you know. There’s a bug floating around at church that just won’t leave. I’m convinced it’s the kids putting their mouths around the fountains. But that’s another story.) My face burned last night as I watched a woman in Africa dipping water from a muddy seep hole in the ground into a large bucket. She came for water like this three times a day. Somehow, that tiny three-foot in diameter puddle provided water for six families…water that often gave them diarrhea, or worse. My germophobic tendencies are stopped in their tracks when I consider the way of life so many people across the world face every day. My standard of “clean” is something they would never even imagine.
So we began today with a different outlook on our lives and a new appreciation for what we have been given…and a new appreciation for the words in 1 John 3:
Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
I will post updates as I hear from Zulma. If our story is touching your heart and you’d like to learn more about how you can help, visit World Vision for yourself.
(Warning: Some gross content below. Not for the squeamish!)
There is something motivating about finding blood coming out of places it has no business exiting…like in pee. Yesterday morning I lay in bed and stretched and prayed and asked the Lord to direct my paths…that I would do his will with my day, not mine. He answered me in a painful way…
Yesterday afternoon I discovered the aformentioned blood and got myself quickly to the doctor. Understand, I am not someone who loves going to the doctor. I actually get anxious about all those doctor’s office germs floating around everywhere. But give me some pain when I pee, coupled with lots of blood, and I’m the first one out the door to the doctor’s office!
As I began taking antibiotics for a UTI yesterday evening, I sat and thought about how God so marvelously designed our bodies to tell us when something is amiss. Pain is one way we know something isn’t working properly. When I pulled a muscle in my back, it hurt. The pain made me slow down, and the muscle got better. When you’ve had a UTI before and experienced the searing pain of it, you know what it is. If you haven’t had one before and suddenly experience it, you get yourself to the doctor pronto because…well, it HURTS! And trust me. If you try to hold it so you can put off “going” and enduring the pain…it just makes the pain worse. I speak from experience here!
I’m into the second book of Francine Rivers’ Mark of the Lion series. The story of Hadassah is heartbreaking, moving, and jubilant all at the same time. I look at this fictional character Rivers has created and long to be in love with Jesus the way she is. I long to be able to face my fears and to put away my selfish desires so that I can JOYFULLY serve each and every day.
Oh, I serve all right. I serve pancakes and waffles and do laundry that never ends. I fry bacon and cook stew and clean up after my poor old dog. But sometimes my serving is done with a bit of swaggering, woe-is-me attitude. There I was this morning, standing over the stove making breakfast for my family when my back hurt and my bladder hurt and I wanted someone else to tuck the blanket around me and bring ME something to eat! Of course I’m too proud to ask for help. So I stood in pain and SERVED with a not-very-joyful heart.
And then I remembered Jesus. If anyone had any right to be waited upon hand and foot, it would be him. Yet I saw in my mind the picture of him washing the stinky, germy, dusty, grimy feet of his disciples. I’m sure he was tired, too, after walking all that way! But there was not a hint of anything except joy in his act of love. As I filled the coffee pot with filtered water for my hubby (which takes about four times as long as just using water from the sink, but when the local water is lake water, the filter helps take out that nasty fishy taste!)…as I stood and waited for that trickle of water to slowly fill up the pot…I saw in my mind’s eye women all over the world who, even today, must carry large jugs of water, sometimes on their heads, to the well to retrieve water for their families. The pity party inside shut off as I was reminded just how fortunate I really am! To not just have running water inside my home, but to have CLEAN, filtered water that tastes good and will not make us sick.
Where did those thoughts of Jesus washing feet and the women toting heavy water jugs come from? Just as our physical bodies give us pain or other symptoms when something is awry in our inner workings, God has provided the Holy Spirit…who Jesus said was the Counselor…who acts as our “sign” that something in our attitudes or thought processes just isn’t right. We get that twinge of conviction that draws us nearer to God, reminding us of His Word — especially when we are prone to ignoring it. And while the “sign” or “check” He gives us usually isn’t as bright as blood, it is noticeable if we will just listen.
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. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:26-27
So today I am thankful for the gift of antibiotics…
…but I’m especially thankful for the gift of the Holy Spirit, who teaches me and instructs me and helps me become a new creature every morning.
When my brother and I were kids with smart mouths that sometimes said words kids (and adults!) have no business saying, our parents brought out the Ivory soap and gave us an appreciation of the value in telling the truth.
I’m here to tell you today that we need a big old bar of Ivory soap to wash out the filth pouring out of politicians’ mouths these days. (Fair warning to McCain supporters — this blog is not a partisan blog today. I’ve been doing some checking, and angry is too mild a word to describe the way I’m feeling at the moment about our entire political process with both mainstream political parties.)
In fact, I’m thinking of striking up a new party. Let’s call ourselves the Honestarians. We tell the truth. There are no lies or half lies. Strange notion, huh? Who ever heard of an honest politician? It’s actually a joke among us that our elected leaders are corrupted. After all, that’s part of the fun, right?
Consider the words of “Honest Abe,” who really did seek to earn the respect of the fellow men who he served:
Every man is said to have his peculiar ambition…I have no other so great as that of being truly esteemed of my fellow men, by rendering myself worthy of their esteem.”
In fact, President Lincoln believed honesty to be such a virtue that he counseled those studying to be lawyers that if they realized they could not be honest lawyers, then they should not be lawyers at all.
Resolve to be honest at all events; and if in your own judgment you cannot be an honest lawyer, resolve to be honest without being a lawyer.
I propose we slap Lincoln’s words across every newspaper and blog in the nation, only this time we substitute “politician” for “lawyer.” If in your own judgment you cannot be an honest politician, resolve to be honest without being a politician. Drop out of the race. Today.
McCain should fire every staff member who has written speeches for him and created ads for him that smack of anything dishonest…and there are plenty of them. Likewise, Obama has a lot of house cleaning to do if he wants to rise above politics as usual and, for once, speak plainly and truly to the American people.
Wake up! We are the ones wandering along like sheep, taking in whatever we hear on the news or read in the papers or on the internet as fact. We are letting both campaigns get away with downright lies. Those of us Christians who are McCain supporters need to demand accountability, just as Obama supporters need to demand accountability of their candidate. The media is falling down on the job — it is doing precious little to counteract the lies the campaigns tell. And when we fall for it hook, line and sinker, we fall down on our job.
But one person with pen and paper, or with a telephone, or with a computer and internet connection can bring about change for the greater good. After you read the lies I’m getting ready to expose, I highly suggest you get on the phone or the internet and contact the candidate you support. Demand that the campaign come clean and threaten to withhold your vote if they don’t.
The Lord detests lying lips. Period. I cannot in good conscience vote for a candidate who spins the truth and varnishes the warts to try to come off looking perfect. I want the facts — the true facts, not the ones that are taken out of context.
To be fair, I will begin with just a few of the lies, half-truths, and deceptions running amok in both campaigns. There are so many that I can’t possibly write them here. Nonpartisan and nonprofit group FactCheck.org has been following the whoppers of the campaigns and has already compiled so many that they have issued a special “Whoppers of 2008″ edition — and the election is still one month and one day away. Granted, you can’t rely on everything you read online. I tried to use examples that had corroborating evidence and weren’t just statements of left-leaning opinion.
McCain’s Smoke and Mirrors
McCain says Obama will raise your taxes
McCain has said that Obama would raise taxes on people earning $32K a year and has run an ad claiming that Obama wants an energy tax. According to FactCheck.org, Obama has not proposed new taxes for gas or oil. The quote the McCain campaign used was from an interview Obama did with the San Antonio Express-News. He was asked how he would fund education, and the reporter suggested taxing alternative fuels. Obama said that he would rather tax “dirty” energy sources but then went on to say that education needs to be a priority at the local level. The reporter is the one who mentioned taxing energy, not Obama. Obama did vote for a budget resolution that would have raised taxes on a single person earning $41,500 a year and on couples earning $83,00 a year, but those are not in his current tax plan. McCain’s $32K figure is actually taxable income, which is different than total income. I can only assume McCain and his staffers latched on to the $32K figure because it painted Obama in a worse light…but it’s not completely true. Why couldn’t they have honestly used the real numbers? The Tax Policy Center says that under Obama’s plan, 81.3 percent of American families would see tax cuts (and not 90%, as Obama claims). McCain should focus his energies on discussing the other 19.7% of households who would see rises in their taxes. I would assume that these people vote, too.
McCain: Obama thinks Iran isn’t a problem
In this case, the McCain campaign took a statement Obama made and completely twisted it around. McCain has said that Obama said Iran was “tiny” and “didn’t pose a serious threat.” Actually, Obama said Iran was tiny compared with the Soviet Union and doesn’t pose as serious a threat as the Soviet Union’s thousands of nuclear weapons posed a threat.
McCain and Palin: Alaska produces 20% of nation’s energy supply and 20% of nation’s oil and gas supply
Again, according to FactCheck.org, these are false statements. The truth? Alaska provides 3.5% of energy supply and 7.4% of our nation’s oil and gas supply. Alaska did produce 14% of the nation’s oil last year, but that is not the nation’s energy supply. Why not use the real figures and terminology instead of inflating them and distorting them? It’s difficult enough for Joe Six Pack to understand meaning of “domestic energy production” vs “percentage of oil from all US oil wells.” (there is a difference, but I couldn’t tell you what it is! If you’d said the truth in the first place, you wouldn’t end up with egg on your face).
Alaska’s Bridge to Nowhere
Governor Palin came out strong in her acceptance speech, telling America that Alaskans shunned pork barrel politics by saying “Thanks but no thanks” to the Bridge to Nowhere. Actually, Palin supported the legislation that would have provided for that bridge when she was campaigning for Governor. The Bridge would have gone to a sparsely populated area, but it connected with an airport. Palin thought at the time that it would have been a good thing for Alaska. (Biden and Obama both voted for it.) Then the legislation was changed, and Alaska was given the funds but the requirement that the funds be tied to the bridge was stripped from the language. So as Governor, Palin had the money from the feds but chose not to use it for the bridge because it wasn’t enough to cover the cost. Alaska used the money for other infrastructure projects. That in itself was not dishonest. But to stand up and imply that she turned down the federal money because it was a pork barrel project? That’s just not true.
McCain on Obama’s education ‘accomplishment’
A McCain ad claims that Obama’s one education accomplishment was legislation to teach ‘comprehensive sex ed’ to kindergarteners. What McCain left out was that the bill also said the education was to be ‘age-appropriate.’ The outright lie is that this was Obama’s ONE education accomplishment. For one thing, the legislation died. For another, Obama did not sponsor or co-sponsor or write it. How can something that wasn’t done be labeled an accomplishment? As a US Senator, Obama sponsored 3 amendments to the America Competes legislation that have become law — one creates a mentoring program for women and minority groups as they study in Department of Energy programs, one supports summer learning programs, and the other requires women and minorities to be included in the President’s Science and Technology Summit. Rather than scare-mongering about sex ed, McCain could have gone after Obama for his co-sponsoring of Illinois legislation that would have allowed high school graduates be eligible for in-state tuition even if they weren’t US citizens.
Obama’s Smoke and Mirrors
Obama: McCain will take away and privatize social security benefits
According to FactCheck.org, this is one of the big ObamaWhoppers. McCain agreed with Bush’s social security plan…which would not have cut benefits for anyone who gets a check now or who is nearing retirement. Obama has been all over the economic crisis, claiming over and over that if McCain had his way to privatize social security, people’s benefits would have crashed in the recent plunge in the stock market. This is also untrue and is a scare tactic aimed at the little old lady who gets all her news and knowledge from the campaign advertisements. The Bush plan that McCain supported would not have allowed anyone born before 1950 to privatize any amount of their social security, so anyone currently receiving social security benefits would not have been touched by the market crash at all.
Obama plays with numbers
Obama says that McCain took 2 million dollars in campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry. At that time, he was wrong by 700K. (Even my fourth grader knows that when you are rounding numbers, 1.3 million is rounded down to 1 million…not rounded up to 2 million.) Like McCain, Obama’s campaign would be better served if they used actual figures rather than puffing them up to make them fit into the image. Obama also accuses McCain of planning to give $4 Billion in tax cuts to oil companies. This is also a half-truth — the corporate tax cuts are across the board, not specifically devoted to oil companies. Obama has also said that his own tax plan would cut taxes for 90% of Americans — yet the smarties who analyze economic plans have said his plan would cut taxes for 81.3% of Americans. Once again a problem with rounding up when it would have been better to just leave the figure alone.
Obama: McCain will stay in Iraq 100 years
According to FactCheck.org, McCain’s statement was taken out of context. McCain was referring to American troops having a peacetime presence in an area such as we now have in Korea…not in a war, as Obama ominously implies. And people in America who are tired of the war latch on to his misleading “100 years” comment end up thinking that McCain is a hawk who would have America still shooting from tanks 100 years from now.
Obama: McCain muddling through
Obama claims that McCain said America would just “muddle through” the problems in Afghanistan. Again, he took McCain’s words out of context. In fact, in 2003 McCain said America “may” muddle through because there are areas in Afghanistan that are “dicey” and aren’t under the control of either the Afghan or Pakistan governments. He said he was “guardedly optimistic” but also as a realist he knew that the Afghan government had little power over the warlords operating on the border. (and we now know he was right as trouble has sprung up all along the border.) Both candidates have recently supported sending more troops to Afghanistan, but Obama said that only he supported more troops while McCain supported “muddling through” the problems. Again, that’s a lie.
Obama says McCain is a Bush Clone
Obama accuses McCain of voting along party lines (the anti-maverick) 90% of the time. Senator McCain has voted with Bush an average of 89% of the time, but it varied year-by-year. In 2005, he voted with him 77% of the time. But Barack fails to mention that he himself voted along the party lines an average of 97%. Hmmm. If we’re talking about real change coming to Washington, tell us where you would deviate from lines. Give us some examples of ways in which YOU would be a political maverick instead of criticizing McCain.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg of lies, half-truths, and deceptions from both of these candidates. You can read about plenty more at FactCheck.org, if you have the stomach for it. If you are fed up, then let them know about it. If enough of us “Joe Six Packs” and Homeschoolers and Conservative Christians and Christian Liberals cry foul, maybe the candidates will rise above the filth they find themselves in.
We aren’t the only generation that must deal with leaders who lie to get what they want. From Psalms 12:
Therefore, Lord, we know you will protect the oppressed,
preserving them forever from this lying generation,
even though the wicked strut about,
and evil is praised throughout the land.
Clearly lying is something that Jesus was concerned about because it speaks to the condition of a person’s heart.
Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “Listen,” he said, “and try to understand. It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.” Matthew 15:10-11
I would much rather my candidate tell the truth and lose than lie in order to win the election. How can my faith justify the lies my candidate is putting out in the media? This conservative is fed up with the whoppers both candidates are making and getting away with right and left.
Earlier in my blog I encouraged you to contact the candidate you support. I will do the same — but to get some extra attention, I’m going to send my letter along with a picture of a bar of Ivory soap. (Remember the old ad campaign…it’s so pure, it floats!) If you do the same, maybe they’ll get the message. Reform for Washington starts right now, and it starts with telling the truth not just some of the time. Not just a conservative or liberal’s version of the truth, but the real truth, all of the time.
We’ll call it the Ivory Soap Campaign.
If you agree with me, send your candidate a picture of Ivory soap and a scathing letter demanding the truth. When you’ve done so, leave me a comment. Do you think five letters with images of soap will draw some attention? How about fifty? A hundred? Here is a link to the letter I wrote today to Senator McCain. Feel free to use it for yourself, but be sure to put your own information on it!
Here are links to the candidate’s addresses:
(Obama’s campaign says it will only accept envelopes size #10. All others will be returned. So if you’re sending him a letter with a picture of soap, make sure it fits in the standard envelope.)
Tell your candidate you want some honest, clean debate, and not the dishonest sound bites that have become politics-as-usual. It’s time for some real reform, today.
Yesterday I began musing about the difference between condemnation and conviction. I’d just read a wonderful news article about a woman who single-handedly began a Christmas party for the homeless. I was so glad that she had been so successful, but I also felt a twinge of guilt. After all, I haven’t organized a party for the homeless. I don’t frequent downtown shelters. I don’t personally know anyone who is homeless; in fact, we don’t even have people standing on street corners holding “Help, Please” signs in our corner of small town Texas. These thoughts flew through my head as I drove to church. I’m not good enough. I don’t do enough. I’m feeling guilty because I have a warm coat, a full belly, and a family that loves me.
Why is that?
Condemnation is the act of finding someone guilty, wrong, or evil, usually after weighing the evidence (thank you, m-w.com!) In comparing myself to the Christians working in the shelters, to the Mother Theresas of this world, I am, in fact, condemning myself. I hold myself guilty. Sinner that I am, I do not deserve the blessings the Lord has showered down on me. So I feel guilty. I berate myself internally, telling myself that I should have stepped up to help my church with the gift-hand-outs or the women’s outreach. I should have rescheduled a doctor’s appointment so I could go with the church and deliver toys to a women and children’s shelter. I should offer my time and teach English to those who don’t know any. I should, I should, I should.
It’s been a common refrain in my mind for as long as I can remember. No matter how much I do, I feel like it isn’t enough for God. And if I spend my time on doing things that are for me, I feel guilty about it. No wonder I’ve had a month-long headache! The Christmas season fills my head with so many “I shoulds” that I end up feeling stressed and angry.
But…….
It’s amazing how God uses something so simple as a blog to shake some sense into me. My last post ended with some thoughts about there being no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, and that’s what popped in my mind as I drove to church on Sunday. If the Lord himself sat in the passenger seat I could not have heard his message any clearer. It was as if I heard him speaking in my head, saying, “Stop It!” God brought to my mind how Paul experienced much of what I am going through — “what I want to do, I don’t do, and what I don’t want to do, I do…” and this is what he concluded in his letter to the Romans, chapters 7 and 8:
21 I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22 I love God’s law with all my heart. 23 But there is another power[e] within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.
1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power[a] of the life-giving Spirit has freed you[b] from the power of sin that leads to death. 12 Therefore, dear brothers and sisters,[e] you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do.
28 And we know that God causes everything to work together[m] for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. 29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.
31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? 33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.
Who am I to condemn myself? Through Christ, God himself has given us right standing with himself!
Now conviction, on the other hand, is not the same thing as condemnation. I have been blurring the lines. A conviction can be handed down, such as a thief being “convicted” and “found guilty.” A conviction is actually the state of being convinced of something, whether of guilt, such as the case of the thief, or of a belief, such as a belief in Christ. Take a look at this verse from 1 Thessalonians 4:
4For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction.
I used to think that word conviction had the “guilty” connotation to it. I used to think that these brothers were convicted in their hearts of their guilt, so they changed their behavior. I have listened to sermons and felt at times as if the Holy Spirit was convicting me of a sin I needed to confess. But I need to remember the other meaning of conviction: being convinced. In fact, the Greek word used in the verse above is plerophoria, and it means full assurance, most certain confidence. When we have full assurance and full confidence, we act in a certain way.
When I let the Guilt Monster occupy my thoughts, I am not being convinced of my “right standing” with God. I am relying on my works, not on his unfailing, beautiful, incomprehensible grace, mercy and love. I am comparing myself to other Christians. Have you ever tried to “out-Christian” another Christian? Why do I think I “should” do a certain kind of work just because someone else does it? We are all parts of the same body.
12 The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. 13 Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles,[e] some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.[f]
14 Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. 15 If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? 17 If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?
18 But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. 19 How strange a body would be if it had only one part! 20 Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. 21 The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”
Those words from 1 Corinthians 12 are like rain to my parched spirit! Especially…”God has put each part just where he wants it.” In this season of my life, he has appointed me to be my daughter’s teacher. What an awesome and scary part to fulfill! He has me reaching out to the community through this blog. He has me volunteering as editor of a homeschool group’s monthly newsletter. He has me volunteering in a Sunday school classroom with a terrific group of second graders. He has given me my excellent husband to support, encourage, and lift up.
Rather than beat myself up with the “I shoulds,” this Christmas season I will trust and rejoice…trust in Emmanuel to convict (convince) me about which tasks he wishes to use me for…and rejoice in the birth of my Savior who has called me and given me “right standing” with him.
The sermon this past Sunday was part of a continuing series about friendships. In particular, we learned about going forth into the world (see yesterday’s blog) to show love to all people…especially to unbelievers.
A chameleon changes its appearance to blend in with its surroundings. When we lived in Florida, I got a pretty up close and personal with lots of skin-color-changing critters! In his intense efforts to help people be saved, the early church leader Paul oftentimes changed the appearance of who he was so that others would be saved. Just as a chameleon with changed skin is still a chameleon, not a lion or a duck, Paul was still a fervent Christ-follower as he “became” like those to whom he was serving.
19Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. 1 Cor 9
I find it very interesting that the Greek word Paul used that we translate “I have become” is ginomai. Ginomai means become, but it also has another definition: “to come upon the stage.”
Hmmm, so Paul ACTS? I don’t think this term means that Paul is insincere in his attempts to win over people to Christ. Actors and actresses perform best when they are able to draw on their personal experiences to pour into the character they are portraying. They find some way to relate to their character and the ones around them. I think this…essence….is what Paul is talking about. As the New Living Translation words it, Paul “finds common ground” with whoever it is he that he is serving. He finds some way to relate to those he is serving.
But he is still himself. He does not abandon the faith as he rubs shoulders with the unfaithful. Like the chameleon, Paul may change his skin when he’s around spotted people, but he is still the same Paul on the inside.
Can I do the same? What are some things I could do that would get me around other people who I could win over for Christ? I will start by making a list of things I like to do, and then I’ll prayerfully look for new places to do them. For example, I love reading. I could join one of the numerous book clubs around town. Meeting with fellow readers is one way I could befriend those who may not know Christ.
Looking forward to hearing how you ginomai with unbelievers!
Today my daughter and I went on a field trip today with our homeschool group to the Buckner Center for Humanitarian Aid. The video we watched was heartbreaking; my eyes weren’t the only wet ones in the crowd! Even the little ones were taken aback by the absolute joy they saw shining in the eyes of the children who were receiving new shoes on their feet.
We cut off price tags, removed paper stuffing, and used zipties to hold the pairs of shoes together. We sorted them by size and gender. Working together, our group processed four huge boxes full of shoes.
My heart has always had a hole in it when I think of the children in our world without parents. I wish I could take them all into my home! But at least for today, I handled little shoes that will soon go on little feet.
Who will wear the tiny, size 4, bright pink infant girl tennis shoes? I held them in my hands and prayed for that tiny baby girl. What little boy will feel the solid sole of these Nike Air tennis shoes, big-kid size 3? I prayed for him as I removed the paper stuffing and strung a ziptie through the shoelace hole. Cadi stuck notes in some of the shoes. She wrote poems and notes of encouragement. Other kids drew pictures. I mentally tucked kisses inside each shoe. I pray the Lord will spread my kisses and that these children will feel loved.
The Bible verse I immediately thought of is the famous one from James. You’ve probably heard it in the NIV version. Here it is:
If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:26-27
Word-crazy me…I just had to dig deep to find out more about what those words mean. What is pure? What is meant by the word religion? What is faultless? Who exactly are orphans and widows, as the original writers saw them? And what does it mean to be polluted by the world?
Ready to dig in? The Word of God has such depth it can’t be anything but supernatural!
I got this information — for free — from Blue Letter Bible online. The Strong’s Concordance uses the King James Version translation, so here are those verses in the KJV:
26If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.
27Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
I’m going to break these verses down to see if I can get a bigger picture.
If any man among you seem to be religious
Religious — threskos, meaning fearing or worshipping God; trembling before God
bridleth not his tongue
bridleth not — chalinagogeo, meaning to guide, hold in check, restrain
but deceiveth his own heart
deceiveth — apatao, meaning to cheat, beguile, deceive
heart — kardia, meaning heart, soul, mind, will, and character
this man’s religion is vain
vain — mataios, meaning devoid of force, truth, success, result, useless, no purpose
The next verse tells us how we make our worship successful and truthful:
Pure religion
Pure — katharos, meaning clean, clear, pure
Religion — threskeia, meaning ceremonial observance, worshiping
and undefiled before God and the Father is this
Undefiled — amiantos, meaning unsoiled, free from deformity or impairment, pure from sin
Father — theos, meaning father, parent, nourisher, protector, upholder
To visit
visit — episkeptomai, meaning to look upon or after; to examine with the eyes in order to see how someone is or to help or benefit that person.
the fatherless and widows
fatherless — orphanos, meaning bereft of parents, teacher, guide, or guardian; orphaned.
widows — chera, meaning widow, implying barren, sterile
in their affliction,
affliction — thlipsis, meaning a pressing together, pressure, oppression, affliction, tribulation, distress
to keep himself
to keep — tereo, meaning to attend carefully, to guard
unspotted from the world
unspotted — aspilos, meaning spotless, free from censure or vice, unsullied, irreproachable
world — kosmos, meaning the present condition of human affairs in alienation from and opposition to God.
Based on this word study, I see that James 1:26-27 has much to teach me. First, my worship of God is without force, truth, or success, and I cheat my heart, soul, mind, will and character — when I do not hold my speech in check. And second, clean, pure, and unspoiled worship of God my protector happens when I do two things: look after orphans and widows (see how they are doing, help them when they are being pressed, benefit them), and when I carefully keep myself from being polluted (alienated from God) by the world.
How do you keep yourself “unspotted?”
