too much grace.
in the Prodigal Son story, the essential argument of the older brother is that his father is giving his younger brother too much grace. when he realizes his failure of a brother received a party instead of punishment, he berates his fathers, lists his younger brother's faults an refuses to attend a party. who does that? i mean, it's a party.
but there's one thing about this approach to life.
you can never out grace a God who sent His Son to the cross for you. you will never have a reaction towards anything more loving than God.
but don't get me wrong, God's not soft on sin.
in fact, His wrath for sin is demonstrated best in the severity of His grace. we don't get casual, easy, soft, cheap grace. we get severe, unyielding, Jesus on the cross, bleeding, dying grace.
the reason we get this grace is because God is hard, wrathful, all-knowing, all-powerful on sin. His wrath is undeniable on sin. which is why it took such tremendous grace to quench it.
show grace without end.
give comfort even when it makes no sense.
Monday, July 19, 2010
anorexia. [192]
unfortunately, there are a lot of taboo subjects in the Church. it's a human flaw. to be in a place of supposed perfection and not feel able to share your flaws so that they may be perfected.
one in particular is eating disorders.
everyone always thought i had an eating disorder. for obvious reasons. i never did. and i never remember anyone in my Church talking to me about it.
the struggle with food and body image is widespread. one out of three American adults is obese. one in five women struggle with an eating disorder. these numbers shouldn't be ignored. but the silence from the Church is deafening. Church is not always grace-filled. it can focus solely on actions and perfectionism.
even though eating disorders are prevalent today and gluttony is mentioned in the Bible, the Church hasn't focused on them in a transforming way. not many Churches address gluttony. the Church has various reasons for neglecting eating disorders. weight and body issues are at the bottom of outreach lists.
people need to learn how God sees them and how He loves them. it's a freeing step.
recovery from eating disorders must be experienced on two levels. freedom from the behavior and freedom from the lies. it means turning to God. believing the truth of their value as God's child, how He loves them and cherishes them for who they are.
Churches often times focus on symptoms and not the disease. Jesus wants to go to those places and heal them. His abundant life means complete freedom and healing.
one in particular is eating disorders.
everyone always thought i had an eating disorder. for obvious reasons. i never did. and i never remember anyone in my Church talking to me about it.
the struggle with food and body image is widespread. one out of three American adults is obese. one in five women struggle with an eating disorder. these numbers shouldn't be ignored. but the silence from the Church is deafening. Church is not always grace-filled. it can focus solely on actions and perfectionism.
even though eating disorders are prevalent today and gluttony is mentioned in the Bible, the Church hasn't focused on them in a transforming way. not many Churches address gluttony. the Church has various reasons for neglecting eating disorders. weight and body issues are at the bottom of outreach lists.
people need to learn how God sees them and how He loves them. it's a freeing step.
recovery from eating disorders must be experienced on two levels. freedom from the behavior and freedom from the lies. it means turning to God. believing the truth of their value as God's child, how He loves them and cherishes them for who they are.
Churches often times focus on symptoms and not the disease. Jesus wants to go to those places and heal them. His abundant life means complete freedom and healing.
money. [191]
money in the bank.
our money moves our world.
how we spend our money shows what's important to us. there is a Spiritual side of money. our financial choices can be moral choices and they can trap us.
you can never be independent of money. money is active. you have to manage it. move it. no matter how much you have. our strengths and weaknesses in our lives affect our finances. we all need disciple when it comes to money. some, more than others. i need a lot of discipline. everyone needs to think before they swipe the card. we all must recognize that we need to bring our finances under complete control.
personal growth requires that you give money away. *penny pinchers cringe* start by giving small or your time. you can always give something. there are very few well balanced, happy, healthy, wealthy people, who don't give money.
we must, however, beware of who we give our money to and what they are doing with our money. be responsible with our giving.
make all you can.
save all you can.
give all you can.
our money moves our world.
how we spend our money shows what's important to us. there is a Spiritual side of money. our financial choices can be moral choices and they can trap us.
you can never be independent of money. money is active. you have to manage it. move it. no matter how much you have. our strengths and weaknesses in our lives affect our finances. we all need disciple when it comes to money. some, more than others. i need a lot of discipline. everyone needs to think before they swipe the card. we all must recognize that we need to bring our finances under complete control.
personal growth requires that you give money away. *penny pinchers cringe* start by giving small or your time. you can always give something. there are very few well balanced, happy, healthy, wealthy people, who don't give money.
we must, however, beware of who we give our money to and what they are doing with our money. be responsible with our giving.
make all you can.
save all you can.
give all you can.
throw away the trash. [190]
this summer, i have cleaned a lot. my basement. my room. my garage. my yard. not your normal cleaning. but the organizing, disinfect, spotless kind. it reminds me of how we need to do this in our souls. and lives. more times than we do. if ever.
it seems we forget about our trash, our mistakes, after we throw the wrapper away. we tend to think more highly if ourselves than we ought to.
according to recent studies, americans think they consume less than they really do. 40-60% less. that's a ton of trash. i can only assume that Christians think they sin less than we really do.
maybe it's time to dumpster (heart) dive and go through our trash (sin) and see what we're hiding.
it seems we forget about our trash, our mistakes, after we throw the wrapper away. we tend to think more highly if ourselves than we ought to.
according to recent studies, americans think they consume less than they really do. 40-60% less. that's a ton of trash. i can only assume that Christians think they sin less than we really do.
maybe it's time to dumpster (heart) dive and go through our trash (sin) and see what we're hiding.
love today. [189]
alright, i'll say it.
love is not just about romance.
but love, in all forms is something we search for. crave for. for someone to tell us, "it's okay."
the heart is a delicate thing; and the wounds that seem to heal, leave scars that run deep.
we are all equal. sharing in this pain, looking for love.
there comes a time when no one can run from Love. He catches you. no one can fathom His ways. we try to. and fail. miserably. Love is the greatest mystery, the most unstoppable force. God is Love. we cannot understand Him.
He is the love for which the world looks. the love it desires. we must pursue Him because He has pursued us, He chases us. madly in love, He chases us.
His love, it does not change. it does not stop.
unworthy, we break His heart.
but always, He accepts. loves us.
love is not just about romance.
but love, in all forms is something we search for. crave for. for someone to tell us, "it's okay."
the heart is a delicate thing; and the wounds that seem to heal, leave scars that run deep.
we are all equal. sharing in this pain, looking for love.
there comes a time when no one can run from Love. He catches you. no one can fathom His ways. we try to. and fail. miserably. Love is the greatest mystery, the most unstoppable force. God is Love. we cannot understand Him.
He is the love for which the world looks. the love it desires. we must pursue Him because He has pursued us, He chases us. madly in love, He chases us.
His love, it does not change. it does not stop.
unworthy, we break His heart.
but always, He accepts. loves us.
the mark of the faithful. [188]
how do you tell people about your faith?
a lot of people are dismissing the Bible at literal and reading at a story. don't get me wrong, there's a lot of things in the Bible that should be taken as symbolism. but most of them are fairly obvious.
i think it affects how we share our relationship with Christ.
i can be pretty radical when it comes to modern, political Christianity. but i'm pretty old school when it comes to the Bible and sharing my faith. i believe the Bible is true and when it says something is wrong, then it's wrong. and that these convictions should be brought to the forefront with love. after all, they'll know we're Christians by our love not our t-shirts, facebook statuses or bumper stickers.
a lot of people are dismissing the Bible at literal and reading at a story. don't get me wrong, there's a lot of things in the Bible that should be taken as symbolism. but most of them are fairly obvious.
i think it affects how we share our relationship with Christ.
i can be pretty radical when it comes to modern, political Christianity. but i'm pretty old school when it comes to the Bible and sharing my faith. i believe the Bible is true and when it says something is wrong, then it's wrong. and that these convictions should be brought to the forefront with love. after all, they'll know we're Christians by our love not our t-shirts, facebook statuses or bumper stickers.
gasoline. [187]
i love how God reveals Himself to us through stories similar to those in His word.
2 kings 4:1-7
the wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to elisha, "your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the LORD. but now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves."
elisha replied to her, "how can I help you? tell me, what do you have in your house?"
"your servant has nothing there at all," she said, "except a little oil."
elisha said, "go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. don't ask for just a few. then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side."
she left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons. they brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. when all the jars were full, she said to her son, "bring me another one."
but he replied, "there is not a jar left." then the oil stopped flowing.
she went and told the man of God, and he said, "go, sell the oil and pay your debts. you and your sons can live on what is left."
my mom and i dropped my nephews off to my older sister. she lived in the boonies of missouri at the time. my mom didn't know that. she needed gas to get back to town. i told my mom about that story and surely if God can fill the woman's jars with oil, He can fill her tank with gas. sure enough, the needle rose and we had enough gas to get back to town.
i rarely tell this story. the first time i did, people didn't believe me. i was discouraged but i now i know it was our faith that allowed God to do His work.
2 kings 4:1-7
the wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to elisha, "your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the LORD. but now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves."
elisha replied to her, "how can I help you? tell me, what do you have in your house?"
"your servant has nothing there at all," she said, "except a little oil."
elisha said, "go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. don't ask for just a few. then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side."
she left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons. they brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. when all the jars were full, she said to her son, "bring me another one."
but he replied, "there is not a jar left." then the oil stopped flowing.
she went and told the man of God, and he said, "go, sell the oil and pay your debts. you and your sons can live on what is left."
my mom and i dropped my nephews off to my older sister. she lived in the boonies of missouri at the time. my mom didn't know that. she needed gas to get back to town. i told my mom about that story and surely if God can fill the woman's jars with oil, He can fill her tank with gas. sure enough, the needle rose and we had enough gas to get back to town.
i rarely tell this story. the first time i did, people didn't believe me. i was discouraged but i now i know it was our faith that allowed God to do His work.
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