Easily Offended

There is so much to take in and consider when trying to understand love from God's perspective.  People have a natural form of love that comes with ease and at first consideration it might seem to be sufficient in regards to the command to "love your neighbor as yourself".  But in truth, the natural love or affection that comes without much effort to humans is never quite enough to satisfy the "as yourself" qualification of that command.  

For instance, it is easy to bring a hot dish over to a sick or grieving family, but it does not come easily to serve the same family to the full when their grief creates a physical need for an extended period of time.   The days following the death of a loved one might be filled with good food and well wishes, even a show of support with help in lawn care and other menial tasks of the like.  But indeed one or two months later when the initial shock of loss has passed, there surfaces a deeper more lasting form of grief and challenge that is often faced alone by a grieving family.  This is just one such instance where the easy natural love people have for one another proves to be insufficient to meet the mark of "loving your neighbor as yourself".  I'm convinced that the love spoken of in what Jesus called the second greatest command is something entirely beyond what comes naturally to man kind.  It is a deliberate, selfless, enduring kind of love that has only been demonstrated by God Himself.  Yet we are commanded to do it.

1 Corinthians 13 chisels away the likely misconceptions of love one might have, describing in great detail it's meaning according to God's desire.  It defines God's expectation of love so pointedly that I find myself in wonder at my inability to comprehend it and live it out, yet I cannot deny it.  I must confess that as a Christian woman of thirty plus years I grapple with loving my neighbor as myself quite often.  As the example I gave earlier shows, I believe I am not alone in this.  

Today, however, I want to focus on one aspect of love that seems like a no brainer to me, but apparently is quiet challenging to many people in the church, particularly women.  And when I say this, I am not pointing fingers at a specific church or situation in a church.  I am merely bringing up a matter that I've witnessed myself and that women have questioned me about on a number of occasions.

1 Corinthians 13:5 tells us that "love is not easily offended".  But I wonder how many of us have become "offended" in our church experiences.  I'm guessing that every single one of us is guilty of this failure.  And you know, the World is not ignorant about this either.  Believers have, on a number of occasions, given reason for the World to mock and scorn because we demonstrate a propensity to be offensive and to be easily offended.  

For example, we could name the stereo typical "Women's Ministry" dynamic that is so often scorned by unbelievers who have "tried doing the church thing".  You know the one I'm talking about.  Ladies gather, ladies talk, ladies try to organize something for any given ministry and one or two ladies assume the role of Bossy Bessie.  When Bossy Bessie rears her ugly head all hell breaks loose in the kitchen.  This kind of sinful, self serving, self exalting behavior makes people want to run from women's ministry.  It is offensive and people become offended and they pull away.  

If we take seriously the words of 1 Corinthians 13 then our behavior while we serve should reflect the kind of love God prefers.  Otherwise we are nothing but resounding gongs and clanging symbols and our service has no worth.  All too often I've heard women use the word, "hurt" to describe their response to the offensive behavior of "Bossy Bessies".  They respond with personal indignation to the sinful behavior of those who want to rule the roost in women's ministries becoming easily offended.  I'm guilty of this myself.  I must confess that I've done my fair share of avoiding serving at church functions because of Bossy Bessies.  But I've realized that head on love inspired confrontation of the sinful lording of others is best.  Any other response just lends itself to more sinfulness.  

Love is not easily offended.  God tells us this.  So if we respond to the sinfulness of others by "licking our wounds" and "feeling hurt" and all the other gossipy destructive responses that typically go hand in hand with being easily offended then we do not love.  We become just as guilty as Bossy Bessie who insists on having her own way.  To what end does this lead?  It leads to lack of unity and gives reason for the world to mock and criticize, depriving them of the witness of God's love between us, even causing others to stumble.  This is to our shame.  The only remedy is repentance all around.  And God will help us do it.  Love your neighbor as yourself is the second greatest command.  By paying attention to God's description of love we will be better equipped to keep this command more faithfully.   The state of being offensive and being easily offended will lose its grip on people's hearts, and believers will become the unified witness God desires them to be.  

No Power of Hell, No Scheme of Man

You can probably name the song that this phrase comes from.   It's one of my favorites.  Of course, I have a few.  But In Christ Alone is one of the best.  For some reason this phrase in particular plays in my mind from time to time.   I don't know why, but it just pops in and repeats in my thoughts.   Perhaps it's the swell of the melody.   Perhaps it's the promise that I cling to.  It's comforting to know that as formidable as any foe can be, even if it is Satan himself, the truth is, nothing can pluck me from God's hand.  

With as many hurting people in the world as there are, and as many stories as any one person might have regarding adversity, it's not uncommon to hear people ask the question,

 

"If God is a good God, why does He let (insert any possible problem here) happen?"  

I've answered this question many times for both believers and non believers.  If we all look back over our years and consider things that have happened, we might all find something formidable that shakes us.  These things might come for any number of reasons.  But, no matter why they come, there are two things certain.  Satan would use them to destroy us and God would use them to refine us and inspire His praise upon our lips. 

It's true even regarding the current wickedness our nation has embraced.  Homosexuality is not a new thing.  The only new thing is that the Supreme Court has now placed homosexual relationships legally on par with God given marriage calling them equal.  But there is no equality with the wicked and the righteous.  And there never shall be.  It shouldn't surprise any of us that the wicked act wickedly and celebrate such things.  But please don't for one moment believe that wickedness and righteousness have anything in common.  

It may be that some of God's children are reeling from the ruling, but in truth, Jesus said these things would happen.  None of what the wicked do or push for should take any of us by surprise.    I did cry when I heard the news.  Not because I hate gays.  Not because I want to hinder anyone's "love", though I will not equate lust with love ever because they are just not the same no matter what anyone would have us believe.  I cried for my nation that increasingly heaps God's wrath upon itself.  I cried because of the great deception that has come and will only get worse.  We are told in scripture that many will be deceived and that they will be deceived because they refuse to love the truth and so be saved.  My sorrow was like that of Jesus when he wept for Jerusalem and her blindness.  But my sorrow was not one of defeat.  Nor was it one of resignation.  It was one of great longing for the salvation of the lost.  Including those who once believed themselves to be Christians but have turned away.  

I want to encourage true believers everywhere not to become downcast within themselves during this current swell of wicked pride.  This is another step toward the defining line.  There will come a time when the wicked will no longer be able to freely and successfully blend in with the righteous children of God.  Even now you can see the lines becoming clearer.  Those who believe God and His word are standing strong for righteousness in many ways, not just regarding the matter of homosexuality.   

Those who have convoluted their minds and embraced doctrines of sexuality that do not align with God's are even now becoming bold enough to show where their allegiance truly lies .  If you don't believe me, just take a look at all the rainbows on Facebook and the news.  These people have hijacked a symbol of promise from God and applied it to their profile pictures and even the White House to represent their rejection of God's will and plan for sexuality.  They flaunt their chosen path with pride and those who "like" and support their choice are no less accountable for the wickedness that is going on.  

Believers, this should not hinder your praises.  God is still a good God, even when He hands the wicked over to their delusions.  God is still a good God even when the wicked revel and rejoice in what they fail to see is God's patience with them.  

I've been asking and praying for the Church to become obvious.   And so now it it upon us.  Those who accept God's word and believe are becoming more and more noticeable as the wicked masses who at one time have been able to blend in are now openly displaying their lack of wisdom and love for God's truth.   

Fear not.  No power of Hell, nor scheme of man will ever pluck you from His hand.  I encourage you to maintain an attitude of humility while at the same time maintaining God's standard of holiness outlined for us in scripture.  The world will have you believe that you are wrong and merely being hateful for agreeing with God that sin is sin.  The world will call you a bigot and hypocrite and hater and many other things.  It will push to stifle the truth spoken from your lips and will seek to put it's foot upon you socially.  The enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy.  This is not new.  Believers will become more and more defined as wickedness becomes more and more promoted and accepted.  You may even now have noticed the "good christian friend" you thought you knew so well has all this time embraced and condoned the perversion of homosexuality, making her stance clear socially via Facebook.  This is a good thing to notice. She was a good blender before now.  You knew not how to pray for her.  But she's come out of the closet and openly aligned herself with the wicked.  It may grieve you as it has grieved me many times in the past.  But it should never cause you to feel afraid or lost.  No power of hell or scheme of man can ever pluck you from His hand.   And if your friend truly loves God and belongs to Him, she will set aside her wickedness and agree with God, even if it takes great hardship and sorrow to bring her to that point.  Until then, we must pray and continue to speak the truth in love so as to snatch people from the clutches of Death.  

May God continue to guide His children in all love and faithfulness.  May His Spirit fill each one of His children with the knowledge of the Truth.  May we humbly repent of our sin and seek His face and do His will even in the face of blatant wickedness and frenzied worship of perversion.  

God Bless you!

              

God's Word is Not a Oui-ja Board

"She Said Yes!"

It's happened a thousand times in my house if it's happened once.  Children are so cute and innocent and willing to hear what their hearts desire to hear.  Their minds are so fixed upon what they desire that they see answers and resolutions where ever they look, even when there is no answer given to them.  

There have been times when I've been speaking to someone on the phone and one of my little ones will run up to me and ask something simple such as, "Mama, can we have a treat?".  Then in my conversation with the person who called me, I might say something like, "Sure" or "Yes".   My children, in hearing my answer to the person on the phone then turn around with great excitement and yell, 

"She said yes!"

Without a doubt I said yes.  But my answer was to the caller, not to the child pulling on my leg.  But that child, hearing my answer to another, took that answer for him/herself and not only that, shared it with the rest of his siblings, who rejoiced to hear it.  It creates quite a messy situation at times.  

When it comes to my kids, this scenario seems precious and cute, albeit frustrating.  But even though I love their innocence, I've had to teach my children the dangers of doing such things.  And I hope they keep this wisdom close to their hearts as they grow into adult children of God, because the same lesson must be learned for each one of us who believe.   

To many times young and old believers have shared with me stories that mirror my children's so closely that I'm left utterly amazed at the folly.  They tell me of their prayers and their search for the answers from God and how they read the bible and found a verse or two or several that God spoke to an ancient nation thousands of years ago.   Then, adopting the recorded words as their own, they excitedly proclaim, "He said yes!".   How can we continue to make the same mistake that small children make?  How can we not see the folly in this?  

The answer to that question is less condemning than a person might understand, but it boils down to simple ignorance.  But when we consider the concept of doing this as we first did regarding my own children, we can see the folly of it.  Anytime someone asks a question and adopts an answer not directly given to him, the answer the person believes to be for him is a mistake.  It's kinda cute when it's a four year old asking for a treat.  But it's not so cute when it's a believer who mistakenly believes that the Bible is a magical mystical book of answers randomly applicable to any plea he might have.   This is not the function of the bible.  

God teaches us through His word. We learn who He is and how He operates.   We learn about sin, human nature, the world, God's will and many other things.  But it's not a Oui-ja Board.    We can't ask it a question and then point, expecting the words to be God's answer.    Are their times when the adopted promises line up with God's will for a person's life?  Sure.  But it's a dangerous game to play and many an ignorant believer has suffered from failed expectations because of his misunderstanding about the role of God's Word in his life.  Simply put, there are times when the words a person adopts as his answer don't line up with God's will for his life.  Believers innumerable have suffered for making the mistake of thinking that every word in the Bible is a personal word randomly applicable to their lives however it is desired.   

Rather than looking mystically at the words printed upon the pages of our Bibles, we need to look truthfully a them.  God's recorded words are about Him and for His glory for our edification and education.  It is living an active and sharper than a two-edged sword able to divide between soul and spirit.  Are some of God's promises recorded in the Bible for us personally?  Absolutely!    Can we claim the promises God made to a different nation?  Sometimes....but it greatly depends upon the promise.    

Knowing that God Is, and that the Word He's spoken for us is living and active should definitely give us hope and comfort, but it shouldn't bring confusion or disillusionment, or even disappointment.   If confusion and disillusionment are the results of having taken God's word out of context, we must never shake our fists at God as though He's failed us.  Rather, we should consider that we've misapplied His word and created a god or the will of a god to suit our own desires, and then we should repent.   

I've had many conversations with people who've said, "I used to be a Christian, but..."  and then they go on to list some failed expectation they had as the result of misapplying God's word.  But most of these people fail to acknowledge that the god they've worshiped and the words they've applied to their lives as "God's broken promises" are actually no different than a child misapplying his mother's answer to his own situation and claiming it as a "personal truth".  God does speak to us and reveal things to us through His word.  But His word is to magnify Him and His will, not our own.  And therein lies the problem.  You see, when a person engages in scripture mining, what he does is fashion an answer according to his own will.  

God speaks to us and teaches us many things through His word.  But we must always, always, always be mindful that it is Him and His will that is magnified through His word,  not our own.  It is His testimony, not ours.  His word creates what He wants it to create, not what we desire to create by adopting signs and coincidental phrases as confirmation of the leadings of our own hearts.   The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked above all else.  Do not follow your heart!  Seek first the Kingdom of God and the rest will follow.  

God's word is not a Oui-ja board.  It glorifies and exalts Him and His will alone.