A Lyrical Commentary on Scandals

These words by James Watkins summarize many of my feelings about the various Christian leadership scandals, but many others in our church universal where individuals are set up for temptation and failure by a system which isolates and flatters them. The church is supposed to be a body–a family–a place of intimacy and accountability. The way that we often do church makes it more like a free market corporation or something like that …. pedestals

Thousands

cheer,
chant,
and clap
as one of their own
is proudly carried toward the
lofty pedestal.
The audience

urges him
up the stairway,
step by step,
higher and higher,
far above the masses
on the prominent platform.
The media is there

with lights,
cameras
and prime-time coverage.
Publishers huddle

around the base,
for they know
pedestal-people
sell well.
The crowds

on satellite hook-ups
hang on
every last word,
for he seems
so close to eternity.
Yet he feels

unsure,
unworthy,
afraid
and very alone . . .
But at that height

no one notices,
no one questions,
no one confronts.
And so,

in a split second,
the trap door swings,
the noose tightens,
the crowd gasps.
Undeterred, the mob moves on

to build more pedestals;
to encourage another
of their own
up the starlit steps.
But mostly

to wonder
why those
at the pinnacle
keep falling
from the heights.
© 1988 James N. Watkins

All Pharisees Were Hypocrites???

A person said this to me and it stopped me in my tracks! Let me quote it for you ...

"We, as Christians, need to step back from digging too deeply into the Word... from becoming Pharisees ourselves, and take the Scriptures for what they are.... our guidebook .."

Maybe this has happened to you too ... You are making a point about what God is leading you about a certain point, and you quote scripture, immediately there is a charge of you being a Pharisee! Sheesh!

However ... Not all Pharisees were hypocrites for sure! Many of the parables of Jesus are actually old Pharisaic stories -- sometimes with different endings. The Pharisees were not in trouble because they knew to much scripture its because they added to it and at times even changed what it said. Unlike the Pharisees, Jesus did not allow Jewish tradition to be elevated to the same level as Scripture. He was quick to discard any traditions that contradicted the Word of God. He placed compassion above the stringencies of tradition, and He rebuked hypocrisy and pretense whenever He saw it. But He did all of this from within traditional Judaism and as a part of traditional Judaism.

"Step back and not dig to deeply in the Word? How can anyone possibly love God and not dig into scripture, re dig and dig again! How could someone dig to deeply? I would say most don't dig enough! Being a Christian and not knowing Scripture would be like my 15 year old in a car ...If not now, it will soon be a disaster. A young unlearned young man behind the wheel of a car is a danger to himself as well to you who share the road with him. He is liable to crash injuring if not killing himself and just might take some others with him. This is how an unlearned Christian can be. He is a danger to himself and to those around him. Not because he seeks to destroy or hurt anyone, but because he doesn't have the experience and knowledge. The danger for misinterpretations would obviously be greater. When it comes to the knowing and living the Word of God, the spiritual payoff is enormous ... and freeing! Also scripture leads us to spiritual maturity.

Let me quote here from Hebrews 5:13-14.

13Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

Mature believers are the one who can eat solid food and maturity comes when you can take the Word we are feeding on and use it to meet the various challenges, circumstances, issues and decisions of life. What renders a person mature? Being able to make responsible decisions on our own. Like with kids, when you don't have to tell them every little thing they are maturing. When they decide to do it on their own maturity is setting in!

Some thoughts on a Wednesday ...

From Ashes To Roses

I have some time this evening so I thought I would share one of my most favorite passages of scripture ...

The Spirit of God, the Master, is on me because God anointed me.

He sent me to preach good news to the poor,

heal the heartbroken,

Announce freedom to all captives,

pardon all prisoners.

God sent me to announce the year of his grace—

a celebration of God's destruction of our enemies—

and to comfort all who mourn,

To care for the needs of all who mourn in Zion,

give them bouquets of roses instead of ashes,

Messages of joy instead of news of doom,

a praising heart instead of a languid spirit.

Rename them "Oaks of Righteousness" planted by God to display his glory.

will sing for joy in God,

explode in praise from deep in my soul!

He dressed me up in a suit of salvation,

he outfitted me in a robe of righteousness,

As a bridegroom who puts on a tuxedo and a bride a jeweled tiara.

For as the earth bursts with spring wildflowers,

and as a garden cascades with blossoms,

So the Master, God, brings righteousness into full bloom

and puts praise on display before the nations.

In reading the Gospels I am keenly interested in observing the ministry of Jesus Christ, His attitude towards those who were acknowledged, confessed sinners. To the woman that was brought to Him caught in the very act of adultery, He shows great tenderness, understanding and grace. "Woman, where are your accusers?" "Sir, I guess I don't have any." "Well, neither do I condemn thee, go thy way, sin no more." (John 8) Oh, how tender He deals with her. Then there is the woman at the well in Samaria. Now she wasn't the most moral woman around obviously. She had been married to five different men. And then finally decided marriage wasn't for her and so she was just living with a man. And yet Jesus in His dealing with her was so gracious, revealing to her His identity. Oh, the attitude of Christ towards the sinner was always beautiful! He had good news for sinning man and those that confessed and were aware of their sinful state. "Bouquets of roses instead of ashes" indeed!

“Do not watch the petals fall from the rose with sadness...know that, like life, things sometimes must fade, before they can bloom again.”~unknown author

~ Psalm 51 ~

A Psalm I would like to share ... In essence its about the journey from forgiveness to transformation ....

Psalm 51 1-3

Generous in love—God, give grace!
Huge in mercy—wipe out my bad record.

Scrub away my guilt, soak out my sins in your laundry.

I know how bad I've been;

my sins are staring me down.

4-6 You're the One I've violated, and you've seen it all,

seen the full extent of my evil.

You have all the facts before you;

whatever you decide about me is fair.

I've been out of step with you for a long time,

in the wrong since before I was born.

What you're after is truth from the inside out.

Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.

7-15 Soak me in your laundry and I'll come out clean,

scrub me and I'll have a snow-white life.

Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,

set these once-broken bones to dancing.

Don't look too close for blemishes,

give me a clean bill of health.

God, make a fresh start in me,

shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.

Don't throw me out with the trash,

or fail to breathe holiness in me.

Bring me back from gray exile,

put a fresh wind in my sails!

Give me a job teaching rebels your ways so the lost can find their way home.

Commute my death sentence,

God, my salvation God,

and I'll sing anthems to your life-giving ways.

Unbutton my lips, dear God;

I'll let loose with your praise.

~The Message

What a great Psalm! It strengthen my soul and confirm that my God is always there reminding me that He will cleanse my mind and my body. This feeling I cannot explain. It’s just so calm and mentally relaxing. God let’s me know He’s always there. My faith in God is all I have and all I need to continue my journey ...

Tim

A "Why God?" kind of thing ...

I'm in one of those melancholic moods, nothing to bad mind you. Just one of those "Why God?" kind of things I guess. God has given us visions of His kingdom-a world that works for everyone, where needs are met and gifts are called forth. Paul in Romans 8:22 tells us that "creation grows in labor awaiting" for Jesus' arrival. So I wonder Lord, why must things be so hard sometimes? Why really must we wait? Why can't you do what I can imagine the creator of the universe would do ... go shazam! Just bring it on, let your kingdom come!

Things on earth seem most fragile since you made it. God would have figured out how mankind can progress without pollution. God would have figured out how to create an economic system that allows everyone to thrive, not just those favored by the marketplace or whatever. All people would live abundantly. Gods way isn't about wealth I know, abundance and wealth are two different things...

I know that things I long for and "need" do not make up for the fact I'll 'kick the bucket' someday. I know that "fate," twists of fortune, whatever, in an instant, can and will rearrange my plans. Its happened before in both quiet and large ways. For the "better," for the "worse." Bottom line is that a person can count on very little for sure! It can make one nervous ...
So one wonders ... why doesn't God swoop in here and tidy up the place. Don't we all yearn for this? On our own we are so helpless to make a difference. We can try to live frugal, not pollute, get along, help out, encourage, make others smile ... But if so many others don't do these things what difference will my small gestures make? We obviously can't save the world!

We can do all these things because God has given us a vision. Just because they are right to do. For the sake of those who follow. We can do these things because we believe Your kingdom will come someday. And its best to know that I helped, even if just a tiny bit ...

But at times it isn't easy ...

Tim, just typing away...

In The Tub Being Scrubbed

I Corinthians 6:9, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”

**************
Traditional interpretation of this list says if you are a (or an):

evil doer (unrighteous)

goes after the desires of the flesh (fornicator)

worships images (Idolater)

untrue when married (adulterers)

abusers

Homosexual

Thief

Covetous

drunkard

reviler (party animal?)

Extortion (black mailer etc).

You shall not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. In other words, Go straight to Hell do not pass go …


But I’ve been wondering. Paul goes on to say: “And such were some of you… but you have been washed…”Could it be, that it’s not that they have overcome those sins, but that they are no longer allowing themselves to be identified with those sins? They are not any longer saying I’m these things, but they are saying I’ve been washed, I’m in Christ? That Eternity is based on Who I know and Whose I am, not what I do? That I should no longer identify myself with my flavor of sins, cause according to Romans it’s no longer me that’s sinning anyway? This is in no way to excuse sin in our lives by any means … But more that we are currently in the tub being scrubbed!

What do you think?

Divorce and the Woman at the Well

Awhile ago I was on a discussion site which was discussion the issue of divorce. It always amazes me how this subject gets so "heated". Suddenly there are those who are supposed to be apostles of grace get right into rule keeping, guilt and condemnation and I find it truly sad.

That said, I am a lot more interested in the big picture of the significance of Jesus than I am the details of any controversial passage. Let me give you an example:

The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” (John 4:15-18)

I am not quoting all of this story, because the majority of the people here know it well. It’s one of the great chapters of the Bible, and it is a great “big picture” passage. The woman’s sexual past, marital history, Samaritan ethnicity and gender were of no particular interest to Jesus. What was important? This woman was filling up her life with substitutes for the significance and love of her true husband, Yahweh. She needed living water, and she needed the one who gives water without cost and without deserving it. She needed to believe in God’s messiah, and come to receive from him, eternal life in all its dimensions.

That’s how I understand Jesus. The primary thing is not that I have screwed up my life, and may continue to do so. That’s a given. The primary thing is Jesus himself, and the Gospel that comes to me in him alone.

I used to work at a store where several Christians worked. One of the guys we Christian folk witnessed to was a young man who was divorced and remarried. One evening, another Christian- a Church of Christ guy- and I were talking religion with this fellow, and the Church of Christ guy said that if Harold became a Christian, he would need to go back to his first wife and remarry her!

Yes, you read that right. Now, what was this person thinking of? He was thinking of Jesus’ words in Matthew 5 and 19. There had been no adultery. The guys marriage broke up, and he tried again. That did not matter to the Church of Christ guy. The marriage was illegitimate and needed to be abandoned, and the first marriage restored. Then God would be happy, of course, because that’s what God is all about: people repenting correctly.

I think that if the Church of Christ guy had been at the well with this woman and Jesus, he would have listened, and when Jesus left, he would have said, “Lady….let me add a few things to what Jesus said here. Your various arrangements have all been sinful, and if you become a believer in the messiah, you will need to go back to husband #1, if you can find him, and make that marriage work again, no matter what. Repentance is very important to real faith, and we cannot overlook these illegitimate sinful relationships. That would be a bad witness.”

Of course, that would be really stupid, but it would be taking the verses seriously. Not the Gospel, but the verses. The problem with divorce and remarriage is that there is no comprehensive writing on the subject in the bible. What I'm saying is that no writer sat down and wrote an entire discourse on the whole subject of marriage. What you get is bits and pieces in response to particular questions. We are left to put the whole together.

I not against people being convicted against remarriage for sure. I am convicted against drinking for example in my case, but I don't attempt to make it a law for others. But this is the conclusion I've come up with under guidance of the Holy Spirit ...

God hates divorce. Malachi 2:16

He also forgives. 1 John 1:9, John 8:1-11

If you seek answers to divorce according to the law, then you will be condemned by the law.

If you confess your sin…and seek His forgiveness, you will be forgiven by His Eternal Grace.

Your choice: Guilt or Grace!?

Christ died as our punishment. He who knew no sin, became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21).

How cool is that?!

The Brothers Karamazov/Father Zossima on Love

In The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Father Zossima’s humanity and his simple faith in the healing power of love were stressed. Now, another dimension is added. In these chapters we see that he can easily maintain an intellectual argument. Here is his response to a woman who tells him that she is afraid to die .... What do you think?

Go and Fear no More

"Don't be afraid of anything, ever. And do not grieve. AS long as your repentance does not weaken, God will forgive everything. There is not--there cannot be-- a sin on earth that God will not forgive the truly repentant. Why, a man cannot commit a sin so great as to exhaust the infinite love of God. How could there be a sin that would surpass the love of God? Think only of repentance, all the time, and drive away all fear. Have faith that God loves you more then you can ever imagine. He loves you, sinful as you are and, indeed, because of your sin. It was said long ago that there is more joy in heaven over one repentant sinner than over ten righteous men. Go now, and fear nothing. Do not be offended if people treat you badly. Do not hold it against them. And forgive your departed husband all the harm he did you. Become truly reconciled with him. For if you repent, you love, and if you love, you are with God. Love redeems and saves everything. If I, a sinner like yourself, am moved and feel compassion for you, how infinitely much more will God! Love is such an infinite treasure it can buy the whole world and can redeem not only your sins, but the sins of all people. So go and fear no more."

Phone Booth Confessions

A few years ago there is this movie Phone Booth which pointed out our culture's growing need for confession, even from a secular viewpoint. What's the attraction all about? Is a new "confession-craze" dawning, or do you see something different, something deeper?

There are even online confession sites, eveen Christian ones like mysecret. tv (Warning: Can be "R" rated):

http://www.mysecret.tv/

Of course confessing your secret to an impersonal, anonymous medium is not Christian confession. There is this probably unintended drawback; the site is voyeuristic. Free "real" entertainment that makes a daytime drama look tame! The idea of confession is to share your sin with a trusted confidant, friend, pastor, etc., not with thousands of people on an anonymous message board where the stories of sin can be laid out like a banquet for the voyeurs!

But the idea is there ... Repentance is good for the soul, and we cannot be Christians without it. Many a "Christian" believes that if he simply mutters his confession into his pillow at night, that is good enough. God may very well hear and forgive, however the sinner robs himself of absolution through Christ's body, The Church. James says in his epistle, "Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another that you may be healed." (James. 5:16) "Private" confession to God is nowhere taught in scripture, and this practice is probably responsible for the millions of dollars spent in this country every year on mental health professionals, dealing with "guilt feelings," instead of dealing with the actual guilt through the sacrament. It is important to understand, that if we have trouble confessing our sins to a priest, a fellow sinner, how can we confess our sins to the righteous and Holy God?

Just some thoughts on a Tuesday.

How did Adam and Eve sin?

This question has been pondered for millenniums ... What in Adam and Eve caused them to sin? They were born innocent so what caused them to will disobedience to God? Perhaps the most insightful comments that I’ve heard on Gen 1-3 are from one of the brothers at Taizé. Here it is in a nutshell ... (because this is quite wise and it would be wrong to let you think that I came up with it myself…)

"In the context of the story, you need to think of the man and the woman as if they were children. Imagine a mother who says to her child ‘thou mayest play in the garden, but thou shalt not play in the road, for in the day when thou playest in the road thou shalt surely die’. The child understands that she is going to kill it if it chooses to play in the road; actually she is simply saying that it will get run over by a car. Simple cause and effect. God says ‘you may have everything in this entire garden, but I’d avoid that thing over there. Touching that one thing is a really bad idea.’ It’s also interesting that people tend to focus on the single thing that is off limits, and not the whole garden full of stuff that God does give them.

Furthermore, it isn’t that God doesn’t intend for the man and the woman ever to become wise, the question is how they are meant to become wise. God’s plan is for them to become wise by trusting and being in relationship with Him. In the surrounding cultures, the serpent, on the other hand, represents wisdom that you get to all by yourself without reference to God. So the choice is not wisdom or no wisdom, but wisdom with or without God. They choose to listen to the serpent, which is a choice to attain independent wisdom without wanting to continue to trust God."

I’m not sure if this quite answers the question, but it seems to me like a useful starting point to bear in mind. The disobedience is about wanting to get somewhere without God’s help, which doesn’t necessarily mean that God never intended for them to get there!

Have a blessed day everyone!

7 Deadly Sins Quiz

I've been guilty of them all at one time or another. Anyways, I've found a test last night which is to rank us on these. Here is the link:

Click here: ?? Deadly Sin (it's a SelectSmart.com Personality selector. Keywords: Personality selectors recommend match quizze

http://www.selectsmart.com/FREE/select.php?client=deadlysin


My results are: 1) Angelic, 2) Lust, 3) Gluttony, 4)Greed, 5) Sloth, 6) Pride, 7) Wrath, 8) Envy

Wait ... thats 8! I'll have to investigate further. I was kinda surprised Pride was ranked as low as it was ... I was going to say "pleased" but it would be rather prideful ....

Men and Women Sin Differently?

An interesting little article I came across … Just in time for Lent!

Two sexes ’sin in different ways’

Women are prouder than men, but men are more lustful, according to a Vatican report which states that the two sexes sin differently. ‘

A Catholic survey found that the most common sin for women was pride, while for men, the urge for food was only surpassed by the urge for sex. The report was based on a study of confessions carried out by Fr Roberto Busa, a 95-year-old Jesuit scholar.

The Pope’s personal theologian backed up the report in the Vatican newspaper. “Men and women sin in different ways,” Msgr Wojciech Giertych, theologian to the papal household, wrote in L’Osservatore Romano. “When you look at vices from the point of view of the difficulties they create you find that men experiment in a different way from women.”

Msgr Giertych said the most difficult sin for men to face was lust, followed by gluttony, sloth, anger, pride, envy and greed. For women, the most dangerous sins were pride, envy, anger, lust, and sloth, he added.

Full article here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7897034.stm

“The report was based on a study of confessions carried out by Fr Roberto Busa, a 95-year-old Jesuit scholar..” Hmmmmm … Are you kidding me?

What do you think? I would say in a general way that there probably is some truth to it …