Words on a Page

Don’t worry. This isn’t going to be a blog about the recent national security concern regarding “war plans.” My blog is going to discuss something a little closer to home. A war within our city. A local pastor decided to take a stand against homosexuality. He seems to think he is “the tip of the spear” stating he found himself standing alone. That in itself seems a bit prideful and, well, untrue. Others have similar concerns whether real or imagined. The others just don’t use their pulpits as an attack machine calling a woman by name and announcing her wrongdoings (as he defined them) to his entire congregation. Let’s be honest. The local pastor doesn’t shepherd a large congregation but his words ran rampant via the Internet. He and his church want to claim they are simply calling a sin, “sin.” They appear to want some form of applause (which can be heard in the background of the taped version) for being more spiritual than the rest of us. As if their Christianity is superior. It’s not...

His words: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed me. I was sick and you looked after me. I was in prison and you came to visit me.’” My words: Pssssttttt…you and I are not The Shepherd. Let’s get busy and stop acting like goats. He will sort through things later.

“The Jesus Way” is a song by Phil Wickham. We sang it in church yesterday. I’ve confessed my dismay and disillusionment with “the church” lately. I’m better but have a long way to go. Please keep praying for me. I must admit that I found it hard to stay present while the song was sang. My first choice was to walk out in protest at this part of the song: “If you're helpless, I will defend you And if you're burdened, I'll share the weight And if you're hopeless, then let me show you There's hope in the Jesus way.” My suspicion is 90% of the congregation, if not more, supports a culture and leaders who do not care about the helpless, burdened, or hopeless. Still, every one of us stood near a church pew and sang the words with hands lifted high. Really? You’ll be proud of me. I stayed. I didn’t walk out. Because Jesus is the way - the only way - for any of us to find help, have our burdens lifted, and find hope. Jesus. Not a church. Not a preacher. Not a policy and not ...

I am a brat. I am a spiritual brat and I am an emotional brat. For the most part, my life has been close to perfect. For the most part, I’ve been healthy, happy and fulfilled. Then I hit 60 years old. My body is fighting me. I’m in pain every single day. I feel the pain of losing the ones I love. I feel the pain of being viewed as old. I feel the pain of arthritis and it’s not fun. I don’t feel equipped to deal with pain. Regardless of the type of pain, whether it’s spiritual, emotional or physical, I’ve been too big of a brat to accept pain. I’m having to learn to be patient, to persevere, and to rely on the Lord. He tells me to cast all my fears on Him because He cares for me. I’m going to do it. I’m going to grow up. I’m going to toss my pain on Jesus. (My pain is nothing compared to what He felt for me on the cross.) Lord, help me with my pain. Help me to stop being such a pain. Amen.

If we claim to have a relationship with God, we should be talking to Him. Often. God repeatedly tells us in His word that if we ask for wisdom, He will give us wisdom. It will not be the wisdom of the world. It will be the wisdom from His insight. That’s what we want, right? I don’t know about you, but I have a bad habit of forming an opinion very quickly, speaking very freely, and then waking up in the middle of the night thinking, “I didn’t even pray about that.” If we want to be truly wise - not in our own eyes, not in the world‘s eyes, but truly wise - all we have to do is ask. I’m cutting this short because God and I need to have a conversation.

Many of my friends deleted their social media accounts. I joined the ranks of the “no-TV-news” zone. It’s all too depressing. Others chose a more drastic move. They literally moved out of the United States. Common, everyday neighbors and friends jumped ship. To them, our ship is sinking. Still, other people are very happy. Everything they viewed as wrong with America is being reeled in, controlled, shut down. They are enjoying the ride. They see the ship sailing through safe and pleasant waters. What is the answer? How can we find a solution for the ever-growing division? By working together. By listening. By understanding. Each side must humble themselves. All of us need to willingly compromise. Without compromise, there is no solution. I’m not just talking about Washington D.C., my friends. “ When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.”

I slept well last night. Then I woke up and it was 1950 all over again. Students protest. It’s what one generation does to get the attention of their parents and grandparents. Especially when their parents are so closed minded they choose to behave as if the younger generation doesn’t have the right to disagree. Guess what? They do have a right to form their own opinions. It’s called, “freedom,” or spiritually, “free will.” Perhaps we should put our bulldozers away making way for the Holy Spirit to move instead? I am deeply disturbed. Not so much by the man elected President. Not by a woman who shot her family dog still being appointed to a cabinet position. I’m not even upset with the hypocrisy of two men ganging up against a third man proclaiming the third man’s outfit of choice disrespects our country. (Meanwhile, the same two men welcomed a man wearing a T-shirt and ball cap into a staff meeting led by the President of the United Stated of America.) What upsets me more is the lack ...

“I just don’t understand.” I’ve been hearing (and saying) this single, simple, short sentence a lot lately. The reality is humans cannot seem to agree on much Some Sundays, I sit in church with an overwhelming sense of discontent. My realist personality reminds me that I disagree with many people sitting in the congregation when it comes to social issues. I understand church should be the one place we experience unity. Our focus should be on Christ and Christ alone. I attend a church where the two lead pastors strive to keep Christ at the forefront of every effort. Their leadership is working. We are experiencing a record number of professions of faith followed by believer’s baptism. The decisions are transcending age, gender, race, and political beliefs. The Lord revealed to me this morning this phenomenon just might be reflective of the disunity felt outside the church walls. People are desperate for stability. They want the world to make sense. Every Christian, in my opinion, shoul...

When life presents obstacles, the human brain must process the experience. Divine intervention moves us through the process with patience and peace. Everyone processes things differently. Some process quickly while moving on. Others process slowly and methodically. Some people process by thinking. They process internally. I process by talking, writing, or posting. I process externally. Again, we are all different. Love allows the process, its timing, and its method. Love doesn’t demand that everyone be the same or do the same things. The Bible clarifies by saying, “Love doesn’t insist on its own way.” Process those words, Christian!

My life is filled with challenges and tests these days. I don’t know why that surprises me. Every biblical character was tested. Jesus Christ Himself was tested. I think I’m failing the test. I love God. I believe Jesus is the Son of God. The Holy Spirit is my Comforter and Guide. You may be asking, “Then what’s your problem?” Church people. Church people are my problem. When I was younger, I thought feeling this way was a cop out. Somebody would tell me they didn’t go to church because it was filled with hypocrites. I’d give them very “righteous” responses instead of saying, “Help me understand why you feel that way.” The cold, hard fact is most people don’t give up on God. They give up on those claiming to be His children. The majority of us have every right to be disillusioned and disappointed. Sorry. Not sorry. So, what’s the answer? I need to fix my eyes on Jesus and ignore the chaos around me. When I do so, I pass His test.