Freedom. Lost.

I just participated in a social media conversation about vaccines and religious exemptions and it struck me, that we may not be far from losing that option. Until now, my religious freedoms have not been called into question by the government. But there is a day coming, not long from now, when we will be made to choose.

Do I attend a true church or a state church marked by compromise? Do I host that gay wedding or lose my business? Do I abort my baby because the government says I have enough already? Do I inject vaccines laced with aborted fetuses, DNA from animals and other poisons into my child because my religious exemption has been revoked? 

So what do you do then? What’s the right answer? Quite honestly, I don’t know at this present moment. Well, maybe I have an inkling, but it’s painful and I want to know for sure. And so I am writing as I research and decide. Because if they come knocking at my door, I need to know what I believe and why? I need to know where I stand, how I will stand and what I will do. And so do you!

I am going to suggest that the first thing we need to do is pray. But pray NOW! In Matthew, Chapter 24, speaking of tribulation when Israel will have to flee, it says, “Pray that your flight will not be in winter or on the Sabbath.” So, why? In Judaism, law states that they may not work on the Sabbath and walking more than a certain amount is considered work. So, fleeing on the Sabbath would be a terrible thing. Now, it is interesting, that seeing as God knows this, he would not just make it so that it will not occur on the Sabbath or in Winter. But instead he tells them to pray!

Persecution is coming to America, folks and God is not merely going to wave a wand at it and make it an easy path for us to walk. He demands we pray! Losing the freedom to make decisions based on our beliefs is coming. Religious persecution is coming. We can choose to pray and be spared or for him to remove certain obstacles which will make our journey lighter.

Recently, one of our children was cleaning the wounds on our pet dog, who had been attacked by a raccoon. It turned out the raccoon had rabies and the suggestion was to have her receive the Rabies vaccine. She has never been vaccinated for anything. She has never had a shot in her life! And here we were faced with Rabies! Immediately, we were dropped into a conversation based on fear.

Rabies is a terrible disease. The only hope is the vaccine. If she develops symptoms its already too late. She was likely exposed. She had had a cut on her hand which interacted with the dogs saliva…. And on and on…

After about 24 hours of fear overtaking us, I felt God whisper, “Do nothing out of fear,…” Then immediately my husband asked, whether the Rabies vaccine contained anything that would compromise our beliefs. We researched it and the answer was yes, it does. The vaccine is created using aborted human tissue.

And I am proud to say, that was enough of an answer for us. The vaccine was off the radar. Our daughter ended up being just fine. And we were thrilled with our decision, and so thankful that God led us to it. We had not prepared ourselves for that one. But now, we must!

With a number of bills being pushed to make vaccinations mandatory, even from so-called Christian presidential candidates, we believers will have a difficult road ahead. Do we obey God, or the government. Do we have a tipping point? A point at which we compromise for another reason because the consequences are too great. Do we have an answer ready? A decision at hand. What are standing for? What are willing to give up to make that stand?

Do we risk losing our children? Do we risk death? Do we risk our homes? Do we leave the country? Would leaving the country even accomplish anything? What is the plan? Is it worth it?

I think it is. I think obedience to God will cost us. Dearly. It may cost us everything. And we need to know if we think it is worth it. And we need to be strong in our faith, know what God’s word says and be able to stand in the day of tribulation. Because it’s coming.

Separate. Not of this world.

 You know, all my life I heard that I was to be separate, set apart; in this world, but not of it. I never truly understood what this looked like. I sort of just went on with my life assuming I was accomplishing that, even though I really couldn’t tell you a single way I was doing it. In fact, the people who often quoted it to me, didn’t seem to be doing anything much different than me either, so we must be getting it right. Right?

And this was the core of my problem with Christianity. The Bible says lying is a sin. But it also says consuming pork is an abomination. Pass the bacon, pastor! Hot crab dip anyone? The church says drinking alcohol is a sin, but Jesus made wine. Hmm. How is a young believer supposed to reconcile this! Why do we obey God’s word in some ways, but not in others. And why do we make new rules that God didn’t make?

So, here is my disclaimer. You’re going to hate me if you read this article. And I’m not sorry.

For much of my life, I figured we got to obey the things that were culturally relevant. Eating pork and shellfish is ok because it’s ok in my culture. While perhaps my pastor thinks drinking alcohol is wrong, it’s ok for me because in my sub-culture, it’s acceptable. In fact, coffee is as much a drug as wine, and my pastor always has a cuppajoe in his hand, so, what’s right to you, is what’s right. The old argument, “maybe that is your conviction, but not mine,” seemed like the status quo in the church.

As a result, I made a lot of colossal mistakes in my life. Tragic and reckless forays into sin. But when it only matters what is culturally relevant or what I decide is sin, (i.e., what I personally am convicted of), then who cares. It’s all relative. I hope you can at least see that this is a slippery slope. If you can’t, you’re not ready for this article.

But wait, isn’t the Bible supposed to be our source of truth? If the Bible says it’s sin, is it? Ok. So what if God said it was a sin in the Old Testament, but says nothing of it in the New Testament? Is it sin then? What about God changing his mind. Does he do that? Or do we even have to worry about sin at all anymore? Can we interpret his commandments however we choose? Jesus died for all our sins, so it doesn’t really matter anymore right? Are we going to sidle up to God on judgement day, swing an arm over his shoulder and say, “hey bro, it’s all good! I know you get it, so thanks for letting me live it up and have fun on earth!” Seriously, I had a self-proclaimed believer tell me this in these exact words one day. No joke.

So, what is sin anyway? Which commands do we have to obey? What does living a life of holiness even mean? Is it something we should even aspire to?

Exhibit A.Romans 6:1-2
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
 Exhibit B.Malachi 3:6-7
"For I, the LORD, do not change; …. "From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,"…

And if you agree that God has not changed, nor can he change, do you truly believe he changed his mind about what is right and wrong? Do you think you can interpret his commands however you want? Do you think holiness matters? I am not going to go into detail on all the many various topics that this can be applied to. But in your own mind, there is already something penetrating. Conviction, perhaps. Questions most certainly. Seek Him! Seek to truly obey Him, to truly do what God desires. To truly live set apart for Him.

As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

Not to Forsake the Fellowship

The Bible says to not forsake the fellowship of believers. I agree with this wholeheartedly; however, what do we do when we can't find a Biblical church? The last two years my family has been searching for a church. We found a body we attended for about a year, but we knew we were compromising. We attended and we tried to influence the church to move toward a true belief in the sufficiency of Scripture, but in the end, they could not. Since then, for about the last nine months, we have been searching.
I recently read an article about what to look for in a church. The number one thing was finding a church with the proper view of Scripture - inerrancy, sufficiency, and inspiration. Yes! Yes! Yes! You know it is easy to find churches that list these things in the statement of beliefs? It's another thing to find a church that means it - that believes it enough to rely on that, and not tradition, to make decisions. That is the problem. That is an easy statement and a difficult belief. In fact in two years - much longer actually, we have not found a church that really believes it.
The truth is that the modern church more easily relies on tradition and feelings than Scripture when it comes to church doctrine and practice, and instructions for living. The Bible is actually pretty clear on most matters, but it is sufficient for everything. Sometimes it takes some digging, but it's there. There is never a reason to suggest that the Bible does not have an opinion on a matter. God's word is sufficient. Period. Yet, we add our own feelings and tradition into church culture, usually based in paganism, and in the process reject God's word as sufficient.
So, therein lies the problem with finding a church. Where does one go when the modern church blends paganism with faith in the one true God, and still claims to rely solely on Scripture.
Well, sorry, but so far, we have no answer. We are just still looking.

100 Days Until Christmas

Today I saw a poll: there is 100 days left until Christmas. Does that excite you or terrify you? 

And well, my answer is abnormal, even if superficially the same as many people's feelings. Most people would probably feel both ways:  excitement of this precious holiday arriving soon, and terror at the idea of the shopping malls and lengthy wish lists. I used to feel this way, so I am well versed in it.

However, my excitement is now for it to be over, and my trepidation is now not related to shopping days and wish lists, but rather church and church folk. I'm a Christian, and I love Jesus. And I hate Christmas. That's right. Call me Scrooge or whatever, but really we all know Christmas isn't Jesus' birthday. We just pretend because it's a good excuse for scented trees, twinkling lights, sentimental ornaments, cookies and presents. And when someone dares not celebrate this precious pagan feast day, well, the holier than thous come out of the woodwork to condemn. CONDEMN! 

Each and every year as I avoid it, someone will pick an argument with me over it. Explaining to me that it is Jesus' birthday they celebrate and in spite of all the pagan trappings, it only matters what is in their heart. I hear explanations of the Christmas tree really symbolizing the trinity, eternal life and all sorts of excuses for keeping that secular tradition. I hear that Santa Clause was really a Saint and did good deeds. I hear so many arguments that people use to make their pagan trappings feel better. And honestly, it all makes me a little nauseas. 

I'm not judging the truly uninformed. Heck, I'm not judging the ones who know it all and still do it. I WAS THERE ONCE TOO! A friend showed me all the facts once upon a time and all I could say was that I could see the truth but wasn't ready to make the change. I reasoned that I had a husband and infant daughter and could not take all those sentimental things away from them. But I could at least acknowledge that there was truth there. I didn't force my friend to defend herself year after year. I didn't mock her to her face or behind her back. 

And that is the kicker for me. We do not celebrate Christmas, and the church mocks us. The pastor and his wife ridicule us. The other church folk say unkind things and try to manipulate our children behind our backs. I'm very serious. Each year, my family takes a stand and each year the church persecutes us for doing what we see is right according to the Bible. 

And so, as we approach the hallowed holiday, I do feel a sickening trepidation knowing my kids will be signed up for the church pageant without my consent, that I will be looked down on for not attending services on Christmas Eve, that Christmas trees and wreaths and mistletoe will be proudly displayed at church and at church events, and that my family will make Christians so uncomfortable that we will be lepers of society for the month of December. Yes, I am excited to pieces at the end of the month, when it is all finally over. Let's celebrate the 40 days of weeping for Tammuz, call it Lent and repent for our holiday gluttony. Or let's NOT! 

He Removed Their Sandals

Passover is coming and Praise God, someone asked me if Jesus washing the disciples feet was the same as the hand washing ceremony performed in the Passover. I always thought it was, but God must have put it in my spirit to find out if this was really true.

And you know what? I found out it isn't! First of all the hand washing ceremony typically occurs at the beginning of the Passover seder, long before the actual meal, and John 13, says that the meal was already underway. That would imply that they had already eaten the main course of the meal and were in the home stretch of the Passover seder because the early elements are not really part of the "meal" so to speak. So I prayed for God to show me why He washed feet and not hands, and what was the meaning of it all. 

John 13 also says that Jesus told the disciples that they would understand the foot washing later, so it couldn't have been a typical part of the seder or there would have been no question why Jesus would do this. 

My whole life I had heard it was Jesus showing he was the servant of all. Absolutely, one can make a good argument for this. At the time, when someone had guests over, the lowliest servant would wash the feet of the guests to remove the dirt, so Jesus could have been stating that He was the lowliest of servants. My qualm with this reasoning came with the fact that they had not just arrived to the gathering. The meal was underway. So why then? Why feet?

Then the Lord reminded me that his death on the cross was the purchase price for His bride. The disciples were the Bride at the time, so I wondered if the Jewish betrothal ceremony included foot washing. And well, not exactly, but I found something very interesting. 

When a person is making a covenant with regard to an inheritance he removes his sandal and gives it to the person who will inherit from them. (There is a sort of sandal covenant aspect to every Hebrew betrothal ceremony, as the Bride is both inheritance and co-inheritor with the groom.) The sandal covenant is clearly seen in the book of Ruth as an inheritance agreement. Boaz was a kinsman redeemer, but not the closest to Naomi, so he had to ask the nearest kinsman to redeem Ruth. When he declined, that indicated that Boaz would then stand to inherit all of the property and could marry Ruth. This agreement was confirmed when the nearer kinsman removed his sandal and gave it to Boaz in the sight of the elders, indicating that Boaz would receive the inheritance. 

When Jesus removed the sandals from the disciples and washed their feet, He was not merely stating that He was a servant. He was saying they are his inheritance, and as His bride, they will also have an inheritance. Jesus was depicting a sandal covenant, that indicates sonship and is also a typical part of the betrothal ceremony between a groom and his bride. He claims her as his own inheritance and offers her an inheritance with him. 

What Jesus did that Passover was not a simple cleansing of feet, not a simple act of servanthood, but so much more. He said to them, "you have been my servants, you have been my friends, I now call you sons! I claim you as my inheritance and offer you an inheritance with me as my bride."

Fatherhood

Growing up, I had a pretty good father. He was by no means perfect, but he worked hard, provided for our family, occasionally did something with us kids, didn’t yell, wasn’t violent or drunk, or anything awful like that. However, whether it was an accurate assessment or not, I always felt my dad was distant, didn’t really know me, or what was best for me, and didn’t care enough to get close to me. He was my father, a good father, but not really a daddy to me.

While he was a pretty good father to me, when I grew up, I realized that I saw God as this distant sort of God, who didn’t really want to get close to me, who loved me, but didn’t really know me or what was best for me. I struggled with having any relationship with God, with coming to Him with my menial requests, or believing that He played a role in my day-to-day life. I realized I understood God through the lense of my own relationship with my father. When I tried to have a relationship with God, I was limited by what I believed about Him, and that was limited by what I experienced with my own Father.

Hearing this, the initial tendency may be to blame your father for your imperfect vision of God, and yet I challenge you to move beyond that. It’s certainly not fair to hold our fathers to the standard of the Almighty, yet it’s also not fair to hold the Almighty to the low standard of our own fallible dads.

Galatians 4:7 tells us we will cry out to God, Abba Father. Abba means Daddy. But as humans we’ve all experienced sinful fathers. None of them are perfect. And so our image of God as Abba Father is also imperfect. So, how do we learn to see God as this perfect Father, and remove the lense we see God through?

First, I think we must be aware that our relationship and our experience and perceptions have impacted how we see God. Once we can understand this, we can begin to believe there might be more to God than we’ve thought. It will help you turn to Scripture to see who God is as a Father and learn to trust Him more.

Matthew 7:11 speaking to fathers says, “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” God is much much much better than even the best fathers.

Second, remind yourself that your father is human, that he is or was a sinner, that he could never have lived up to a perfect father image and that his own imperfections as a dad were probably the result of his own experience with his father. Our dads aren’t perfect. None of them. They didn’t stand a chance at being as good as God. That is what helps us to turn to God. And when we can remember that they’re just human and they failed as humans, it frees us up to forgive.

The third step is to forgive. Now that you can acknowledge that they’re human, that they’re sinners, consider what God has said about forgiving those who’ve wronged us. Matthew 6:14 says, “… if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” That is a tough word, right there, because that implies the opposite as well. If you don’t forgive others who have sinned against you, God will not forgive you either, and without God’s forgiveness, we have no relationship with God.

I don’t mean to make light of this, because I know many people have suffered serious abuse at the hands of their fathers, and some who may still suffer at their father’s hands. Forgiveness isn’t always easy, but God does demand it. I urge you, if you struggle to forgive your father, to seek God on this matter. Ask Him how you can do this. Give your hurt and anger to God. God will take you in His arms and heal your wounds.

Now, if you are a Father or you expect you will be someday, I urge you to live a life worthy of this calling. Yes, fatherhood is a calling, and not only will your sons learn to be like you, and your daughters will desire to marry a man like you, but you are also impacting their image of God, what they believe about God, and their future relationship with God. Certainly its no easy task, and certainly you will not be perfect, but seek God on this calling so you can learn to be abba father to your children and lead them to a relationship with the Almighty.

You say, "It's What's In My Heart"

The most common argument people give for worshipping our God in the ways of pagans is that it matters what is in their heart. While the heart certainly matters in obedience, I would argue that it does not matter with regard to disobedience.

Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and beyond cure. Who can understand it?"

How then can we believe that what is in your heart in the way of motivation is of greater importance than God's law?