Touchy Topic

There are things that are known and discussed with the Christian Church that should not be discussed in the same manner with those outside of it.  One of these is with regards to the marriage relationship and the roles that God has set in place within it.

To illustrate, we look at one word:  submit.


In our current culture, the word submit is not a good thing.  It brings to mind images of cruel, self serving domination. The idea of being pushed down and made to not only feel but be lesser. That is basically how the word is understood and what it means in our day in age.  However, that is not what it always meant nor is it what it means to God.

God says that the wife is to submit to her husband just as the Church submits to Christ (Eph.5).

For those outside of the Church, this is insanity. The reason though, is that they have no frame of reference.  They do not know about submitting to Christ because they never have, therefore it is their version of submission which they use to understand the verse.  And we cannot explain it to them in enough accuracy for them to truly understand - after all, it was God who had to explain to us how we are to submit to Christ.

Another problem comes up in the form of whom the Scripture is talking to. The verse is addressed to believers. Not those outside the Church nor people who go to church twice a year or on Sundays or whose parents went to whatever church. No, it is aimed at those who truly follow Christ - people who truly understand submission as a loving thing not a domination thing. It is also aimed at those men who know how to do this - they understand their responsibility as well in this.  Same word, two totally different meanings. 

It is unfortunate that so many do know the verse though, for many who do not follow Him have used that verse as an excuse to dominate another person.  This obviously creates even more problems with making things understood, when their experiences back up the worldly definition as opposed to the Biblical ideals.

Another unfortunate part is that many who use that verse in a way it was not intended, tend to forget how the husband is supposed to treat and react to the wife, or they just never knew about that part of the Scripture.

So you can see fairly easily that there is a massive difference between how those within and those outside of the Church understand the words in Ephesians 5:21 -31, therefore, caution should be taken and approach modified slightly, when discussing matters of this nature outside of the Body.

And The Verdict Is...

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." ~ Matthew 7:1-2

I do not know about you, but almost every time I have heard that said the person doing the quoting has always said (or implied) that by judging someone, God will judge you in the same way. Problem: it does not say "God" will judge you, which makes sense since, as believers, we know that the world as a whole has been judged and found guilty right across the board and you cannot be "more guilty" (although, you can feel more guilt).

(On a side note, there are some who will read that and say, "oh no, I am a Christian, I am not judged". Wrong. You certainly were/are and you were found guilty but Christ took the punishment that you were due.)

But if the passage does not mean that God will judge, then what does it mean? Simply put, it means that other people will judge you - it is actually really solid advice. If you, yourself, are not above reproach you probably should not start nit picking other people's behaviors, habits, etc or else you may well find them pointing out your own flaws (keep in mind that Jesus was in the middle of "discussing" the teaching and behaviors of the Pharisees). Of course, none of us are actually above reproach - only One is perfect. After all, just because you do not do <whatever> does not mean you do not do something else that is at least as bad, if not worse.

There are some who may use 1 Cor.6:3, which says "Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life" to back up their judging of another person or persons. This is, again, one of those times we must look at Scripture in context, for the passage is not talking about judging the actions of another person at all.

If we read beginning at verse one, we see the passage is talking about judging matters of dispute between believers. The point being, that we - as Christians - should understand fairness, impartiality and justice even more so than the courts do, therefore we - as a group - should be better suited to make decisions between believers. After all, the courts are free to follow or create whatever precedents they wish to but we are called to follow God.

I suspect that you may have heard people argue on the basis of "judging in love" or some other variation on that phrase but, that term is not in the Bible at all. For that matter, when it comes to judging people, there is a great deal about we are not supposed to do it as there is only One judge. For example, we see in James 4:11-12: "Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?" That's pretty blunt.

So who can we judge? No one, not even ourselves for we - and our Siblings in Christ - belong to the Lord. Only He can judge (Romans 14:4). There are passages in Scripture about judging but most of those reference judging whether a mindset or teaching is in line with the Gospel or not, and not about one person judging another person. It should be noted that this also does not apply to those outside of the Church - we have no right to demand that those who are not part of the Body think as we do.

All considered, I am baffled as to why anyone within the Body would argue that they have the "right" to judge anyone. Although, no doubt, some in the early Church wondered the same considering how often it is mentioned in the NT - would not be said if were not an issue then as well, after all.

Diving Lessons

They arrived at the small field at the top of the cliff - five, rather excited, teenage boys.  It was so hot that day, they could hardly wait. Among them, the most anxious was Bill, it was his first time coming up here. He had heard of this place numerous times but today, today was the very first time he was asked to go.

As the boys quickly slipped off their shoes and shirts, the excitement in the air grew as their voices grew louder.  John was the first to make the run.  He ran, full speed, towards the cliff edge and leaped off the edge with loud yell.  He seemingly hung there in the air for a moment before gravity took over and down he plunged the 40 feet into the waiting pool of cool water below.

Those still atop the small cliff cheered and laughed as John hit the water, dove down into it and quickly popped back up. Then, after some playful pushing, they too ran towards the edge and leaped off one after the other:  George, Tommy and then Steven each in turn.  Caught up in the excitement and anticipation, Bill ran to the edge and...stopped.

He stopped at the edge and peered over the side.  Sure, forty feet was not really that high but looking down from it, it seemed like miles above the deep pool below. He stared and watched as the last boy, Steven, popped back up after his dive.  Questions started to enter his mind. He wondered about how to best jump off.  Should he leap from both feet or should he take off from either his left or right foot first? Which of his legs was the stronger and would propel him the furthest out and up before his dive? And what of the dive itself - what form should he take? Should he free fall feet first, nose plugged or is the classic, head first dive his best option? Then simple questions began to turn into doubts as He wondered if he could jump far enough out, even though it was a straight cliff face.  What if the a strong wind came and pushed him into the cliff?  Worse yet, what if it pushed him to the shallow edge of the pool and instead of deep water he hit the shallows and hard stone?

As each question ran through his mind, Bill stepped backwards away from the edge and now strained his neck to see the boys playing in the water below.  They called out him, urging him on.  Telling him great the water is and how good it felt in the July heat of the day.  They reassured him it was okay, and two even confessed to having been nervous their first time over.  John even tried calling him chicken, hoping to make he defiant enough to make the leap.  But the longer he stood there, frozen in place at the edge of the cliff, the less and less he heard their voices and the more he heard all the doubts and questions which filled his mind, questions now mixed with a building regret for not jumping in the first place. Bill felt sick in his heart for he knew he had to jump - he has to do this - but now doubts and fears filled his mind and he wondered how, how could he do this. How?

How amazing it is when God puts a calling on someone's life and they spring into action, throwing all caution to the wind for they know Who is waiting for them in the place they are diving into head first.  They hit the ground running and seem to never falter for even a moment.  Even when they hit seemingly insurmountable walls, they barely break stride as they drive forward.

It is amazing when we see that happen, but it is not what always happens.  Sometimes, sometimes we hear His call and we excitedly answer but when it comes to taking the leap into the unknown, we falter.  We hesitate for a moment.  Sometimes, that is all it is, a mere moment before jumping off but other times, other times that hesitation turns into being frozen in place - unable to take the leap and yet knowing we cannot go back.  And even worse is that sick feeling that begins to rise inside of us as we stand at the edge, unable to dive wholeheartedly into whatever it is He has called to.

Faith.  Faith is confidence that our hope is not in vain and being sure of things we cannot see (Heb. 11:1).  When God calls us, all we know is just that:  He called us. We cannot see the journey ahead nor where it will go nor anything else. He knows all this, but we don't. All we know is that He called us.

We can try and wait until "everything is perfect" but as each thing falls into place, be sure there will be more issues show up and more doubts and more fears.  Everything is not going to be all lined up perfectly before we move.  If it were, it would require no faith at all to do. None.  And God calls us to answer Him and follow into the unknown, just because of who He is - in spite of fears, in spite of doubts, in spite of everything else our senses and minds may try and tell us - to trust in Him, that He knows what He is doing and that He did not make a mistake in calling us.

Sometimes you just have to jump off the cliff.

Wider than the sky, deeper than the ocean

Have you ever pondered just how incredibly vast and all encompassing the grace of God is?


Consider the words of Isaiah 64:6: "all our righteous acts are like filthy rags".


Those words are often used to with regards to the unsaved or someone trying to earn their way into God's good graces but it does not say only some, but rather, all.


If I were to take everything of my own - every word uttered or written, every lesson taught or preached, every good deed, every act of charity and compassion, everything He ever did through me by His power and every other tidbit I could dig up and then, then I added to my pile every act and word said and done by Spurgeon, Wesley, Martin Luther and Mother Theresa and combined all of that together the resulting ball of "righteousness" would be like nothing more than a single mouse dropping in comparison to the righteousness of God Almighty.


And in spite of how utterly vile I am in comparison He still shows me grace. He still shows me mercy upon mercy upon mercy. How overwhelming vast is the grace of our Lord God that He would show grace to one such as I. And in light of all of this, how insanely futile is it for me to think that any of my own righteous acts, thoughts or deeds could ever earn me anything or give me cause to believe that somehow I deserve anything other than the flames of hell. But through His grace which is beyond human comprehension He not only gives me life but calls me - ME - His very own, through nothing more than faith and even that, faith which He has given in the first place.


How awesome is our God. I could not earn it before, I cannot earn it now but still, still He gives that which I could never hope to earn or deserve.


If you feel unworthy, there is a reason for that: you are, you always were and always shall be. But, take heart! For He knew that already and still He chose to show you mercy and grace without measure or end. Indeed, you are truly blessed.

Sealed with a Kiss

Have you noticed how we seem so intent upon making things more complicated than they really are or how we try to add more and more to simple things until they become very far from simple? Like, for instance, our salvation.


Separated from God by a price we cannot pay. Sin so deeply ingrained within our being that even our thoughts - even the brief ones - are sinful and more than enough to condemn us even if we did not start miles in arrears. The solution? God, being the only One who could pay such a debt, did so on our behalf through Christ Jesus who has paid that debt in full for us. We accept this fact through faith and that faith is given to us by God in the first place (Eph.2:8). So we no longer have to rely upon whatever sick version of righteousness or holiness or sinlessness that we have due to our own efforts as we now have a righteousness that has come directly from God, given to us by His amazing grace.


Seems simple enough.


So why, pray tell, do we seem to think we need to add to it? Why do we nod and agree with "the just shall live by faith" and add on something about our own efforts like that was some kind of implied extra? Why do think we have to earn the grace we have been shown or that if we screw up God is going to change His mind - like the cross of Christ were not enough somehow? How can we think - even in fantasy - that we, by some effort of our own, can rid ourselves of the sin which runs within the very core of our DNA? For if such were true that we could by some great effort of self denial and strictest adherence to the law accomplish such a feat, then Christ died for nothing. And I tell you this: my Lord did not die for nothing, anymore than He rose for nothing.


I remember an acronym from my school days: KISS - Keep It Simple, Stupid. I think perhaps we need to remember that a bit more often.

Dear Deer...

In case you were not aware, I am not from a major city originally. My hometown is actually around 1100 people right now and that counts outside of town limits, so it is a bit rural. Rural enough that seeing a deer on the front lawn or a bear in the back yard is not something overly unusual. Now, one would think, that these things being somewhat common, that I would notice and just carry on, but I don't. I always stop and watch - watching the deer walk by, the beaver in the pond, etc.

Now then, one place I spent a good portion of my adult life is quite a bit larger at around 20,000+ people. While hardly a mega city like NYC or Toronto, it is still a decent size especially compared to where I came from and, like most larger centers, it does have a more suburban outskirt area. Recently, while I there, I looked out in the backyard of where I was staying and saw not one, but five deer grazing - two adults, one "teen" and two young. And I stood there and watched them for a solid 20 minutes. Funny thing though, the people from there only notice them sometimes and pay no attention whatsoever.

At one place I worked for, years ago, they hired a guy from Newfoundland (or Labrador). He was a nice guy and a good worker and was always on time if not a bit early every day. One day though, he was fairly late getting in. Considering his track record, obviously people were curious as to why. Apparently, on his way in on the highway, standing beside the road were three deer. And he stopped. He stopped and stared and watched until they left, even though he knew he now running late. He explained that while there were moose where he was from, there were no deer. He had never seen a deer in the wild before and he was amazed by them. He bordered on glowing in the face when he finally got in to work.

Isn't that interesting that someone who is around them often and someone who has never seen them take a similar stance. Yet those who see them now and then - even if they are in an area one would not think them to be - could almost care less and rarely even notice.
Welcome to Christianity.

While it is not uncommon to reduce our faith to knowing the correct responses to certain questions of theology or doctrine, that is by far not all there is to it. A quick tour through the New Testament - especially the Gospels and Acts - will show that quite quickly. There is, indeed, a very real power involved as well and that power is beyond merely an increase in "will power" in our daily lives.

To those outside of the Church, seeing the power of God in action brings about a similar response as that of my former coworkers to seeing the deer - awestruck.

To those who see this fairly often and act upon on it, they too react in a similar fashion - even though they have seen and done much, they continue to be in awe.

But then, there are those in the middle. Those who are content with being in the middle - with having a "faith" that is merely intellectual or emotional. These people do see the power of God in action but they're response is all but indifferent. They chock things up to "good luck" rather than God's intervention. They are skeptical and cynical of accounts of the Spirit doing the amazing, especially when done through a another person. And those stories, while they do acknowledge the hearing of them, do not even warrant a change of thought about whatever they were talking about beforehand. While they may be theologically sound and they may be active in seeking to help those less fortunate, their version of Christianity is all but completely stripped of its' power to the point that the early church may well not recognize this version as even being Christian.

This is not to condemn who you find yourself in this middle range. This is to encourage you that there is, indeed, more to your faith. I know you have felt it. You have read the accounts of what the disciples and apostles did - not to mention Jesus Himself - and it has stirred within you. But voices which should never have been listened to overwhelm your mind and you dismiss that stirring as fantasy or something to be forgotten as you go back to focusing upon your list of what to do and what not to do in this life. But it is not fantasy! It is not your imagination which stirs, it is the Spirit of God which stirs within you. Stop dismissing Him. Dare. Dare to have hope and faith in what you read, feel and know to be true. Seek God and, in that, seek also His power - not for arrogant or prideful reasons, but to see the glory of God Almighty played out before your very eyes - to know the extent of this calling He has called you to. Dare to step out and believe in the miraculous. Do not be content with scraps on the floor beneath the table for upon the table is a great feast and it has been laid out for you. The chair you scrounge like a mouse beneath is your own chair!


PS:  If you have "formerly" lived within this Christian life that experienced the power and glory of God, but you find yourself not there now - do not believe the lie you are being fed. You are not being punished for something that Christ already paid the price for nor did you screw things up royally - God knew what you were going to just as He knows what you will yet do. He knew when He first called you.

If you love Me...

There is a passage in Hebrews chapter 3 that speaks about not hardening our hearts - not sinning - else we may not enter into God's rest. And this is one of those passages that gets used by people now and then to point at specific sins in other people - usually sins they believe they are not guilty of themselves. But does this point to something of that nature, or perhaps does it point at something else.

The Hebrews 3 passage speaks about those - Israel - whom Moses was leading through the wilderness after leaving Egypt, a story told in Exodus. This is the example we are given so that we may understand what this sin is, so it is to this place we must go.

Now then, if I were to ask what was the dreadful sin which plagued Israel and, eventually, led to them not being able to enter into the promised land/God's rest, what would you think of? No small number would think of the story of the golden calf and the subsequent orgy (that is how it was done) of worship to this thing. But that is just one event and God did not wipe them all out after this happened, so it really could not be what He is refering to.

If we read through these events in Exodus, we will see something happening repeatedly. One thing we see is that the Israelites seem to complain a fair bit about, well, most everything that comes across their path really. I put it to you that this is an outward symptom of the sin in question. Think about it, over and over God did amazing things to provide and care for them - everything from parting a sea to lead them away from those who wished them harm to water from a rock and food, literally, from out of nowhere provided daily. And yet, yet they complained about everything. Why did they do that? While we could try and analyze possible answers, the  most obvious answer is that they did not, in fact, actually trust God. No matter how many times He proved He could be trusted, they still refused to trust Him. Even when they got to the "promised land" they refused to trust Him and, subsequently, got to wander the wilds for a generation.

Let us fast forward to the Gospels. More than once, Jesus Himself said for us to not worry. That God knows what we need and what we want long before we even know we do and He is not hard or cruel, so He does not with hold these things from us. So we do not need to worry - we can trust Him.

Now we come full circle to the book of Hebrews and our passage from chapter 3 and verse 19:  "So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief". What was their unbelief? What was this sin? Simply put, they did not trust God.

Of the two commands Jesus tells us we are to follow, loving God is number one - trust and love go together with each other. If we say we love God, then we must trust Him. Even when we are in the wilderness and we cannot fathom how things will work out or how what we need will come, we are to trust Him and He will take care of everything. He knows our limitations after all.

If you are a believer, how much rest do you have in your heart, mind and soul during those times which you refuse to trust God to take care of <whatever>? When you strive and try and scheme to make it work on your own, apart from God? From my own experience, I know the answer to be "not much", not much at all.

He can be trusted, not just because He says He can either. God will prove - over and over - that you can actually, completely and totally, count on Him. Do not base your trust of Him upon your own experiences trusting another person. He is not human, after all - He is God.


*Edit/Addon*

God is not stupid. Things which He says to either do or not to do, He does not do so to try and "make you work for it" or "take away from your fun". He knows what the consequences of our choices - for everyone concerned - can and will be. Trusting Him is no exception to this. He knows how insane we drive ourselves if we do not. He knows about the sleepless nights, the hours spent in therapy sessions, the words said unintentionally in arguments which can never be taken back fully or the addictions which pop up as we try to cope on our own. He knows the ground the enemy gains when he can get us to question and that he (satan) has the absolute worst in mind for us. Taking God at His word with regards to who He says He is, whom He says we are and about the relationship between us - that is, trusting Him - brings a great peace to our hearts, minds and souls in all situations and circumstances, for we know Who is in control and He is most certainly trustworthy.  He also knows we do not trust Him near as often as we should and no, He is not about to heave a lightning bolt at us for it - He is far more patient than we are.