Confusing Peace
Written by: Dana Fisher
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus ~Phillipians 4:7
I saw it in her eyes as I slowly made my way down the line at the wake. It’s not something you can really put your finger on, not something that you can tell someone how to get or explain when you see it. I can only quantify it as “You know it when you see it”. Her eyes weren’t empty. She had just lost her son at 17 to a terrible disease but there was life still there as our eyes met.
For someone who has witnessed this themselves, and has taken part in this peace, the words that come out next aren’t the words that someone at a wake would normally hear. They are no longer words of condolence so much as words of thanks, praise, and adoration. Words that acknowledge a God who knows what He is doing and a place that transcends anything here on earth.
I’m certainly not saying she wasn’t sad or didn’t miss her son. I’m not saying I wasn’t sad about missing my friend. But the peace of God surpasses understanding and I could spend 5,000 words trying to explain it here and not do it any justice.
Some know I am going through a few major trials right now, things I thought I’d never deal with. And it’s not easy. What ever problem you are dealing with in the moment certainly seems like the biggest and impossible to overcome. But I realize that what needs to be leaned on is the Word of God. Proverbs 3:5 tells me: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding”. And so I try, every day, to trust a little more.
With each finished trial comes a little more trust in the Lord for all things, a little more understanding of my place in this world, and a little more realization that He always has my best interest at heart.
A lot of Christians feel like the peace mentioned in Phillipians 4:7 is a right, that they should just have it because they asked God in to their heart one day. The verse is used a bit out of context far to often, when we only read it and not the verses that wrap it. Before it, in verses 4-6 it says: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
Rejoice in the painful trials you face(1 Peter 4:13). Notice that the verses don’t say “When going through a trial God pours peace all over you like hershey syrup on ice cream”. It says “everything, by prayer and petition”. All He wants is for us to seek Him and when we do, He brings us comfort that is unexplainable. I’ve glossed over one piece of this chapter often, “The Lord is near”. How often I get in to a trial and Satan convinces me the Lord is somewhere else, busy with someones bigger problem. But the more talking I do to the Lord, the more peace He pours on me and the closer I am to Him and He to me. He is the grace and peace which cover me.
Secondly, the verses after 4:7, Phillipians 8-9 say: “if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” He says hey you know what, don’t be anxious, talk to me about everything. And after you are done put what I say in to practice as well. Don’t sulk and get caught up in earthly pleasures that can bring quick satisfaction but think about things that are excellent and praiseworthy. Think about things which bring glory to Me.
Out of all that, the peace of God will be with you. It is not a gift you just get, but it is free. If you abide in Christ, if you talk to Him, and if you keep your mind on the things of God, that peace will come. It will look odd to others, it may even feel odd to you. As you soak in it you’ll be glad you followed the entire command of Christ in Phillipians 4: 4-9. I know for me, it’s helping a ton.
killing with integrity
Written by: dave
i saw this sign on a church yesterday: “do you remember them? do you remember jesus?”
at first, since i’m a little dense, i had no idea what the sign was saying. then, my lovely and brilliant wife explained to me that it must have something to do with memorial day.
the sign reminded me of a question that i was recently asked by a fellow peace-seeking friend of mine from school. he asked me if killing another human being could ever be done with integrity. what do you presume i said??? probably not what you think. i said, “sure it can. adhering to a sense of morality doesn’t necessarily mean it’s christian morality.” he was thinking the same thing.
i believe it is most certainly honorable to fight and die for something you believe in with all of your heart. many people who have given their lives in the name of political or economic freedom throughout the centuries have done so for the sake of others, and we have certainly benefited from their sacrifice. however, is this the same morality that we have been called to as people carrying our crosses? in my opinion, the answer is an emphatic NO!
christian ethics have an entirely upside-down way about them. which is why following christ, oftentimes, seems strange and even wrong to folks who claim jesus as lord. think about it. when someone takes my jacket i should give them my pants? if someone pushes me around i should willingly offer them a clean shot at my face? this sounds ridiculous. but it is at the center of what it means to be a disciple of jesus christ.
can we really talk about the sacrifice of soldiers in the same breath as the sacrifice of christ? is wielding a weapon of war against an enemy in any way like christ’s self-sacrificing death for his enemies on the cross? we may be able to affirm the integrity of a man or woman fighting and dying for a cause in a kingdom of this world sort of reality, but integrity and honor look quite the opposite in kingdom of God reality.
one more gripe. i’ve often been called liberal or even cowardly for having these views. i hate to think that jesus was cowardly when he taught and lived this way, and would really like to know how taking jesus seriously and at his word lends itself to having a liberal view of scripture. just a thought.
-dave-
Lausanne Open Forum
Written by: Dana Fisher
On Tuesday night I was lucky enough to attend on of the 12 open forums across the country hosted by the Lausanne Movement. If you don’t know about Lausanne you can read more about how it was formed on their about page. These “12 conversations, 12 cities” were set up to generate awareness of the upcoming CapeTown 2010 Congress. This is the third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelicalization.
Headlining the panel included singers Derek Web and Sara Groves, author Os Guinness, and the co-founder of Bloodwater Mission Jenna Lee
Some times you feel disconnected from reality in your desires. Amongst some close friends and in a Bible study I attend there is talk of getting out within our communities, about going through this world “to heavy” and on needing drastic social change. But at least for me there is this overwhelming sense that we’re traveling this road alone. From a distance it certainly appears that other issues are taking precidence such as wars, immigration, and laws. To hear Christian panelists from around the country speak on the very desires our small groups have been talking about was confirmation and a new connection that we aren’t alone.
There were a couple of great points I’d like to mention:
- Materialism and the gifts of God
- The younger generation
- Community
“America has confused what God’s gifts are.” -Jena Lee Jena went on to say that the people she would speak to in Africa feel pity for us because when it rains, they know it’s from God, and when they harvest crops they know they are from God. Meanwhile, we sit here in America and complain when it rains and take it for granted that we can go to a store and by all the food we want.
The subtler things are doing us in, it’s not the larger issues Os Guinness added. And Sara Groves mentioned how we’ve perfected the comforting of ourselves in America. It’s true that we as Christians really focus on this really big topics but fail to address smaller things that are slowly eating away at our foundation. We’ve become comfortable and complacent in our lives, happy where we are and content to just “go to heaven”.
Don’t get caught up in generationalism.” -Os Guinness I think this was one of my favorite points of the night. This idea that young people aren’t ready or intelligent enough to lead the way. He went on to say that we aren’t listening to the younger generation on innovative ways to create change and advance the Kingdom. I couldn’t agree more. It’s time to pass the torch and face the fire. Enable this younger people and empower them. Their ideas matter and each of them can change the world but we tend to discourage them by not listening in our ignorance rather than building them up and challenging them to make a difference.
Grab hold of how others see Jesus so you can grow and understand Him more. -Sara Groves This point struck me in that if you read between the lines, what she is really saying is “embrace each other, you need each other”. I took this away as the main point driven home throughout the night. It was mentioned over and over again. We desperately need to start working together, but also trusting each other, sharing with each other, and confiding in one another. We have no chance of growing individually if we cut ourselves off from everyone.
A great point made by Os Guinness as things wrapped up was this: “In modern society there is nothing harder than genuine community”. I would take it even further and say that Satan has so individualized us and saturated us with ipods, and tv shows and me first mentalities that community is almost impossible to harness. I believe in our hearts we want it but when we get close and things get tough we severe the tie and we have to start all over. We aren’t willing to risk much but want to reward.
All in all I had a great time, and learned a lot from hearing their different view points. If you can get out to one of the other open forums I highly suggest you do. It was well worth it.
Your religion teaches that?
Written by: Dana Fisher
When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, “Look! Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.” ~Matthew 12:2
I’ve been having some great challenging conversations with my new boss over the last several months. She’s Jewish and only believes the Old Testament but even from there her viewpoint is really of a secular nature. Our talks, during work no less, have covered sin, the flood, creation, Jesus’s life, and most recently Christians in general.
Each time I have been challenged, stumped, and enlightened in some way and while I wasn’t shocked by the last one, it still sort of sat in my stomach for a while with a sickening feeling like eating a bad burrito.
We started talking about illegal immigration, similar to my story several weeks ago about the immigration bill. I really don’t need to rehash the whole story, being that it was so similar but what really came out of it was two comments from her: “I always ask people when they say stuff(about violence), ‘Really, your religion teaches that?’” and “Religion just allows people to mask their racism.”
You know…I couldn’t disagree with her.
The Pharisees in the story were just looking for anything to catch Jesus in a sin to bring charges against him. Yet every time they tried Jesus saw through their schemes. They totally said one thing but did another when it was convenient. And that is what Christianity has turned it to.
We ignore the parts where Jesus ate with sinners and prostitutes, and loved murderers. We gloss over where he told us to love our enemies. Out of our mouths we say “love them” but in our actions we hate them. We are so friggin backwards. And I use that word to express the anger I feel about it.
In my flesh I totally side with most people on this, “you shouldn’t be illegal, you should do it the right way, you shouldn’t come here”. But if you step outside yourself and you really look at the bigger picture Jesus would NEVER do that. He would love them, he would have compassion for them and help them. But we lash out and say, “get out of my country!” Aren’t we supposed to be different from the world? John 15:19: “As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.” Somehow we’ve twisted the Word of God to fit our lifestyles instead of letting the Word twist our lives.
The worst part is because we look like the world we become hypocrites. What do we have to offer to non-believers if we have the same beliefs and values? If we appear the same as them why do they need to change? They are “good people”…
John 1:10: “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.” The world shouldn’t recognize you and me. We should stick out like sore thumbs. We should be making people uncomfortable and awkward. Really, we should.
I could do nothing but agree with her. “How could anyone want to listen to what I have to say when there’s Christians running around preaching violence?” I said to her. She just looked at me and shrugged. She sees I’m different, and that’s a good start for me. If you want to make waves, stand up and be more like Jesus. Stick out as one who is not a hypocrite. Who follows Christ in a way honoring Him, who loves others and sacrifices for them.
god hates us
Written by: dave
a small group of guys that i am a part of has been discussing the atonement as a result of watching this video featuring mark driscoll, pastor of mars hill church in seattle, washington. i want to share some quotes with you all from this video:
“god hates all who do evil.” “we sin, God hates us!” ”we do what we are!”
interesting. how do we reconcile this with john 3:16, never mind a whole score of passages in scripture that speak of God’s intense love for humanity, despite their wickedness? interesting that it doesn’t say that god so hated the evildoers of the world that he sent his only son to redeem them.
this is not to say that it doesn’t in fact say that God hates evildoers in psalm 5:5, but we must not take one verse and apply an emotion or characteristic to God that seems entirely inconsistent when compared to the revelation of Jesus Christ.
“there is a sense in which God loves us, to be sure.”
ya don’t say?! this comment is made as though it’s an afterthought, or possibly even a secondary characteristic or emotion that God feels towards God’s creation. what part of Christ’s gospel of the in-breaking kingdom of God screams out that God won’t love you until you love him back (which Driscoll believes God controls anyway – see doctrine of predestination)?! it is so unbelievably inconsistent that it genuinely scares me.
“we all want to receive mercy and give justice.” i say amen to this one. we are all hypocrites.
now, i’ve made my opinion concerning driscoll’s teachings known before, and i’m really not trying to ruffle any feathers, but i really do have some major concerns with some of the things he is preaching to thousands and thousands of people. check out some more of these quotes from a video about how pastor mark not only approves of mma (mixed martial arts) and ufc, but encourages it:
“i don’t think there’s anything purer than two guys in a cage…no balls, no sticks, no bats, no help, no team…and see which guy is better.”
that’s right, God calls on us to show we are better than our fellow man by beating the piss out of them…
“men are made for combat. men are made for conflict. men are made for dominion.”
wouldn’t he be more comfortable describing this attribute of men as our depraved state? i’m not saying we should be tiptoeing through the tulips, but i must say, the non-violent leadership and teaching of Jesus Christ is hardly a wimpy way to live. i believe he died as a result of NOT fighting back, and rebuked those who did. just a thought.
“let men be men, and do what men do, and let the other fat, lazy men criticize them while watching.”
nice.
please forgive me. i just had to rant. i know it’s a really easy target, but this kind of stuff just eats at me. i feel like this guy is representing an entirely different Jesus than the one i read about in scripture. please don’t take my word for it. watch this quick video and come to your own conclusions.
god hates us
peace
-dave-
Revival at what cost?
Written by: Dana Fisher
There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling. ~Ephesians 4:4
I had been thinking about this over the last few weeks, how desperately we were all seeking revival and a change of heart. Not only in this country but around the world. My conversation last week with Christians about immigration(see here) spurred me to really think about it more.
My conclusion is the Lord is moving…despite Christians.
We can’t get out of our own way. It’s ridiculous. There is so much in-fighting. So much he-said / she-said bickering that the Lord is forced to use others in our place. You’re church is not “the body”, my church is not “the body”. We are ALL the body. Knock it off. Without a doubt, God is up there saying Knock it off.
There is a lot of prayer going on around the country and world for revival. It certainly is a great prayer to have but we can not all just sit on our laurals and hope to all hope that someone else is going to do the dirty work for us. God called us to get our hands dirty. To reach out to sinners and prostitutes, to the desolate and broken hearted.
Revival needs to start in the hearts of you and me but we can not continue to preach it in to a lifeless congregation and hope that one day they’ll “get it”. Someone needs to decide to step up to the plate and take action. Is it you?
Are you willing to sacrifice? To be chastized, perhaps even by Christians, for the sake of what you believe is the true way of Jesus? Will you lose your grip on the things that are holding you back in this life? Will you give the Lord your anger, your fear? Will you put your life in His hands and make the cross your only defense?
I’ll be honest, those last words scare the crap out of me. And for a long long time I let that fear control my actions. It’s not that I was doing wrong, it was that I was doing nothing. I was sitting there waiting to join the bandwagon. Like the old saying “if you want it done right do it yourself”, I realized I could start my own bandwagon.
There is no one on this earth who can tell you what your called to do for Christ. You need to ask Him. And if there is someone trying to tell you what you can or can’t do for Jesus, or someone who is putting rules and limitations on your actions you need to figure out why and ask the Lord what He would have you do. Because you will only answer to God when the time comes and not any authority here on earth.
This all seems good on paper but maybe you’re someone out there only 16 years old and feel helpless to make a difference. I’m sharing something I figured out way to late in life; It doesn’t take much. Bring an extra sandwich and hand it to someone who needs it on your way to work, help someone out in school, hold the door for someone. Kindness spreads like wildfire. Try it and watch the doors open to share Jesus. It’s been an eye-opening experience for me. If we want revival, it starts with us, and it starts with the little things. How can we expect the Lord to entrust us with large undertakings when we aren’t willing to accept the little challenges of our day?
Seperate from Christ, Seperate from everyone else
Written by: Dana Fisher
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. ~Hebrews 11:1
I am not married. Never have been. And I can see a lot of people coming out and saying I have no right and no basis for writing some of the things I have written on relationships. The Lord gives wisdom to those who ask, even among things they would not normally be considered an expert.(proverbs 2:6, 1 Corinthians 2:6-7, James 1:5)
Most of you have probably seen the movie Good Will Hunting. Matt Damon plays a janitor gifted in mathematics. Just because you aren’t schooled in one particular area does not mean you are not gifted in it. It takes a particular person(Jesus) to pull these gifts out and begin using them for His glory.
Why do I preface my post with this? Because when your relationship with Jesus crumbles, so does every other relationship in your life. Sure, you have highs where everything seems good, but if you were to chart your relationship on a graph it would look like a sine wave. A relationship built on Christ looks like a line moving towards positive infinity, always on the move, always moving up.
There is a growing epidemic and it’s not just divorce rates(which are alarmingly high). But think about the people you know and the relationships they hold. There is an air of apathy towards it all. “Well, I’ll just date him for a little while and when we get annoyed with each other we’ll break up.” Really? That’s it?
God’s intentions for relationships was not little blips on our radar screen. They were meant to be long lasting and meaningful. The more time you spend with someone the more you know them. The more you know them the more vunerable you are because they know you inside and out. They can expose you. But they can also help you. But we tend to get to the point where we recognize the vunerability and snap back to avoid any danger.
I’m guilty. I don’t like to be vunerable. I’m the strong one. I have “a good head on my shoulders”. I “do the right thing”. I’m the one “people look to”. I have a friend who I’ve known 16 years now, since I was 12. We grew up together in church. Ask him how much he knows about me and he’ll tell you that only in the last couple years has he really figured out who I am. Because before that, I was willing to listen to his problems and fix him, but wasn’t willing to fix myself. And so everything was bottled up inside. On the outside I still looked perfect, like God had just given me a wash and a fresh coat of wax. Inside I was hurting and felt like I could talk to no one without being exposed as a liar.
Jesus tells us to come to Him when we are weak and weary and He will give us rest.(Matthew 11:28) I like to think of this not as a request but as a command. Come here! Come and be free! It really is simple.
Another friend commented to my brother several months ago, “Dana seems different. He offered to help me do [this] and even said [this].” My brother told me one night and said You are totally different now that you are dating her.” I admit it had nothing to do with “her” and everything to do with “Him”.
A relationship isn’t 2 people, it’s 3. And if Christ isn’t there to hold the two together they slowly drift away. Little things get blown out of proportion into what seem to be big things. In reality they are still small, but without the Lord the heavy weight to give up saturates and burdens us.
Drifting away from Jesus means you are drifting away from all your relationships: spouses, girlfriend/boyfriend, and friends. Try to look at yourself from the outside when it happens. I know when I do I see anger seeping in. I begin shrinking away from hanging out with people. I don’t want to talk anymore. But giving up is selfish. It only handles my needs for the moment, not taking in to account the needs of others around me.
And when communication stops Satan jumps right in. Now is his chance to whisper in the dark all those things you think you’re thinking. Your head begins spinning and your mind starts to race. Tension rises and explosions start taking place like you’re on the beaches of Normandy.
One of my favorite movies is What about Bob. There is a scene where Siggy(the son) is talking to Bob about diving. He’s on the dock but he just can’t force himself to do it. He’s afraid to drown. “I mean, my Dad just dropped me in the water, without warning me first. I mean, I nearly drowned! My whole life flashed before my eyes!” He says.
That’s the point, at some point we have to become vunerable if we want to make things work. Faith is belief in the unseen. The things we “think” are there, we “believe” are there by faith. Stepping out might make you look foolish but it might be the best thing that ever happened to you. You’ll never find that toe-curling, heart racing moment if you aren’t willing to lay it all on the line. In there there are metaphors for not only relationships but for believing in Christ, that He died for you. That He can change ANYTHING.
Take a leap of faith and start communicating, and bring God back in to the picture. Without Him your communication is hollow.
Keep your sword, I’ll keep my Jesus
Written by: Dana Fisher
I am stunned by the lack of compassion and the brutal use of force by Christians. My Jesus never did any of that. I’m at a loss. The below conversation is real. I’ve only removed the names for anonymity. Below it you will find my thoughts about the whole thing. This conversation started as a result of a comment about the immigration law that was recently passed in Arizona
PERSON 1 “is planning a trip out to Az. I will support them regardless of what the uninformed Boston city council says.”
Now, these are the comments that followed:
Dana Fisher: Maybe we should reread James 2. Maybe their motives aren’t pure and maybe they are trying to take advantage but who are we to judge? Hasn’t Christ called us to something higher than persecuting someone because they are from another country? Since when was this land “ours” and not the Lords? Should I reject meekness and compassion because Ceasar has designated a law that prohibits them from entering? Render to Ceasar what is Ceasars. Our objectives are so screwed up that even our Christians are hell bent on keeping what they believe is theirs. Everything shall burn away and in the end will only be our actions and motives to be held accountable for. This land isn’t mine and it isn’t yours and honestly America isn’t what it used to be. Let them in and let’s minister to them instead of telling them they are worthless and to stay out. Jesus would never shut the door on anyone.
>PERSON 1: Dana…wow….This law has nothing to do with persecuting someone from another country and everything to do with protecting the people of Arizona from the results of rampant illegal immigration. Are we as christians suppoed to just turn a blind eye to the social problems, crimiinal problems plaguing this couuntry, the state of Arizona? No. I think alot of people have skewed ideas of this law passed in Az. What was Az supposed to do? Let illegal immigration continue to ravage the state? The federal gov is unwilling to do anything tangible about the problem of illegal immigration.
I don’t believe for a single second that illegal immigrants are worthless, or that I own this land. I understand that none of it’s going to matter in the end, but we have an obligation to uphold our laws. yes, our gov is horrible at doing ithat, but that does not mean we should just throw up our hands and say “Aw well..”
I would agree that far too many “christians” world view is warped, but you do realize that if we abandon the rules of law that would result in anarchy and chaos, right? We are called to obey the laws set forth by gov. Read through Romans 13:1-7, or Titus 3:1, or 1 Peter 2:13-17. Along with these we are called to love above all else. But love does not mean naivety, or ignorance to laws and ordinaces set forth by those governing the country.
I would submit that the reason for Az passing this law has nothing at all to do with class, status or the size of bank accoutns and clothing labels, but everything to do with the safety and well being of the American people, as imperfect as we are. There are leagal paths to citizenship, legal, legitimate paths which people strive to attain. Isn’t that part of what made America desirable in the first place? hard work and opportunity? Isn’t it a slap in the face to those immigrnats that take the right road to citizenship? The money spent, the time invested, etc…to come to America.
Your right, Jesus would not shut the door on anyone…but neither would he condone the open and gross disobedience that is being displayed in the daily illegal border crossings. Jesus was all about love, truth, justice, and obedience, none of which is displayed in blatantly disregarding the laws set forth by those set over us to govern.
PERSON 2 Dana ; Tomorrow when you leave your home to go to work , make sure to leave every door and window WIDE open !!
My LORD tells me to constantly be on guard against the thief who wants to sneak in and murder and steal …Dana Fisher: wow mike, you’ve completely misinterpreted the Bible. The thief he speaks of is Satan. Luke 6:29-30: “If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.”
Dana Fisher: Why are you concerned about your health? Matthew 6:25-27: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?…Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life ? 1 Peter 3:14: Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.
I’m not arguing turning a blind eye. What is happening is in fact turning a blind eye. It is meeting them at the gate and saying sorry, some of you are dangerous we don’t want you here. I must have missed the part where Jesus told the Samaritan he could make it on his own and should have stayed in his own country.
You’ve got to understand we are talking about an impoverished nation, Christ called us to love, 1 Peter 4:8 “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” Not pick and chose because we might be hurt. Didn’t He call us to suffer even unto death for His sake?
These are people walking in darkness. If they don’t have Christ how do they truely know right from wrong? This secular world views things done for survival as ok; that taking bread to survive is ok. Even if you told me the percentage was 90% thieves and robbers would Christ approach them and show compassion? Would he say “go and sin no more” or would he condemn them and tell them to get back over the border? The US is condoning pushing people away because they are sinners. Because they are disobeying. Because they aren’t doing it the way they say to.
Christ never dabbled in politics, he was above it and called us to be above it to. I think Satan has pulled the best smoke screen of all time. Rather than Christians out in the world spreading the gospel of his shed blood we’re wrapped up in politics setting and enforcing laws day to day. I’m in no way saying don’t vote or don’t be concerned but the Jesus I read about never told me to run for Senate. He told me to become a fisher of men, calling them to kingdom.
PERSON 2: So You give me your word as a “Christian ” that you will leave ALL your doors and Window s WIDE open tomorrow when you leave for work , Right …No , Brother , I do not “misinterpret ” The Bible , Remember , “They built the WALL with a trowel in one hand and a SWORD in the other . GOD Bless .
Here is my ultimate concern with all of this. This person has taken a Bible verse and changed it from speaking about Satan as a thief in the night to actual physical humans. Totally disregarding Luke 6 or the fact that Jesus spent all his time with sinners and scoundrels just like “those” supposedly all coming in as illegals. When confronted on it, they turn the attention back to keeping your doors locked.
Second, He takes Nehemiah 4(building the wall with a trowel and a sword) and uses it as a defense for weaponizing Christians of which I have several issues:
- Ephesians 6:10-18 – “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood”. And the “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”
- Matthew 10:34 – “I did not come to bring peace, but a sword”
- Mark 15:38 – “The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.”
Read this passage carefully.NOT with. We are called to love one another and the sword is the word of God. Not a physical sword. Jesus NEVER advocated physical violence.
People like to use this too. Do you realize he’s talking about the sword as a divisive chasm that is created when one embraces Christianity? When I accept the teachings of Christ it turns people against me, people hate the fact that I’ve changed and so it separates us, like a sword separating something in to two pieces.
When Christ died the curtain was torn in two. There was no longer a need for a divider between us and God. Jesus took that away. That also took away the need for our eternal death because Christ took our punishment. No longer did God need to smite people for their sins. The old testament law has been thrown out. So why now do we conveniently use the pieces we want to to justify our actions? The “wall” was TORN DOWN.
Jesus said let the little children come to me(Matthew 19:14). And you say, “But these are adults coming over!” But what does the Bible say about new Christians? New Christians are like babies which require spiritual milk(1 Peter 2). If a new Christian is like a baby how much more so is a non-believer blinded by darkness? Yet we sit in our comfortable houses and refuse to let them in and minister to them.
Jesus would be ashamed of our actions. They are so saturated with self I’m surprised we all aren’t drowning.
Look Ma! No hands!
Written by: Dana Fisher
But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” ~Matthew 14:30
When I was little, and less face it, even now, I tried to push the limits of what I can do. Our bodies yearn for freedom and to reach places we’ve never been. At first maybe it was taking the training wheels off but within weeks you were trying to ride that bike without hands.
I was watching a kid on the train riding in the middle of the car. There were plenty of places to sit, and plenty of places to grab a piece of the bar as a handle but he stood, legs in a wide braced stance inbetween the seats. We were moving along at a good pace and he was doing well for himself. Suddenly the train lurched a bit and his hand went lunging for the bar in a frantic attempt to keep his balance.
My first thought was “Why?” Why do we always need to look cool? I’m guilty of the same thing, trying to look the part rather than be different than the world we live in. I’m deceiving myself and everyone around me into thinking I’m safe.
I bet the majority of the people on that train knew that kid wasn’t safe. I bet they knew he was missing the point, that it was dangerous to not rely on the rail that was there for safety. Just like needing Jesus most people know they’re missing something but Satan has deceived them into believing that it’s everything but Jesus.
Peter’s story is a fascinating one. He starts by saying “if it’s you, tell me to come out”. He’s ready to ride alongside Jesus. But as he steps out he starts to become aware of his surroundings. He lets go of Jesus and starts to sink. He took his eyes off the one thing that was sustaining him.
For me, I know Jesus keeps me standing on my feet. I become self-confident and let go of his hand and try walking on my own for a bit, assured that I know where I’m headed. Without fail, I find myself sinking. I’m heading down the wrong path, outside the reach of his hand. When the train lurches I’m nowhere near the handle and look far foolish than when I began.
This is the point where unbelievers look at us and say “See, I told you it doesn’t work. You had to reach out!” If we had been holding on the entire time maybe we’d be better witnesses to a dying and confused world.
Someone once said to me, “I don’t need church. The only people who go to church are the ones who need a crutch.” You better believe I need a crutch! I need that handle 24/7 because I am only a weak human man incapable of anything apart from God.
I’m learning to Grab hold of Jesus from the start, before I start sinking to avoid Him having to pull me up so often. Who cares what the world thinks? When the train starts lurching, and I don’t move, they’ll see the rock on which I stand is solid ground.
