You’ve Got A Choice

I am 100% down to the bone marrow pure I cry I thee sold out for the cause of Christ.

The God I serve, the Jesus who died and rose on the 3^rd day, the Holy Spirit who guides me, the Holy Trinity is not about that foolishness. The God I serve is a God of peace, love, giving, and forgiveness. That is why I am sold out for Him. He gave it all for me so how can I not? Yet for some odd reason, that statement bothers people. 

With the emergence of the whole “conservative Christian right” or as they like to call themselves “evangelical Christians”, I can somewhat understand. Much of what they stand for can hardly be called Christian, and sure as Hades is hot there is nothing right about it. Hate, racism, greed…nothing that my Savior stands for or died for. When they use Christianity to push their agenda it burns my biscuits. Argh! That is not the same Christ I represent. Not in the least.

If you ever read the comment sections of any posts written by any pastor or church leader, legit or not, you will come across some of the most hateful, insulting, and ignorant messages. People calling believers idiots and naïve. How dare those simple-minded Christ loving folks live their lives believing in a God they can’t see? How dare those Jesus followers hurt their feelings by exhibiting faith in Someone they can’t touch? How dare believers want to pray for someone else and exhibit compassion and forgiveness? It’s like people of faith are a personal affront to their sensibilities. But why? Why are non-believers so offended?

No, I don’t want to party like I used to, I don’t need to do that to be happy. No I don’t want to smoke or drink or shoot up or whatever. That just doesn’t do it for me. Sleeping around and bed-hopping only leaves pieces of my soul all over the place and makes me less whole. No thank you. None of those things are good for me anyway, whether I believed in Jesus or not. My wanting to live a holy life is my business. Why does my faith hurt your feelings? I seriously don’t get it. 

I Corinthians 15:19 (NLT) – “And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.”

Be that as it may, I still follow Christ. That is my choice. No one is holding a gun to my head telling me Who to believe in and how to pray. No one is making me attend my church and love it. No one is forcing me to bring my tithe and offering. I freely choose to do these things. Why? Because I know what Jesus did for me. I know He is real. I met Him for myself. To be perfectly honest, I know without a doubt that I would be dead or in jail today if it had not been for the mercy and grace of God.

My life is my ministry. I am not one to push an agenda on anyone. Either you choose to believe or you don’t. Would it bring me joy if you decided to make Jesus your choice? Yes, but I’m not going to twist your arm. It has to be your choice, just like it was mine.

I would rather follow Jesus and get to the end of this life and be right than to not follow Him and be wrong. The ramifications are eternal. I don’t like temps over 80 degrees so an eternity in hell is not exactly the location I’m shooting for.  

Hey, you’ve got a choice. It’s all on you. “But if you refuse to serve the LORD, then choose today who you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates (the gods of your past)? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live (greed, hate, lying, death and destruction)? But as for me and my family, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15 NLT (italics mine)

You're So Fancy

I’ve been studying church culture and habits for years. Being raised in the church but having a brain wired for critical thinking, that’s just what I do. Things that congregations do, not because they are biblical, but because either ‘everyone else is doing it’ (the new fad) or ‘it’s what we’ve always done’ have always both fascinated and irked me. My current study has been on dressing up for church. 
Why do people insist that God is impressed with men wearing a suit and tie and women wearing a dress, skirt, and heels? Do people even know why they dress up? My guess is no, it’s just what they’ve always known. Well let me educate you.
Dressing up started in the Anglican Church as a way to separate the rich from the poor. Only the rich could afford fancy clothes, therefore only the rich were worthy to attend church. The poor could not read which means they could not study the bible for themselves. The only way they could get access is if someone taught them outside of the church walls. Thankfully there were some good, honest preachers and ministers that actually cared about spreading the Gospel to the common man.
Fast forward to the 1600 and 1700’s. It’s the New World – YAY!!! Let’s leave England and go to this new country where we killed off some folks and took their land. Oh and let’s make a pit stop down by Western African to pick to up some slaves with us for the ride. We got persecuted back home so we’ll start our own churches. We’re the rich ones now so we have to dress up for church. And them slave folk can’t read so we’ll teach them what we want them to know, but not everything. They sure enough can’t dress up for church so they won’t ever hear the real truth. Thankfully there were some good, honest preachers and ministers that actually cared about spreading the true Gospel to EVERY MAN and teaching them slave folks to read.
Fast forward 245+ years to the end of slavery. Negroes now have churches of their own, can read and hear the Word for themselves. Just one thing. Let’s keep separating ourselves and dressing up for church. That way the better off Negroes will get better seats and better treatment. Your fancy dress and hat, your spiffy suit and tie mean that you are closer to Jesus. He’s impressed with your clothes you know.
Reverence for God. That is another spin that is being put on this lately. We have become a people who take God too casually. I can see that, in a sense. But that is an American thing, not a what you are wearing thing. The casual heart and casual mentality is on the inside. Are you telling me that someone who is homeless or can’t afford fancy clothes but loves the LORD with all their heart is taking God casually? I have actually seen the opposite to be true. It is the affluent and privileged that more often have a lackadaisical view of their relationship with the LORD.
Hold up. Let me back up a bit. Who am I even to say what someone else’s relationship is like? That’s not my place. My job is to preach the word, live a genuine life before others, and love the LORD my God with all of my heart, all of my soul, and all of my strength. Oh and to love my neighbor as myself (the really hard part).
Do I love my neighbor if I am judging him harshly because of his outfit? Be it a three piece suit, or boots, jeans, and a hoodie, I am to love my neighbor. Short skirt and tight shirt or turtleneck and maxi-dress, I am to love my neighbor.

Stop alienating the very people you are supposed to be trying to reach by putting stipulations on their attendance. God’s not impressed. You can be just much of a hellion with a dress or suit on than you can with jeans and boots.

Clothes don’t make the believer. How do I know? God’s word backs me up –

“⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 NLT
“³ Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. ⁴ You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.” 1 Peter 3:3-4 NLT

So, tell me again why I have to get fancy for church?
Bottom line, clothes don’t make you Christ-like. Following His example does.

Purpose, Passion, and Place

“Who am I? Why am I here?” – James Stockdale, b. 1923 – d. 2005

We ask ourselves that very same question at some point in our lives. James Stockdale (God rest his soul) just said it out loud in front of millions on national TV during a 1992 VP debate. While he was ridiculed mercilessly by late night talk show hosts, and pretty much everyone else, his unintentional honesty was actually a little refreshing. Glad he never became the VP though. I mean can you image if Ross Perot, a millionaire with no political experience whatsoever had become President? The very thought is ridiculous. Oh, wait…nevermind. That’s a whole other rant for another day.

Back to the subject at hand – purpose, passion, and place. Three simple words that can bring great happiness or great pain. If you believe that you are functioning in your purpose, living your passion, and have found your place in the world then CONGRATULATIONS! This may not be for you. But tuck it away for later. Trust me, you may need it. On the flip side, if you are experiencing that stage in your life where you have no idea what your purpose is, you’ve lost your passion, and feel out of place, this may be for you.

Our society has placed so much pressure on us to live on purpose, have a purpose driven life, and follow our passion. Where did all of that come from? Seriously. When did that become such a “thing”? Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t be happy and have goals at the same time. But why put so much pressure on ourselves to fit the world’s mold of purpose, passion, and place? Who is to say what those three things truly mean? Let’s be real. There is the dictionary definition and there is the biblical view. In either case, it’s all about timing and perception. Take a look at Ecclesiastes 3. I’ll wait.

"1 To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven."

Well, that pretty much sums it up. But let’s go a little further.

"9 What profit has the worker from that in which he labors? 10 I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. 12 I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, 13 and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor - it is the gift of God"

Whether you believe in God or not, your purpose on this earth is to DO GOOD. What is the “it” that plucks your spirit or gets to you when you see that something “needs to be done about it”? That’s your passion, your thing, your why.

When you are functioning in your PURPOSE (the what) and following your PASSION (the why), then you will find that you have arrived in your PLACE (the where}. It all can and will happen in God’s timing (the when). Just trade your will for His (the Who).

You can do this. Stop comparing your life and progress to someone else’s. You don’t know what they are called to do. They may even be out of place themselves and putting on a brave face. Their ministry and purpose are not your business. Be about your Father’s business.