Readers' Questions About Charlie, Charlie

This morning the world learned that the “Charlie, Charlie” game has been nothing more than an elaborate marketing ploy for an upcoming movie, and those who scoffed at the game are sure to be wallowing the glee of vindication. However, this raises a few questions for the Christians who issued warnings against playing it, and it raises even more questions for those who did play and believe they had some sort of supernatural experience through two pencils and piece of paper.

First off, let me state that I believe in demons and that they are active and present in this world. I believe for two reasons: 1.) My Bible told me so, and 2.) I have had some experience in that realm. In other words, I am incredibly and unapologetically biased. With this in mind, let’s dive right in.

Q. Can this possibly been used to contact real demons if it was simply a marketing ploy?

Simple answer – Yes.

Longer answer – What we need to bear in mind is that demons are not waiting for an engraved invitation to wreak havoc in our lives. In fact, they are eagerly waiting for an excuse to mess with us. They don’t care if you are calling them by their specific name, using the proper spell or ritual, or if you even realize that you have opened the door for them. They just want in your life.
So how do they know they can come in? Two ways, which ultimately boil down to one way, but I will make the distinction for clarities sake.

1.) You actively seek out an experience with the demonic. This can take several forms such as Ouija board, tarot cards, astrology, “Bloody Mary”, “Candy Man”, “Light as Feather”, and “Charlie, Charlie.”

The first three items are on the list because they are forms of divination, and divination is nothing more than seeking out hidden knowledge from a source other than God. Aside from the fact he said don’t do this, it is also a clear demonstration of a lack of faith. It is telling God that we do not believe he will take care of us or inform of the things we need to know. It is placing our desire for information above our desire to guard the relationship we have with him.

If you think this scenario sounds familiar, you are right. It was first played out by Adam and Eve as they listened to the words of a snake and sought out knowledge apart from the God who created them and walked by their sides in the garden. We will never know what might have happened if they had taken their questions to him, if they had trusted him to provide the answers they needed. Instead, they betrayed his trust and introduced death into this world.

The last four are on the list because they were designed to do nothing but introduce a spirit of fear into our lives.

“for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” 2 Timothy 1:7

“For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’”  Romans 8:15

Notice the wording. I will spare you the in-depth lesson in Greek. It is enough that you know that this is not simply an emotional reaction, the Bible clearly connects the feeling with spirit and, even, bondage that is only overcome through our Father’s mercy and love.

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.”  1 John 4:18

So if we love God perfectly or are even making the attempt to grow in that love, why would we invite fear into our lives?

2.) We invite demons into our lives through disobedience, which is exactly what playing these sorts of games is - disobedience. Each and every time we reject God’s authority over our lives to do as we wish we are inviting demonic forces to take his place. Now, I know that we come up with a hundred and one reasons we are bending the rules to get our way, but the truth is we are just being rebellious – and do you know what the Bible equates with rebellion?

Yeah, that would be witchcraft. And what do witches do? They play with demons.

(And just in case you were feeling a little smug about the fact you did not play the “Charlie, Charlie” game, let me help you with that attitude. Speeding, cheating on your taxes, fantasizing about the cute girl/guy at the gym, and feeling smug – all forms of disobedience and rebellion, and therefore, types of witchcraft.)

Q. So were Christians right to issue a warning when it all turned out to be movie marketing?

A. Yes, because no matter what the source of the ritual, participants are sending out a message to the demonic realm.  1.) We will put your words above God’s. 2.) We are not living under the reign or authority of God and willingly rebel against his command.

Q. Don’t we look like fools for getting tricked into a reactionary response?

A. Yes, but if you are truly living your faith according to Scripture looking like a fool should be standard operating procedure. It is the price of admission – we claim to serve a zombie, people! We look crazy to the outsiders, just accept it and go on. Life gets much easier when we do.

Q. How do demons know the right answer to the questions?

A. Got me, and it is not really something I worry about. However, since a lot of people do, I should offer this caveat. Demons only know partial answers and they lie. Basing any life choice on their revelations is dangerous and stupid.

There is Jewish story about Joseph and Potiphar’s wife that tells a bit more than what we have recorded in the Bible. While I cannot claim it is factual, it serves an excellent lesson.

It was said that Potiphar’s wife consulted a medium (fortune teller, witch, soothsayer, etc.) concerning her future. She was told that she would have a child with her husband’s Hebrew slave named Joseph and the child would be the start of a great nation. In her excitement and desire for glory, she pursued Joseph shamelessly and when she was rejected accused him of rape. After Joseph is released, reunited his family, and raised to second in command of all Egypt, the Pharaoh presents him with a wife, Asenath daughter of Potiphera who was traditionally believed to be the same Potiphar whose wife attempted to seduce Joseph. (Genesis 41:45)

The moral of this story is that the words of the demons who speak to mediums may have some element of truth, even a sense of the future, but it is never to be trusted.

Q. So what do I do if I (or my child) played the game?

A. You ask God’s forgiveness for seeking another before him. You repent and refuse to engage in further behavior like this. And this I believe is the most important part – the Bible says that God inhabits the praise of his people. So you fill you home and life with his presence through authentic praise of who he is and what he has done so that you might know him. If your child has played this game, explain to them these principles and share with them the stories the Biblical stories of victory over the demonic. Do not communicate fear, but rather celebrate the fact Jesus has defeated the enemy. Discuss the need for self-control and empower them to stand against the darkness through knowing God through his Word.

Q. Have I completely destroyed my relationship with God by playing?

A. No. You just set it back a bit, but God has promised forgiveness and restoration for all who seek him out. To say that he will not do this for someone who has played this game is to deny the power of the cross, so cling to the truth of his love.

Deborah - A Man's Shame Or An Inspiring Woman

I grew up listening to the story of Deborah, and I was always fascinated by this woman who poses far more questions than the Scripture answers. I wanted to know how she attained her position in a land ruled by men, how did she essentially become the commander of an army, and why, why, why was it always told as cautionary tale to the men and never an inspiring word to the women?

You can find her story in Judges 4 and then a recap in Judges 5 wherein she and Barak sing the song of their victory.  Now if you know anything about the book of Judges you will know that is odd that a woman takes center stage. This is a book of men about the doings of men, more significantly, it is a book of daring heroism, drama, sexploits, and raw adventures. This is not a book about housekeeping or cooking. It isn’t even a book about love, romance, marriage, or any of the other common Biblical themes for women, and yet, here is Deborah, a woman whose life plays out in the middle of the blood and gore without one mention of her domestic skills – possibly, not even a mention her husband.

We find Deborah in a time when God had “surrendered (Israel) to King Jabin of Canaan.” (Judges 4:2). The people of Israel had been battered and abused for over twenty years, and they had enough. They cried out to the Lord for deliverance, and so we are introduced to Deborah.

“Deborah, wife of Lappidoth, was prophetess; she led Israel at that time. She used to sit under the Palm of Deborah, between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites would come to her for decisions.” Judges 4:4, 5

Let’s begin by explaining why I said her story may not include any mention of her husband, when it’s right there in the middle of the verse. Hebrew can be difficult language and there are few phrases in the Bible that still leave scholar scratching their heads, and this is one them. (Now before anyone gets too upset about that little fact, just know that these phrases usually have little or no bearing on communicating the message of the text. They do not affect the integrity of the story or any issue of faith and practice, they just leave us with some interesting “what-ifs” to entertain.) This phrase can have two different meanings one is obviously “wife of Lappidoth” as it is traditionally read.
However, it can also mean “woman of torches or wicks”.  Each translation is equally appropriate for this fiery woman, and furthermore, unlike other women of the Bible her husband is almost inconsequential to the story. If he was of any significance to our understanding of who and what Deborah was to her people his linage would have been included, but it is not because the story is not about him – it is about a woman who deserves recognition in her own right.

You may also notice another glaring omission, there is no record of Deborah’s children. None, nada, zip. Does this mean she does not have children? Who knows? The point it is it does not matter.
Deborah is a complete person unto herself and her God.

Aside from being the only woman judge remembered in the history of Israel, she is one of only two judges that were also a prophet. Based on this we can extrapolate that she experienced a call to prophecy, was a spokesperson for God, prayed to God on the behalf of the people, and her life functioned as symbol of a greater divine truth. None of this is specifically recorded in Scripture, however, these are the basic events and characteristics that set prophets apart from the general populace.

We are also not told how she came to be the leader of the people of this time. Although, it is highly unlikely that she rose to power simply by sitting beneath palm tree dispense sage advice. When we look at the other judges in the book of Judges, we find military leaders, assassins, and priests. We can almost certainly rule out the possibility of her being a priest – so that narrows the options for her rise to power. (I kind of like the idea of her being an assassin, but that’s probably just my twisted imagination talking.) By whatever means she attained this position, it is evident that the writer did not feel like he needed to offer any background to validate the people’s respect for her.

However, he did include clues as to how the reader was to see her. She prophesied Ramah, a place connected to the ministry of Samuel, the last judge of Israel. (I Samuel 7:17). Rabbinic teach explains that Ramah means heights and by placing the two of them in this geographic location, God was also locating them in place of spiritual heights.

Deborah summons Barak, a military leader, to rise up against their oppressors. Barak, either out of weakness of courage or faith, refuses to budge without Deborah by his side. If you were raised in a conservative church, you know that this is the point where the preacher would condemn Barak and see Deborah’s prophecy that Sisera would be killed by the hand of woman to be an act of judgement against his cowardice. But if you haven’t guessed, this is where I applaud Deborah for not flinching at the challenge and joining Barak on the field.

Again notice what is missing in the text – shock, hesitation, fear – Deborah expresses none of these things. She simply says she will go and informs him of the consequences, but even then he does not flinch. He wants her there with him. Why? Is it because she is a prophet and holy woman that is not unheard of in ancient cultures. Or could it be that Deborah’s background and experience, the part of her life that secured her position as a judge, was one of battle? I don’t know, and I am not claiming to. All I am saying is Deborah was woman to be reckoned with and the men of her day recognized that and honored her for it.

Deborah’s word proves to be true, and Sisera is killed by Jael..
After the battle, Barak and Deborah relate the events in song which the Bible specifically says they sang together. What I find to be so interesting is that Barak sang too. This is not the action of a man who feels shame. This is a man who is expressing gratitude and honor for those it is due, starting with God and his intervention in the fight, praising Deborah for rising up and proclaiming the “Mother of Israel”, celebrating the warriors who joined him on the field, and rejoicing over Jael’s bravery. We do not know who sang which verses, but we do know their voice combined to form the song, even if tradition attributes the bulk of it to Deborah.

Of all the songs of Israel, there are ten deemed to be the most significant. The first among them all is Moses’ song upon the deliverance from Egypt found in Exodus 15. The importance of his song is commemorated by the style in which it is written, “brick above tile and tile above brick” (Megillah 3:7), so that it stands apart even in the printed word. There is only one other song given this honor, and it is the Song of Deborah, connecting her to the tradition of Moses as prophet, leader, and deliverer of the people.

We have to stop treating Deborah and the other women of the Bible as bit players to men’s drama. The story isn’t significant because a man missed out on the chance for glory. The story is significant because God chose to use a woman of strength and honor to deliver his people. He used Deborah’s obedience to stop the oppression of his children and I think he wants to do that today, but it is not going to happen unless women stand up take their place, speak truth, and dare to ride out onto the battle fields of the day. And we can’t do it if we are not cooperating with the men that God ordained to be at our sides, discounting their role just makes us guilty of sexism. Deborah’s story shows us the value of working together with those who are different than us whether be men or women of different backgrounds like Jael. In her we find inspiration to dare, to dream, and even to celebrate our victories with no shame and no false humility so that others can see how God can use all to accomplish his purposes.

Me and Monet - A Confession

I have often compared my life to a Monet painting. Grand, impressive, surprising, and innovative – as long as you don’t get too close, because up close me and the Water Lilies are one massive mess.

When you do what I do for living, people have all sorts of crazy expectations. They think that you have it all together, that you have this puzzle called life figured out, and that matters of faith have stopped being a struggle – after all, how could anyone possibly be brazen enough to speak about these things if their own life isn’t in perfect order?

The funny thing is I have never claimed to have all the answers. I just share the ones I stumbled across in my attempts to survive, and I never cease to be amused from those who think I am flying when I know that I am falling. Maybe it’s the self-deprecating smile that confuses people, but when you have fallen as much as I have you learn to laugh or else you will have to cry – and I hate crying, especially in front of people.

The truth is I haven’t arrived. I haven’t found that place of zen like peace, I haven’t figured out how to solve life’s problems, and I still haven’t learned to walk in all things with grace.

I suppose today’s writing is a bit of a confession, a time to come clean, and just be real for a moment. Not because I want sympathy or pity, just because I think it is important for all of us to remember that no one has it all together. No one ever truly masters this thing called faith. Life is one big pop quiz after another, forcing us to live up to or betray those things we have professed to believe.

Do you trust God with your finances? Great! Here is a $1500 dental bill! Do you trust God with your kids? Good! Here is some rebellion and defiance. Do believe God has great plans for you marriage? Wonderful! Your spouse is going to do something incredibly stupid and hurtful, and he is going to have a stroke. How about your health? Let’s give you a terrifying lump in your breast.  How about your stuff? You know your house, your car, your phone, your computer? The air conditioner is going to die, the transmission is going to go out, let’s see if the fish want to make a call from the bottom of the lake, and here is a blue screen of death.

And I am not making any of that stuff up. It’s all happened, and it has all happened to me in the past year. The closer I get to doing those things that I really believe that God is calling me to the faster the hits keep coming. Sure, I do all the right things, I pray, I worship, I seek wise counsel, and I ask my friends to remember me in their prayers, but sometimes you just get worn out. The frustration leaves you too tired to fight, and life just keeps beating you bloody.

To make matters worse, I do know some right answers and that is the problem. I know them, in my head I know them, but I haven’t figured out how to move that knowledge to my heart. So a lot of the time, I just feel like I am faking it. Like I am spouting off all the write words without feeling it, and then adding condemnation to my frustration because I needed more to deal with.

To be terribly honest, the biggest issue in my spiritual walk that I am wrestling with is the fact I feel like asking God for anything is the surest way to be told no. I can make you a list of unanswered prayers, some selfish and some truly noble requests, and I am wrestle with the tendency to be bitter at what I try not to think of as His neglect. My knowledge of the Bible tells me there is some greater purpose and point to God saying no, but it doesn’t stop my heart from hurting.

Pride wells up, and I demand to know why I have been forgotten despite the fact I am working so hard to do what He has called me to do. I fight the urge to fancy myself a martyr when the clouds of despair roll in, thundering with self-righteous indignation and punctuated with the lightening of rage. All the while that still voice that retains some modicum of sanity inside me is protesting the storms I have allowed to boil inside me, flooding me, overwhelming me with doubt and fear.

But beneath it all is truth, like the rock submerged beneath the flood waters, obscured for a moment but never moving. I am often washed from it and most days I am fighting to find my place upon it again so that I can life my head above the waves. For I know that is the only place where I can truly breathe, the only place where I feel alive, and it is the only place that offers the hope of perspective to understand the chaos of my life.

What is that truth? He will never leave me or forsake me. He is there in the midst of the storm. Nothing in my life escapes His notice or care, my sorrows are His, and my disappointments pave the way for revelations of His grace. My anger does not intimidate Him, my pride does not fool Him, and my sadness does not scare Him. He is big enough to cope with all of me, including my doubts and fears as I learn that denial is not rejection and His silence is not neglect. For a while, I may have to simply hold that knowledge in my head, but I pray that with time I will learn to embrace it with my heart.

For only God is can draw close enough to see the chaos and mess of me while still knowing the beauty seen from a distance.  

Josh Duggar, Lena Dunham, and Why We Are All Wrong

First of all, I want to say I had no intentions of weighing in on the Duggar debate. I have never watched the show, I have never read any articles pertaining to them, and I have never been all that concerned with how many children people decide to have. For me there was simply no appeal in what they had to offer – in either arena of morals or entertainment. Then social media exploded!

I could not turn anywhere without seeing yet another article, blog, or video either demonizing Josh Duggar or attempting to turn him into a martyr, and then the private messages started pouring in asking me to share my views. Now, I do not have any grand answers for how this situation should be handled in legal terms, but I do have some observations about how both sides have handled it on social media.

If I asked just about anyone what they thought of a teenage boy who repeatedly molested his sisters and another girl, I would have gotten firm, etched in stone replies. He is sick. He needs mental help. We need to find out what abuse he was subjected to that would cause him to act out this way. Lock him up. Sure, the answers would have run the gamut from reactionary to ultra-compassionate, but few people would have been swayed from their ideas of right and wrong on this issue.

But this is the problem – most of America knows who Josh Duggar is. We have a name, we have a story, and we have dog in this fight. For some, this family stood for all things good and Christian, from their ultra conservative views on sex and dating to their outspoken stance one LBGT issues and abortion, Christians were relieved to have one of their own getting some positive press. For other’s these people were relics of an ideology and religion that made them little more than circus freaks and objects of scorn and pity for perpetuating antiquated ideas and values.

So what do I think about the Duggar situation?

I think that the whole situation stinks.

And I think that it reveals how hypocritical all of us can be.

If we were to be true to previous statements made by both the religious right and liberal left, we would all be behaving much differently.

The religious right would be demanding blood much as they did with the Lena Dunham case wherein she admits to exploring her sister’s genitals as a seven year old child and then coercing her sister into sexual acts as they grew older – acts that Dunham herself categorizes as predatory. (Later she declared her terminology to be comedic and in bad taste.) We held her up as an example of all that is wrong with the world today, and we condemned her actions evil almost beyond redemption.

Why has our response to Josh Duggar been so different? Simple, Lena Dunham is not our poster child for all things good and wholesome, but Josh Duggar was. And in receiving the news, we did what we do so well, we sank into our pits of denial and tried to find ways to vindicate our golden child.

Folks, that is not how this works. If anything, Josh Duggar and his family are even more accountable for their actions than Lena Dunham and her family. Why? Because they set themselves up as representatives of our faith and that comes with a level of responsibility and accountability that is not applied to those who do not profess to share our faith. To act as if his actions were of little or no consequence is inexcusable, and to use his request for forgiveness as a reason to ignore the past is irresponsible.

For while the eternal condemnation of one’s deeds is removed in seeking forgiveness from our God, the earthly consequences remain intact - this is what allows us to stand before the world with integrity and honor even in our failings! And when deny the magnitude of our sin, we deny the magnitude of God’s redemption and grace. Don’t make that mistake. Do not betray his gift of mercy by using it to circumvent the justice or compassion for those harmed by our sins, because the forgiven are not allowed to avoid the confronting the pain caused by their actions.

Please note, I am not even beginning to reference legal action here. I am simply addressing the moral and ethical teachings of our faith as applied (with bias to Josh Duggar and Lena Dunham). To impose that our standards on those outside of the jurisdiction of the Christian realm while excusing the violation of those standards by those within is to invert the teachings of Christianity and disregard the example Christ’s ministry upon this earth.

Am I suggesting that we ignore Dunham’s attempt to discount her actions since she does not share our faith? No.

I am merely stating that we cannot rail against one and not the other without rightfully being branded hypocrites. The only fitting response that we may make is that we be broken and grieved for both of them, and that even as we speak truth, we do so in love and in the hope of healing.

I am equally disappointed by my friends on the left as they have been almost violently vocal in their condemnation of Josh Duggar while remaining virtually silent about Lena Dunham. I know, I know, her actions have been explained away as mere childhood curiosity and if we simply had account of her deeds as a seven year old, there might be a case for dismissal. However, by her own admission these behaviors continued until the age of seventeen, encompassing the age of Josh Duggar’s actions.

Even more disturbing is the almost maniacal glee posing as righteous indignation on social media. I understand that Josh Duggar’s actions seem to be definitive proof of how dangerous the sexual repression of Christianity can be, but where is the compassion for the girls? Where is the concern for what he may have experienced that would cause him to act in such a manner? Where are the experts to defend him for childish curiosity? Is the compassion and understanding that you take so much pride reserved only for those who share your world view? Are Lena Dunham’s actions and boastful words of her exploits more palatable since she is a woman? Where is the outrage for her victim? How can his actions be more damning than hers?

My point is we are all hypocrites and willing to defend our own. We bend the rules when it serves our cause and excuse those who promote our agenda.  We withhold grace, mercy, and compassion according to our whim rather than our stated principles. We crow over the failures of those we do not love and we deny that those we do love are capable of wrong. I am not excusing this behavior for anyone of us, least of all my Christian brothers and sisters. I am simply acknowledging that it exists because that is the only way we will eradicate it from our lives.

Picking And Choosing - Why Levitical Law Matters To Christians

If you haven’t been accused of picking and choosing the parts of the Bible you choose to believe then you have probably been wise enough to avoid any online debates concerning our faith. However, if like me, you have a hard time keeping your big mouth shut then you have probably been hit with the “picking and choosing” argument a few times.

If you are not familiar with it, this is how it usually goes:

“Everyone picks and chooses which parts of the Bible to believe, or you wouldn’t be wearing the poly blend shirt.”

“No one really believes all the Bible, or you wouldn’t be eating bacon.”

“All you Christians are a bunch of hypocrites because you only believe the parts of the Bible you like and ignore the rest.”

The basis of the argument is that since Christians do not follow the entirety of the Levitical law we have negated the right acknowledge the authority of any of it. Therefore, eating pork, shaving your beard, or gathering eggs improperly automatically means that you cannot be against sexual sins or offer Biblical correction for Christians who commit them. For many Christians this argument is the equivalent of hitting a brick wall.

Most of us know that we are no longer under the whole of the Levitical law, but apart from a few Biblical scholars, few us know why we still adhere to some of the law while disregarding the rest. Allow me to save you the cost of seminary education, and help you understand why we can indulge in a great lobster dinner while still maintaining that sexual standards laid out in Leviticus stand without being hypocritical in our faith.

Fortunately, you don’t have to accept my word for it as the answers were written down by Luke in the Book of Acts and then reaffirmed by Paul. As always, grab your Bible to double check me as I will just be hitting the highlights.

We arrive at Acts just in time to see the ascension of Christ and hear his last words to those gathered around him that day. From there the Church is formed, the message is preached, and the message is resisted sometimes violently by those who find it too radical to be true, but this does not stop the Apostles and those who joined them. Instead of continuing to preach among the Jews, they take the message into the realm of the Gentiles. The response is staggering, and God confirms his inclusion of these outsiders in the New Covenant through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon those receiving the message of Christ, (Acts 10:44-48).

This amazed the Jews (or the circumcised) and for good reason. The Gentiles, while believing in Jesus, had not fulfilled the requirements of the Jewish Law, and yet here was irrefutable proof that God accepted them despite this. For a people whose whole life and relationship to God was manifest in the keeping the law, it almost seemed too easy. Besides that, Christianity was not seen as separate and distinct religion from Judaism, but rather it was viewed as a movement with this ancient religion.

So now you had problem: If Christianity was a part of Judaism then it would follow that all converts to Christianity should be required to uphold Jewish law. If, however, it was not then what were the requirements of law for these new believers?

The issues were hashed out at what would become known as Jerusalem Council recorded in Acts 15. I will not take the time to rewrite the meeting notes here, but after some debate and the presentation of evidence by Peter, Paul, and Barnabas, James the brother of Jesus declares;

“Therefore my judgement is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God.”

His words became the basis for the letter that Paul and Barnabas would carry back to the Gentile Believers in Antioch. It stated:

“For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourself from these things, you will do well. Farewell.” Acts 15:28,29

The first three are simple to understand and define, as these things were all part of the rituals of pagan worship. What trips us up is that phrase “sexual immorality”, after all, if we look at the practices of various cultures we find that sexual morality can be seen as relative. So are we to understand these words?

I think first we have to look at the men who spoke them. They were Jewish with Jewish educations ranging from the most basic knowledge of Torah taught to all Jewish boys of believing families to Paul whose education was of the highest order as he studied that feet of one of the greatest Rabbis of his day, Gamaliel, (Act 22:3). Given this information, we can only conclude that their definition of sexual immorality must be based on their understanding of the Levitical law. The fact that this was not even a point of debate at the counsel confirms that a basic understanding of what these entailed was held by all present. Further discussion was not needed as they all derived their definition from a common source, and if we are to know the definition today then we must return to that source for understanding and application.

Furthermore, we find in Paul’s letter to Timothy a commendation for Timothy’s education in the sacred writings he has studied since childhood as they are “able to make you wise for salvation in Christ Jesus.” Paul concluded this section with these words:

“All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for the training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”                                                      2 Timothy 3:16,17

We must remember that at this time there was no New Testament. Therefore, Paul must have been referring to another set of sacred writings and the only known Scripture of his day, the Old Testament, and he is confirming their importance in our lives as Christians. Notice what he is not saying, he is not saying that we are obligate to follow the ritual law, nor are we disregard what these passages have to teach us in the light of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. Both revelations must be held in sacred esteem and tension serving to illuminate our understanding of each.

If we dive further into Paul’s teachings, we find that he demonstrates this sacred tension in his writings. He rejects salvation through the keeping of the law and celebrates salvation through faith that inspires us to righteousness as revealed in the love of Christ and frees us from the yoke of slavery. He explains how the Spirit guides in life opposed to the flesh and in a life that exceeds the demand of the law by inspiring us to love one another. However, this love is informed by the dictates of the law so that we can know if we are following the Spirit or our own hearts as the definitions of holy and unholy things can only be found in the pages of the law. (Galatians, really just read the whole book. It’s only six chapters you can do it.)

It is a thin line, I know, but a necessary one if we are to walk in righteousness as God has called us to while avoiding the pride that comes with performance and personal achievement. The law should never be the basis for pride, but a revelation of our own inability to please God in our own strength or in the obedience to our base impulses. It should ignite and fuel our love for a Savior who gave us this precious gift of his life and love so that we could walk in unity with our God. We would never know how desperately we needed that love if were not for the revelation of our own inability to faithfully fulfill the demands of the law.

So back to our original quandary: Do Christians pick and choose which parts of the Bible they believe?

Yes and no, we believe that the debate over which parts of the Hebrew Scriptures we should follow has been settled. We believe that the picking and choosing was done for us at the Jerusalem Council and if we are to be faithful to this new revelation in Christ that we must abide by the principles laid out for us in Acts 15. In doing so, we neither reject the right of the Levitical laws to inform our faith, but neither are we dependent upon the Levitical law for our salvation or the joy of knowing the love of our God.

Life Hurts When Your Friends Dine At The Louvre

Life hurts.

There is no way to get around that truth, and yet, how many countless hours do we spend trying to get around it? We cut people out of our lives. We avoid those hard conversations. We do the right things and say the right words trying to ward off some type of karmic debt to the universe that we all know we owe. We try to convince ourselves that if we follow the rules and try to be good the bad things will slide past us, leaving us untouched and unscathed.

For me it was never the big storms that shook me, but rather those small, little goads that seem to make a mockery of all the good you ever tried to do.

Sometimes it doesn’t seem like the battle is worth it, but if you are like me, you keep telling yourself to hang in there, fight the good fight, don’t give up, sorrow may last for a night but joy comes in the morning. So you grit your teeth, take a deep breath, and square your shoulders. You can do this, all you need is to dig a little deeper and everything will be okay.

Then the phone rings – it’s that friend. You know the one who screw up a one car funeral? The one who when given a good, better, and best option will go out of their way to find a bad one?

She’s all bubbly and happy, and you could tell all that from just the “hello”. She breezes by the formalities of polite conversation and you do your best to feign some enthusiasm as your dog vomits on the carpet. Reaching over the pile of past due notices on the kitchen counter, you discover you are out of paper towels and go to search for toilet paper, praying there is some on the house, while cooing one syllable responses only catching half of what she is telling you about her latest adventure.

The kids start screaming over something that sounds apocalyptic, but you are holding on to some desperate hope that it will only rise to Word War III levels. You scrub the vomit, trying to ignore the rage pouring from their bedroom, and manage an, “I’m so happy for you” into the phone.

The resounding sound of someone getting slapped sends you running towards the fray, and you give the kids that mean mama look and point them to opposing corners. Never missing a beat, you smile into the phone, “Isn’t that great?”

“I am going to get off here now. I am having lunch at the Louvre, and the noise is making it hard to hear.” She gushes and as she disconnects you realize what you have just heard…she is on a two month tour of Europe, having an amazing little romance with some French man, and she is having lunch AT THE FREAKING LOUVRE!

The world stops as your mind flashes through each and every bad decision she has made, every time she has been crappy friend, and how she has taken advantage of all your attempts to be a good person. The children notice the change, the freeze in terrified silence, and cringing at what they fear will come.

But you are a good mom, and you offer them a reassuring smile, blink back the tears of frustration and rage you feel forming in your eyes. “Are you two good?” you ask sweetly with just enough of an edge on your voice to let them know there is only one proper answer in this moment. They nod, but never blink.

Deep breath, shoulders squared, and that smile frozen so hard on your face, you feel like it could shatter, you stride to your bedroom close the door with soft deliberateness, lean against it, and slide to the floor. The smile turns to a grimace and you feel the tears splash down angry and hot, while you send vague accusations towards heaven about the unfairness of it all, even as you realize how incredibly petty you are being  - which only makes it all indescribably worse.

Wiping your eyes, a funny smell catches your attention, and you realize that you never dropped the toilet paper you had been using on the dog’s vomit.
I suppose that it wouldn’t seem strange that in that moment none of it seems worth the struggle, but then something amazing happens. There is a little knock at the door, and a timid voice asks, “Mama, are you all right?”

Then you remember why you do it all. It isn’t about you. It is about those little faces watching and wondering how you are going to handle this thing called life. It is about teaching them that life can be lived with integrity and grace. It is about showing them that you can rise above and thrive in the midst of craziness and chaos.  It is about living in such a way that they can see God’s grace and provision in the hard times, and putting action to that abstract thing we call faith. Life hurts and that is a reality that we must prepare them to face, but you can teach them that even in the pain and disappointment of it all they will never have to face it alone – or if you can quiet your heart enough to receive, they will teach you that great and beautiful truth.

My Apologies To A Friend And Brother

My apologies to all my friends who have ever been hurt by the Church.

My apologies to everyone who has believed in false doctrines and teachings that raised your expectations and then dashed them to the ground.

My apologies for a Church that is more concerned about being politically correct, their next building program, or the number of people they can pack in the pews than the people who sat in them.

My apologies for the lies we used to lure you into our buildings, only to tell you later that they were lies and it was not our fault you misunderstood.

My apologies for preachers who sell God’s grace like snake oil or the magic cure for all that ails you only to be trapped in wheelchair, the chemo clinic, or the darkness inside your head.

My apologies for those who blamed you for not having enough faith to receive healing when only you and God know how many times you cried out to him in the night.

My apologies for all the people who surrounded you in prayer when there was an audience and then never picked up the phone to call when no one was around.

My apologies to all of you have had your faith shattered and no one offered to walk through that dark time with you.

My apologies for spineless congregations who never stood up to corrupt leadership, and for the abuses that leadership doled as if it were their divine right.

My apologies for all for all the secrets you felt you had to keep hidden so that you could have friends within the community of faith.

My apologies for the way we have failed to teach the hard lessons of faith so that we might grow through adversity and not be demolished by it.

My apologies for presenting Jesus as weakling with no right to your trust to see you through devastation of this life.

My apologies for not showing you a God big enough to dream great dreams with and to dare great things for.

My apologies for every voice that was silent when protest should have been made.

My apologies for every hand that was closed when it should have been opened to give and to receive.

But most of all, I apologize for those who believed they could not love you when you failed to measure up to their idea of faith, who left you there alone when they should have been by your side – when they promised they would be until life got to real for their faith to weather. And I make one request of you, and that is to remember. Remember the God who loves you, the God who became flesh to suffer for you and to know what the pain of life on this earth truly is so that he you would never be alone in your suffering. He still want you and is waiting for the day that you remember and not all the people who hurt you in his name.

I can't erase all those things in your past, or even the things that you may live with for the rest of your life, but I can promise that I will do my best to never betray your heart as so many others have. I hope you remember, I can't imagine a world, this one or the next, without you.