Thursday, October 26, 2017

Scary No More

Halloween is less than a week away. All around, there are witches and ghosts, vampires and monsters, demons and dead people. Evil, death, and darkness are glorified and celebrated. But, it's all "just fun" and nothing serious, right?

Sure, I used to celebrate Halloween when I was younger. I dressed up. The costumes I remember are a fairy princess, a gymnast, and a circus clown (not a scary clown). When I was in high school, I do remember one year that it wasn't quite that tame, and some friends and I decided - last minute - to go out as dead high school students. Really creative... In college, there were a couple years I dressed as a gypsy. As a kid, we used to decorate our house, play scary music, go trick-or-treating, attend the haunted house, etc. I didn't see any problem with Halloween. It was "just for fun."

As I've gotten older, had my own children, and gotten more serious about my relationship with Jesus, my views have changed. Why in the world would I want to glorify evil and darkness? Why would I want to purposely cause fear for myself, my children, or anyone else?

The Bible warns against witches, witchcraft, and magic many times. It warns against evil in general even more. In Galatians 5:20-21, witchcraft is included in a long list of acts of the sinful nature. After the list, Paul wrote, "I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God." Deuteronomy 18:10-12 says: Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you. Even if you aren't actually practicing witchcraft, etc. yourself, the attention given to it makes it more acceptable. I don't want to be found detestable to the Lord. I don't want to miss out on the kingdom of God because I was "just having fun" playing around with evil. No thanks.

Cute costumes, visiting neighbors, getting candy - those things don't bother me. The problem is, it's hard to isolate those things from everything else Halloween. Even if you choose to think that you are celebrating Halloween in this "safer" way, what about every other child and adult out there? What about their costumes, decorations, pranks, etc.? You can't insulate your child and still participate.

It has become quite sickening the last few years. The decorations have gotten more disturbing. When yard displays now have lynchings, dismembered bodies, dead and bloody babies hanging from trees - it has gotten way out of hand. Why is this being considered acceptable and fun? Why is glamorizing murder, death, and evil okay?

This is not just a one-time-a-year thing, though. This is a year-round thing to consider. When a Christian is okay with praising God, being in the light, and living uprightly on Sunday, and then living in darkness with evil filling their minds, spilling out of their mouths, and teaching it to others at other times, I see a problem. I think as a society, we have allowed evil and violence to infiltrate so much in our lives (t.v. shows, movies, video games, books, news...) that we have blurred the lines of distinction between good and evil, right and wrong. This should not be, my friends.

Christians, we need to practice what is right. We practice to improve a certain skill, action, or habit. If you practice filling your mind with evil and celebrating it, that is not pleasing to the Lord - and the more you practice at it, the better (or worse, in this case) you'll be. Practice what you want to be true in your life.

Whatever you fill your minds and hearts with is what will come out of you. In Matthew 12:34, Jesus says, "You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." Oh, be careful little eyes what you see. Be careful little minds what you think. Be careful little mouths what you speak. Be careful little hands what you do. Be careful little feet where you go. Anything we put in our minds, words and stories we hear, has a habit of replaying itself over and over. Fill your hearts and minds with the word of God, so that your thoughts, words, and actions may be pleasant and life-giving.

Christians should be careful about what we are displaying to the world. We are supposed to be set apart. How will anyone see value in a life lived for Jesus if there is no difference between the way we live and the way non-Christians live? Churches, in my opinion, should not be creating haunted houses. Why is the spirit of fear being invited into churches when we are not supposed to have a spirit of fear? "For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline," (2 Tim. 1:7). "But now, this is what the LORD says - he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel; 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine,'" (Isaiah 43:1). Over and over the Bible tells us "do not fear." Fall festivals can be just as bad, but I think they can be done in ways that are edifying for the participants and pleasing to the Lord. For example, the church we attend has a Fall Festival. There are activities and treats, games with candy prizes, and people wear costumes (generally okay, but some scary since the whole community is invited to this free event). The thing I truly love about our Fall Festival, however, is that every game is intentionally and carefully planned, and there is a Bible verse posted with every game. As my family participates, I make a point that we read each Bible verse out loud. It keeps our minds in the right place, allows other people around us to hear the verses, and calls their attention to the fact that the verses are posted all over.

Delight over evil no more. "Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it," (Psalm 34:14). "Avoid every kind of evil," (1 Thess. 5:22). "Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evil men. Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and go on your way," (Psalm 4:14-15). "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life," (Psalm 4:23). Work to "demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and...take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ," (2 Cor. 10:5).

"Jesus said to his disciples: 'Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. So watch yourselves'" (Luke 17:1-3). "'Everything is permissible' - but not everything is beneficial. 'Everything is permissible' - but not everything is constructive" (Romans 10:23).



"Create in [us] a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within [us]. Do not cast [us] from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from [us]. Restore to [us]  the joy of your salvation and grant [us] a willing spirit to sustain [us]" (Psalm 51:10-12).

Saturday, October 21, 2017

Allegiance

Today I want to share some thoughts that I have been mulling over for the past two years. This has nothing to do with the recent controversy about people protesting during the pledge. I will admit right now that I'm not sure how I feel about that. Let me also say right now, that I don't expect everyone will agree with me on my thoughts.This is a highly emotionally charged topic for some people. I also recognize that I might be wrong with some of my thoughts. I am a flawed human being like everyone else, just sharing on a topic I've been thinking about for a long while. I welcome your comments, even if you disagree with me, but please be kind and respectful.

Two years ago, in 2015, a friend posted on Facebook about the sense of unity and patriotism that seemed to define the American people after 9/11 had seemed to disappear. He said, "Why can't we remember that we are all Americans? While race and religion are beautiful things, we seem to perverse it in a way that creates conflict and division. Let's not wait for another abhorrent act like what occurred on 9/11 to help us see past our differences."

This friend is a military veteran and I agree with him on many points, even in the post he wrote, but at the time he wrote it, it stuck a chord with me that I really needed to investigate. Yes, I am an American and have been proud of that for a long time. My husband and I even decorated a bathroom with patriotic colors and items. We considered doing our living room that way, too. We have a flagpole in our front yard (although it doesn't get used as often as it should). We each have at least four patriotic shirts. But...

My immediate reaction was that it is more about God than about country. If for some reason I believed that God was calling me to leave this country and move elsewhere, I would do it. Abraham did. I have loved America, but things are changing, not for the good. Just like a person who chooses wrong, there are consequences, which may include broken relationships. I can love and care for those around me, and work together with them in ways, but I will not choose to agree with sin no longer being sin. I will help feed, clothe, and care for anyone regardless of their race, religion, or beliefs. Yes, we are all Americans, but our ultimate, primary allegiance should be to God. There are some differences that should not be overlooked or “seen past." We need to say 'no' to these things, just as God did and does. What if someone said to Lot, “Why can’t we all just remember that we are citizens of Sodom?” Should that have been of higher allegiance to him than God?

I am a Christian before I’m an American. My true citizenship is in heaven. We pledge allegiance to so many things. Our family routinely pledges to the American flag, Christian flag, Bible, and AWANAs. Those in public schools pledge to the Texas flag and many pledge to other organizations such as Boy/Girl Scouts. To how many groups/things are we going to give our allegiance, and is this right?

What if our "one nation under God" is no longer under God? What if we are going the way of Sodom, Gomorrah, Ninevah, and Babylon? Is that a nation and government to which I want to pledge allegiance? Is it Biblical to pledge allegiance to one's country? These were my big questions.

Here are some things I've found in the last couple years to help guide me on this topic:
  • Romans 1:25-32 - They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them. This sounds very much like our country in this current age. I wanted this whole passage here, but the part that speaks most about allegiance is verse 25, where Paul talks about created things being worshiped and served instead of the Creator. This could apply to governments and organizations.
  • From Haventoday.org: These kind of ungodly decisions serve to remind us that the world in which we live is hostile to things of God. It reminds us that we live here as “aliens and strangers,” that we’re temporary residents of a foreign land. But it still remains a world that God so loved that he sent his only Son (from John Freeman, president of Harvest USA, italics mine)
  • Jesus wept over Jerusalem and her refusal to turn to him as its shepherd (Luke 19:41-42). He didn’t stop loving her.
  • A father (or mother) loves his child and stays devoted to them even if they sin. God loves us and is devoted to us even if we sin. Maybe we should love and be devoted to our country/government even though she sins. – Hebrews 13:17 says Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.  ----- but what about when those leaders are wrong? In Acts 5:29, Peter and the other apostles replied: "We must obey God rather than men!"
  • Romans 12:2 - Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will. Just because it's popular doesn't mean it's right and just because it's right doesn't make it popular.
  • Jeremiah 29:7 - Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.
  • Romans 13:7 - Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
  • Romans 13:1-2 - Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
  • Matthew 6:24 - No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
    • I found this passage interesting for this point:
      • We can’t give our loyalty to two masters and be pleasing to both. Whether the choice is between God and money, God and man, God and a government or nation, the choice is always the same, one or the other. It seems that Jesus is saying ‘you can’t have your cake and eat it too’. In light of this it just doesn’t seem possible to me to give my loyalty to God, and then try and give it to a government at the same time. Jesus also said ” My kingdom is not of this world”. Jesus has a kingdom, and just like an earthly kingdom , I can’t be loyal to two kingdoms at once. It would be impossible to be loyal to the USA and Iran at the same time! It’s the same with being part of the kingdom of God. Jesus calls us to be loyal to his kingdom, and if we have given our loyalty to God’s kingdom, how then can we try and give it to America or any other worldly kingdom? – Matt Young, Red Letter Christians, May 23, 2013. https://www.redletterchristians.org/the-pledge-of-allegiance-2-reasons-why-christians-should-not-say-it/

  • I think one of the biggest points I've gotten over the last two years is that we need to be careful that we are only speaking intentionally, saying only what we really mean to say and not speaking without thinking about every word. If you are pledging allegiance to something, then I think you need to really believe that you will uphold what you say.

  • Matthew 5:33-34 - "Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.' But I tell you, Do not swear at all..."

  • Jeremiah 4:2 - "and if in a truthful, just and righteous way you swear, 'As surely as the LORD lives,' then the nations will be blessed in him and in him they will glory."

  • Deuteronomy 23:21-23 - If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the LORD your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin. But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty. Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the LORD your God with your own mouth. Now, this is about making a vow/pledge to God, not to men, but I think it still makes the point that we should be intentional and think before we speak, being sure that we will do what we say we will do.
  • I recently read one of my daughter's school books (Shades of Gray by Carolyn Reeder). One of the characters loved his country (America) but refused to fight in the Civil War. He was not disloyal to the people or the country. It was an intentional, personal decision based on his beliefs, and his nephew, who took great offense to this, came to respect his uncle very much for his strength of character. We can love our country without agreeing with the masses and joining in their activities.
  • I found this article that I thought presented many good points about whether it is biblical or Christian to pledge allegiance to anyone or anything other than God. It was very helpful to me and I suggest checking it out: https://www.gotquestions.org/pledge-of-allegiance.html.

So, if you are around me and there is a call to pledge to the American flag, will you see me covering my heart and reciting it with the masses? I do agree to abide by its laws and do my best to be a good citizen. I support "liberty and justice for all," although I think people misconstrue what that should look like, but that's another topic. In some ways, I'm extremely proud of our country. In other ways, I'm extremely disappointed. But, I still love this beautiful land and its people. I still want the United States of America to be successful. I want her to be pleasing to God and pray for that. At this current time, yes, I will continue to pledge allegiance to my country, but as an individual and not a member of a mass, and with intentional thought about every word that comes from my mouth, not mindless recitation that has been memorized over the years.

What are your thoughts? Did I strike a chord with you? Will you change the way you approach pledges of allegiance to your country and/or other organizations? I hope you will consider your words and actions and be intentional about whatever you decide.

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17

Monday, October 2, 2017

Growing Weary

Recently, there was a day when I was sitting at the table eating lunch with my son. I reminded him to put his knees down, quit rocking his chair back and forth, use his utensils instead of his fingers,...

I started thinking about how tired I get of correcting the children sometimes, and telling them the same things over and over. I get tired of the eye rolls or glares, or the jerking away from me when I gently prompt or remind them not to do something, such as bite their nails. (They are really good kids and not typically disrespectful like this, but it does happen.)

I grow weary. Maybe I should just stop telling them these things and let what would happen just happen - falling on the floor, having sore fingers, missing or losing a future job opportunity due to their habitual actions or behaviors. I even said something like this to them recently, about maybe I wouldn't remind them not to bite their nails anymore, but both kids said that they still wanted me to help them.

God prompted me to consider this weariness and how it applies in witnessing. Sometimes I feel weary about people who haven't accepted Jesus, or who say they have, but they sure aren't living it, or have distorted what the Bible says about some things. Most of the people I talk to respond with indifference, but I know for others, the response can be very unkind and hurtful. Relationships that you thought were pretty strong can suddenly be lost. That really hurts if the reason you said anything at all is because you really care for them. It can make a person feel weary and want to stop trying.

Current events including the hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, and (so far only a) word battle with North Korea, have hurt my heart for so many people whom I don't even know. A couple friends have posted how this could possibly be the beginning of the end (Matthew 24:6-8, Mark 13:7-8). (I'd recommend that you read all of Matthew 24 and Mark 13.) One friend shared this as part of their post: "Christians, we should not panic, but be urgent in sharing the gospel. We know the end of this story....." My thoughts toward those who are going through these times and events without a relationship with God have been heightened. These people don't the power and love of God the Father, Jesus the Son and our savior, and the Holy Spirit in their lives. They don't realize what their eternity is going to look like. We all have eternal life, but will it be heavenly or horrible?

Even when it gets hard, I will choose not to give up - not with my children, and not with other people. I heard once that we should not give up on anyone whom God hasn't given up. I know people who have prayed for YEARS for someone before they accepted Jesus. They didn't give up even when it looked hopeless. I choose to persevere, too. Even when I'm weary, I will find strength in the Lord and I will persevere.

Galatians 6:9 - Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Deuteronomy 31:6 - Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.
Joshua 1:9Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 - May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.
James 1:12 - Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.