Amazing Grace (in Cherokee)

No matter what language I hear this song (though it is especially beautiful in Cherokee), it always stirs my heart towards a repentant joy that longs to be at the feet of Jesus, my Savior King.

It's a love thang

Over these past few weeks I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed because as I have been praying and thinking through how to really minister effectively while being faithful in an entitlement enviornment, but what I've come to realize is that God has been revealing to me my own spirit of entitlement. So, to make this story a bit shorter, these past few weeks have really come, because of God's grace, to their inevitable end which is me repenting and asking Jesus to give me a servant's heart. On further reflection, its like I've become more prideful than broken "I deserve this, I deserve that, I can do this, I can do that" which is directly connected to having an entitlement mentality. This is an old, but new facet of the pride within my heart. Most my life, I never really thought I deserved anything.

Since God saved me 9 years ago from a hopeless life of drug addiction, I've always been more broken than prideful (generally speaking). I knew full well then as I should still know now just how sinfully worthless I was before God divinely intervened in my life. So, during this past week I've been reflecting on just where God has taken me from and where He has me now. Where God has me now in this faith journey, does make perfect sense, if, I pause long enough to see the whole journey and not just the here and now. Sanctification is a process as Paul tells us: "continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose" (Phil 2:12b-13). When I just look at the here and now, I lose sight of just how much grace, mercy and love God has lavished on me, I forget that it is God who is working in me. Just this morning, while I was worshipping God in my room to a personalized worship set, I realized that I've slowly become less and less actively in love with Jesus.

I know that God is building perseverance in me and equipping me through ministry (and life) hardships to mature me, but while in the midst of this I've become less and less actively in love with Jesus. I have not allowed my heart to express its love for the precious Savior and Lover of my soul which has been a welcomed wake up call for me. It's so amazing the grace that Jesus extends to me. I am so grateful that even when I drop the ball in our relationship, Jesus never does. He never stops being actively in love with me. It's a love thing.

Are you starving Jesus?

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Phil 3:12-14).

Here are a series of videos from MTVExit.com on Human Trafficking

TRUTH

TRAIN

SUBWAY

CRIBS

PIMP
We all would like to think that this is a tragedy that happens far, far away from our doorstep. But, in reality it is happening closer than you would probably like to believe. There are strip clubs, escort services and massage parlors in every major city, not to mention street prostitution. To be fair, not all the women or men providing these services are the victims of human trafficking, but it is safe to say that a large majority of them have been coerced and forced into the sex trade industry. But, there are many, many, many children who are being trafficked into sex slavery.

Now not everyone frequents these places. But if we bring Internet pornography into the conversation than it is safe to say that everyone who has a computer has the potential to support those who traffic human beings into sex slavery. Every time a person visits an adult website, what they are essentially doing is supporting the sex industry as a whole which includes those who are being victimized through sex slavery.

If you are struggling with sexual addiction, get some help. Do whatever it takes to break free! As long as there is a demand, the sexual exploitation of men, women and children will continue. Be part of the solution and not the problem.

But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people (Ephesians 5:3).

Repentance vs. Relief

The last verse of the book of Judges does a good job in summing up the book as a whole, "In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (ESV). The Israelites are continually doing what was right in their own eyes (21:25) which to say the least seriously damaged their relationship with God. Now there comes a time when the Israelites are in over their heads (once again) and begin to cry out to God to rescue them (10:15). They even get rid of all their foreign gods (10:16). But, this seeking of God has suspicious motives and the question arises: "Is there any real repentance here or are the Israelites only seeking relief from their distress?"

When I begin seeking God for relief from distressing sin, I have to ask myself this same question: "Am I seeking relief from the consequences of my sin for my own comfort because it has made my life unmanageable or am I truly repent for it?" which provokes another question, one that more precisely targets the underlying issue: "If the sin stayed manageable would I have even sought out God?"

I'm reminded of Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 7:10 "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death." Worldly sorrow comes when we are only sorry for the consequences of our sins or that we got caught. When we don't get our way or what we covet or are caught with our hand in the cookie jar we sink into despair, bitterness (anger), maybe even paralysis. We sink into the murky depths of self-pity because worldly sorrow is self-centered. There is no forgiveness for admittance of guilt (being caught), only confession which involves submission.

Conversely, godly sorrow happens when a person realizes what they have done is wrong (sinned) regardless of the consequences of their actions and the need to make things right. "This is godly sorrow—one that recognizes the wrong committed and then does everything within its power to repair the damage. Simply put, godly sorrow is constructive" (2 Corinthians, IVP Commentary, 1996). Godly sorrow is active and forward moving. It is others-centered which includes God. Godly sorrow must involve mourning the destructive nature of sin both towards God and towards others.

But, "only God can empower people to change their ways. Only God can save people from the way sin imprisons them and paralyzes them. Only God can help us turn away from sin and seek salvation" (1 & 2 Corinthians, Life Appl. Commentary, 1999). We live in a world that is temporal. For lasting change, for eternal change, God must be the primary mover because He alone is the eternal Creator who is the transformer of lives (2 Cor 5:17) "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"