God is so amazing!

The Creation story told in such an amazing way with video!

Acceptance vs. Tolerance

I've just finished the book ChurchNEXT by Eddie Gibbs (IVP, 2000). In the scope of the whole emergent/missional church movement, it was published in the beginning stages and was groundbreaking in addressing some of the ecclesial models that were in transition at the time. What was of main interest to me was his treatment of the need for apostolic leaders. Being an apostolic leaders means being missionally-minded by living and keeping in step with the Spirit (Gal 5:25), who reminds believers of Jesus' teachings (John 14:26) and leads them into all truth (John 16:13) while empowering believers (2 Tim 1:7) to continue the ongoing mission that Jesus began 2000 years ago.

"Apostolic leaders must have a profound understanding of the nature of their mission and be concerned to pursue that mission using all their God-given faculties. Yet at the same time they must remain open to the leading of the Holy Spirit, responding to course corrections and to unexpected, seemingly insurmountable obstacles - which are not always sent by Satan to frustrate progress but may be part of God's overall scheme, the complexity of which we humans cannot hope to fully understand, much less resolve (111)."

Now this mission that all believers are on needs to be confrontational, yet filled with grace and truth while focused on transformation. Living in a postmodern, even post-Christian world where truth is viewed as relative, where personal values supersede objective truth and where tolerance has seized the day, the reality of the matter is that conflict is inevitable. Now, while in the midst of this conflict, we are commanded to be lovingly accepting (Rom 14:9-13), but "The goal of acceptance is to work towards transformation, not that people should feel more comfortable about their sins (200)." This includes not only persons, but whole cultures becuase "The gospel judges each culture according to its compatibility with the focus, values and goals of the kingdom of God....There will be unfulfilled cultural aspirations that the gospel will bring to fruition. There will be demonic elements in every culture on which the gospel passes judgment (221)."

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!"

Soul Suffocation

When I read books like "Invisible Girls: The truth about sexual abuse," by Dr. Patti Feuereisen and read quotes like these, my heart pauses, it's like time hiccups and it feels like my soul can't breath.

"heart jumping

body shivering

fingers clutching

zippers unzipping

sanity escaping

good-bye little girl..." - a 16 year old sibling abuse survivor

"While my father was molesting me, I would look at the wallpaper with all the little fairies. I would pretend they were my friends, and that they were sprinkling fairy dust on me. I made up names for all the fairies, and I was the queen fairy, and I could protect every little girl in my world." - a 17 year old incest survivor.

"quick, call the cops

I've just been cocked blocked

Knocked out by a rock

My body was in shock

a flock of guys left me alone

coughing up a bloody song

how could I whimper without a fight

I was weak and the cuffs were too tight." - a 20 year old gang-rape survivor

"I wanted so many times to simply have faith, to give my soul over to the care of something else, someone else, because there were times when it felt too filthy for me to hold anymore. But then there was always some rule, like 'turn the other cheek' or 'forgive and forget.' Some concept of forgiveness that I couldn't even wrap my brain around. It seemed so incomprehensible. How do you 'forgive' someone for taking away your childhood, your wonder and your innocence and your 'first time' and your chance to discover yourself without dark pits and chasms opening up underneath you on the path? - a 22 year old incest survivor

It's question like these that makes me all the more grateful that because of Jesus' death, resurrection and ascension that true healing can happen; "by His wounds we are healed" (Is 53:5d).