Civil War (of Words) and Peace Speech

I had a few thoughts percolating through my brain today somewhat related to freedom and Independence Day and all like that but also relating to other important issues. I really hate that it seems like it's almost impossible to have a civil discussion anymore- at least online, where you have people that don't all believe the exact same things as you. I saw a post online on a page I follow and its message seemed to be a bit ambiguous so I did what I often do on such posts- I asked a question for clarification. (I learned on Sesame Street that that's the best way to find out stuff.) Unfortunately, because social media seems to bring out the absolute worst in us people- and perhaps the feeling of relative safety of exchanges that are not in person adds to this- everyone tends to naturally assume that a sincere question is really just someone looking to upset others and pick a fight, hence earning them the title of "troll". And then it is assumed that the post in question should and must be blindingly obvious to everyone. Thus, if you must ask such questions, you are deemed to evidently be "part of the problem". (Never mind that "the problem" can never seem to be pinpointed or explained.) And such responses shut down conversation and thus disallow further understanding to occur. The nicer shutdown of conversation is the explanation that social media is generally not the best place for delicate conversations. This is essentially a reiteration of the old adage about not talking about religion or politics in mixed company. The problem with this notion is that this means serious conversations that need to happen can never happen because we can't seem to lovingly and respectfully talk about potentially controversial topics without attacking each other for daring to think differently than we do on something. That is very sad when meaningful discussion and debate can't be conducted. In contrast, I had a nice conversation with a gentleman today who was exercising his First Amendment free speech rights by holding up a sign on the sidewalk where passing motorists and pedestrians could see his campaign to boycott some companies with whom he had grievances. (I don't want to get into specifics because that is besides the point of this post much like the ending parantheses bracket is to this point.) I am not sure if I totally agreed with his cause but I could agree that he had a valid point. I wished him well in his cause and rejoiced that he was a fellow believer in Christ, even if we hold to some different denominational views. This is not to say that I am the best at having civil discussions, particularly those with whom I disagree. This is to say that it is possible and it's what the right to free speech should entail. We don't have to hold all the same views in order for me to respect and love you and respect your right to your views. I have a number of friends who hold very different views from me. Some are on different ends of political views and religious stances. Some claim no faith and some claim a different one. It is okay for them to have their views and I respect their right to hold them. And I try to be respectful to listen to them. It is a great exercise to try at times. Read something from a totally opposite point of view. See what you can learn from it. Even if you wind up discarding all of it wholesale, at least you are now better informed so as to understand the way others view things. As Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers." Let's make peace instead of grief when we disagree. My personal guide is of course The Bible, which is God's Word. And He commands us to make a righteous judgment in John 7:24. In 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22, we find my guiding verses for discerning truth as I assess various sources of information. "Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid all appearances of evil." In doing this, I also make a point to point out to the person I'm speaking with the points I can heartily agree with them on first. I try to compliment them on the good things I see in their speech. And then I gently but firmly point out where I differ and that is where we have to agree to disagree agreeably, as my dad would say. Another wise thing he often said when we were overseas on the mission field often comes to mind for me too. "Different is not necessarily wrong- it's just different." To bring this back to the theme of Independence Day, I will say this specifically about the United States of America. As one who was not "Born in the U.S.A." (which is why my mom says I can't sing the Bruce Springsteen song of the same name ;-)), I have a bit of a different view of America as a foreign country that I also regard as home to some degree. To some degree, I will always regard Trinidad & Tobago as home as well since I still am at least partly a Trini at heart. (Trini 2 De Bone! :-)) To a smaller degree, I feel some loyalty to Spain as the land of my birth. (This is why it's really hard for me to say where I'm from. ;-)) And having lived in different cultures, I can see things that these countries do and believe that I can hold to and agree with, while there are other things I would have to discard. (Just like 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 ;-)) And I'm glad for and proud of my Spanish, Trini and American heritage. I praise God for the Blessings of Liberty in all three homes. God shed His grace on all three- just as He did on the whole world when He sent Christ to die and rise to pay for our sins. (Titus 3:4-7) May God mend thine every flaw for the whole world. That's the process He is doing as His Spirit moves in us who are Christ followers to share The Gospel around the world and live out the kingdom of God so that His will is done here as it is in Heaven. We are God's agents of change spreading the sweet aroma of Christ that overpowers people like bees overcome with the allure of nectar or cats with catnip. We do that best when we love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength- giving Him all the glory rightfully due His Name alone- and when we love our neighbour as ourselves. That is what I want to be about as I seek to speak The Truth in Love. (Matthew 22:34-40 and Ephesians 4:15) And as Ephesians 4:29-32 talks about, I want to be kind to others, tenderhearted, forgiving as Christ forgave me- giving grace to all who hear me so that others are built up with my words and never torn down. Every single human being is made in God's image and is worthy of love and respect. They are infinitely important and valuable and eternally loved! Please forgive me for any time I have ever said or done anything to make anyone feel any less. I dare not say anything to besmirch or belittle His creation! The grace and love of Jesus compels me to show His love to others in extravagance, as He has done for me and all of us. (John 3:16 and Romans 5:8) Thank You, Father God, for freedom of speech, assembly, peacefully petitioning of the government for a redress of grievances, the press and religion. I am glad to live in a country that recognizes those rights and acknowledges that all men and women are created equal and endowed by You with these rights- along with the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I am also thankful to You eternally that I have found my happiness in You because You are the source of all joy! Your love pardons and forgives all sin for all who come in faith and repentance to You. And I thank and praise You that my ultimate Home is with You in Heaven because You have saved me from the Hell I deserve for my sins and instead given me the Heaven I don't deserve. Your grace and mercy are amazing and overwhelming! May Your graciousness overflow in me to all I meet in pointing them to You. I thank You for making me a citizen of Heaven. (Philippians 3:20) Whatever gain I had, I count it all as loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord and Saviour. (Philippians 3:7-14) Help me to keep pressing on beyond the past to what You have lying in wait for me in the future, doing all You have called me to do in the present. And may all I do be done in Love. In Your Holy Name, Amen.

Words, Thoughts and Letters

"Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in His Name when they saw the signs that He was doing. But Jesus on His part did not entrust Himself to them, because He knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for He Himself knew what was in man." (John 2:23-25)
"The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9)
Jesus does.
"And the Spirit of The Lord fell upon me, and He said to me, 'Say, Thus says The Lord: 'So you think, O house of Israel. For I know the things that come into your mind.' ' " (Ezekiel 11:5)
Jesus knows our hearts and our minds and our souls- everything about us.
"Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." (Matthew 12:33-37)
Jesus knows every single word we've ever said or even thought of saying- the ones we've just whispered under our breath and the ones we've thought but haven't uttered out loud. He also knows every single word we've typed on any online posting and in every text message and letter we've written.
Don't think that any area of life is off-limits for God and that He doesn't know about it and won't deal with it. God deals with all sin and He counts it all as equally wrong.
(Matthew 5:17-19- Whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of Heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of Heaven.)
How then do we deal with the gravity of these realizations? How then should we live? Thankfully, the wrath of God upon all of our sins has been poured out on Jesus. Through our faith in His death and Resurrection, we know that we can have forgiveness and a new life in Christ- and the hope of eternity in Heaven with Him. But this faith must be one that drives us to repentance. (i.e. This goes beyond mere lip service to God-Jesus also has stern words about those who just call Him, "Lord, Lord" but don't actually do what He says. Check Matthew 7:12-27. Again- it's only faith in Jesus' grace that saves us, but real faith is defined and demonstrated by action. [see James 2.]
So if we have truly been crucified with Christ and have nailed our sins and worldly passions to His cross, then live by The Spirit and walk by The Spirit, so that we will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by The Spirit, let us also keep in step with The Spirit. (see Galatians 5:16-26)
Father, forgive me for the times I have been lagging behind and out of step with The Spirit. Help mold me to be more like Your Son every day. Help me to keep my thoughts captive to You and use my tongue to pour out Your praises and not curse my brothers. Cleanse me with the hyssop branch and I will be clean. Thank You for Your longsuffering and grace that refuses to give up on me and continues to work with me, in me and on me all the time. Keep removing the chaff and dross until only the refined remains. May the light of Your glory and grace continue to open my eyes to the dimness of the things of this world in comparison to Your glorious brightness and sunshine. May You always be my treasure above all.

(Note:  I should acknowledge that, while I was recently thinking on some of these things anyway, this was also largely based on the sermon from church at Hampton First Baptist today.)

Love One Another

David and Jason Benham. Pol Pot. Kirk Cameron. Osama bin Laden. Phil Robertson. Sadamm Hussein. S. Truett Cathy. David Koresh. The Unabomber. Donald Sterling. President Barack Obama. President George W. Bush. (and all the others before them and after them, for that matter.) Lizzie Borden. Susan Smith. Jim Jones. John Wayne Gacy, Jr. Fred Phelps. Adolf Hitler. Me.

       This list of infamous names in both recent and past history could certainly go on much longer, but these will suffice for my point. What do they have in common? They have all been reviled by some at different points in time- and all for either things they said (or said they believe) or things they did. Whether they were right or wrong is really beside the point here. They’ve all certainly been wrong many times in their lives and perhaps right on some things at some points too. But they all have something else in common that is absolutely essential to remember.
         Every single one of them is a human being made in the image of God and they are loved by God immensely. God says they are infinitely important and I am commanded to treat them and consider them the same. Has not God loved us in this manner? “I have loved you with an everlasting love,” God says to us. (Jeremiah 31:3) Even when we are faithless, He is always faithful. (2 Timothy 2:13) And what does Jesus command us? “Love each other as I have loved you.” (John 15:12)
          Love each other as Jesus loved us? Jesus’ love for us led Him to the cross! Jesus’ love for us lived 33 years confined in flesh and blood as a man. Jesus’ love for us was willing to be misunderstood, rejected by His own family and hometown, betrayed by His own disciples and friends, and mocked and reviled by religious leaders of the Law. Jesus’ love for us was punished brutally, whipped, spat upon and affixed with a thorny crown- before having three nails driven through it. And praise God- Jesus’ love for us was strong enough to love us through all of it- and the power of God, Who is Love (1 John 4:8), raised Jesus from the dead! (Ephesians 1:17-23, Romans 8:11).
          And what did Jesus say while upon the cross? “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34). Wait- WHAT? No pleas for God The Father to smite them all, as He surely could have if He so chose? Does not vengeance belong to The Lord? (Romans 12:9) Yes, it does- and The One who holds vengeance in His hands chose not to hate those who hurt Him- but rather, reach out in love instead. “As a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth.” (Isaiah 53:7b) He didn’t answer His tormentors in like kind- He didn’t say anything mean to them. But He forgave them. And He expects us to do the same with those who wrong us. (Just read the parable of the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18:21-35 for an incredible picture of this.) We must forgive others from the heart just as God The Father has forgiven us. We who have been shown mercy can do nothing but show mercy to others. God will judge them, as He will judge us all, in His time. Every wrong will be righted- in the right time.
            Jesus Christ Himself told us the greatest commandment in The Law. “Jesus replied, ‘Love The Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40). He gave us a very clear command in John 15:17- “Love one another”. (In fact, He said that a number of times throughout The Bible.) You can’t say you love God, Whom you haven’t seen, and hate your brother, whom you have seen. (1 John 4:19-21. Actually, just read the whole book- it talks about how we must love one another if we truly love God- otherwise, we’re liars! Seriously- it says it like a million times over- or at least it feels that way. Obviously, God knew He would have to drill it through my thick skull a number of times.)
            Now, what about standing for The Truth and contending for the faith? Yes, by all means- definitely keep doing that! (Jude 1:3) However, in doing that, we are not given the right to judge. In fact, Jesus tells us to “Judge not, lest ye be judged. In the same manner that ye judge others will ye be judged.” (See Matthew 7:1-2) (Now, there is a matter of judging within the church and that’s quite a different matter. See 1 Corinthians 5 for matters of church discipline. Jesus also directly spoke to this issue in Matthew 18:15-20.) And we certainly must heed the command to “rescue the perishing” (as Jude 1:22-23 talks about), but as we are endeavoring to share The Gospel of Jesus Christ with them that can snatch them from the fire and save them, we must do as Ephesians 4:15 says and “speak the Truth in Love.” The approach and motivation both make a huge difference not only in how the message is received, but also in God receiving glory from our actions.
           Out of all the names I listed, one thing that has really saddened me is the reactions I heard from people at the deaths of Mr. Osama bin Laden and Rev. Fred Phelps. As the saying goes, let’s not speak ill of the dead. (Which is actually quite Biblical- see James 4:11-12 “Do not speak evil against one another, brothers.” Pretty straight-forward there. And in Titus 3:1-2 “Speak evil of no one.” And a number of other verses-like Ephesians 4:31-32. And Colossians 3:8. And 1 Peter 2:1-2. And Proverbs 17:9.)
We must mourn for their deaths and pray for their families. (Romans 12:9-21). Mourn with those who mourn and rejoice with those who rejoice. Love reaches out to all.
Now this is very important to understand. In my desire to afford these gentlemen dignity and respect in their status as people made in the image of Almighty God and made a little lower than the angels (Psalms 8:5), I am by no means condoning their actions. I fully agree that hatred and murder are wrong. Of course they did some heinous crimes, as did all the others on the list above. However, we must remember that if we break the Law at any one point of it, we’re guilty of breaking all of it. (James 2:10). Thus, we’re all equally culpable and guilty before God. (Psalms 14:3, Psalms 53:3, Ecclesiastes 7:20, Romans 3:23) And we have no room to brag as we are saved by the grace of God alone. (Ephesians 2:8-10, 1 Corinthians 1:18-31).
           And though Paul claimed the title for himself, I often feel that I have wrested that title from his grasp, though it’s certainly not one of any pride, but shame- “Chief of sinners.” (1 Timothy 1:15-17) Wow- this whole tribe of people on earth are all sinners and they’ve elected me their chief! So I cannot claim to be any better than anyone else. On my own efforts, I am heading up the sinning committee. And while I am making sinning “history”, praise God that Jesus came to make sinning- history! ;-)
            As two of my favorite songs expound on this point so well, let’s remember that but for the grace of God, there go I. So I’m “starting with the man in the mirror- I’m asking him to change his ways.” (“Man in the Mirror”- by far, Michael Jackson’s best song ever!) And as a Sunday School classic says, “It’s me, it’s me, it’s me, oh Lord- standing in the need of prayer. It’s not my father, not my mother, not my brother, not my sister, but it’s me, oh Lord- standing in the need of prayer.” And as Jesus said, how about getting that telephone pole out of your eye first before trying to get that speck of dust out of your brother’s eye? (Matthew 7:3-6). So quit judging people over their sins, especially since we do the same things ourselves!!! (Romans 2:1-11).
            As Philippians 3:18-21 talks about, “I tell you again even with tears- many lives as enemies of the cross of Christ.” How many of us really muster tears for the lost? Paul was willing to forfeit his own salvation if it meant his countrymen could trade places and inherit Heaven instead! (see Romans 9:1-5). So, even if we regard such people who do such horrible sins (as we regard them, forgetting of course that we are equally horrible in our sins and that God sees it all as equally horrible- He has no ranking scale on sin as to how bad it is- it’s all equally wrong and vile to Him.- see 1 John 5:17)- even if we do regard such people as enemies, remember that we are also commanded to love our enemies and pray for those who mistreat us. (Luke  6:27-49 and Matthew 5:43-48).
           We also have the example of Jesus Christ Himself in Luke 9:46-56. First, John tries to stop a dude because he was casting out demons in Jesus’ Name but he wasn’t one of the JC crew. And Jesus said, “Yo! That’s cool- don’t stop him. Anyone who’s not dogging and dissing you is actually digging you.” (Okay, I paraphrased a little there. ;-)) But wait- what about those people in the Samaritan village that didn’t welcome Jesus and apparently didn’t believe in Him? Hey- James and John were on it! They were asking Jesus if they could send fire down from Heaven and destroy them! And as some manuscripts put it, Jesus rebuked them. “And He said, ‘You do not know what kind of spirit you are of, for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.’ “ Amen. (See also John 3:16-17).
            So what does it all come down to in the end? Love. It’s all about Love. “Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the Law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!” (James 2:12-13- but just read the whole book. How can we have praise for God and cursing of our brothers coming out of the same mouth? It doesn’t work. The wisdom that comes from Heaven is peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. [James 3:17- seriously, read the whole book.])
           And don’t dare call a human being whom God has made in His image and loves with an everlasting love and died and rose for as anything less than that and don’t treat them any less- no matter what they’ve done. “Freely you have received, freely give.” (Matthew 10:8) Shower the people with the love that God has given to us freely. And don’t assume that anyone (alive) is ever beyond the reach of God’s amazing grace! Love and forgive truly from the heart. “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35) As another favorite Christian Sunday School song goes, “They will know we are Christians by our love.” And as Jesus told us, if we love Him, we’ll obey Him. (John 14:23)

 “May The Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.” (1 Thessalonians 3:12)

A Word to the Wise (Proverbs 1:1-7) :-)

Just a side note-you may know this already, but I always find it funny when I hear people use that phrase (somewhat) out of context- "Out of the mouths of babes".
      This is a common saying we have in the English vernacular but I wonder how many know that it comes from Psalms 8:2, which Jesus quoted in Matthew 21:16. "Out of the mouths of babes and infants, You have ordained praise." Jesus quoted it to the Pharisees when they were balking at how the kids were saying Hosanna to Him.
Of course, we shouldn't be that surprised that out of children's mouths we hear praise to God, perhaps even ahead of and louder than the adults. After all, as Isaiah 11:6 tells us, a child shall lead them. :-) And as Jesus tells us in Luke 10:21, God The Father has hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to little children for His good pleasure. Because as 1 Corinthians 1:27-29 says, God uses the vain and weak things of the world to confound the wise and strong. He uses the lowly and despised things of the world- the things that are not- to nullify the things that are- so that no one can boast before Him.
               There are a lot of other ones like this- for instance, do you know where we get the phrase, "A little birdie told me"? Check Ecclesiastes 10:20- "Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in your bedroom, because a bird of the air may carry your words, and a bird on the wing may report what you say." (That verse may also be the origin of the phrase, "bird on the wing".) What about when you say that someone is the "salt of the earth"? Well, Jesus said that we who are His followers are in fact, the salt of the earth. "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men." (Matthew 5:13) And in Matthew 5:38-42, Jesus gives us a ton of idioms and phrases we use today- "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth."? - That's from Exodus 21:24, Leviticus 24:20 and Deuteronomy19:21- which Jesus quotes in Matthew 5:38. What about "turn the other cheek"? That's from when Jesus told us not to resist an evil person but rather, if they strike you on the right cheek, turn the other cheek as well. (Matthew 5:39) If someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. (Matthew 5:40)- Wow, someone like that sounds like the kind of guy who would "give you the shirt off his back". If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. (I have to admit I didn't always employ this one at Cross Country practice, but technically I wasn't forced to go those miles; I chose to join the team. But nonetheless, there were some times when I went above and beyond in my high school CC and Track and Field days. :-)) So yeah- don't just do the minimum- "go the extra mile."
     I have tried to compile a list of these somewhere. I will come back to this and add some more as time allows. I mainly mention these for a few reasons. On an educational point, I like to remind people that the majority of idioms and references in the English vernacular and language come from two main sources- Shakespeare and The Bible. :-)  For another point, it's just fun and interesting to me to consider the origin of these phrases. Thirdly, it's a reminder to our culture of the influence of The Bible that is still prevalent whether we realize it or not. It's a good reason why students in school should read The Bible in order to better understand our language. (For the record, I also encourage education in Shakespeare. :-) If it comes down to "To be or not to be", like Hamlet, I'd rather you be both.)
       The most important reason I like to mention these things is because whenever I hear one used, it's a great entry point to share with someone the Biblical origin of the phrase- and why we should get to know The Author if we want to understand the meaning of the phrase and His whole Book better. :-) And of course, God's Word never returns to Him void, but it accomplishes the purpose for which He sent it out. (Isaiah 55:11)
     So don't miss the boat! (Noah's, that is. ;-) Genesis 6-9) Get on the cruise ship that's the real Love Boat- ride with Jesus, the Master and Commander of the seas (Matthew 8:23-27), who has paid our passage through His death and Resurrection- which we receive on faith-and He gets us safely home to Heaven- and it's all through His Love because He is Love. (1 John 4:8) Welcome aboard, it's Love- God's Love. :-)

A word to the hesitating blog peruser...

As the introductions to the Alfred Hitchcock and The Three Investigators books sometimes famously said, "You are under no obligation to read a single word of this." ;-)
This is a blog filled with writings of various sorts that will hopefully now be better sorted in blog form. You can expect random observations about life and its mysteries, humorous anecdotes as they occur, poems, song lyrics, and some longer essays at times on various subjects- or maybe a mixture of all of the above. You'll probably also see a number of random pop culture references from various time periods and incredibly stupid jokes. Hopefully, it will all add up to be something positive and encouraging with each read- a respite from the world of myriads of negative voices and sinful enticements. Ultimately, you can expect to hear a whole lot about Jesus Christ because He's at the center of who I am and all that I do because He's my Lord and Savior. :-) (Colossians 3:1-3, Philippians 3:8). I don't claim to be all I should be yet; I know I'm not. I'm just a poor ragamuffin clinging to God's grace every day. And He is still sufficient for all my needs every day. His work of redemption on the cross- His death and Resurrection- has granted salvation for all who will put their faith in Him. And I seek to follow Him more and more closely each day. All glory and praise to Christ for everything. :-)
        Enjoy the blog and feel free to comment as you like- and I do hope you'll like it. ;-) Take care and God bless richly.

"A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver." (Proverbs 25:11) :-)