"Outcast"

I'm an outcast. "If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world." - John 15:19


Outcast. The Oxford American Dictionary defines this word as:
noun - a person who has been rejected by society or a social group.
adjective - rejected or cast out. Made to feel outcast and inadequate.

If you look Outcast up in the thesaurus, you'll find the following words used: pariah, reject, black sheep, outsider and leper.

As humans, we can all identify with the plight of being an outcast. No one is ever fully accepted all the time. So, everyone suffers rejection. Some rejection just comes with life. For example, not getting the job you wanted and applied for. Or not getting in to the college program you desired, not making the football team...

Life is full of rejection. And rejection is painful. No one wakes up in the morning and desires to be the outcast. Being an outcast is a negative thing that no one really wants. You don't want to be the loner, the outcast or the throw away person. But, sometimes, you just are. And when you're there, you question why. What did you do to deserve being treated this way? And ultimately, you start to question your worth.

I picked this shirt because the word Outcast identifies in some ways, to how I'm feeling right now. It's something that other people have made me because I don't fit their mold. You see, I've been asked to do some things that takes guts, strength, ambition and leadership. Often times, when you're a leader and asked to swim up stream and do something different than the norm or outside the box, you find confrontation. Many people don't like different. They don't want what they have always known to be challenged. And, many people find it hard to think there might just be more to God, than the little bubble they have placed the Lord in.

Those of you who have been readers for awhile, will know that Jeremiah is my favorite prophet. He had the inner strength and the guts to stand up for what he felt was right and for what God was calling him to do, irregardless of the scorn he would receive from others. He challenged the status quo; the robotic set of beliefs of those around him. He was willing to redefine the parameters of God abilities by questioning the validity of social construct. I'm not saying that I come anywhere close to Jeremiah, but I'd like to strive to be that way. To be willing to stand up for what I believe in even if it means there is a painful cost.

I see this kind of determination in our Savior Jesus. He was willing to be unpopular, disliked, an outcast. He was willing to walk alone. He was willing to suffer in many ways so that the truth and the light could be revealed and salvation received. Jeremiah and Jesus, were not the only ones to have done this up stream swimming. What about Martin Luther King? Can you think of some others who might have been willing to stir the pot on the hope of social justice?

Then I wonder what is wrong with us and people who have all suffered from rejection and being made outcast. What is wrong with those of us who know the pain, to turn around and cause or inflict the same pain on other people? At what point did you find yourself so prideful as to think that you are better than someone else? That you are anointed to outcast others in your hateful judgement and ignorance? We often don't even realize the damage we do to others before its too late. We ignore people that we don't think are worthy of are time. We mistreat people, even as Christians, who we don't think are good enough...and yet do we ever take a moment to stop and think that that was never the role God gave us? He told us to love others not hate them and yet we act out in hate on a daily basis.

It's appalling really and then we wonder why our children treat others with such disregard for respect and common courtesy.

I want to stress though, that there is always hope. As an outcast, I know that I'm not alone. I know that the things God has called me to do are not going to be easy. I know they are going to take an extreme level of inner strength and peace. Don't be afraid of being in the world, be cautious of being of it. If God has called you to do something, don't walk away from it. Embrace it. God is not going to ask you to do something that you know is going to be challenging and then leave you alone. It's so easy to feel like following God will make you an outcast. It will. You will have to live to a different standard, one that many won't understand and further mock. You'll be teased and made fun of, misunderstood and rejected. But...if you are diligent and put your faith in God, he will heal all of that.

I have found since following my calling, that friends I once had, I have no longer. Not because they are bad people, but because they don't understand my love for Christ because they don't have it. More often than not, I find that these people don't want to be around me anymore, because doing so makes them feel badly about themselves and how they live their lives. So the rejection is of me but is not my fault. However, I have also made new friends. Wonderful, loving and supportive friends. Some of my family has rejected me and some have become closer. During the time that I tried to run from God, my marriage suffered. Now, for the first time in five years, my marriage is better than it has ever been.

No, its not easy being an Outcast, but its not necessarily permanent either. You can't make everyone like you no matter how hard you try. What you can do is make sure you like yourself. Find your worth not in the world or what the world thinks of you, but in God and what God thinks of you. If you have a calling from God, whatever it may be, follow it. Don't hold back out of fear of rejection from those who love you. Rejection will always be there...but so will God. Don't let the world keep you from doing God's work in whatever capacity God is asking you to do it. Plus, if there is one thing I have learned, it is that God is persistent. If God's calling you today, you can ignore him, but he'll call you again and again and again and again. Eventually you're going to have to answer. Put your faith in the one thing that has never abandoned you and that is not the world. Be brave and willing to be an outcast for a little bit. God will take care of you and things will always get better. And lastly, when things do get tough and you feel the world is crashing in on you, that's when you need to be the strongest and refuse to give up. Brighter days are ahead.

When God called Mary to do carry and give birth to Jesus, she became an outcast. When Joseph stayed with Mary when she told him she was pregnant, he became an outcast. Can you imagine if Joseph and Mary would have listened to the people around them rather than the voice of God? What if Jeremiah had ignored God and followed the rulers of the land? What if Moses would have refused God's call? Or John? Or Isaiah? Or Abraham? Or Daniel? Or Hosea? Or Ruth? What if your pastor had said no to the call of God? Or your Sunday School teachers? What if you would have said no when you were called to claim Christ as your Savior?

Sometimes the biggest price is paid when we choose to take the "easy" way and say no to God, rather than to face the road less traveled and say yes. Just look in your Bible. God has called a lot of impractical people to do impossible things. God asked people to do things that were so outrageous they are hard for us to fathom even today. What about the wise men? Did you know that they were endangering their lives to follow that star to bring gifts to the baby Jesus? They were in great danger. But they were willing to follow that star in order to be with God.

Are you willing to follow that star to be in the presence of Christ?

"It's Not About Me"

It's Christmas time. We can tell because of the increased traffic, the slammed malls (even in this time of economic turmoil), the Christmas lights adorning neighborhoods, even the occasional church sign that mentions Advent. We know its Christmas because every jewelry store, toy store and car dealership are working overtime and drying up their marketing budgets with advertisements. Yes, it's the special time of year that can be so intoxicating that it makes you forget, quite often really, what Christmas is all about. Heck, it even makes you forget how much money is the bank or frankly, how much money you make, thus causing you to spend exceedingly and abundantly more than you need.

If you're brave enough to face the crowds and the holiday parking Grinch's at the mall, then you have probably run across a child or two. I have one attached at my hip, so I am always blessed with his attitudes; good and bad. As a mother who is working incredibly hard this Christmas to instill certain ideas in my son, I pick up on the other kids saying things I'm trying to keep mine from saying...but am not always successful at. For example, this is the best time of year for MErry Christmas spirit. This is not the true spirit of Christmas, but the spirit of ME. It's all about me. It's about what I want, what toys I "need", what clothes I don't want, I, I, I, me, me, me...I need it, I want it, I must have it...and of course the predictable temper tantrum as you leave the story without the item your child screamed he could not live without. At two and a half, my son has started saying things like I need that and I can see some of these very natural selfish "me" tendencies. But you know, its not just kids I see and hear this from.

I was at the mall the other day and I was looking at purses, as I so love to do. I enjoy looking at the pretty and expensive ones though I never buy them. You know, mortgage or a purse...hmmm. Anyway, there was this woman there with her significant other, not sure if they were married or not, and they had to be in their early 40s. This woman grabbed an amazingly pretty Coach purse up off the table, galloped over to her man and started saying, rather loudly I might add, "Oh honey, I've just got to have this. Isn't it perfect. Look, it even makes my face look thinner. I must have this. Can I have this?" To this of course, her man looks at her and says, "you cannot be serious. $400 for a purse? Sorry, but no, we can't afford it." To this she replied, "Fine." Then she throws it on the table and tells him if he stopped loving her, he should have just told her instead of making a big scene of it in public.

No...I'm not kidding. That really did happen. I don't want you to be judgemental of the woman though. I have no idea the dynamics of their relationship, nor the whole story. What I do know, is that people of all ages, suffer from MEism. We think things are all about me. Our children have to live their lives the way I want them to or I won't love them as much. My spouse has to act ideally as I'd like or I'll leave them because I just can't be miserable. I must have that purse even though I can't pay my bills. What about me? Why didn't you buy me anything? Why don't you love me? Why didn't I get what I asked for under the tree?

Catch my drift? It's like that in so many ways for all of us. We can think of people who can only see what's right in front of their face, rather than the bigger picture. There are people who physically cannot be happy for someone unless that person does everything exactly as they'd like them to. People will advance themselves in their career's no matter the cost: to family, friends, co-workers...even to self. People do mission work, but they don't do it for the people they help, they do it or give money to charity so that they can be photographed handing over a big check or painting a building. How many celebrity photos do we see of them spending time with the poor in other countries? I've seen a lot...but how much of their money goes to those same children? People around the world are hungry tonight, cold tonight, homeless and alone and yet...our malls are packed, our credit cards maxed out, our houses double and triple mortgaged, our cars one missed payment away from repo and we still think we NEED that new Coach purse. We don't even give to God, tithing or otherwise, like we used to. Our tithes are down, are savings accounts empty, our churches closing and what do we have to show for? Hungry, poor, homeless, lonely, sick...I could keep going. We have become so intent on completely destroying ourselves, our families, our friendships, our lives, just so that we can satisfy that ME craving.

The Seven Deadly ME Sins:
Lust - all about ME desires.
Gluttony - all about ME consumption.
Greed - all about the ME wants.
Sloth - all about the ME apathy.
Wrath - all about ME anger.
Envy - all about ME jealousy.
Pride - all about ME vanity.

Now look back over those sins. You can't have any one of those without a ME centered attitude. And you can't be giving the love to neighbor, God and self as Christ asked us to, if we have this ME centered attitude.

The bottom line, is that Christmas, just like life, is not about ME or YOU or US or THEY, but it's always been and always will be about HIM. It's all about Jesus. Be intentional both personally and with those you know, to not just celebrate the merriment of the holiday's, but also celebrate the reason. At my home, we enjoy Snowmen and Santa and Reindeer and so much more, but we do Advent activities and we talk about how it's Jesus' birthday that we're celebrating and in fact, we practice singing Happy Birthday Jesus! As long as we can all remember as we're standing in line at the store, putting through miserable mall traffic, trying not to strangle your child screaming "mine"...that's its all about HIM. We can't afford to take our eyes off of HIM. Be intentional, be compassionate, be the spirit of CHRISTmas rather than the MErry Christmas spirit.

"Divine Intervention"

"This is how God showed his love among us: he sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him." - 1 John 4:9

Christmas is a time of celebration for the greatest gift of all time. Though it would be some years later when the extent of this gift would be realized, we see this small package of wonderment and we are still in awe.

I remember what it was like to see Christmas through the eyes of a child. I remember the excitement of Santa Claus. Was there much more fun to be had than in the anticipation of the coming of the big guy in red?

Our family has historically held our big dinner, get-together, gift exchange on Christmas eve. Often, Christmas eve, because of the size of our family, would last well into Christmas morning. Needless to say, it was a big night. It was also a little bit of torture for a child. You see, we would spend an hour getting all gussied up to go and sit at the Christmas Eve service for an hour. Then we would come home and wait for the dinner to be set out on the table. Then we would have this big meal that took at least another hour. I remember sitting at the dinner table almost as if my chair was on fire just trying to scarf down the food as quickly as possible because as soon as the meal was over...it was GIFT time. And what child doesn't love gift time?

I never did understand why my family seemed to be the world's slowest eaters when it came to Christmas Eve. I mean, seriously...do adults not care about the presents? Eat already...we've got gifts to open people and I've been waiting all year for this!!!!

While the adults, let me rephrase that, the women, cleared the dishes, the children were assigned to gift distribution duty. Each family member was assigned a special seat and our job (the kids) was to take every present out from under the tree and place them in the seat of the recipient. Of course, we were so eager to find the gifts with our names on them. We would shake them, weigh them with our hands and try and guess what they were...which inadvertently made the process take longer. Then, it was the anticipation of opening the gifts. We would start with the youngest kiddo and go to the oldest and each person would open one gift at a time and we would keep this circle going. Yup...it took hours, but we all wanted to see what others received and played with each other's toys, share stories and laughter. But then...

Oh then it was time for Santa to come. We would race into our Christmas PJ's, make sure the goodies were out for Santa, and then try as hard as we could to actually fall asleep. Of course, we would each be determined to stay awake and catch Santa. Much to our disgust...we never quite made it. It didn't really matter though because we knew he was coming and we couldn't wait to see what he brought us. Christmas morning would be the one morning of the year when we would actually get out of made in a hurry and without a fight and run downstairs. We couldn't wait to get up on Christmas morning, find the gifts and play in great joy and celebration.

As an adult, I now feel this way about Jesus. Do we stay awake on Christmas Eve eager to see the gift God is bringing us? And of all things, he gives us a baby. A little tiny soul with no words, no physical abilities like walking, no sign of skills of healing...just a beautiful angelic baby boy. Did they really know then how great that gift was? For me, Christ is the gift I received long ago that I continue to realize the extent of. This gift is not fully revealed to me yet. The wonderment that is Christ becomes more and more enlightened as my wisdom of him and love for him continues to swell up my heart.

This Christmas, realize how blessed you are for the Divine Intervention that is the gift we received in Christ. A gift that would one day suffer and die for our sins. Is there any better gift? NO WAY! This is the best gift ever! So open your heart as you open this gift from God. Unwrap the divine love, wear excited merriment on your face and go forth like that child who just got the gift they've been "waiting their whole life" for. This is a gift with no need for return or exchange...take care of it and don't be afraid to take it to show and tell. :)

"Faith: Not Seeing Is Believing"

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." - Hebrews 11:1

Faith, not seeing, is believing. Trusting, not knowing, is believing.
Powerful stuff!

When I think of faith, trust, in this way and especially around this time of year, I think greatly upon Mary and especially Joseph.

Can you imagine what it might have been like to be Mary? So vulnerable and young and unmarried and now pregnant?

I wonder how it felt to be told by an angel that your whole life was about to be turned upside down. Most teenage girls I know would have completely short circuited. But not Mary. She humbly moved forward in faith; trusting. I can honestly say that I know as a teenager, I would not have been able to have done what Mary did, though I imagine there would have been a lot of weight placed in the words of the angel. But, can you imagine telling your parents you're pregnant and that no, you really didn't do anything with Joseph? Seriously, how many of us would buy that from our daughters if that's the line they gave us? But she trudged forward faithfully.

And then there is Joseph. In love with a woman who becomes pregnant...but not by him. He faces similar social agony as Mary does. He REALLY, REALLY has to trust her and God. But he doesn't at first. Out of his love for her, he plans on dismissing her quietly from their engagement. Read on:

"But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.'" - Matthew 1:20

Can you just imagine being this young guy in love with a pregnant woman and then being told by an angel that she was impregnated by the Holy Spirit? If I had been Joseph, I probably would have completely lost my mind. It's so far out in left field that it's almost inconceivable (funny choice of words) to fathom.

This time of year is a bit like that for many people, even believers. We come to this point where we start to doubt the things that we believe in and question our sanity. We sometimes wonder if we've completely lost it. I can remember being a child and having that terrible aching feeling in my stomach when I found out that Santa wasn't really Santa. It was a loss of innocence.

Christmas means so very much more to me now though. Once I was able to put the idea of Santa aside, I was truly able to embrace the idea of Jesus. I knew of the real Christmas story, but it wasn't as fun, commercial or exciting to a child as Santa was. But when I was able to stop believing in Santa and really start believing in Jesus, the real magic came alive. Though I stopped believing that I needed to leave the cookies and carrots out on Christmas Eve, the lessons I learned from the big guy in the suit have helped me to really believe in the baby in the manger. It's all so interconnected. Learning to believe in something, even Santa, helps us understand what it means to believe in something we do not see. Santa is a much easier concept for children. However, that lesson in believing is never lost...not really.

As a mother, Christmas is completely different for me now in many ways, but one stands out today. Hambone is 2 1/2 and right now he is starting to see Christmas come alive. I see the magic in his eyes, the awe in his words, the joy in his singing. He believes in Santa, believes in magic, spirit, Christmas. He knows this is Jesus's birthday and that's what everyone is celebrating...even Santa. The really great thing is that I get to watch him filled with all of this magic at the same time as looking forward to watching him some day filled with the awe, joy, spirit and magic of the real star of the show...Jesus.

This makes me think of the movie the Polar Express. Hambone is in love with this movie mainly because of the train but also because of Santa. I'm in love with this movie for many reasons, but one is I can feel the love of Jesus inside of it. I can see Jesus throughout it. Without my faith, I couldn't believe the things I do. Believing makes faith even more amazing. So whether the real 'big guy' wears a red suit or not, doesn't matter. I know that I believe in something much bigger than I am that brings hope and love and joy all over the world and those things don't come in wrapped packages...but they come wrapped in believing.

Merry Christmas...all you have to do is believe!

"Have Faith"

Have Faith
As small as a mustard seed.

"For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you." - Matthew 17:20

How shall I count the ways I have been told and have told others to have faith? And when we hear the words, have faith, it feels and appears to be such an impossibly large and often unattainable asset. Have faith...two words than can be more daunting than comforting.

I can recall several times in my life where hearing those words were the last thing I longed for. Yet I knew that I would hear them over and over again. When you're down and out and feel like you're all alone in this ginormous world, that's when people seem to want to tell you to have faith. When you are suffering with great loss, whether a person, a place, a job, a dream...we are to have faith.

There was a time or two that the words, have faith, actually angered me. Just because I'm human and just because I have to suffer like everyone else with different plights, doesn't mean I don't have faith. It just means I'm a little beat up by the winds of the storm. It also doesn't mean I've given up or stopped trying to survive...but sometimes I just need comfort. Sometimes, people just need a hug, love, validation, compassion, empathy and someone to listen. Sometimes, there is no need for words. For me, I know I'm not ever completely alone. This is comfort to me. Being told I need to have faith makes me doubt the one thing that is constant and that is my faith. If I'm being told to have faith, than it must mean that it seems to others that I am without faith and then I've lost something for which their is no measurable value because it exceeds all limitations of worth.

Most people, if not all people, mean only good when using those words. They mean to be transporters of hope. I think we have misunderstood what it really means to have faith. To have something is to possess it or hold it. But what is faith? Is it a strong believe in God? Absolutely. But what else? For me, more than anything else, faith means unyielding and unmitigated trust in God.

I have found this kind of faith to be that enormous unreachable goal. How can I ever have an infallible trust in someone or something? I've been around long enough to know that people let you down. But God, has God ever really let me down? I mean, really? I don't think so.

So faith as a mustard seed? What a character this God! To take something so big like faith and compare it to something so small like a mustard seed. It's hard to wrap your head around the juxtaposition of qualifiers. Then I found the following scripture:

"He put before them another parable: 'The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.'" - Matthew 13:31-32

“Mustard Seed” by Kazakhstani artist Nelly Bube

Now this, this is something substantive. Christ knew too the oddness of size, but he explained it in such a way that he truly put forth the idea that this thing, this faith, so small and tiny, is yet so powerful it transcends any size or measurement the human mind can compute. So you see, Jesus wasn't telling us we had to have this magnificent Mother Teresa like faith right away. He was telling us to start small. To plant this tiny seed in our hearts and then over time, this seed of faith will grow and grow and reach the heavens. And in this time, the visible faith that has become us will be so amazing that it can feed others just from its existence.

Maybe instead of telling people to have faith, we should tell them to tend their mustard seed. I believe we all inherently possess faith. And I believe we all want to trust beyond our own comprehension of the word. So it really isn't about having faith, that we have. What we don't yet have is the faith that feeds or moves mountains. And when times are tough, think of the vast array of seeds that have been planted in you by the people that God has blessed your life with. They weren't planted for no reason. Tend to your mustard seed, be strengthened and trust always that God will provide. After all, isn't that what we celebrate during this time of year? The ultimate provision of trust?

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A Poem by Annie Johnson Flint

I prayed for strength, and then I lost awhile
All sense of nearness, human and divine;
The love I leaned on failed and pierced my heart,
The hands I clung to loosed themselves from mine;
But while I swayed, weak, trembling and alone,
The everlasting arms upheld my own.

I prayed for light; the sun went down in clouds,
The moon was darkened by a misty doubt,
The stars of heaven were dimmed by earthly fears,
And all my little candle flames burned out;
But while I sat in shadow, wrapped in night,
The face of Christ made all the darkness bright.

I prayed for peace, and dreamed of restful ease,
A slumber drugged from pain, a hushed repose;
Above my head the skies were black with storm,
And fiercer grew the onslaught of my foes;
But while the battle raged, and wild winds blew,
I heard His voice and perfect peace I knew.

I thank Thee, Lord, Thou wert too wise to heed
My feeble prayers, and answer as I sought,
Since these rich gifts Thy bounty has bestowed
Have brought me more than all I asked or thought;
Giver of good, so answer each request
With Thine own giving, better than my best.

Annie Johnson Flint

"Sin Stinks"

Sin Stinks.
It Wasn't Me!

Is there any question in the minds of men and women that there is a dichotomy of right and wrong? Good and evil? Is there any question that there is the existence of a sin irregardless if you call it by a different name?

This concept exists within but it extends outside of religious sects and to the broader community of beings. There has long been institutional rules, boundaries, laws and guidelines. Religious or not, we are held to standards of expected behavior and we know that rebellion against such boundaries results in consequences...and who wants punishments, consequences...you know...time out? No One.

"Be sure your sin will find you out." - Numbers 32:23

Oh boy, you mean I can't just do whatever I want to do without consequences? Are we seeing here a little bit of Biblical "what goes around comes around"? Quite possibly we are realizing that people in general haven't changed much in our psychology in thousands and thousands of years. Children, after doing something wrong, often are found looking around to see if they have been caught. Many adults dislike the accountability of Christianity because they don't like that feeling that if they do something wrong, their going to be caught. You can hear the teenager now..."why can't you just leave me alone."

"For the wages of sin is death." - Romans 6:23

Romans 6 is a chapter that focuses on the ideology and concept that a life in Christ requires obedience. Thus, when it says in verse 23 that "the wages of sin is death", we see this thought come full circle to tell us that if we are not obedient, there is also a response to that...death. BUT...and here's the good news, it finishes by saying that we have been relieved of that ultimate punishment because of Christ.

"If we walk in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his son cleanses us from all sin." - 1 John 1:7

So, yes, sin does stink. It stinks for the people you sin against, it stinks for the God you sin against, but it also really stinks for the person who sins. And because the consequences for sin are so unpleasant, we become like children again and have knee jerk responses to being caught like, "it wasn't me." "I didn't do it" or "she made me do it" or "he did it first" are soon to follow.

The great news is that though we all sin, God's love for us, like a parents to a child, doesn't stop just because we disobey. But also like a parent, God wants us to learn from our mistakes, to grow, to say your sorry and not repeat the sin. Above this important concept, what I would like to share with you is the concept of sin as the stinky spray of the skunk on the shirt above. You may only direct your sin to one place or on one person, but what lingers from your sin touches many. It's not just about you. What a friend we have in Jesus to be forgiven these sins through him.

Bless you this day my stinky friends. It's not about if you sin, but when, and when you sin, take ownership, face the consequences and learn so you don't make the same mistake in the future.

"I Am the Wretch"

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come;
'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far
and Grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me.
His word my hope secures.
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

When we've been here ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun.
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we've first begun.

The all too familiar lyrics of a hymn so dear to our hearts, was penned by a man named John Newton. Though many stories circulate about the origin of the song, it is best to say that it was written sometime during the 1770s. If you have never read the story of Newton, I would highly suggest it to anyone. Many find it hard to believe that Newton, the author of such a beautiful song as Amazing Grace, could have ever been a slave trader. When I first heard this claim I was appalled as I couldn't believe that was true. But I suppose that is where the notion of this Amazing Grace comes in. It doesn't really matter who we are or what we've done, we are all recipients of God's Amazing Grace.

Let's think about this word 'wretch' and what it really means to be such a person. The Oxford American Dictionary defines wretch as "an unfortunate or unhappy person." The OAD Thesaurus uses the following words as alternatives for wretch: "poor creature, poor soul, poor thing, poor unfortunate, poor devil, scoundrel, villain, ruffian, rogue, criminal, miscreant, good for nothing, lowlife, rat, creep, heel, scumbag" and much more.

Wow. What a truck full of nasty things to label someone and to think the writer of this song gave himself this label. How many of us could humble ourselves to the point where we could say, "I Am the Wretch?" That would mean of course, that you would be saying that you are the unfortunate, the miscreant, the good for nothing, the lowlife, etc. It's not really a comfortable thing to do, this self reflection, is it?

I don't think we can be so negative as to see ourselves always in such a devalued light as that of a wretch. However, if we look hard enough and maybe in some cases not hard at all, we can think of times in our lives when we were indeed the wretch in all forms of the term. I can think of some pretty dark places I have been, some pretty lowlife things I have done and some pretty ugly times of unhappiness. But it was indeed in those times that I came face to face with God's grace. God could have left me there. But He didn't. I could still be that same lost, confused and eternally angry girl who hated the world, everyone in it and myself. But I'm no longer her. I carry her scars, her battle wounds and they remind me of where I've been. They remind me that I was in a very horrible place and doing things, like Newton, that were despicable. But it wasn't too horrible a place for God. He came to me, met me where I was at, cleaned my wounds and loved me with the most beautiful grace I will ever know.

Have you been there? Have you been that wretch and were you saved? If you're still there, know this, God is with you. All you have to do is welcome Him in. If you have been rescued from that dark place and have been touched by that Amazing Grace that you know you didn't deserve, than you know you have a bigger commission on your life. That kind of grace isn't meant to be silenced. Wear it on your chest. Proudly give testimony to the fires you've walked through and stretch out your hand to those who are still in need of help. Help them to let God in.

This is the time of year when we celebrate the birth of our Savior...of our Amazing Grace in the flesh. Remember that you are the wretch that little baby came for. So is the person next to you, the family member you've hurt, the friend you've forgotten, the stranger you ignore, the co-worker you gossip about. So is the spouse you adore, the children you love, the friends you cherish, the poor you feed. Your grace melts into the grace of others and becomes a family of wretches all saved.

Take time today to thank God for reaching you when no one else could. Take time to remember where you've been. Think about where you're at and where you're going. Do a word study in your Bible's index and read all the scriptures that correlate with the term 'grace'.

Live out the Amazing Grace you've been given.

Romans 6:14
For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.

Romans 11:6
And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.

1 Corinthians 1:3
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:10
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

Revelation 1:5
Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

"Christianity Is Not a Religion"

Christianity is not a religion. Religion is humans trying to work their way to God. Christianity is God coming to men and women through a relationship with Jesus Christ.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." - John 3:16

There are many things about this shirt that stood out to me. The first was the comparison between Christianity and Religion. I have often felt that we, all people, have really messed up the concept of what God designed for us by placing parameters, rules and other exclusive facets to God's love.

What is so beautiful about our God and what this slogan is referring to in the last sentence, is that God meets us where we are. He comes to us, in our darkest places. He comes to us when we are asking Him to leave us alone. And, He doesn't force himself upon us, He simply stands in the door way, always with us, but waiting for us to welcome Him in.

This isn't a God who draws lines in the sand to determine who is worthy and who is not. In this Holy Kingdom of God, there are no "throwaway people." All are included in God's grace and love irregardless of their: gender, race, age, ethnicity, class, education, physical ability or disability, mental capacity, self-confidence, social status and/or various forms of addictions.

In John 8:1-11, we see this all encompassing and redeeming love of Christ.

"Then each of them went home, while Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. all the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, they said to him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus straightened up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, sir." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again."" (NRSV)

God's love is far more in-depth and reaching than any of us can comprehend. One of the most prominent and consistent themes of the Bible is that of love. Of loving God, loving self, loving neighbor, loving the 'least of these'...and so on. God doesn't say, love those who you feel comfortable loving or who you feel deserve it. If God loves all of His children, don't you think we have the obligation to at least try?

So often, this ideology of Religion places wedges between people and God in unloving ways that God never intended. People so wrongly use religion as a weapon and wield select scriptures at people to try and prove points or cause hurt when more often than not, they do not truly understand the context behind the scripture they are so irresponsibly flinging. Have you done that? Have you used scripture against someone? Now ask yourself if you think that's why God gave those words...to be used as weapons? I regret to say that I have done just that. Though the scripture I used may not have been wrong, inappropriate or misquoted, it was the way in which I used the scripture as a weapon of religion that I find fault with. I have come to learn that we can't expect others to learn to love God if we use God in ways to hurt. The two simply don't go together.

Often times, we consume ourselves with the business of religion. We fill our lack of true understanding and comprehension with sometimes unnecessary man-made laws that cause more harm than good. In the world of religion, we have so many different spiritual traditions and beliefs and foundations, denominations, rituals, ceremonies...the list is endless. And though all of these things are important because they are our human intellectual attempt of getting closer to God in various different spiritual ways, we error in our thinking when we replace the true message of Christ with our rules.

To me, it doesn't make sense to be exclusive of people and then to do it in the name of Jesus. Jesus tells us to love our neighbor, to love the least of these, that the 'greatest of these is love'...how does love equal violence, bigotry, sexism, phobias, culture clicks, throwaway people? I don't know all the answers nor will I ever claim to be close, but what I do know is the love that God showed for all of us through the gift of His son which we celebrate during this season and then the ultimate gift of Christ's death. A love that deep, that intense, that all encompassing, cannot possibly be exclusive can it? Or did I read the scripture John 3:16 wrong when it says that "God so loved the WORLD?" World - that seems pretty inclusive to me.

So at the end of the day, I believe religion gives us structure, boundaries, guidelines, rules, ideology...but I don't believe that religion should ever come before God and that means whatever my pre-conceived denominational or otherwise stereotypes may be, they always take a back seat to God's word. And this, this is where you have to be of your own sound mind and spirituality. I'm not saying what you believe is wrong or what your pastor or priest tells you is wrong. What I am saying, is take time for self-reflection and spiritual discovery. Don't just take what someone tells you as factual. Seek out the truth in Christ by devoting your life to a committed and constant dialogue with God.

The only true way is through Christ and each person is going to get there differently, but that doesn't make any one person worse or better than the other. The way I see it, Jesus has big enough arms to welcome us all in, hug us all, love us all, forgive us all. Jesus did just that when he opened his arms on the cross for us all...the WORLD. He loved us that much. It's time we start loving him back by loving others in the same way.

New Coffee Talk Series

As we usher in a new month, I thought I would start a new series on Christian t-shirt slogans and how to fit Jesus inside the season. Each t-shirt selected comes from ChristianBook.com, a site a highly recommend. This series will begin December 1st and run through December 23rd.

If you have other t-shirts slogan suggestions, be sure to let me know. Keep checking back for the newest post and be sure to leave your comments and thoughts.