"No Condemnation"

I'm reading a book along with my pastor as part of my spiritual development called: "A Good and Beautiful God."  In this book, the author addresses talks about the different aspects of God and how we, as a culture have produced false narratives.  The author's task is to combat those false narratives with biblical references.  Along with the practical theological arguments, there are exercises called "Spiritual Disciplines" which are every day tasks which can get us closer to understanding and gaining knowledge of God.  Some of those disciplines are just practical.  A lot of them have to do with our workaholic culture where we always have to be busy and the author is just challenging the readers to slow down.  To be still "and know I am God" type of thing.

Welllll, I've recently gotten finished reading a chapter entitled: "God is self-sacrificing"  Where is addresses the fact that Jesus died the most humiliating death known to man at that time and for what?  To save us!  The question arises whether or not it really needed to be done.  Why couldn't God just snap his fingers and humanity be saved?  Nowww that question may be answered in another blog post, but for this one I have an entirely different agenda.

Moving forward..at the end of this chapter, the Spiritual Discipline that the author challenged me to do was to read the entire book of John in 3 days.  Now, I have to admit, I failed that challenge.  I only got half-way through the book because I, like every other American, fail to make time for God.  But, reading through the first 12 or so chapters of John I came across something that Jesus repeatedly said: I came not to condemn the world, but save it (or some variation of that).  He said that repeatedly (I'm too lazy to count the exact amount).  The importance of it is that he kept hitting that hammer on the nail for emphasis.

I mean what does condemnation mean?  According to the KJV Bible Dictionary, it means: "to prononunce to be utterly wrong; to utter a sense of disapprobation against; to censure; to blame..."  Sooo, you are telling me, that the Lamb of God.  The one that did no evil.  That had no blemishes on his coat.  The one that DIED for a wicked humanity.  The one that would have every right in the world to comdemn and to judge, didn't come to condemn us.  He came so that the blind would see. He came so that the sick would be healed.  He came so that they that didn't believe, believed.

Wow, that just hit me.  I always hear the phrase (which 2Pac is always quoted saying): "Only God can judge me."  And I gotta be honest, I'm always quoting that phrase because honestly, who wants to be judged?  Especially if you are being judged by another sinner!  Buttttt reading/listening to the book of John, I've come to realize that Jesus doesn't WANT to condemn us.  He's not here to look down on us. He wants all of us to be saved.  He wants all of us to not hurt.  He wants ALL of us to be Loved!

I mean seriouslyyyy!  Jesus....the ONE that literally has every right to look down at us, the fallen creation, humbled himself, was known as the meek one and still didn't condemn us.  People ask me why is there a Hell.  If God loved us so much, why does Hell exist.  Well let me tell you something, God doesn't send people to Hell per say.  People send people to Hell.   The decisions we make, the most important decision we make of whether or not we allow the Gospel to enter into our hearts and penetrate our souls...That's what sends people to Hell. 

Once you fully believe in the Gospel and the Holy Ghost dwells in you, you aren't going to Hell.  Hell isn't a punishment.  Hell is a choice!  I'm not here to condemn anyone.  I'm here to love everyone.  I'm not here to judge anyone.  I'm here to understand everyone!  For we ALL have sinned and fall short to the Glory of God. (Romans 3:23)

Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ, Jesus. ~ Romans 8:1

Praise the Lord!  Thank you Jesus for dying for my sins.  For dying FOR ME.  This is something I'll never understand.  I'll never comprehend the vastness of what you did.  But all I can say is: I'm glad you did.

What's Your Story?

When I was an incoming freshman at Messiah College in '08 (whoa that's a long time ago), the theme was: "What's Your Story?"  The idea was that we all come from different backgrounds and diverse experiences and thus have a unique story to tell.  A unique story that cannot be duplicated.  Sure, people can relate to it, but no two people have the same exact story...not even siblings...not even twins. Everyone has a unique perspective on the same events.  Which is why witnesses in a crime are in one case veryy helpful, but they can also really complicate a case if their stories don't match up.

With that being said, the most powerful thing...the most life changing thing...the most unique thing about you is your story.  If I wanted to use religious terminology we would call it your testimony.  Your testimony is your life story.  It's all the mistakes you've made.  All the great blessings that God has blessed you with.  It's YOU. It's what makes you, you.

For that reason, it is the most powerful thing about you.  The bible reminds us that the tongue is the most powerful thing (Proverbs 18:21).  What comes out of your mouth can affect people both negatively and positively.  This is why...this is why we need your story.  Everything you go through, happens for a reason.  Ok, you was a womanizer.  And yes, that's not the most positive association in the world.  But, only by the Grace of God you have been redeemed.  You need to tell people that!  You have no idea who's in the audience.  Who's surrounding you.  Who needed to hear about God's love and how He loved you despite your tendencies.  But most importantly, how he redeemed you or is working on you.

Maybe in your audience you have someone that was victimized by a womanizer and need to here your repentance.  Needs to hear your repentance so she can feel the love again.  Maybe in your audience is a womanizer that's trying to change...trying extremely hard to change, but you say how you changed or is changing and you give him hope.  You give him the push to make his life better.  To treat woman with respect.

I don't know about you, but people who are open and honest about their fallacies to me gain a heck of alot more respect from me than people that try to hide it.  We like to think that our past will get us judged.  And maybe it will, maybe it deserves to be judged.  But I like to think that when we are open and honest to each other, that's where the life changing happens.  Wall building stops you from getting hurt, but it also stops the healing process.  It's not until we confess and repent, that we are about to heal from the wounds of our past.

Everyone has a story...everyone has a testimony.  And more importantly everyone's testimony matters.  Whether you was abused as a child by a drunken father or you used to be a thief or you are an alcoholic that was saved or anyyything, you life matters.  Your life can change other people's lives if you let it.  But let alone that, have you ever confessed something to someone and instantly felt the weight of the world come off your shoulders?  All you are doing there is telling your story.  Don't feel ashamed of who you was.  If you are in Christ, you are a NEW creation.  Tell the world about your new creation!
What's your story? Cuz I would love to hear it!

*By the way, that example of being a womanizer is a part of my testimony*

Let Em Uze Ya!

The Sacrifice of Worship

What do you do when you've done all you can and it seems like you just can't make it through?  What do you do when you are down on life.  Maybe a relative passed away.  Maybe you lost your job.  Maybe you aren't succeeding in life as much as you would like.  What is the quickest, easiest way guaranteed to get you out of your funk?

Well I'm glad you asked these great questions.  I have the magic answer: You Worship God.  I can tell you from experience that when I am feeling down and out, the quickest and surest way to get out of my funk is to just starting singing the songs of Zion.

Listen, God loves us.  God wants nothing but for us to be happy.  But sometimes, things happen.  Life is an emotional roller coaster.  But the one constant in our life is the Love the Christ has for us.  Everything that happens, whether it's negative or positive, will ALWAYS work out for our God. (Romans 8:28) It may not be the immediate or foreseeable feature.  But, that's a promise that the Word of God gives us. But I would be naive if I didn't acknowledge the fact that it still sucks when bad things happen in life.  Like sucks A TON.

It's at these moments however, where God really needs to shine in your hearts.  There are sooo many great things that God has blessed us each with and we need to be thankful for that because the cliche holds true: it could ALWAYS be worse.

It's at these moments that you, as a creation of God, need to extol him.  Need to thank Him for all he did for your life.  This is called the "sacrifice of Worship."  When you are feeling down, sing.  When you are feeling depressed, sing.  When you are feeling suicidal, sing. I guarantee that if what you are singing is coming from the heart, you will get out of that funk.  In Psalm 22:3, the Bible tells us that God "inhabits the praises of His people."  Now it doesn't say that we have to be in the best mood when we praise.  Quite frankly, a lot of the times that I end up having to lead Praise & Worship in church or when I have to have my mini praise session, I don't feel like it.  The devil was getting to me, attack ing my soul.  But the beauty is that as long as I'm praising, extolling God, he will inhabit it.

Now what does inhabit mean?  It means to dwell, to live in.  Where will he dwell in?  In our hearts.  To calm the storms of our life for that moment.  Notice I didn't say permanently, but he will give us that peace that surpasses understanding.  Like out of nowhere, we will feel amazing.  Don't believe me, I have 2 great examples. One personal and one testimony.

I don't know if all my readers know, but one of the things I pride myself in, is directing Gospel Choirs.  My senior year of college I directed 2 choirs, one at school and one at church.  So, in essence, music is my life.  But this story comes from one of the choir members in the school choir who was a Sophomore for the 2011-2012 school year.  This was her first year in the choir after a rough freshman year filled with heartbreaks and disappointments.  And it's safe to say that she was having a rough relationship with God.

So she joined the choir after seeing us perform during the 2010-2011 school year (her Freshman year & my first year directing the choir) the next year having those thoughts looming around in her head.  For the first half of Fall 2011 she was still down, still having a plethora of thoughts running through her head constantly asking God: "Why? Why? Why?"  But, the more she sacrificed or forced herself to sing, the more peace she started to feel about it.  The situation in itself wasn't necessarily getting better, but she was gaining that It is Well With my Soul peace.  By the end of her Sophomore year, I'm sure she will tell you that forcing herself to praise God even though she didn't feel like it, realllly reallllly helped her.  Because God inhabited her praise.

For me, my one of many examples came from my Senior Year of College.  Where the school choir was scheduled to perform that morning and I rolled out of bed completely in the wrong spirit.  I legitimately rolled out of the wrong side of bed.  And when I direct, I don't just stand there and move my arms, I have energy, I engage the listeners and hype up the singers.  But that day...I just didn't feel like it and I know people could tell on my face.

So, the rehearsal right before the we sang i was just flat.  And when the actually moment came for us to sing our first few songs I was out of it.  I grabbed the mic started engaging the audience, and it was just....flat.  So I just stopped trying and just focused on the choir.  But the longer the service went the better I was solely starting to feel.  We sang approx... 3 songs and then the speaker for the morning spoke who was amazing by the way.  By the time the speaker was done speaking, I started to feel the Spirit but I needed that finial push.  So the choir went up to sing its final song which was a simple song called In This Place.  Where the main line is: "Lord have your way in this place."  This song, in its simplicity never really did anything to my spirit before.  But this wasn't any ordinary time.

For the first time in my life.  I started crying because of the Holy Spirit.  It was tears of joys.  It actually had a little trouble directing and thankfully made it through it.  But when it was over, I just sat in my chair and just started thanking God silently with my head buried in my hands.  That was the legit moment where I felt the Spirit move the most in my life and it ironically came at the time when I felt the worst initially.

See brethren!  You gotta force yourself sometimes.  The Sacrifice of Worship.  It's not about how you feel.  It's about recognizing the sovereignty of God.  That despite it all, The Lord Has Been Sooo Good to you.  I'm going to end it with the first verse and chorus to one of Kirk Franklin's most famous songs (I told you that music is my life) which was actually probably his first legit hit called Why We Sing.

Someone asked the question:

Why do we sing?

When we lift our hands to Jesus;

What do we really mean?

Someone may be wondering,

When we sing our song;

At times we maybe crying

And nothings even wrong.

-

I sing because I'm happy

I sing because I'm free

His eye is on the sparrow

That's the reason why I sing.

Glory Hallelujah!

You're the reason why I sing!

Do What You Gotta Do!

Go for it!  Do those that thing that you've been passionate for!  Wait...something is stopping you?  What in the world could be stopping you?  Ohhhh:

Fear

Doubt

Those..are nasty little things.  When you have those two little words circling around in your head you are major league screwed.

Is that the only thing holding you back?  Despite that fear and doubt of the unknown, do you still have this burning desire to do something??  Now hold on, I'm not JUST talking about those major life decisions like "I'm gonna go to Africa for the next few years" or "I'm going to get married!!"  I'm talking about those "minor" decisions as well.  The, "should I ask her out on a date" or "should I call her."  To name a few...oh wait...those are the ones that CONSTANTLY FLOAT THROUGH MY HEAD!

Once again...I digress...ok, but seriously.  It's the little things in life that makes the most changes in our lives.  Its those things that we tend (consciously) to pay the least attention to, that in the long run matter the most to us.  It's those everyday decisions that shape us.  Why?  Because we do them...everyday!

So, what has been placed on you heart today?  What are you running from?  What are you fearful about?  What do you have doubts about?  If it's on your heart, and the biggest thing holding you back in the unknown, I say go for it!  But, I'm not justing saying that!  The Bible says that as well! Proverbs 16:9 says:

"In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps."

Has there been something that was placed on your heart (by the Lord) and out of nowhere a door opened and you had a chance to walk through it??...And you didn't ask the girl out...you didn't take the promotion...you didn't move to Africa because of those two pesky words?  The Word is clear: "the Lord establishes their steps."  If a door comes flying open right in your face..that's probably the Lord.  Granted, there's a chance that is the Prince of Darkness. But, if the deed was on your heart and the only thing stopping you is doubt, then, it's probably not the Devil.

Proverbs is in the OLD Testament, we want something in the New Testament oh crazy blogger!  Oh you want some NT huh?  Well how about John 14:26 where Jesus tells us a HUGGEEE secret! "But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." (It's the words of Jesus so it has to be in red right!?
Quick Historical Break...The context of this is Jesus talking to his disciples right before he ascended into heaven.  Here he is promising that we will have a map placed on our hearts to direct us and that map is from God.  A couple of verse prior to this, he tells them that they will do "greater deeds" that He, the Prince of Peace, did.

Sooo, we have the Holy Spirit to guide us!  That famous gut feeling that you always get right before any decision?  Yea!  That can be the Holy Spirit telling you something!  You just have to discern whether or not its the Spirit.  But don't let fear stop you any longer from doing anything!  Do let doubt of the unknown hinder God's blessing for your life any longer!  Do what you gotta do!  In Joshua 1:9, God makes a command to us. "Have I not commanded you? (see! haha)  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."
Let's go out and grab fear by the horns!  Let's go change the world!  Let's go take that risk!  Lets...go...ask that girl out...ehhh...we'll see about that. Haha.

Ima leave you with a quote from a great woman that goes by the name of Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962).  Thus saith Madame Roosevelt:
"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.  You must do the thing which you think you cannot do."

Who Am I?

Today in church my spirit was revived, it was lifted because after over a month layoff I got to direct.  Granted it was only one song, it was however one of my favorite songs: He Reigns (Our God Is an Awesome God).  And lemme just say, I LET EM UZE ME!  And at that point I was at my spiritual heightness.  I was floating on my Spiriutal cloud-9 of sorts.

Then the sermon came.  And it was an atypcial sermon were Pastor Woody did an exercise.  He taught the church the Spiritual Disciple of the Lectio Devina.  This is just a fancy way to teach us to how read the scripture.  How to read the scriptutre prayerfully.  This discipline has 4 steps:

1. Read the scripture slowly and prayerfully a couple times through.
2. Mediatie on it, focus on what God is trying to tell you about the scripture.  Realize where it hurts, brings you joy, etc.
3.  Talk to God about it.  Tell Him specifically what was on your heart.
4. Be still. And just listen to what God has spoken to you.

So, the pastor read a familiar passage taken from Luke 18:9-14 which is the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.  It reads:

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable.

"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: 
'God, I thank you that I am not like other people-robbers, evildowers, adulteres-or even like this tax collector. 
I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'

But the tax collector stood at a distance.  He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 
'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'

I tell you that his man, rather than the other, went home justified before God.  
For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those how humble themselves will be exalted."

And after the Pastor took us through those steps, he gave the congregation a chance to say what God was speaking to them.  A couple of people spoke and talked about God's love and another person talked about Humility.  And these are all great great things.

What hit me personally however, was the fact that for far too much in my life, I've been the Pharisee.  The Holy Spirit had convicted my soul.  Troubled my Spirit.  Made me feel soo...dirty.  And it was right at that moment where I realized that I needed to confess.  I needed to apologize, and I needed to repent.

People tend to come to me to talk about various things. And one thing I pride myself about is that I don't judge them.  I try my hardest not to judge them.  And I get the feeling that they sincerely believe that, and its true.  I'm not a judger.  However, there are those times when I pray where I thank the Lord for not putting me in certain positions.  Certain situations.  And it is in those moments where I unconsciously start to feel like I'm better than them.  I start to gather the "Holier than Thou mentality."  The scary part is that I don't even realize it.  And to that I say: Who am I?

Who am I?  Who am I to say that your sin is worse than mine?  Who am I to thank God for not doing A,B,C when I'm sitting there doing X, Y, & Z.  In God's eyes, no sin is worst than the other.  Because when it all comes down to it, sin kills.  For the wages of sin is death, but the Gift of God is everlasting.  I thank God (literally) that Jesus came down to be my penal substitute.  He took the blame that I should've.  I should be on my way to Hell in a hand-basket!  Like seriously....WHO THE HECK AM I?

So, I just need to repent for my wrong thoughts.  For my Holier Than Thou Mentality.  I pray for everyone that has done ABC but I also need prayer for my sins XYZ.  And you know the weird thing, some people may feel like XYZ is worst than ABC.  So really...WHO AM I?

I am a sinner.  But Jesus saved me.  I am lost.  But, Jesus found me.  I am a screw-up.  But, Jesus redeemed me.  "Amazing Love, how can it be, that you my king would die for me!"

If you are out there and you can relate.  I challenge you to be still.  To talk to God.  To ask the great Forgiverer for forgiveness.  To ask Him to change your hearts.  Because we all have skeletons in our closets.  I wil not cast the first stone! (John 8:2-11)